This is the 1st issue of November, so the PDF printable is FREE! To get every week delivered to your inbox and physical copies sent to your mailbox, you can subscribe to my Substack at the $6/month tier.

• Grab the November Free Issue: Download Here

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This week’s message:

A Return to the Hearth

Does anyone else have a love-hate relationship with their kitchen? Diagnosed ADHD lady here, and I have to admit, it’s a struggle. This month, I’ll be using the words “kitchen” and “hearth” interchangeably to chat about the energy that radiates from our hearths/kitchens to the rest of our homes.

This week, I want us to enhance the love we have for our hearths OR learn to embrace it more readily.

Your kitchen doesn’t have to be Pinterest-worthy, and you don’t have to be a full-fledged kitchen witch to encourage your hearth to do a little more of the physical and energetic heavy-lifting in your home.

For this first week, I encourage you to think about how you personally use (or want to use) your hearth. Think about the work you do in your home already and how the hearth can make your life easier or more functional.

In the exercise below, we’re going to create a 3-symbol petition to our hearth to focus energy into 3 main areas. Here are some example areas:

My hearth will be used for:

• Sustenance. Storing food, cooking, and baking.

• Cleansing. Storing cleaning supplies, washing dishes, mopping floors, etc.

• Healing. Teaching me to better care for myself and my home. Creating a small altar to the women who’ve gone before me.

Remember, you can use your hearth in any way that works for you. For example, if you don’t cook, maybe your kitchen is a place to make healing tea or energizing coffee, or it’s used for creativity and gathering.

The printable PDF linked above includes a ritual and a Tarot prompt to reconnect with your hearth and its goals.

Link to the paid PDF printable is at the very bottom of this post. To get every PDF delivered to your virtual inbox and printed copies sent to your home mailbox (plus some journal magick goodies!), you can subscribe to my Substack at the $6/month tier.

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Looking for other previous free newsletter PDFs? Download from my Google Drive freebies folder, here.

This week’s message:

Giving Back to Spirit

It just so happens that there are five newsletters in October! So, I’m blessed to get to create an extra Samhain message for you before the 31st.

I sometimes get caught up in working with spirit, like a kid who gets to chat with their favorite relative on the phone. I get so excited about what they can show me or tell me about their lives that I forget to give back.

At its heart, Samhain is a harvest holiday that also involves honoring our ancestors and other spirits who are beyond the veil. So, while we’ve spent the last few weeks watching for, listening for, sensing, and detecting spirit messages, now I’d like us to take a moment to send a message back.

In all matters of folk magic, you do you. You can celebrate your ancestors and guides in any way that makes you happy and honors their personalities.

It does not have to be a loud production, unless you have a spirit who might like to be honored with a large party. Here are some other ways to give back to spirit:

• On your altar or in your journal, place a photo of them or a meaningful image/symbol.

• Set aside time for earthly fun whether that’s having a dinner, going to a movie, or working on a hobby, having tea, reading a book. Ask them to join you in this moment of celebration.

• Say internally or out loud, “Thank you for everything you do for me.”

• Write about them in your journal and how they’ve helped.

In the printable PDF, I’ve provided some space and guidance to write a letter to a spirit you’ve worked with.

Read more

Link to the paid PDF printable is at the very bottom of this post. To get every PDF delivered to your virtual inbox and printed copies sent to your home mailbox (plus some journal magick goodies!), you can subscribe to my Substack at the $6/month tier.

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Looking for other previous free newsletter PDFs? Download from my Google Drive freebies folder, here.

This week’s message:

Interpreting Spirit Messages

Imagine that you need to send a message to someone who’s in another dimension or in another place or time that’s beyond your reach. It’s almost as if one or both of you are under water, with no special equipment to send or receive messages.

What if you wanted to tell them that you love them? Maybe you could yell one word, like “love,” and hope that they understand, or maybe you could find an image of a pink heart to show them, leave heart-shaped seashells in their path, or gently touch their shoulder like you’ve done before. You might push the water toward them so that they feel your presence or try to send them feelings of hope and support.

I believe that spirits communicate the same way, across the veil, in short sounds, feelings, signs, and symbols.

So, how do we interpret the messages that we receive?

This is where your journal will be extra helpful. First, just start by receiving and noting the signs and symbols you believe you’re getting. Be an archivist, a fact gatherer. Then, consider the spirit sending the message and the receiver (you).

You’ll likely receive repeat signs as further validation so that you don’t miss the “memo.” Think about who’s sending them and why that specific sign/symbol might be meaningful.

I connect with my great-grandmother through “pearl” messages and symbols, but my new childhood-hero spirit guide has been touching my nose. It took me a few days to realize why “nose wiggling” might be significant to my “Samantha Stephens” spirit guide. ✨

In the printable PDF, I’ve included an exercise to encourage you to have a day collecting spirit signs.

Read more

Going forward, I will grab the nearest media and create for the sake of creating. I read an article about how men have “womb envy” (as they should... we’re amazing), and I thought that I would use my metaphorical “womb,” my “sacred cauldron,” to bring forth newness and not rely on the crispness of the notebook, the cleared workspace, the fresh page to be my “new.” Even in my achy state, in my tired bones, I can bring forth the new.

Channeling Session:

Writers have to write, and Sandy1 knows my muse. She knows my heart. Let it be, so let it be. Time ticks away faster now and why oh why didn’t I think of typing as a form of steam of consciousness writing. I can type faster than I think sometimes, a lot of the times. I can close my eyes and channel and the words come forth a stream of light burning onto the page.

She says go go go. Run with it and live and jump and fly. Time. Time. Stop hesitating. Take a piece of the pie. May it merry you. Jump and reach. Why not try? For what comes next is of the season and thinking about it brings joy but doing it brings life. Just try. Open the flood gates and dial it back if you need to. But open open open. Receive receive. Is this you, Sandy? It’s as me as it can be. But it’s also you. You can question it, but you don’t have to. There’s nothing wrong in wanting more and trying for it. Question it if you must, but keep reaching for it. Now go.

Link to the paid PDF printable is at the very bottom of this post. To get every PDF delivered to your virtual inbox and printed copies sent to your home mailbox (plus some journal magick goodies!), you can subscribe to my Substack at the $6/month tier.

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Looking for other previous free newsletter PDFs? Download from my Google Drive freebies folder, here.

This week’s message:

Are you a Seer, Listener, Senser, or Detector?

First, a very brief overview on protecting yourself while working with spirits: You can ask for protection from your guides, burn sage, imagine yourself surrounded in white, protec-tive light, etc. Whatever makes you feel safe and reminds you to set boundaries is good. You can also do two simple things that have worked for me for 20 years in doing this work:

• Set ground rules. Say in your mind or out loud, “I am only accepting messages that are for my growth or highest good.”

• Assess messages as if they’re coming from a child, student, or an employee (you’re the boss). If any message feels negative or doesn’t adhere to the highest-good rule, ignore it. Tough love messages are okay, but we don’t give our attention to nay-sayers.

Let’s chat about how we can be open to receiving messages through our senses. You may have heard psychics talking about the “clairs” for receiving messages through visuals (clairvoyance), hearing (clairaudience), etc. At SWS, I like to denote them as the following. Yes, there are more ways (psychic smells and tastes, anyone?), and yes, you might experience any or all of these:

• Seer: most signs come to you via physical or mental visions.

• Listener: most signs come to you via physical or mental sounds.

• Senser: most signs come to you via emotional/mental impressions or a ‘knowing.’

• Detector: most signs come to you via physical touch or sensations.

In the printable PDF, I’ve created a quiz to see which one you may lean into most.

Read more

Link to the paid PDF printable is at the very bottom of this post. To get every PDF delivered to your virtual inbox and printed copies sent to your home mailbox (plus some journal magick goodies!), you can subscribe to my Substack at the $6/month tier.

Subscribe now

You can access the first free PDF newsletter of the month here.

Looking for other previous free newsletter PDFs? Download from my Google Drive freebies folder, here.

This week’s message:

Connect With Your Spirit Guide

When you have a guide that you relate to, you can continue to build a connection with them. There are different ways to do this. I like to tell them about what I’m working on, or write in my journal and imagine that they can see what I’m writing, or write a letter directly to them in my journal. In this way, we can petition our guides for help with specific areas of our lives.

I chose a fictional character to connect with this month, and she’s somewhat based on Samantha (from Bewitched), though she doesn’t cater to Darrin (ha!). She’s teaching me to better take care of myself, to use my magic and skills, and to be a little more disciplined about housekeeping. Though, I’d argue that she had the perk of TV-magic to tackle a sink full of dishes (not fair!), BUT with the right tools, I can... buy compostable dishes.

Here are some other ways to connect with your guide:

• Imagine them sitting in front of you. Then, look at the environment around them. Are there clues about a message from them? For example, I noticed that Samantha usually wears green and gold when I imagine her. I noted those color meanings: growth, abundance.

• Ask for signs that they’re helping you. If you haven’t already, you can define a symbol that they can use to connect with you. You can use your Lenormand symbol guide for ideas. Maybe it’s a specific flower, number, a fish, or an anchor. Watch for that symbol or an occurrence of your guide’s name.

• Keep an image of your guide in your home, on your altar, in your journal, and/or on your phone.

• Write in their voice, or use automatic writing to receive messages from them.

In the printable PDF, I’ve provided a graphic to note messages received from spirit.

Read more

Issue 39 of the Script Witch Weekly Cut-and-Keep Newsletter is now live!

This will be the 1st issue of October, so the PDF printable is FREE! To get every week delivered to your inbox and physical copies sent to your mailbox, you can subscribe to my Substack at the $6/month tier.

• Grab the October Free Issue: Download Here

Looking for previous free printables? Download freebies from my Google Drive freebies folder, here.

This week’s message:

Crafting a Spirit Guide

Wishing you a warm welcome and a Blessed Mabon! Though the idea of a “thinning veil” is more of a modern concept, I have always felt spirit closer to me during this time of year as nature sheds most of its life-force colors and retreats into itself.

It’s the perfect time of year to work closely with a single spirit guide. Most mediums believe that we already have a team of guides. Some believe we have a primary guide plus other guides who can come and go when needed and may specialize in different life areas.

When beginning to dabble in mediumship, it’s helpful to ask for help from one guide who can act as a gatekeeper to bring in general messages and to help bring forward spirits who wish to communicate with you. You can imagine that this guide looks however you want them to look.

They can even present as an animal or mythical creature. The focus is on the energy instead of physical appearance.

In the newsletter from 2/8/26, I explained how you can initiate a meeting with a spirit guide you may already have. In this newsletter, I’m encouraging you to CRAFT a spirit guide from scratch. If you don’t want to do this and want to work with one of your usual guides, that is A-OK too.

Below, I encourage you to think about a childhood hero you had. Your first thought may be a caregiver or teacher, but I suggest you dig deeper and consider a fictional character you idolized at a very young age. There are clues in that personality-type, clues about what we valued before the physical realm clouded our ideals. For example, what if Mr. Rogers or Ariel or Rainbow Brite was a spirit guide...?

I’ve also provided a graphic that you can use to note down your spirit guide’s profile/features.

Learning to Listen to Both Voices

If you’ve ever sat down to receive a message from Spirit and found yourself tangled in self-doubt, confusion, or the sheer noise of your own thinking mind... you, my friend, are not alone.

What I’m learning myself is that we might just be missing something essential about how our receiving channel works.

Most teachings about connecting with Spirit Guides focus on opening yourself… raising your vibration and “clearing blocks.” And while I believe all of that matters, there’s something equally important that I feel often gets overlooked… becoming intimately familiar with the voice of what I call our Protective Self.

The Protective Self

There’s a part within each of us that learned very early on how to survive. They brace, perform, and have learned to earn their right to be here through usefulness, caution, and careful observation. This is what I call Protective Self. I’ve named mine… Mira.

She’s not my enemy. She’s wise. She’s kept me safe and learned to read rooms, anticipate danger, and kept me from stepping into situations that might cause me harm.

But she was never meant to run the show… and she was never meant to be the only voice I listen to.

From what I’ve observed… Our Protective Self speaks in absolutes. In warnings and comparisons. Common phrases Mira utters are:

Who do you think you are?
Be careful…
What will people think??

She’s logical, protective, and endlessly reasonable about why I should stay small.

And one thing I’m discovering? That voice is very loud. After decades of listening to it, it often drowns out everything else.

The Ember Self

Then there’s another voice… Quieter. Deeper. More subtle. It’s the one that knows you’re already whole… remembers your Truth even when your thinking mind has forgotten it. This is what I call the Ember Self… our soul self, the spark of our Spirits that have never lost their way.

This is the one I call Ny’Raia.

She never argues. She doesn’t convince. She simply… knows. She whispers invitations and speaks in paradox and possibility. She’s been here my entire life… Just as your Ember has been… We’ve just learned to tune them out because the voice of our Protective Selves are so much louder.

What Happens When They Partner

Here’s what I’m discovering… where the real possibility lives when these two inner voices stop competing and start working together.

Our Protective Selves don’t disappear. Mira doesn’t need to leave the room for Ny’Raia to arrive. Instead, something shifts…

Through this practice… we’re able to become so familiar with the voice of our Protective Self… its cadence, its predictable concerns and fears… that we’re able to recognize it instantly. Then, we’re able to hear her speak and still listen for something else.

And in that listening… that space of discernment… our Ember Self… our soul self… actually becomes clear and audible. From there? Everything else seems to open up.

In The Answer Is Simple, Sonia Choquette writes:

What I’m discovering in my own work is a slight reframe… As we become so intimately familiar with our Protective Self that we can distinguish its voice from all others… the mental chatter no longer drowns out everything else.

Mira’s still speaking… she always will be as long as I (my Spirit) remain in this human container… but she’s also no longer the only voice I hear.

The Progressive Deepening

This is an emerging process… a spiritual practice… for me. What I’m discovering is that it is unfolding something like this…

We become aware of our Protective Self… that voice of caution, comparison, and performance.

We get to know its voice so well that when it speaks, we’re able to recognize it instantly, learning to distinguish what belongs to its voice and what does not.

Then, once we’ve strengthened our connection with our own Spirit, hearing our Spirit Guides becomes infinitely easier. Like a spiritual muscle… the more we use it, the stronger it gets.

The more we resonate with the frequency and vibration of Spirit, the stronger the connection becomes. And the stronger it becomes, the clearer the direction our Spirit offers in our life.

Some of this is my own personal hypothesis… the understandings that I’m working with and testing for myself… But what I’m finding is…

The Ember Way as Foundational Work

This is why I’m so passionate about the partnership between the Protective Self and the Ember Self… It’s emerging, for me, as foundational work.

Not as an advanced practice or something that we “graduate” from… but the ground upon which everything else becomes possible.

Without the solid foundation, we tend to second-guess ourselves… Always filtering our knowing through it.

But with it… the invitation opens, expanding the way.

Learn More

If you would like to explore this partnership more deeply… to learn how to dialogue with both your Protective Self and your Ember Self and move from knowing these voices intellectually to living with them as conscious partners in your spiritual work… that’s where The Ember Way lives. That’s what The Ember Lantern container holds, and what we will explore more deeply in a wonderful new project that Gretchen and I are in the beginning stages of creating together.

But this foundation? The recognition that our Protective Selves aren’t actually blocks to our connection with Spirit, but the ability to discern the connection. And it’s something that can be available to each of us right now. Not after we’ve fixed ourselves enough or healed enough… But it can be the beginning of everything.

It starts with us listening… Becoming intimate with the voice that’s been protecting us for all these years. And noticing what becomes possible for us when we finally hear everything else.

With Steady Flame, ❤️‍🔥

is a Devotional Writer, Soul Guide, and founder of The Ember Lantern… a sanctuary for sensitive souls navigating threshold seasons. Within it lives The Ember Way™, a practice where your Protective Self (the part that learned to brace and protect) and your Ember Self (the part that never forgot Truth) can stop fighting and start creating together as Embodied Creators.

Through channeled writing, presence, and soul-crafted offerings, she tends the conditions where deep remembering and authentic creative expression can emerge. She doesn’t promise transformation… she creates safety… while honoring your rhythm.

Her work is rooted in the Knowing that sensitivity isn’t a flaw… It’s a superpower.

To explore The Ember Lantern and walk The Ember Way, visit emberway.substack.com.

Link to the paid PDF printable is at the very bottom of this post. To get every PDF delivered to your virtual inbox and printed copies sent to your home mailbox (plus some journal magick goodies!), you can subscribe to my Substack at the $6/month tier.

Subscribe now

Don’t forget to pick up your copy of the Free Lenormand Symbol Key

Looking for previous free newsletters? Download from my Google Drive freebies folder, here.

This week’s message:

Other Lenormand Readings

So far this month, we’ve chatted about the language of Lenormand, using visual symbols to communicate with spirit, reading card pairs, and expanding to 3-card readings.

I want to share some other in-depth readings you can do with your Lenormand cards. I find these helpful if I want to dive deep into the status of a relationship or gather information about a big life change like a move or a career shift.

The (4- or) 5-Card Reading For this reading, you read the pairs as follows: 1+2, 2+3, 3+4, 4+5, then the first and last cards together (1+5 here).

I recommend journaling the reading to help process the interpretations, as there will be more info to gather.

The 9-Card Reading I suggest doing a 9-card reading by splitting the spread into 3-card readings as shown here:

In the printable PDF, I show you how to do a Grand Tableau reading which uses all 36 cards in the Lenormand deck.

Read more

Lenormand Newsletters

September is such a lovely month of learning. I hope you’re enjoying the September Lenormand content + prep for more spirit-communication content in October! Here are the newsletters that have released so far this month:

1. 8/30, Using Lenormand as a Language (+Free Printable)
   Introduction to Lenormand and understanding how the card symbols can be used for developing a spirit language.

2. 9/6, Learning Spirit Language With Lenormand
   How to prompt spirit to use Lenormand (or other) symbols to communicate with you.

3. 9/13, Symbol Combinations in Lenormand
   We learn how, in Lenormand readings, symbols can be combined to create a new meaning. For example, Rider (news/message) + Mountain (block) could mean that expected news may be delayed.

As a reminder, the Free Lenormand Symbol Interpretation Guide can be downloaded here. There are 2 copies of the guide on 1 page.

Pick-A-Card Readings

Sticking with our Lenormand theme, I created some timeless Lenormand Pick-a-Card Readings for you.

Think of a question or area of your life. Pick a stone and card pair you’re drawn to. Need clarity? Feel free to ask questions in the comments. 🌸

The Pink Reading, 8/31
The Teal Reading, 9/7

New Merch Drop

I created some Script Witch School t-shirts in multiple colors, if you want to sport your school spirit this Fall! Available in my Etsy shop here.

Required Reading for October

Ok, so there’s no real required reading in the Script Witch School, but if you like reading true crime + psychic-medium involvement, I highly recommend Chasing Evil, by Robert Hilland and John Edward. Here’s a video with them discussing it:

Working With Spirit Guides

I put together this fun, little note about working with Spirit Guides. It’s a little preview of what’s to come in October newsletters!

I pity the fool who doesn’t talk to their spirit guides -Mr. T, probably.

Here is my take on working with spirit guides before we “hedgewalk” any further into the Fall months.

First, we don’t have to understand or even fully believe in the metaphysics in order to find the practice meaningful. 💗 … Read More

How to Protect Yourself When Working With Spirits

I put together this little note about 2 simple ways to protect yourself when working with spirits.

Yes, you can ask for protection from your guides, burn sage, imagine yourself surrounded in white, protective light, etc. Whatever makes you feel safe and reminds you to set boundaries is good ✅.

You can also do 2 simple things that have worked for me for 20 years in doing this work… Read More.

Podcast Recording

I had a LOVELY chat with of The Ember Table. Stay tuned for the episode to go live on September 16th! I’m so excited!

Workspace Makeovers

My mom gave me this old, black cupboard, so I used it to organize my Script Witch workspace(s) and start producing October’s spirit-communication newsletters!

Pet Sitting

Just leaving you with some cute pictures of pets including my orange-and-white cat, Aristotle (Ari) and my friends’ animals as I got to pet sit this past weekend!

Link to the paid PDF printable is at the very bottom of this post. To get every PDF delivered to your virtual inbox and printed copies sent to your home mailbox (plus some journal magick goodies!), you can subscribe to my Substack at the $6/month tier.

Subscribe now

Don’t forget to pick up your copy of the Free Lenormand Symbol Key

Looking for previous free newsletters? Download from my Google Drive freebies folder, here.

This week’s message:

Symbol Combinations in Lenormand

Let’s explore some more Lenormand symbols and card combinations. As noted in the first September newsletter, Lenormand cards are typically read in pairs. You can always search for the pair meanings online, but I find it more meaningful to interpret the cards myself based on the question asked.

I’m going to use the random number generator to pick virtual card pairs:

Stork (17) & House (4)

Stork + House might mean that there is a fresh start involving the home or literally a new house. Stork can mean a new addition to the home. Both cards could mean a new start that offers stability, a foundation.

Rider (1) & Mount.(21)

For Rider + Mountain, I asked about an upcoming career change. I thought this might mean that the news I was expecting could be delayed.

Though Lenormand cards are read in pairs, you can add more cards to your reading. For example, a 3-card reading is traditionally read like this:

Read as pairs, we’d do 1 + 2 first, then 2 + 3. As a final message, you can read cards 1 + 3. Optional: you can also read the 3 cards as a story vs. pairs.

Note that, like with Tarot, the placement of cards matter. When I first read Rider + Mountain, I saw an incoming message then a block. If Mountain had come before Rider, I would think that the news or message may have come after a block or that the news is about the block itself.

In the printable PDF, I’ve provided a guide for using a 3-card reading for a Body, Mind, and Spirit check-in.

Read more

Link to the paid PDF printable is at the very bottom of this post. To get every PDF delivered to your virtual inbox and printed copies sent to your home mailbox (plus some journal magick goodies!), you can subscribe to my Substack at the $6/month tier.

Subscribe now

Don’t forget to pick up your copy of the Free Lenormand Symbol Key

Looking for previous free newsletters? Download from my Google Drive freebies folder, here.

This week’s message:

Learning Spirit Language With Lenormand

You may already have a way to receive messages from spirit or your higher self: a found penny, a visiting bird, a recurring number, etc. Lenormand symbols (or really any symbols that are meaningful to you) can help to expand this language.

One time, I was babysitting for a friend when her son, who was about 6-years-old, came up to me and said, “I was cleaning my room yesterday and found this. I’m supposed to give it to you.” He handed me a small, plastic pearl bead. My great-grandmother’s name was Pearl, and I’ve always felt that coming across one is a little “Hello” from her.

No one in the family knew where the pearl came from, and her son couldn’t explain why he thought I should have it, but he insisted I keep it (so kind!), and I took it home and put it in my jewelry box.

If you’d like to have a symbol to connect with a loved one, your higher power, or your spirit guide, you can pick one. It helps to choose something specific. For example, ask silently or out loud (and/or write in your journal):

Dear [name], please send me a ___ to show me ___.

You might ask, “Please send me a Lily to show me you’re okay.”

You can have as many symbols as you like, though I find it helps to start with about 4-5 and practice using them with your higher self or one spirit with whom you’d like to strengthen your relationship.

In the exercise in the printable PDF, I’ve created a simple questionnaire/form that you can paste into your journal to start building a more intricate language for spirit communication.

Read more

August 23

The fourth and last August Ornithomancy newsletter posted (here), all about the behavior of birds and other animal messengers. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed paying closer attention to these little creatures around me this month and hope you have too!

As a reminder, the free ornithomancy zine/guide can be downloaded here.

I prepared to mail the September mail club newsletters. All paid subscribers can opt in to the mail club for no extra charge. I send the upcoming month’s newsletters and some extra stickers and journaling goodies.

If you join mid-month, I can send you whatever you need to finish up the current month.

Aristotle (Ari) was caught working on his cat memoir in the late hours of the night.

August 24

I shared a simple Tarot journal spell that helped get me into a better mindset when I was feeling defeated. Hope it’s helpful for you too. ✨ Read here.

August 25

A journal quote for you:

Be faithful over your few.

I decided a long time ago that it doesn’t matter if it’s 1 person or 100,000:
I want what I make to be worth your while.

-by Nneka Julia

A reminder for East Coast Friends! 💃🏻 I’ll be doing Tarot readings and talking about journal magick at the 2026 Ghostscular event on October 3rd! It’s a quaint event with fun people! I read for all their events and will likely get dinner after if you’d like to join us! (Not my poster. 🙂)

I made a timeless Pick a Card Reading for you. Try it here.

I wanted to note for my mail club folks… that someone (I now know it was Ellie! 🤣) changed my date stamp to 2027. I noticed about halfway through finishing up envelopes, so half of you will have materials with future dates (Aug. 25, 2027). 😅 Sorry!

We lost a legend today. I love this quote and like to add that we can do both of these things in any order. Sometimes we figure out who we are when we dive into something new. Rest easy, Dolly. 💗

August 26

Ellie went to her first day of high school!

I’m about a third of the way through ACoTaR. I tend to enjoy any book that helps me escape reality… not that reality is particularly bad; I just like to shut off my brain and leave day-to-day thoughts behind. I usually escape into a true-crime story or a cozy mystery. Fantasy isn’t my first choice, but I’m enjoying this story so far. I’ve heard rumors that there will be faery spice, so I’m excited to see what all the hype is about. Haha! (I finished the book this week and thoroughly enjoyed it!)

August 27

A reminder that Spiritual Teachers are Everywhere. The man at the deli gave me some epic words of advice about life purpose. Read more here.

August 28

A few weeks ago, we found out that my aunt, Kathy, had Stage 4 colon cancer. It progressed quickly. I wasn’t super close with her, but I admired her so much, and her kids (my cousins) are like siblings to me. We planned to visit on Saturday afternoon, but she passed in the early hours of the morning. I think she would have wanted it that way. She was home, with her family and fur-babies, and she avoided having a parade of people in her house while she wasn’t feeling well.

Aunt Kathy swore like a sailor and took no shit from anyone. I’ll carry that forward.

In between visiting Aunt Kathy’s family, I stayed at my parents’ house in Upstate New York and enjoyed some time with their chickens. It was a bright moment in the weekend.

August 29

Being “home” at my parents’ house is always a time of healing for me. Even when Mom and Dad bicker, I relish the little things that have stayed the same my entire life: like having plants, herbs, and binoculars on the windowsill. Stories at the dinner table. Trips to the ice cream shop.

Issue 35 of the Script Witch Weekly Cut-and-Keep Newsletter is now live!

This will be the 1st issue of September, so the PDF printable is FREE! To get every week delivered to your inbox and physical copies sent to your mailbox, you can subscribe to my Substack at the $6/month tier.

• Grab the September Free Issue: Download Here

• AND the Free Lenormand Symbol Key

Looking for previous free printables? Download freebies from my Google Drive freebies folder, here.

This week’s message:

Using Lenormand as a Language

In a few days, it’ll be September. Here in New England, the days are getting shorter, and hints of yellow are speckling the tree leaves. At this time of year, I’m drawn to my Lenormand cards. I mentioned them briefly in July in some stand-alone newsletters but want to dig a little deeper throughout September. Here’s why:

Lenormand is a French style of fortune-telling dating back to the early 1800s. It’s a deck of 36 cards with a simple symbol on each card (ex., Ship, Bouquet, Anchor, etc.). These simple symbols can help you build a language to better connect with your higher self, your intuition, and, if you like, spirits.

As we approach October and the veil thins, building a language to connect with your own unique spirit and the spirits of others can potentially set you up to be more receptive to messages from beyond the veil. I hope these materials are useful to you.

I invite you to download and print the free Lenormand Symbol Guide linked above.

Then, read through the symbols and see how you connect with them. Like with any language, you might find that the traditional interpretation of a card/symbol is different from how you feel about it. Trust your intuition, and you’ll likely find that spirit/source will use that symbol accordingly.

Don’t have a Lenormand deck? I’ve numbered the cards how they’re numbered in a traditional deck. You can use a random number generator (between 1-36) to represent “pulling cards” from the deck.

Lenormand cards are commonly read in pairs, so I recommend starting by pulling two cards for most readings. Using the exercise in the newsletter PDF, you may want to try a two-card reading.

August 16

The third newsletter posted (here) in our Ornithomancy Month, all about Bird or Animal Messenger sightings and the possible meanings surrounding time and weather. Real full message here, and paid subscribers get the printable version + mail club access.

A free ornithomancy zine/guide can be downloaded here.

I completed a Journal Page about cardinal sightings:

August 17

I shared a free gift with you! It’s a PDF with some graphics to use to log your Tarot, Lenormand, or Oracle card readings. Download from Google Drive here.

The idea is to fill in the circles with card symbols or shorthand:

I also shared this timeless Pick a Card Reading. If you missed it, try it here!

Two chipping sparrows visited me, and I logged my experience for some ornithomancy practice. The sparrows are small, adaptable, and they find abundance in overlooked places. ♥️ They gathered the birdseed that had been scattered on the path and reminded me that:

Not everything scattered or spilled is wasted.

In addition to their species’ traits, I logged some other traits and interpretations that were meaningful to me:

Color: Brown; grounding, calm.
Number: 2; partnership, balance.
Behavior: Curious, foraging.
Direction: Toward me, southward; incoming news, answers, relationships.
Time: Morning; momentum, learning, curiosity.
Weather: Raining; cleansing, healing.

Conclusions: This could represent family time to reconnect, remind me of purpose. But I’ve felt for awhile lately that there’s an incoming friendship or partnership that is healing, grounding, and that makes me curious about life’s possibilities. ♥️

August 18

Ari watched me journaling on the porch:

I used a Dollar Tree notepad to make a Tarot Journal Log. See video here.
As a side note, I find it so funny that, in the Cat Tarot, the Death card is a vacuum cleaner.

My daughter, Ellie, started a Substack, and I love her content! She posts her journaling pages and zines. Such an inspiration!

August 19

I shared a sneak peek of upcoming September Newsletters! 🍂 We’ll use Lenormand symbols to develop a Language for Spirit Communication. ✨ This will set us up nicely for a mediumship theme for October. 🔮

August 20

A journal quote for you:

Keep showing up until the work reveals the answer.

I shared a timeless Pick a Card Reading using the Tarot de Marseille (1751) by Claude Burdel. Try it here!

My mom sent us a photo of a mama and baby deer outside her country house in Upstate New York:

August 21

POLL! I’m curious about how you use the Weekly Script Witch newsletters. There’s a poll here if you’d like to share your response.

I took stock of my Journal Progress:

📕📗📘 3 Journals, 3 Big Goals.

YELLOW (Nov 2025-April 2026): spiritual development, the newsletter realization, manifesting a weekly newsletter with paid subscribers. ✅

PURPLE (April 2026-August 2026): a focus on expression + self-discipline to continue the newsletter, to achieve health goals, and improve mental focus. ✅

GREEN (to come): What can I achieve next? I’m thinking: coming into full transformation and leaving corporate culture behind. ♥️

August 22

I wished you some blessings in a collective Tarot Reading:

1) Take stock of what you’ve created (9W), 🧺
2) Stand in your power, and don’t compare yourself to others (EMR), 👑 and
3) Celebrate simple joys. (Sun) ☀️

I also recommend taking note of your week’s successes. 📒 You survived some challenges and accomplished significant things.

I sent a reminder:

I wrote a little poem about my screen door:

The attitude of a screen door
Can best be described as
Cautiously optimistic.

To trust the embrace
From a cool breeze
Or the chirp of a sparrow

While eyeing suspiciously
The clinging mosquito.

Wishing you blessings of abundance and enchantment for the week ahead!

-Gretchen

Feel free to scroll down to “The Spell” section if you don’t want the life story behind this “recipe.” Haha! Love you! -GG

I was rummaging for decks in the bookshelf this morning and rushing, because I only had about 15 minutes to journal before my workday started.

I stacked a few decks in my arms, put one in my pocket. I sat down with …

Read more

Link to the paid PDF printable is at the very bottom of this post. To get every PDF delivered to your virtual inbox and printed copies sent to your home mailbox (plus some journal magick goodies!), you can subscribe to my Substack at the $6/month tier.

Subscribe now

Looking for previous FREE issues? Download all 2026 Freebies from my Google Drive folder, here. «Includes the Free August Ornithomancy Zine.

This week’s message:

Bird Divination: Behavior

Watching the behavior of birds and other animals can be rewarding in and of itself.

I find it helpful just to enter a state of observation when I have a question or concern on my mind that I’ve been mulling over for a few days.

For example, I had an opportunity to take on a new creative project and was trying to decide if it would fit into my current schedule. Over the next few days, I sat in contemplation and had quite a few interactions with robins. They were rushing toward me, landing on posts nearby, and sitting on my porch observing me.

To be clear, I wouldn’t make a significant life decision based on a bird flying at me. But, like pulling a Tarot card that resonates with you, noticing how you feel when certain signs catch your attention can give you clues about how your subconscious is responding. And, often, our subconscious knows how we feel, or what might be for our highest good, before our conscious mind does.

And, of course, we might feel that this is a sign from a deity, ancestor, or guide communicating from beyond the veil.

The simple act of noticing the robins and their meaning to me (fresh starts, new beginnings, and creativity) felt like a sign that maybe I was ready for a new project and could make it work.

This month, I’ve provided a lot of features to watch for when noticing birds and other animals. However, it’s most useful just to trust how you feel in the moment. You can look up other features in our Ornithomancy Guide (time of day, weather, etc.) and see if they resonate with you or just trust how you feel in the moment and pocket that message to carry forward.

Read more

Trusting the embrace
Of a cool breeze
Or the chirp of a sparrow
While eyeing suspiciously
The clinging mosquito

Read more

Link to the paid PDF printable is at the very bottom of this post. To get every PDF delivered to your virtual inbox and printed copies sent to your home mailbox (plus some journal magick goodies!), you can subscribe to my Substack at the $6/month tier.

Subscribe now

Looking for previous FREE issues? Download all 2026 Freebies from my Google Drive folder, here. «Includes the Free August Ornithomancy Zine.

This week’s message:

Bird Divination: Time and Weather

This ornithomancy month has helped me build a new level of awareness when I’m in observation-mode. I hope that it’s offering the same to you.

Recently, I went to see the psychic medium, John Edward, at an event in Burlington, and he mentioned “Easter Eggs” in his visions. As an example, he shared a story about a client who was having dreams about his grandmother. She was wearing a specific football team’s jersey in the dream, but he shrugged it off, because he knew that she didn’t like sports. Later that year, the team that won the Superbowl matched the jersey that his grandmother was wearing in the dream.

And, when I was a teenager, I read a book about mediumship that asked me to imagine an apple on a table, to really study it. Then, it asked me features of the apple. The idea was to create an initial vision or idea but then see how our intuition filled in the other details about it. Was the apple red, green, fresh, rotten, etc.? These characteristics could be clues to decipher an answer to a question or understand our current state of mind. Before beginning this type of exercise, you can set an intention to get information about a question you have, the events of the upcoming day, week, or month, etc. Our brain alone is a wonderful tool for divination, because it gives us instant access to symbolism and tools to analyze it.

If visualizations aren’t your thing, your tarot or oracle deck can provide some imagery. Focus on the images, colors, or feelings you’re most drawn to.

Our ancestors, unburdened by the buzz of the modern world, also paid close attention to the time of day or week, weather, and seasons when things occurred. In the ornithomancy guide, I focus on time and weather correspondences. I use the word “correspondence” to refer to something that is like something else.

For example, mornings are like new beginnings. Receiving this information could spark your intuition and bring in answers and guidance, and sending or using this information during spell work could put forth this energy.

In the PDF, I’ve included a quick guide to use for time and weather correspondences in observation and spellwork. I hope you find this brief time and weather correspondence guide useful in ornithomancy and beyond.

Read more

REMINDER for paid subscribers: If you’d like a past newsletter printed and mailed to you, send me a message, and I’ll include it in an upcoming mailing or send it earlier if needed.

REMINDER for free subscribers: Each week’s message and the first printable PDF of the month is always free. If you’d like a sample newsletter snail-mailed to you for free, send me a message letting me know which one you’d like.

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Ok, here’s what we’ve learned so far:

Overview

Being a Script Witch means that you can write your ideal life into existence. Writing can be used for manifesting (scripting), and many of us practice spell work right in our journals using pen-and-paper magick. Some of us also log our Tarot readings using the Willows East symbol key.

If you’re new here, you can read more about the process here. I also wrote a book called Script Witch: A Guide to Magickal Journaling and Pen-And-Paper Spellwork, available in print or for Kindle here.

Supplies

These are some of my favorite journaling supplies (with Amazon Affiliate links), but I also encourage you to use what you have on hand. There is nothing more magical than a journal that is crafted from found items that you’re drawn to:

• Dotted Journals are my favorite, because the grid helps to align handwriting and graphics. This is the one I have.

• Precise V7 Pen. This https://amzn.to/3SoMKczis my favorite everyday pen! If you prefer a thinner line, the V5 is great too.

• Another favorite pen brand: WRITECH Star Glow Rollerball Pens (female owned company, great writing quality).

• Mildliners, for lighter highlighting.

• Sharpie Highlighters, for juicier, brighter highlighting.

• A Simple Storage Case, though any old purse or bag will work.

Foundation Posts

These posts cover some of the basics of correspondences and tools for you to begin your journey:

• Willows East Tarot Keys (Letters or Symbols)

• 5 Tips to Make Your Grimoire (or Magick Journal) More Powerful

• Making a Spiritual Practice From Scratch

• How to Get a Spirit Guide

• The Magick of Ordinary Things

• Color Magick

• Everyday Ways to Strengthen Your Intuition

• Learning to Listen and Be Aware

All 2026 Weekly Updates, By Month

1. JANUARY New Beginnings
   FREE ISSUE: Free Cut-And-Keep Newsletter
   Theme: includes the Willows East Tarot Keys (letters or symbols), plus resolutions and flexibility as The Wheel turns.

2. Sustainable Effort
   Theme: A period of consistency isn’t always as exciting as that first burst of inspiration, but it is necessary and effective for long-term results.

3. Parenting the Inner Child
   Theme: A reminder that we can be both clarity and warmth for ourselves. We can offer structure without harshness, and encouragement without pressure.

4. Imbolc: Big Magick vs. Small Rituals
   Theme: Imbolc offers a gentle path back into alignment. It invites us to tend what we already have, with warmth and intention.

5. FEBRUARY Tips & Tricks
   FREE ISSUE: 5 Tips to Make Your Grimoire More Powerful
   Theme: How to log synchronicities and use dates and an index to make your journal more user-friendly.

6. How to Get a Spirit Guide
   Theme: Choosing a guide and starting a relationship with them.

7. Snow Day for the Soul
   Theme: Beneath the snow, seeds are resting in dark soil, holding potential. As humans, we’re not so different, especially on snow days.

8. Transformation + Shoe Rituals
   Theme: Using simple, everyday tasks to create ritual and magic, the foundation of transformation.

9. MARCH Small, Simple Joys
   FREE ISSUE: March, Mercury, and the Moon
   Theme: The skies are ripe for disruption, culmination, and cleansing. Includes a paper-based ritual to help you explore what meaning, clarity, or inspiration you can carry forward.

10. The Magick of Ordinary Things
    Theme: A stick as a wand, a bowl as a cauldron, a breath blown gently as air. Even fire doesn’t require a candle. A bright yellow dandelion, a warm mug, or a flame drawn in a notebook will work.

11. Planting Paper Seeds: Spring Equinox Ritual
    Theme: The equinox reminds us that we stand at the threshold of a new season, where growth is possible but hasn’t yet fully manifested. Includes a paper seed ritual.

12. Mud Season Magick
    Theme: Some seasons are just messy moments that are part of the becoming. This is a great time to try new things, get your hands a little dirty, explore, be present, create something uneven and imperfect.

13. APRIL Awareness
    FREE ISSUE: April Color Magick
    Theme: In traditional spellwork, colors are often assigned meanings: red for energy, blue for calm, pink for love, etc. These associations can be helpful, especially when you’re just beginning.

14. The Lovely Learning of Listening
    Theme: When we give ourselves even small moments of quiet, we start to hear things we’ve been missing, like our own intuition, a message from our guides, subtle patterns and signs, etc.

15. Everyday Ways to Strengthen Your Intuition
    Theme: Intuition tends to feel calm, even when it’s guiding you toward something unfamiliar, while fear is often louder, urgent, and tangled in “what ifs.”

16. Working Through Feelings of Defeat (Extra Free Issue)
    Theme: Sometimes, the most powerful thing we can do in moments of defeat is rest and process feelings, to sleep and let things settle.

17. MAY Release
    FREE ISSUE: Breaking Old Thought Patterns
    Theme: I think it’s important that we recognize that our brains are wired for protection and survival. It’s not a weakness on our part. Still, how can we use psychology and magick to rewrite the script?

18. Is Life Really Meant to be This Hard?
    Theme: Notice what’s draining your energy, and be willing to let go of obligations that aren’t serving your goals.

19. Chasing Your Definition of Abundance
    Theme: Define what abundance means in your individual life and, during times of change or upheaval, hold tight to the simple joys that make your heart happy.

20. Who Are You Letting Narrate Your Story?
    Theme: We have to make sure it’s ourselves first. Then, if anyone else wants to chime in, they better know: the details of what we’re building, how far we’ve come to get here, and how far we’re willing to go to build our best lives.

21. The Craft That Lives Inside of Us
    Theme: From the outside, I looked like a curious neighbor enjoying the onset of a summer storm. Inside, I was setting intentions, squashing negative thoughts, and channeling all that storm energy into something magickal.

22. JUNE Foundations
    FREE ISSUE: Making a Spiritual Practice From Scratch
    Theme: As I continue to build and develop my own spiritual practice, this “buffet” analogy stands out to me as an opportunity for us to create (or recreate, if needed) a spiritual practice that truly supports our wellbeing.

23. Extra Journal Graphics
    Theme: This newsletter is a love letter to our journals. I’m taking a break on writing longer blocks of text this week and, instead, filling the rest of the page with graphics that you might find useful for your journal.

24. Dandelion Magick
    Theme: In folk magic, dandelions are most closely associated with wishes, hope, and the element of Air. Includes ways to use them in magic and divination.

25. Solstice Water Magick
    Theme: Water holds so many properties that are useful in spellwork. It’s denser than air and can be a conduit for energy, connecting us to memories, emotions, ancestors, transformation, etc. Tips for using it in spellwork.

26. JULY Scripting
    FREE ISSUE: 24-Hour Manifestations
    Theme: An invitation to experiment with a 24-hour manifestation exercise. Rather than asking the universe for an entirely new life, ask for something achievable and meaningful.

27. A Celebration of You
    Theme: Any time there’s a celebration in your life, you can use it as a moment of gratitude, mindfulness, or manifestation to focus on what you want to bring more of into your life.

28. The Power of Hitting Restart
    Theme: Give yourself some grace, watch more episodes, take one more day off, ask for help, use paper plates and cups. Then, only when you’re ready, hit the Restart Button.

29. The Magick of Small Adventures
    Theme: Encouraging you to draw in the energy of short adventures and local travels.

This brings us to August and the start of Ornithomancy Month, learning about bird divination and the signs that other messengers can bring!