Many people turn to witchcraft and a more spiritual lifestyle because they want or need to learn better ways of self-love.
Below are a few options to start you on your new self-love journey.
Simple Self-Love Candle Spell
(created by Boomer the Witch)
Materials:
- Pink candle (or your favorite color) and matches
- Pinch of rose petals
- Pinch of lavender
- Candle holder (or any safe place to put a lighted candle)
- Favorite incense
- Pen or pencil and paper (optional)
- Cauldron (optional)
- Tweezer (optional)
Steps:
- Gather your materials.
- Light your incense.
- Place the candle in the holder or in a safe spot.
- Place the rose petals and lavender around the candle's base in any pattern you wish. Randomly is also acceptable!
- Light the candle.
- Speak aloud or write down (optional) some affirmations you feel you need to remind yourself of. ("I am loved. I am deserving of love. I am valid. I am an amazing human being!")
- OPTIONAL: If you wrote down your affirmations, fold the paper toward yourself four times. Use the tweezers to pick up the folded paper and light it with the candle flame. Immediately place the lit paper into your cauldron. Allow it to burn down to ashes. Once they're completely cool, bury the ashes.
- Allow the candle to burn for as long as you want. If you don't use all of it, feel free to light it again for another time.
Birthday Candle Spell
(created by Eve Crawshaw)
Materials:
- Birthday candle (a color that represents you the most or just something you like that you have)
- Rose, orange, sandalwood, or Jasmine essential oil
- Rose Quartz
- Agate slice
- Himalayan Pink Salt
- Lighter
Steps:
- Take the essential oil and anoint the candle with upward strokes.
- Use the lighter to melt a little of the bottom onto the Agate slice then place the candle on the hot wax so it sticks to it.
- Sprinkle a circle of salt around the Agate slice for protection.
- Place the Rose Quartz near the candle to amplify its intentions.
- Light the candle and gaze into the flame. While doing this think about all the things you love about yourself.
- Do this until the candle burns out.
A Luxurious Self-Love Bath
(created by Sarah Regan)
Materials:
- Bath salts
- Rose petals
- Candle(s) and matches
- Your favorite fragrance and/or outfit
Steps:
- Light your candle(s) and begin running your bath water as you hold your intention to love yourself in mind.
- Add your bath salts and rose petals to the water and get into the tub.
- Connect with any deities you work with, such as Venus, the Roman goddess of love, beauty, sex, and pleasure. You can also simply connect with loving energy.
- As you bathe, offer yourself the love you'd like to receive from others.
- After your bath, drain the tub and snuff or fan out your candles (blowing them out is said to blow away the spell). Put on your favorite perfume and an outfit that makes you feel beautiful and sensual.
- Take some time to meditate once more on your intention, as you've now embodied what self-love feels like. Enjoy how it feels to pamper and love yourself.
- Mentally close out your ritual and thank yourself for the love.
Shadow Work
Shadow work can definitely help grow your self-love levels. Essentially, shadow work is a practice where you discover your "shadow self" and learn to accept that part of you. It was invented by Dr. Carl Jung and wasn't originally a witchcraft concept. Even though he was actually interested in the occult, this started out as psychology.
The way you do shadow work varies from person to person. The main item used across all practices is a journal. You write down various prompts then reflect on your answers. Shadow work is not something you'll see results with overnight. Like many avenues of self-care, this takes time and continual practice and can certainly be enhanced with the help of a mental health care professional. But if you're interested in exploring this on your own, below are some prompts to get you started on your journey of self-exploration and understanding.
Shadow Work Journal Prompts
- How old were you when you first started thinking negatively about yourself? Do you remember what triggered it?
- What aspects of yourself do you not like and why?
- What are your parents' views of themselves?
- What parts of you would you like to improve and why?
- What traits or qualities do you admire in other people?
- What emotions come up when you compare yourself to other people?
- How do you deal with envy when it comes to comparing yourself to other people?
- What parts of you do you actually like or even love? Why?
- How heavily do other people's opinions influence how you look at yourself?
- Do you ever get anxious about or doubt who you are as a person? When?
- Write about a situation that made you feel unworthy.
- Write about a situation that made you feel loved and appreciated.
- When was the last time you felt truly content in your own body?
- What are your favorite self-care activities? What really works for you?
- Write about a time someone insulted your appearance. How did you react and how did that affect you going forward?
- What are you really good at?
- What is something you're good at that you hide from the world?
- What are your shadow traits?
- How do you show love to other people?
- What's your main love language? What makes you feel most loved? Why do you think this is?
- Write three self-love affirmations that resonate with you and repeat them out loud or in your head.
- How do you plan to challenge negative self-talk in the future in order to promote more self-love?
- What are three things you like to eat that make you feel good mentally and physically?
- What are three positive habits you can start that will help you love yourself more?
- Write about a time when you felt powerful.
- Write about a situation where you felt unconfident, but ended up bossing.
- What does self-love mean to you as an individual?
- What is failure to you? How do you typically react to failure?
- What's your favorite outfit that makes you feel most confident?
- Who do you look up to? Do you have any role models or celebrities you admire? What qualities do they have that you like?
- What are five things about yourself and your life that you're grateful for?
- What is your biggest achievement?
- Is physical appearance important to you? Why might that be?
- When do you feel the most like your true self?
- When do you feel most content and peaceful?
- How would self-love change your life?
- What would you tell your childhood self now, if you could?
- What would you tell your teenage self now, if you could?
- imagine a new you, full of self-love. What would you look like? How would you act? What would your life be like?
- List five reasons you deserve to love yourself.
- Write a love letter to a part of you that you haven't shown respect to over the years.
- What does forgiveness mean to you? Do you have trouble forgiving yourself? Why do you think this is?
- Are there traits that you see in yourself that you also see in other people close to you that you don't like? Why do you not like them? How can you work on this?
- What are ten things that make you smile?
- What makes you feel most confident?
- What makes you feel most comfortable in your own skin?
- What are three self-care activities you can do every single day?
- Why do you feel unworthy? Have you always struggled with feelings of unworthiness?
- What are three things you KNOW you're too hard on yourself about?
- What are your self-love goals?
Keep in mind that self-love is a daily practice and as such these prompts are not something you do all at once. Pick one prompt a day or every few days or even once a week. Write the prompt down in your journal, then your answer to it. Afterward, simply reflect and meditate on your response. Choosing a quiet, uninterrupted time during your day and a comfortable space to explore your shadow work will be helpful.
There are no wrong or right answers to any of these prompts. And if these prompts don't call to you, there are plenty to be found online and in many psychological, spiritual, and self-care books out there.
