Witchy Self-Care (Spooktacular Day 7)

BySarra Cannon

Today is a legit low-key day in our Spooktacular Celebration, because I wanted to include a reminder here to take time out from your busy schedule for self-care.

And no, I don’t just mean do your nails or take a bubble bath. I’m talking about creating space in your life for something that brings you joy.

This doesn’t have to be “Witchy”, of course, but since we’re in the middle day of our Spooktacular, I’m going to focus a bit of thought today on talking about my version of witchy self-care.

What I Focus On During Self Care

When it comes to taking care of myself, I pay a lot of attention to my energy and my mental health on a daily basis. I’ve noticed that when I allow myself to get into negative thought-spirals, I tend to also see negative things happen more in my life.

When I allow myself to get burned out or I hang out with people that drain my energy, I see the same thing. More negative events, less good luck. Just generally rotten things are attracted into my life.

On the other hand, when I do my best to take care of myself, nurture good thoughts, refill my creative well, and spend time with people who lift me up or care about me, I tend to see more wonderful things. The most positive momentum grows in my life and the more I focus on gratitude, the more everything good expands.

So, when it comes to positive self-care, I focus on all of these things most:

  • My Energy – I really pay attention to how I’m feeling and where I’m spending my time and energy. I pay attention to what tasks, events, and even which people tend to raise my energy or drain it. I do literally everything I can to try to keep my energy high or nurture it when it’s low.
  • My Mental Health – This is very much tied to energy, but I take it an extra step to always journal daily and check in with how I’m doing and what types of thoughts are going through my mind. I take time daily to also read or listen to podcasts that help to support positive mental health. I go to therapy weekly, as well, and have been dealing with some pretty heavy traumas from my past lately. It’s hard work, but it’s healing me and it’s worth it, even though it’s scary at times!
  • My Joy – Okay, so this is of course tied to energy and mental health, but it’s worth mentioning that I have found it to be so incredibly life-changing to focus on the things that bring me joy! Life can’t be all sunshine and rainbows, but I do have a lot of control over where I spend my time. I spend a lot less time hanging out on Facebook these days, and a whole lot more art journaling, watching anime, and playing games with my children. Joy is everything when it comes to self-care.

My Favorite Self-Care Activities

More specifically, here are some of my favorite things to do when I take time for self-care.

Every single night, I sit in front of my altar space, light my favorite candles (often ones with a specific purpose, crystals, or scents), and I meditate for about fifteen minutes. Sometimes this meditation is just simply all about gratitude for the life I have and for my family. Sometimes I focus on a question I have or just being still and quiet.

I also love to read as self-care. Sometimes this is a witchy kind of new age book like Gabby Bernstein’s “Super Attractor”, and sometimes it’s a book just for fun, like “The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue” by V.E. Schwab. Sometimes I’ll do this reading with a face mask on and a fuzzy blanket on my legs!

I also love to read a tarot card each night and journal about my thoughts from the day. And another favorite self-care activity of mine is to create photo collages and art journal pages inside Goodnotes on my iPad while drinking tea. I LOVE to dream about the future, and I find that it feeds my soul to day dream.

Taking long daily walks with my family or heading to the beach for an hour or two are a couple more of my favorite self-care activities.

Watch Last Year’s Witchy Bullet Journal Setup

I had hoped to have time this past week to fully set up my brand new Book of Shadows, or my “Witchy Bullet Journal”, but sadly I just didn’t have any extra time! Instead, I’m going to post my video of last year’s set up in case you didn’t see it before!

I’m so excited to set up my new version of this. I have been using a Hobonichi Cousin in 2020 to track my tarot cards and evening spiritual practice, but I noticed that I’m often referencing the same websites and other digital resources on my phone at night.

This is great to have access to such great resources, but unfortunately I do have to get online to get to them. This can lead to distractions and going down rabbit holes during my spiritual practice, which I really don’t want to do.

I would much rather use this evening spiritual “me time” as my self-care time to just be quiet and spend time nurturing my own spirit.

So, for 2021, I plan to continue using a Hobonichi Cousin for my tarot and journaling, but I want to aslo set up a sort of “Book of Shadows” reference journal with my favorite tarot spreads, spells, candles, crystals info, and more, so that I don’t have to keep going online to get to that information.

I want it to be part reference, part art journal, and I’m so excited to start setting it up!

If you’d like to see the full setup of this new witchy bullet journal/ book of shadows, please comment below and let me know!

Archer and Olive Giveaway!

For my new Book of Shadows, I’ve chosen to go back to Archer & Olive for the journal, but I’ll be using a different one from the one I used in last year’s setup. Instead of a A5 size, I’ll be using a B5, which is slightly bigger.

Also, instead of an all white journal, I chose their neapolitan journal, which has a mixture of white, craft, and black journal pages! I honestly already love this journal, and I haven’t even gotten started yet.

As a way to hopefully help you get started on a bullet journal or self-care journey of your own, today’s giveaway is for an Archer & Olive journal of your choice (up to $36) and a set of journaling pens.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

What About You? What’s Your Favorite Kind of Self-Care?

I’ve shared some of the things that make a difference for me. I’d love to hear what you do for self-care. This doesn’t have to be something witchy like lighting candles or reading tarot cards.

It can be taking walks or hanging out with your favorite person. Let me know in the comments!

I’ll see you tomorrow for a live writing session on YouTube. I can’t wait!

60 Comments

  2. I am horrible at self care but I’m realizing I need to time to do it. I can’t take care of anyone or anything else if I’m run down.

  3. Glad that you are sharing this. My favorite self-care is prayer, meditation, and journaling, but also getting a massage, and taking time for skincare.

  5. I love to reconnect with nature. I love to grab a book and a drink and sit outside. Sometimes I will go to the lake with blankets, drinks, book, and journals to enjoy my time.

  7. For my self care I like to spend time with my family, just reading or going for walks.

  8. I’ve never been great at self-care but the one thing I do every night is I write a journal entry or a write a little bit in the book I’m writing. In my journal entry it’s usually about my day or things that are on my mind at the time I sit down to write. I try to write at least a page in my journal or book.

  9. I read a tarot card and an oracle card, I read a book, I journal each night and I also meditate

  10. For my self care I do face masks and my nails or I sit and crochet it really helps keep to relax.

  11. My self-care routine tends to be pieces carved out each day, mon is my day to just take some time in the evening for myself, tues I work on something fun (diamond painting, video games), wed I take extra long in the bathroom for my shower deep conditioning my hair or just using a tea bag in a hot bath, thurs I spend an extended time reading for pleasure and Friday is family game night. I don’t usually do much on the weekends just for myself because i fee it is important to spend that time when everyone is home doing stuff together as a family.

  12. My self care is taking some time to read, or a glass of wine in a candlelit bath, meditating, or spending a little tv time to myself

  13. I said this on your fb, but it needs saying again…
    Naps are my FAVORITE self care activity!

  14. I’ve been trying to create more self care routine, but it definitely hasn’t been easy. I’m going try get back into doing yoga and try meditation. I do have witchy bujo to but I don’t use it everyday, it’s meant for holidays, tarot reading and full moon.

  15. I need to get better about self care. I love sitting in our hammock and watching the birds at the feeders, sometimes I will take a quick walk or read a book. I’ve made a new goal to make self care a priority! I was also able to sign up for the monthly tarot reading for 2021 that you spoke about in the live. I’m really looking forward to it!

  16. Candles, darkness, roses or vanilla smells, my favorite book or writing (depends on the mood) ▓

  17. This year, I make it a point to schedule self-care in. I let myself take a backseat last year and it had to stop. My self-care routine on the witchy side usually involves moon baths, weekly and daily readings and manifestation work. It’s the best part of every day for me now!

  18. Since we strated the Pandemic I started to think O should have more self care so I started my “Insane” journal where I write everything and anything that drives me coo coo! I write in it when I need a clensing dump. I write my anger, stress, anxiety and depressing toughts and feelings away. I have given myself permission to write all I would love to say to others even if hurtful, because I need it out of my system and they probably will never know what I have written as I use Tolkien’s runes to write it. And I decided a couple of months ago that I will at least “paint”y nails just for me so I feel girly and pretty regardless of what others think.

  19. Every moening I light a candle, listen to the Daily Calm App, and then meditate for 10-15 minutes. Afterward, I do morning pages from The Artist’s Way.

  20. My favorite self care is solitude. I sit or lay down meditating while sometimes holding my energy stones. I also listen to soundscapes or thunderstorms during solitude. Reading or writing and just being.

  21. My favorite forms of self-care are reading and walking. Reading a good book, which helps improve my awareness, makes me feel peaceful. On the other hand, walking makes me feel more energetic.

  24. My favorite self care is a long shower. Usually I just jump in and wash up and get out. But I love a long, hot shower where I can play through my ideas for my books in my head. No kids, no distractions, white noise. It’s perfect. I also like binge watching horror shows.

  25. My self care is shutting myself in my room for an hour and do nothing. Sometime I read other times listen to music. Other times I take a long shower. It kind of depends on the schedule.

  27. My self care usually involves reading and music, I really am hoping to get back into my tarot readings again and my yoga, although I’m really bad about keeping up with it because I tend to focus more on the other people in my house than myself.

  28. My witchy self-care is to daily listen to the quiet and let myself listen to what my spirit needs that night. Sometimes it is doing tarot readings, other times it is doing some candle magick, and sometimes I just write my own spells and affirmations.

  29. I Journal to help with my self care. I have a general journal (as well as a couple others) that I do stream of consciousness in and it really helps!! Sammi

  30. I am not very good at self care. I recently bought a stationary bike I could do indoors while the kids play. I think a few minutes a day would motivate me to work out. And reading. I’ve been doing more of that lately.

  32. For self care I love to go for long walks that are meditative you me. I also journal which is very important to me. I have always wanted and olive and archer journal! Thanks for the fun contest.

  33. For the most part my self care consists of bathing in essential oils and taking time to be alone. I spend a lot of that time either reading or writing too.

  34. Something I love to do for self care is yoga and meditation. It’s a great way to start or end my day and always leaves me feeling relaxed and refreshed.

  35. I have not always been good about self-care, but I have been trying to be better lately. I have discovered that staying on point with my diet has a cascading effect on my energy and mood, so that is foundational for me. I also have a meditation, tarot, and journaling practice, just in the morning instead of the evening.

  36. I journal a lot and that helps but I need to start my own journey to a better self care routine.

  38. There are so many different versions of self-care, and it differs for everyone. I hope that we’re all able to find at least something that gives us a bit of peace and joy!

  39. Figure skating when I can get to the rink and writing. Sometimes video games can be self care for me, but then I get sucked in don’t do anything else for hours.

  40. For self care, I try to remember to do yoga every day, and play video games with my husband at least once a week. But there are days when my self care is actually keeping myself on track and checking things off of my to-do list.

  42. I try to meditate and sometimes just write. I go for a 2-4 hour walk a day with my boys as long as it’s not too bad out. And I used to clean out my house top to bottom (including moving furniture around) now I just do what I can but Josh helps a lot. I miss cleaning up my house every week like that but now the furniture is too heavy and I can’t do the heavy lifting. Lol, Josh hates when I do it but it was always relaxing for me.

  43. I’ve been focusing on allowing myself to find joy even when I’m really busy. I have this bad habit of not allowing myself to enjoy hobbies until big things eg moving house are done. Great blog post

  44. I hike every morning and gratitude journal every night. I vary in other self care from time to time, but this are the constants.

  45. I like to walk through the back yard barefooted and get grounded in nature. My word for 2020 is “savor” and I try to stay in the present moment as much as I can and enjoy whatever blessings that moment brings.

  47. I try to get a little time to myself to write. Which usually involves going out a bit since its hard to get any time here at home in our small area.

  48. A walk in the Woods is my best way to “get back on track”. Another way is to have some time with the one a love. Listen to music can also give me new energi or rest.

  50. I used to do tarot every single day. I haven’t done it in years. I’ve been reading about people who use it to help plot, so I’ve been itching to get all of my decks back out!

  51. This sounds so wonderful, and caring of yourself. It also reminds me how lacking myine is, or should I say non-existent. I don’t have a self-care routine, and it’s a foreign concept to me, and something I only really remember hearing about over the last couple of years. I have had to take care of everyone else my whole adult life, and almost half of my childhood. I have also been a single mom since I was pregnant with my son 24 years ago. I will have to read through this post a couple more times, and convince myself that I really need to spend some time on myself.

  52. I don’t do any witchy things… but life is very busy at the moment. I have a 17 month old, full time job, and finishing my diploma online. Once a week I dedicate 1-2 hours of my time for self care. I normally start with a warm bath/shower, light candles, or use essential oils in the bathroom to set the mood. Then I read a book, have a glass of wine and relax and unwind. This helps me plan my week and feel very recharged.

  53. Self-care is something that I need to learn how to do. Mostly I just read, but I am learning Tarot and I enjoy listening to music as well. It is currently my form of meditation.

  54. I’m not that great with self care, but I’ve been trying to do better this year: I put a mud mask on twice a week, I meditate every morning, I journal at night and a short journal in the morning. And I read before bed. I also knit, but I’ve not done that for a while.

  55. I like to have quiet time to read fiction and study tarot and astrology followed by a good nights sleep 🙂

  56. We have a lot of similar self-care routines. I watch my energy closely and plan accordingly. I give myself a break without judging myself. I take naps when I feel tired. I’m super busy with work, a toddler, a garden, and two different schools, while learning how to be a nurse coach… so I take frequent breaks to do nothing but be.

  58. My favorite self-care is reading. I only recently picked back up the habit, and it has brought me back from exhaustion and burnout.

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