The Witch’s Pantry: Recharge, Restore, and Revitalize Your Magickal Supplies
Monica Crosson
There are space the Witch’s cottage where the mundane should never tread, rooms filled with the scent of magick in the making, where dark shelves are lined with antique apothecary bottles that are labeled to not reveal the secrets of their power-fairy caps and mother die, graveyard dirt and devil’s apple, just to name a few of the mysterious ingredients. There are leather-bound grimoires that contain the spells that have been passed down throughout the generations, not to mention strange taxidermied creatures, skulls, and bones marked with occult symbols. A witch’s ladder hangs near bunches of herbs tied up with twine, and bundles of beeswax candles and strange stones are tucked wherever there is room. And of course, there is a cauldron. There is always a cauldron that simmers away in the corner.
I wish I could tell you that I was describing my own Witch’s pantry, but alas, I am not. In fact, I don’t have a separate pantry dedicated to my Craft at all. My home office holds most of my books, crystals, bones, feathers, candles, and other curios I use in spell-crafting organized in drawers and cupboards. And my herbs . . . well, they are neatly tucked behind the pickles and jam on shelves above my chest freezer and across from my washer and dryer in my pantry/utility room. My favorite cauldron, you ask? Well, as of right now, it is in my dining room holding some essential oils I haven’t put away yet. Hey, a modern Witch has got to do what they got to do.
In all seriousness, though, most modern practitioners do not have the perfect “witchy” aesthetic you find in so many posts on social media. Nor do we live in homes that fit the fantasy idea of a Witch (say, Practical Magic or The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina), but what we do have in common is our use of herbs, crystals, and the other paraphernalia associated with our Craft. But how long can one keep herbs hanging from a drying rack in the pantry or kitchen before they go bad? It seems that the ones in the movies are centuries old (even cobweb covered at times). And what about those dust-covered crystals on our shelves or the athame crammed in a drawer along with the charcoal tabs and spell kit candles? Do they lose their energy after being lost in the junk drawer or even sitting along the windowsill?
I’m going to share with you a few tips, tricks, and good old commonsense practices that I have learned as I have journeyed the spiral path to help you keep spellcrafting ingredients viable and your working space energetically in tune with your magick. Let’s get cleaning.
How Old Is Too Old?
Did you know that once you have harvested your herbs, the healing and magickal potency begins to wane immediately? The shelf life, under the best conditions, for herbs is one to two years, and spices last approximately two to three years-even less if not preserved properly. And what about the herbs you buy online? Do you know when they were harvested? And more importantly, how were they stored before they were shipped to you?
I suggest you go through your herbal supplies once a year and ask yourself the following questions to figure out the viability of your herbal stockpile:
- Are the herbs still holding their color?
- Is the herb’s scent faint to nonexistent?
- Is there evidence that bugs have gotten into your herbs? Are they webby or chewed?
Unfortunately, a lot of herbs purchased online (especially from large online distributors) will sometimes lack both color and scent on arrival. Even homegrown herbs, if not stored properly, can lose their color and scent quickly. Sadly, these herbs have lost their potent energy and should be composted.
For magick, I always suggest using herbs or foraged material that is available to you fresh and drying it using one of several simple ways, including hanging in a warm, dark space in bunches within paper bags, by using a food dehydrator, or by using your oven set on a low temperature. If you buy your herbs, always buy from a reputable small-scale supplier who will give you specifics on harvesting dates.
When you’re ready to store your dried herbs, vacuum sealing is going to preserve them best. In fact, they will be fine to use in tinctures and salves for over a year, as long as there is no exposure to air, and up to several years in magick. Canning jars work great too. Just remember to store them in a cupboard, drawer, or darkened pantry. If you don’t have a pantry or room in a cupboard, use amber-tinted or painted jars or stainless-steel tins for herbs to avoid exposure to light. Remember to always mark and date your herbs. And last, try not to crumble your herbs when storing, as this breaks down their potency quickly. Crumble just before use.
Recharging and Organizing Crystals and Tools
The following are several media for recharging crystals or magickal tools that haven’t been used for some time, are newly purchased, or were recently rediscovered in the back of a junk drawer.
Water: Water-safe (hard) crystals can be cleared of negative residue by washing or soaking in water. Place your stones in Moon- or Sun-charged water for several hours. You can also rinse them under the tap for approximately thirty seconds each. To make sure that your crystals are water-safe, use the Mohs hardness scale, which is easily accessible online. If your crystal is a six or higher on the scale, it may be cleansed with water.
Rice: Rice has been associated with spellwork for thousands of years and is a common ingredient in protection spells. Rice can absorb negative energy, so placing your crystals or tools in rice for cleansing makes sense. Fill a bowl with dry rice and bury your items within the grains. Leave overnight. Remember to dispose of the rice when done.
Moonlight: Charging or cleansing your stones or tools under moonlight for a couple of hours is simple and effective. Place your items in a single layer where the rays will touch them and let the Moon clear those negative vibes and energetically reset them.
Sound: Using sound is a beautiful way to clear your crystals and tools of negative energy. Use a bell, a singing bowl, finger cymbals, or a tuning fork or even chant or sing for several minutes, and allow the vibrations of the sound to weave its way around and through your items.
Soil: Stones come from the earth, so why not cleanse them with soil? Fill a bowl with clean, chemical-free garden soil and tuck your stones into the soil. Leave it overnight, and gently wipe your stones with a clean cloth. Return the garden soil to the compost.
Smoke: Using the smoke of garden sage, cedar, bay, or another purifying herb is a simple and gentle way to cleanse your crystals and magickal tools.
Unlike your herbs, crystals can last you a lifetime with proper care. And though they are lovely sitting on open shelves or in a bowl near your altar where the Sun kisses them with its wonderfully charging energy, there are many crystals that can fade, crack, or become brittle in direct sunlight. Safely storing your crystals in felt-lined wood boxes, bead boxes, or individual drawstring bags will not only help keep you organized but also maintain the beauty and viability of your precious stones.
There are many ways to organize your crystals for storage. My favorite way is by magickal intention. You could also store them by color, size, or hardness. Whatever makes sense to you.
Your magickal tools are best tucked away as well. I keep my wands and athame wrapped in cloth and tucked in a drawer until ready for use. All my divination tools are kept together in a basket in a side-board cupboard in my office and recharged before every use.
Cleansing Your Magickal Space or Pantry
Now that you have a fresh supply of herbs and your crystals and magickal tools are recharged, organized, and neatly stored, it’s time to physically and energetically cleanse your magickal working space or pantry. After giving every nook and cranny a good wipe down, go over the surfaces, windows, and floors of your space with a purification cleanser. As you do this, keep your intent in mind. Start in the eastern corner of your space and work clockwise. When you are finished, sprinkle the purification sweep mix across your floor. Sweep in a clockwise manner toward the entrance or use a vacuum. Finally, use your favorite purifying incense to give it a final cleansing with smoke and hang your favorite protective elements (such as a witch’s ladder, bells, etc.).
Purification Cleanser
2 cups Moon-charged water
2 cups white vinegar
40 drops lemon oil
40 drops sage oil
20 drops lavender oil
Purification Sweep Mix
½ cup baking soda
2 tablespoons dried garden sage
2 tablespoons dried lavender buds
2 tablespoons dried rosemary
It might feel a bit boring to stand in your magickal space with everything vacuum sealed and tucked away. But this really does ensure that your tools, crystals, and herbs are at their peak, and easy to access so you can really focus on your magickal working. As far as aesthetics, I suggest you find items that suit your vibe in thrift or junk stores or even on clearance after Halloween to decorate your witchy pantry. This may include dried bundles of herbs that can be switched out every year, wands, bones, stones, and other ornaments. I do this and I love the way my space feels. The bonus is that if you do choose to photograph them, they look great in social media posts, but they are not the tools, herbs, and stones we hold as sacred.
The movies and social media paint a beautiful fantasy of Witch-craft. But it is just that—a fantasy. It’s up to us, as modern practitioners, to keep the magick real and our tools, herbs, and crystals at their working best.