Is getting closer to what is considered to be the most wondrous time of the year. And this thought is approved by so many people they’ve written so many songs about it. I’m not hating on it. But for me personally it is the cold and the winter blues that gets me every time.

The easiest way to combat the winter blues is to find activities to do at home. This also helps avoid the cold. This is a craft that me and my daughter do every year. 

This DIY project is going to sound so simple and I’m sure that so many people have heard of it. I honestly thought I was a genius. Then I saw it on Pinterest and realized other people have been doing it too. I won’t lie, I was a little disappointed. But that’s okay. It just shows that I am further aligned with the universe. I am also aligned with those around me.

Remember, your approach to this project may differ from mine. I am the type of practitioner where I like the things that I put out to not look like witchcraft. I have seen plenty of witch DIY crafts that very much look like a spell.

My Take On DIY Crafts

Being a hoodoo practitioner, one aspect embedded in the tradition is secrecy. Nobody knows that you practice unless they already know. This means that person should be informed. They should also be able to see with their third eye what’s going on. It’s not like in this new age where everything is being advertised for the world to see.

Hence why it is that I switch out my ornaments every year to match my Christmas tree. I like my spell to be hidden in plain sight. You don’t know what to spell unless you were there doing it with me. You won’t know what to spell unless you’re doing them too. I mean and thats if your really good at them it. Only then will you know that it’s spells that I’m doing.

Some Creative Ideas

Now when I say I like my spells hidden. I want it not to look like a spell. I’m getting super creative with my ornaments. I am truly thinking outside of the box in order to get this stuff done. In my tradition, we use what is called effun powder for protection. It can also be used as a spiritual cleanser. You can clean yourself off with it, we often do. 

Now me, I am a creative person. I like to take some of this effun powder because it’s white. I crush it up and add it to my ornaments. It makes them look like snow because it can be light and fluffy too. Depending on where you get it, add some flour to help make it fluffy. This will fluff it up enough to make it look like snow. You can take some of the powder. Dust it in the ornament. It will make it look like snowfall. 

For some reason the color blue is one of my favorite colors to do for Christmas. Blue can represent a lot of different things whether that is peace or tranquility or the home or just optimism. The colorful can be used to represent so much in our lives. There’s plenty of ways that I like to bring that into the intention of the work. The first thing that I might do is tie the ornament on the tree with a blue ribbon.

I might even use that color to paint on some snowflakes. Painting on the symbols of the snowflakes can have its own meaning. These meanings include purity or transformation. It can also bring balance. Sometimes I take my paint. I mix it with powders that align with the intention of what I’m trying to draw on. 

Just a Few More Tips……

If you work with any deities, consider adding a few ornaments. These ornaments should remind you of them and embody their energy. This is the kind of ornament you can leave up on the tree every year. It is similar to how most parents put up their kids’ decorations even though they don’t match.

When I’m trying to make an ornament for a specific deity, I light that deity’s candle. This is especially true if I need inspiration. I might even sit in front of their altar. I gather all that I know that that particular deity likes and have it in front of me. This includes all of their favorite colors, symbols that represent them, and herbs that they tend to work with. Their presence is going to be our guide.

I understand that most practices do not incorporate Christmas. However, we can still include Christmas in our practice. At the end of the day we are all on our own individual journey. I practice several different arts. Not a single one of them celebrates Christmas. However, there are people in the tradition who do. 

How To Prep

If you’ve read my post about a DIY wreath, you know that I like to cleanse everything before I start. These ornaments will be no different. Before I get started with anything, I will smoke cleanse my space. I will also cleanse my objects. This ensures there are no previous intentions. (Plus I won’t lie, I just like the way that it smells and the energy that it brings in).

Before I add anything into the ornament, I am going to blow smoke or rum on it. This is to thank it and give it ashe. It’s how I wake the items up for my usage. 

To me, things are a lot easier if you already have an intention in mind. However, if you decide to go with the flow, that won’t be wrong. You can just pick and grab things as you feel led by spirit. 

A Ornament Idea 

I don’t have very many ornament ideas to share because I don’t tend to write down my process. I quite literally just go with the flow a lot of the time. But I’m also not a big fan of taking recipes off of the internet. I think a lot of us have forgotten how to be in tune with her own intentions. 

Remember how in school the teacher would give us an outline for our projects and essays. We pretty much had to do the work. We had to find information and write it out ourselves. That’s how I view magic and that’s how I view the post that I write.

I want to give you only the outlines you need to complete the project. I don’t want to tell you how to do it. You need to use your own intuition. Work with your ancestors or deities to figure it out.

You’re supposed to work with your spirits on stuff like this. You should seek out their knowledge and guidance. So I will only give you one ornament idea. And it will be a very basic one. This way you add to it and make it your own. Use this as your base.

1. Protection Ornament

Effun powder. Add a cross inside and paint it to match your theme if needed. Use evergreen stems to create a tree. (I will cut and shape my evergreens to look like trees. A great one to use would be Cedar.)

From here I like to add in things to decorate as needed. And add on a string in the right color. I would recommend: black, blue, gold, green, purple, red, silver, violet, white, or yellow.

If you have any ornament ideas you’d like to share I am sure others would love to hear. Might even inspire me to do something different with mine next year.