Season 1, Episode 13: Traveling in Witchy Style

 ​ Welcome to episode 13 of the Wind Moon Magic Podcast. This is the final episode of this season. It's been an amazing six months getting this podcast started and meeting so many of you through the Inner Circle membership, through your emails, and on Instagram. What a whirlwind it's been, and what a learning curve.

In the time off, we'll be making some updates to the website and Inner Circle content. I have hundreds of pages of updates that the team will be implementing over the coming weeks. New content, revised content, updated artwork. So lots of good stuff coming with the new calendar year. One of those things is the January class I have dropping for Inner Circle members.

Discover the world of magical gardening in my Garden Planning for Busy Witches course. Whether you have a small patio or just a few pots, this beginner friendly class empowers you to create a magical garden that thrives, supports pollinators, and enhances your witchcraft practice. I hope you'll join me as we infuse beauty into our spaces and connect with a community of fellow witchy gardeners.

Thank you to all of you for being here and being part of my community. If you have ideas for topics you'd like to cover in Season 2 of the podcast, drop me an email via the contact form on the website. I'd love your input and to answer any and all questions. Email from you all makes my day. Speaking of which, today's podcast is inspired by an email from a witch who has extensive travel plans over the coming weeks to visit family for the holidays.

She asked, how would I recommend taking her practice out of the comfort of her home and onto the road for a couple of weeks? I have to imagine this is a circumstance many of us find ourselves in this time of year. My own family is scattered across the country, and often I find myself traveling over the holidays.

And I know some of you travel for work, too. Traveling can be hard. We're away from our routines and all those little rituals and habits that form our daily practice as witches. But you can selectively take a bit of that with you. And when family has you exhausted, work is a grind, and travel plans go awry.

These small measures can bring a great deal of comfort. So let's talk about it. I want to cover what to pack and how to settle in when away from home, so you can maintain that connection to your craft. Wherever you are.

So first up, when preparing for a trip, you need to really carefully consider what to pack to support your practice. For me, that includes the items I use each morning as part of my daily ritual and reflection time. My essentials include items like a travel sized book of shadows to write in each day, a deck of cards.

Tarot or Oracle. Crystals for travel, such as um, Malachite, Amethyst, and Clear Quartz. A tea kit that contains a bit of my favorite tea. A tea ball and my travel mug. A small spray bottle of Florida water. A candle, maybe some essential oils, and always a shawl or a travel blanket. These items help me maintain my magical practices and rituals while on the go.

And they also provide comfort and familiarity when far from home. When it comes to packing for travel as a witch, it's all about finding the right balance between simplicity and comfort. You can't drag everything with you, it's just not practical. Your practice is inherently within you, so you don't really need an overwhelming amount of tools, but having a few key items can enhance your experience on the road.

A portable journal allows you to record your experiences, insights, and any magical workings you undertake during your journey. Don't forget a trusty pen to jot down your thoughts and observations along the way. I don't like to bring my regular journal generally, just in case it gets lost, and because it's a bit bulky and kind of heavy.

So I use a smaller, thinner notebook just for travel. These fill up pretty fast, but it weighs less, and it's a lot easier to schlep around. For divination and guidance on your travels, a compact deck of tarot or oracle cards is a valuable addition if that's already part of your witchy toolkit. I always find it worthwhile to bring a deck, since it's a standard part of my morning routine.

Mornings just don't feel the same without a card draw. This is a routine I like to maintain, even when traveling. I usually don't bring the runes. It would be too easy to lose one in a hotel room or even the bottom of a purse. So, a deck of cards in its original box is perfect. Crystals are another essential, and for travel, you can opt for ones like Malachite.

Which is great for protection and safe travels. Amethyst, for its calming energy. And, of course, Clear Quartz is always very powerful. And sort of a good for everything crystal. But especially powerful for amplifying your intentions. Oh, and maybe a bit of Black Tourmaline. And I'll get to why in just a moment.

To maintain your spiritual well being and rituals, pack some of your favorite tea, a travel mug, and I like to use a tea ball. And most hotels have a way to boil water, even if it's not as good as at home. You can always microwave water, and if you're brave, you can use the coffee maker to run water through to make tea.

Sipping a cup of herbal tea can be really soothing and centering as a practice, no matter where you are. And if you are worried about staying healthy while traveling, this can really provide much needed support. I recommend carrying a small bottle of Florida water. I use a little spray bottle, which can be used for purification and cleansing purposes.

You can use it to repel negative energies by applying it to yourself and as a way to purify and cleanse your space as you're staying in. Just make sure the bottle is small if you're flying and maybe keep it in a Ziploc bag so that if it leaks, your items aren't doused in strong smelling Florida water.

And it occurs to me that some of you may not know about Florida water and how easy and potent it is as a tool. It's not water from Florida, but I think it is largely an American thing. It's actually a cologne, and it's used as a spiritual cleansing tool. It originated in the United States, I think in the 19th century.

It's usually made of a blend of alcohol, filtered water, and aromatics, including things like citrus oil, lavender, clove, and this gives it a really nice, sweet, and floral scent. Florida water is pretty widely used in various spiritual and magical practices for purposes such as spiritual cleansing, you can use it for purification, and protection.

Sprinkle it, spray it, it removes negative energies, and it helps you establish sort of sacred, clean spaces. And you can use it to prepare for rituals. Um, you can also use it as offerings in rituals, and even as just a refreshing body splash after a long day of travel. Bottom line, it helps to dispel negativity, and it promotes well being for both individuals and their environments.

And you can make your own, it's super easy. I love this as it allows me lots of customization of my blend, and it cuts down on the waste. Four times a year I make a big batch. My current one is comprised of orange and lemon peel, rosemary, lavender thyme, cinnamon, I think I have allspice, oh, mint, and black pepper, all in that.

And that's been steeping in vodka for a couple of weeks, next full moon I'll strain and dilute it with filtered water and then set it out to charge overnight. Bam, you're on Florida water, and it smells amazing. In fact, every time I shake it, I take the lid off and give it a good sniff, because I love it.

It's one of my favorite magical brews, and one that anyone can make. If Florida water isn't your thing, consider packing a bit of salt to use when you get to your destination. You don't need much. Black salt can be a nice... Addition, especially if you have some full of the ashes of powerful, positive magic.

Talk about a way to stake a claim to your space and keep your magic powerful and present. Black salt. Creating a sacred and familiar atmosphere wherever you're staying while traveling can be achieved with just a few simple items. An LED candle, or a small candle in a tin, along with a lighter, can bring warmth and illumination to your space without the risk of a fire hazard.

Now most hotels prefer you not light candles, and I get it. Be responsible. I'd be lying if I said I'd never brought a real candle into a hotel room, although I do often just grab one of the votive sized rechargeable tea lights I have. To infuse your surroundings with your chosen energies, bring along essential oils or a personalized oil blend.

You can use these with a diffuser disc, the little terracotta discs. to create a calming and invigorating ambience in your accommodations. I love the little simple clay discs as a way to diffuse oil into a space. It's subtle, it's small, it's cheap if it gets left behind. And then my oil I bring actually doubles as my perfume when I travel.

Lastly, don't forget a shawl or a small travel blanket. This versatile item can serve as a ritual cloth, a cozy wrap during meditation, or even a makeshift altar cloth. And it provides you with a tangible connection to home and your practice when you're on the go. Mine is pretty luxe. I have a small cashmere lap throw that goes everywhere with me.

I can wrap up in it on the airplane or just snuggle up with it while having my morning tea and card pool in the hotel room. And if I feel icky about the hotel bedding, which even in the nicest hotels sometimes it gives me the ick, I'll sleep with it and use it as my blanket. Lots of people have small travel altars with little bottles of herbs, oils, maybe some images and candles.

I haven't really found that helpful. The reality is that I'm not doing much in the way of ritual or spell work when I travel. I mostly want my previously listed tools along because I'm a fan of routine and the comforts of home. But if you're inclined to work some spells while on the road, you can find lots of travel altars on Etsy, or make your own with a small tin or a box and an assortment of miniaturized tools and maybe packets or bottles of herbs and oils.

I might feel more inclined to use one if I made it myself, customized to my preferences. The Etsy ones are often very cute, but they never seem to quite fit the bill. At least for me. If I know there's a nice bathtub where I'm staying, I'll sometimes pack an herbal sachet and enjoy a magical soak in a large bathtub.

When we remodeled our bathroom, we opted for a larger shower and no tub. So, now at home, I just have a tiny guest bathroom bathtub to use and it's not comfortable. In fact, I can't even fully submerge in it. So, I'm always on the lookout for a nice bathtub. I do put all these items into my carry on bag when flying, not checked.

Priorities. But seriously, if I get stranded somewhere or I just need psychic support, these are the things I want on hand. Just remember, if you're flying to be TSA compliant with sizes and types of items, leave your dagger at home or check it. Let's talk about cleansing and protecting your space, the temporary space you're going to be staying in.

When I'm traveling, I find it essential to create a sacred and protected energy in the space I'm going to be staying, whatever my accommodations are. One of the first things you can do upon arriving at your hotel room, guest room, or Airbnb is to cleanse the space energetically. Now at home, we might do this by smudging, right?

Smoke cleansing. You can do this when you're traveling by carrying a small bottle of salt and sprinkling it around the room, focusing primarily on entrances and windows and corners. Alternatively, you can use a few spritzes of Florida water to cleanse the space. Don't be that person that lights up a sage bundle, or some Palo Santo.

Be discreet. Respect that this is borrowed space and others probably don't want to smell your smoke or incense. Using salt or Florida water, set your intention for the space to be cleansed of any lingering energies from previous guests. Be sure to open a window or a door to allow that unwanted energy to exit.

And if you use salt, be sparing. You don't need to make a mess for someone else to clean up when you're done. Myself, I keep it really simple. I open up the door and the window if I can, and then I spray my Florida water in each direction. I use a bit poured into the palm of my hand to mark a protective sigil on any windows and on the back of the door.

As I do this, I just visualize a shimmering barrier forming around the space, and I imagine it repelling the negativity and all those unwanted energies. For added protection, you can also hang a tiny witch's bottle filled with protective herbs, salt, and maybe a tiny piece of iron or other protective talisman near the entrance.

Or you can hang it over, like, the hotel door handle. And this can serve as a powerful and symbolic ward against harm or intrusion. But this is an extra item to bring and remember to take home with you. I actually made a similar charm to keep in the car as well. Same issue, but some witches will also place crystals with protective properties, such as black tourmaline, in strategic locations around the room.

Even just on the nightstand, a piece of black tourmaline is wonderful. I use this in my own home when I'm in my own bed, but a small piece could be brought on a trip, too. These crystals act as energetic shields, absorbing and transmuting negative energy and also electromagnetic energy. However you choose to ward the space to maintain the protective barrier throughout your stay, you need to take a moment each day to visualize and reinforce the protective wards, ensuring that your temporary space remains safe and harmonious, and just an environment that's supportive of your magical practices and restful night.

If you have a morning ritual, this is a perfect activity to add to it while traveling. Now, what about when you're out and about? When venturing out and about on your travels, protection magic can be valuable and really empowering. One effective way to incorporate this into your journey is by charging protective jewelry to wear during your trip.

So you might select jewelry pieces that hold significance to you and then cleanse them thoroughly before your journey. And then to charge these items with protective energy, just perform a simple ritual. You could even just hold the jewelry in your hands, close your eyes, and visualize a powerful shimmering shield of light radiating from them and forming around you.

Focus on your intention for the jewelry to act as a protective talisman throughout the entire trip. And you can also anoint it with a little bit of protective oil for an extra layer of defense. Another idea for protection magic when on the go is to create a travel protection sachet. You can take a small cloth bag and fill it with protective herbs like rosemary, mugwort, maybe some black salt, along with a protective crystal such as black tourmaline or amethyst.

Charge this sachet up with your intention to safeguard you from negative energies and harm while traveling, and then just stick it in your purse, a backpack, or even a pocket as a portable talisman. Whenever you feel the need for an extra layer of protection, you can hold it or just touch that sachet and envision a protective barrier surrounding you.

Maybe incorporate the power of sigils into your travel magic. You could create a unique protection sigil by combining and simplifying the intentions and symbols that resonate with you. And then draw this sigil on a piece of paper to carry with you throughout your journey. You could place it in your wallet.

You could place it in your travel sachet. You could place it in a witch's bottle to hang in your hotel room or even under the insoles of your shoes. And as you move about, visualize that sigil radiating protective energy and keeping you safe. I actually write my sigils on my body, and that way I can renew them each day.

I use a sharpie. I know, not the healthiest and very middle school girl of me, but it lasts most of the day without too much fading that way. I draw them on the insides of my wrists most of the time, and that way I can see them as I move throughout my day, and be reminded of their protection and my intention.

And the perfume I dab on the same location is also a form of protective oil, infused with frankincense, rosemary, and black pepper. Of course, when you put sigils on your body, you do run the risk of being asked about them, so be aware. These are small but meaningful practices that can provide you with a sense of security and confidence while traveling.

Highly recommend any of these, or all of these. Prioritizing your health while traveling involves a little bit of preparation, and it can involve a touch of magic. Bring along your favorite herbal tea blend. And that is not only comforting, but it can provide immunity boosting benefits. If you're not into a tea blend, you might bring a tincture.

Um, herbs like echinacea, elderberry, ginger, maybe a little lemon balm can be packed along with a tea ball and stored in a travel mug and this makes it really easy to brew it up. Before sipping your tea, just think about your intentions to stay healthy and vital and hold that cup in your hands and breathe in that vapor.

Take a few moments and just connect with the herb's healing properties and allow their magic to enhance your well being. I've recently begun crafting a tea blend for each quarter of the year, and it's been a really fun thing to experiment with all the subtleties of flavor and the correspondences and blending it all into something a little bit like the experience you get with a really fine perfume.

It's full of top, middle, and low notes, and when I take my time drinking it, I can really distinguish those. I try to use things grown in my garden, but once in a while, I'll order an ingredient to supplement the flavor profile. I'm getting sidetracked, but this tea, this blend of the season, is a wonderful thing to bring along when traveling, and it makes me feel incredibly connected to my magic, my garden, and it's super supportive of my health.

In today's world, personal hygiene and sanitation are paramount. I think 2020 may have made germaphobes of all of us. Consider making your own homemade hand sanitizer. Again, this is really easy. You blend essential oils like lavender and tea tree with aloe vera gel, alcohol, and a tiny pinch of salt for an effective, all natural hand sanitizer.

As you create this concoction, infuse it with protective energy by focusing on your intent to keep germs at bay and maintain good health during your travels. And then carry this with you and use it as a magical shield against potential illness. Of course, this does not replace hand washing and masking if appropriate.

You can maintain your overall health with a daily grounding and centering ritual. If you can, find a quiet space in your accommodation or a nearby natural setting, ideally a natural setting, and take a few moments each day to connect with the Earth's energy. If you can, stand barefoot on the ground or sit with your hands on the Earth, feeling its vitality flow into you.

Visualize any physical or emotional imbalances just dissipating as you draw in the Earth's healing energy. This practice not only promotes wellness, but it also reinforces your connection to the natural world when we can be very scattered and feeling very busy and overbooked. I know we're getting to the middle of winter.

I get it. This can be a hard one. I used to travel to New York City every January for two weeks for work, and it was a miserable time. It was cold, with long working hours. The days were short. It was dark when I went to work and dark when I got back to the hotel. And it was almost impossible to find opportunities to ground or be around any kind of nature.

So, I recognize this isn't always possible. If you can't actually ground bare feet on the earth, hands on the earth, consider a short guided meditation to help you connect with nature. Or even just stand outside, wrapped in your parka, close your eyes, and take a few long slow breaths of the crisp winter air.

Look for nature where and how you can. Seeing the natural world slows down your heart rate. It makes us more resilient to the stresses of family holidays or long work trips. You can find a couple minutes each day. These moments of connection need not be long or cumbersome. Even sitting near a hotel window, drinking that tea and writing in your book of shadows can give you a lift.

The final thing is A fun one. And that is, don't forget to explore local metaphysical shops. Engaging with these shops can be a really rich and rewarding part of any trip. Anywhere I go, I always try to make time to find some witchy shopping. Whenever I go somewhere new, I like to get on Yelp, and I see what my options are in the way of metaphysical shops, bookstores, rock and mineral shops, even independent art galleries are good.

Sometimes I'll even manage to find an event or gathering to attend. And once you've identified potential destinations, This little venture outside of the main purpose of the trip can be really restorative, and it's a way to take a moment for yourself and acknowledge your craft. It's a reminder of who you are when you've had to keep it buttoned up all week because your aunt is an evangelical Christian and would drop dead of disappointment if you let your witchy side show over dinner.

Believe me, I've been there. Find a moment, a place. to let yourself out of the broom closet if you can. When you step into a new metaphysical shop, take your time to connect with the energy of the space. Browse the store's selection of herbs, candles, oils, other magical supplies. You don't have to buy anything.

Engage with the shopkeepers. Ask for their recommendations on things to do in the area. Give them a Yelp review, and thank them for the psychic lift. Traveling over the holidays, traveling for work, it can be tough to maintain the rhythms of your daily magic practice. We can end up feeling very disconnected from who we want to be, what we value.

But a little foresight, some boundaries on our time and energy, and a healthy dose of tea and journaling can get us through it. Even if it's a totally fun trip you've been anticipating all year, you may appreciate these bits of normality, these glimmers of magic along the way. Travel safe. Stay healthy, stay witchy, and I'll be back with season two of the Wind Moon Magic Podcast before you know it.

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Remember, if you're hungry for more knowledge and eager to dive deeper into the craft, I invite you to visit my website, windmoonmagick.com. That's magic with a K. There you'll find the show notes for this episode along with a treasure trove of free resources. Also consider joining me in the Inner Circle.

Inside this membership, you'll gain access to over 22 courses and growing, covering a wide range of topics in modern witchcraft, magic, and herbalism. To stay connected with me and receive updates, inspiration, and glimpses into my journey, follow me on Instagram, @wind_moon_magick, remember that's magic with a K, and underscores between each word.

As we bid farewell for now, I want to express my deepest gratitude to each and every one of you for joining me on this extraordinary adventure. Your support and presence mean the world to me.