Add glamour magick to your daily rituals and float towards inner peace
Welcome to Witch Week, a campaign dedicated to exploring how witchcraft, magick and beauty intersect. Discover photo stories shot featuring real witches in NYC, a modern reimagining of the witch, and one witch’s mission to get a tan, as well as in-depth features exploring herbology, science and alchemy, and male witches. Elsewhere, we’ve created four special covers to celebrate the campaign and our one year anniversary – something wicked this way comes.
Glamour magick goes deeper than a ritual to get a body like the models we see in magazines, or using tarot cards to help us decide what colour our hair should be next month. In fact – the idea of beauty in magick being used to change our outer selves is completely false. Glamour magick is used to help us change the attitude we have towards ourselves and to bring about self-love that can’t be shaken by outside factors.
Similarly to manifestation, glamour magick is all about intentions. Using mantras and positive affirmations can help to lift your aura. It isn’t complicated – it can be as simple as planning an outfit for a job interview or taking a bath to de-stress. The ‘magick’ of glamour comes in when you add intention to your actions. For example, when you choose to wear a crystal based on the energy it brings or when you carve a sigil (personalised symbols similar to runes) into the soles of your shoes for protection on your journeys.
Gaby Herstik in her book Craft How to be a Modern Witch has a really in-depth and easy to follow step-by-step on sigil magick on shoes. You can also harness the energy of your favourite tarot card or rune by using the symbols on them in your make-up routine or as inspiration behind your outfit. If you are feeling like you will be tackling tough situations and need the strength to let things go you might choose to take inspiration from the death card and wear dark colours, leather and chains. If you are feeling light and joyous you might opt for the sun card with light, golden and flowy clothes. Some even choose to base their daily outfits on the card they pull from their daily tarot reading.
“The ‘magick’ of glamour comes in when you add intention to your actions. For example, when you choose to wear a crystal based on the energy it brings or when you carve a sigil (personalised symbols similar to runes) into the soles of your shoes for protection on your journeys”
The colours you choose to wear, the style you go for, the way you do your make-up (full face or bare face) all have some kind of effect on the way you carry yourself throughout the day. When you learn what colours help with certain aspects of our confidence you can take that into consideration when picking your outfit. Chakras are important here too. Say, for example, you’re about to give a public speech. Opting for shades of blue which are the colour of your throat chakra, might help you take the stage with confidence. What is a chakra? It’s likely you have heard of the term ‘chakra’ in a yoga class or come across it in a book about spirituality or reiki. It’s a concept that has risen in popularity since the western world began exploring meditation, Buddhist and Hindu beliefs. Chakra is a Sanskrit word translating to ‘wheel’ or ‘disk’ and refers to the seven spiritual points along the spine which all have a corresponding colour and emotion. Even when you are unaware of it keep an eye on the kinds of colours you instinctively go for because it may show how you’re feeling subconsciously.
Another way to use glamour magick in your routine is to modify your beauty products or even make your own infused emulsions with crystals and herbs. If you know what you have put in them, you can personalise the selection of crystals and herbs to utilise the energies you need. My favourite beauty potion to whip up has to be crystal elixirs – they are super simple to make, the only ingredients being pure water and a crystal of your choice. Crystal elixirs are a form of crystal healing, and you can use it as drinking water, for use in homemade perfumes or in rituals to cleanse yourself and the area around you. Throw in an Amethyst and your drinking water will absorb its energy so that when you sip it, it balances your third eye chakra and makes you more psychically aware, throw in a Smokey Quartz and the water will ground and protect you. Make sure you look up if the crystal is safe for use in water as some of them can dissolve and become toxic, such as Selenite. You can even get bottles now that have a crystal point inside already, just remember to charge them after each use.
We have touched on shoes, beauty products, chakra correspondences, and even drinks – but glamour can even be focused on protection from and attraction to outside energies. Your aura is the energy that surrounds you (some call it the ‘vibe’) and it changes depending on your mood. The way you look can absolutely affect the way someone perceives your aura. That's why we tend to subconsciously dress the way we feel like being approached on that day.
Knowing ways to protect your aura and space is a valuable lesson we can learn from the practice of glamour magick. We come across negative messages every day in the form of advertising, social media, busy spaces and emails, for example. These daily disruptions can subconsciously plant seeds of insecurity or anxiety in the river beds of our minds. Using intentional methods of protecting your mental space, such as carrying a mojo bag or talisman charged with intent, greatly improves your confidence which can reflect in your aura. An unintentional way we do this is by wearing our ‘lucky socks’ on the first day of school or work. I believe it to be the most important aspect of glamour magick – alongside mantras and manifestation.
The base purpose behind glamour magick is to give ourselves the same amount of love and hype we give to the ones we love. What glamour teaches us is that there is power in our perception and in the significance we give to our thoughts. With these simple additions to your routines, you might be inspired to try out a new colour to balance a chakra or to cleanse and utilise that crystal someone gave you a while ago.
While simple, it’s good to note that self-love isn’t an easy journey, but one in which the aid of magick greatly increases the chances of that highly desired ‘inner peace’ we are all seeking to some extent. However, those who have already embarked on the journey of self-acceptance are likely to have found that confidence fluctuates – and learning to ride the waves or at least learn how to swim against the strong currents of those obstacles, be they social media, or crossed words with a friend, can become an everyday battle.
Remember, set out your intentions clearly, be confident in not only the energies that you are working with but also your abilities, and remember to not be so hard on yourself when you find yourself in a tough day. Whip out the death card and stride forwards.
