Lammas and Mabon have passed, and Samhain is just around the corner. That means it’s time for some witchy DIY projects to decorate your home and spruce up your tarot altar!
Whether you’re a practicing witch or just love this time of year, the autumn equinox is a perfect time to create new candles, altar pieces, and jewelry to celebrate the changing season.
If you’ve been waiting all year for the season of witch craft projects, we’ve got your round-up of 5 DIY witchy fall craft ideas to get you in the mood for pagan holidays and spells.
1. Rune Candles
Runes are letters in the runic alphabet from various Germanic languages that came before the Latin alphabet. “Rune” means mystery, and each symbol represents a power of the universe. Historically, runes have been used to communicate with the dead and other things like good luck and safety.
Candle magic is an excellent way to elevate your tarot and spiritual practice. When the moon comes out on chilly October nights, this witchy craft adds spirit and passion to your hearth.
What You’ll Need:
- 24 medium candles of your choosing
- The Elder Futhark Runes symbols chart
- A small pick (wooden or metal)
- Different color warm wax (for symbols)
- Metal icing tools
How to Make It:
- With the Rune symbols in front of you, practice sketching each on paper before etching them into each candle with a small pick.
- When you’re satisfied with each symbol, warm up your contrasting color wax. You can add the wax to an icing bag and push through a metal tip, or delicately trace the wax into the design using your pick.
- Let each candle sit for a day before lighting.
Add your candles to your tarot altar to make a sacred space >
2. Paper Magic
There’s something about writing on your own scroll that makes the words on the page manifest differently. We love this easy craft for witches that you can make with things you likely have around your house.
What You’ll Need:
- Pieces of paper (handmade, watercolor, printer paper)
- Large and shallow baking dish (9X13” or bigger)
- Soy Milk
- Water
- Tea or Coffee
- Plant skins to make dye (avocado skins, pomegranate skins, etc.)
- Paint brush
- Iron
How to Make It:
- Pour 2 cups cold water and 2 tablespoons soy milk into your baking dish, enough to cover the entire paper.
- Let your paper soak completely and sink to the bottom of the dish before adding more pages. Depending on the thickness of your paper, you may need to soak anywhere from 10-30 minutes (thin paper disintegrates quicker).
- Dry pages for a few days before adding dye.
- You can also paint designs using the milk mixture and a paintbrush.
For the Dye:
- Add dye plants to a pot with just enough water to cover them.
- Heat slowly with the lid on, then turn off the heat and allow the pot to sit overnight.
- In the morning, reheat the dye a bit, then turn off the heat again and allow to sit for a few hours until you’re satisfied with the color. Be patient! It may take some time to get the color you want.
- Strain the dye through a sieve with a muslin cloth to catch pieces of plant.
For an aged look to your paper, you can add a few tea bags or a teaspoon of coffee. Just be sure to test colors on small bits of paper so that you get the color you want. After your pages are dry, take a warm iron and iron your pages flat.
Not sure what to write on your new paper? Get in touch with your creativity through this writing exercise that uses the tarot >
3. Crystal Grids
This DIY fall decor craft doubles as an essential witch craft tool: crystal grids, a.k.a. meditational focal points. These will look great on your tarot altar or placed intentionally around your house.
What You’ll Need:
- Old wooden coasters
- Paint and paint brushes
- Wood burning tool
- Sand paper
How to Make It:
- Start by finding old wooden coasters to repurpose. If you have access to cut them into new shapes (i.e. a heavy-duty table saw), go for it, but otherwise you’re good to go.
- Sand down the surface of the wood until it’s soft.
- You can dye and dry your wood first if you like, using the paper magic dye methods above!
- Using the wood burning tool, carve any wanted designs or symbols into each coaster
- You can add painted elements to them as well to match any color schemes you have around your home or altar.
Place crystals on your new grids and align your daily ritual >
4. Tiny Broomstick Jewelry
There are plenty of ways to incorporate broom magic into your tarot practice. Why not take it a step further by creating some fun jewelry to wear this fall using broomstick materials?
If you’re tired of wearing the same fall accessories, this tiny broomstick craft makes for excellent necklaces, earrings, and bracelets. Plus, they’re a perfect gift for friends and fellow coven members!
What You’ll Need:
- A small section of your broom
- Twine or ribbon
- Hot Glue gun and glue
- Metal clasps or jewelry hooks
How to Make It:
- Start by picking a broom to trim from. For jewelry worn on the skin, you may want to choose softer broom bristles that won’t agitate your skin.
- Carefully trim a few pieces from the broom and set aside.
- For a necklace, measure out the desired length of your chain, cut with a wire cutter, and attach the metal clasps (or you can simply use a string as the necklace chain).
- With your broom pieces, wrap them in twine and secure with a small dab of hot glue. You can also add bits of sage, or any dried herbs you have around the house.
- Attach the broom piece to the necklace chain, or clasp to earrings.
Want more broom magic? Download our eBook >
5. DIY Tarot Altar Objects
The best part about building an altar is that it’s so unique to you and your passions and daily practice. Use this fall craft idea to personalize your tarot altar with things you have around you.
What You’ll Need:
- Sustainably sourced animal skulls, antlers, or bones
- Pumpkins or gourds
- Herbs
- Fabric
- Crystals
- Skeleton keys
- Any other trinkets you admire
How to Make It:
- Start by picking a space in your home for your altar. You clean off a table to set up, or make a mobile altar on a large tray that you can take anywhere around your home that you feel called to practice your rituals.
- Start by adding crystals, herbs, or malas that you use daily. You can think of your tarot altar as a seasonal space, too, and adapt your altar with flowers in the spring, and colorful leaves you find outside for fall.
- Get creative by adding elements like statues, animal skulls, or bits of fabric that call to you.
- Make sure your set-up allows space for you to draw your tarot cards and make your daily tarot spreads.
New to making a tarot altar? Here’s our guide >
Discover With Broom Magic
Witchy crafts are an excellent entry point for aligning yourself with historic pagan ancestors who came before you — or just having fun this Samhain season!
Broom magic is another way to deepen your spiritual practice this fall. With our in-depth broom magic guide, discover how to turn this ordinary household object into a source of magical power and self-care this fall.
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