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How to Create a TSA-Friendly Traveling Witch Kit, by Awyn Dawn

(Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)

Believe it or not, there are more witch-friendly items allowed in your carry-on than you might think. You can put together a witchy kit full of essentials and keep it in your carry-on so you're always prepared. First though, a little disclaimer. At the time of the creation of this list, all items have been checked against the TSA allowable list. As we all know, policies and regulations change over time. So, it is always a good idea to double check this list and your airline's policies to avoid having to toss something out when going through security.

To create an image of what this will and will not include, I want you to think of a make-up bag. This is about the size to aim for. This kit is just for your tools on the go. You can always bring things like a book (or five), your e-reader, and a towel to serve as an altar cloth, but they will not be included in the kit for space reasons. You also don't need to create a tool kit if you don't want. As I say in Paganism for Prisoners: Connecting to the Magic Within, all the tools you could ever need are already a part of you. But that doesn't mean that carrying a kit with some essentials won't help your mindset be geared towards magic when you travel.

Divination: I have some great news: your pendulum is fine to take on board, as are your tarot cards. But let's say that you don't want to risk damage to these tools. Well, you can improvise with a sewing needle on a string and a deck of playing cards. Sewing needles are surprisingly effective for those quick answers you need on the spot. Stick it in a little sewing needle box and voila.

Candles: As long as they are the solid type, e.g., solid wax or battery-operated tea lights, you can take these with you. I love using birthday candles because they come in many different colors and are small, so they don't take up much room. I also recommend a bar of soap or so Play-doh so you have an on-the-go candle holder.

Fire: You can bring a disposable lighter or matches with you on the plane. The conditions are that the lighter can't be the electronic type and the matches cannot be the strike-anywhere type. Keep it simple and stick with the ones you can get for a dollar at the store, and you'll likely be fine.

Earth: Color me delighted to learn that my bag of "writing stones" got to come with me on a recent trip overseas. That's right, you can bring rocks. You can also bring sand and salt. I would just caution to use a bit of common sense and not take large rocks. But that piece of Black Tourmaline, that beloved Citrine, and even that Bumblebee Jasper can all have a place in your travel kit.

Air: For the element of air, I like to bring a light essential oil like Sage, Pine, or Lemon Verbena. You can also use perfume or cologne. They just have to follow that 3.4 oz/100 mL rule. There are some lovely travel cases for oils, wooden covers, or you can put it on a cord on wear it on the plane.

Water: The simplest thing to do is carry a water bottle and fill it. Hopefully you are going to a place with running, drinkable water. If you are not, there are probably arrangements in place for drinking water.

Offering Libation: Alcohol is allowed in your carry on. No, this isn't to help you with your nerves on a bumpy flight. It is to serve as your traveling offering. The two guidelines to follow is that it needs to be under 140 proof and no larger than 3.4 oz. Juice of the same size is allowed, but here's a handy trick. Just buy a bottle of your preferred beverage once you get through security. It is a bit more expensive, although duty-free shops help offset the cost, but you get to carry more.

Offering Food: Yay for snacks! As long as they are solid you can take a lot of types of food with you. Some of my favorites for your witchy kit are crackers, dried fruit, and seeds. They will have a long shelf-life and are small enough to not take up all your room.

Athame or Wand: Nail care is important, but it is also practical because one of the easiest temporary wands or athames is a nail file, metal or glass based on your preferences. If this isn't your style, you can bless a wooden pencil, a knitting needle, or a crochet hook.

Thread/String: Depending on the type of magick you do, you may just need a spool of black, yellow, or white thread to sew protective symbols into your clothing. Or you may want a length of string or rope that is 4.5 feet long (this is a traditional method of measuring a 9" circle).

Mirror: A little compact mirror is great for scrying, reflecting moonlight, introspective magic, and for a great deal of other purposes. Mirrors are iconic in their ability to help one be transported to another world. With this in mind, having one can be helpful for trancework.

Bag: The bag, or box, you use for your supplies can be as simple or elegant as you would like it to be. I mentioned earlier that makeup bags are great, not just because of their size, but because if you pull a makeup bag out in front of people, everyone assumes what the contents are and go about their day, no questions.

You know the flavor of your magickal practice better than others. So this next part is a list of other items that might, in your mind, seem like magical necessities. For example, herbs, tea, and spices are allowed as long as they are dried. Who can't think of many uses for herbs? Also consider a scarf, bobby pins, corkscrew or bottle opener (without the knife), safety pins, seashells, small scissors (under 4"), tape, and a flashlight. If you have room, a small statue of your patron deity is also a welcome addition.

To sum up, you've got a little bag, and in it the following: A pendulum, box of birthday candles, soap or Play-Doh, disposable lighter or matches, stones, essential oil, water (that you get after security), offering food and libation, nail file, thread, mirror, and some miscellaneous items. This is all it takes to form a basic witchy, TSA-approved travel kit.

Blessed Travels!

Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2021. All rights reserved.

I dreamed that my husband was dead and that by sheer force of love, I was able to bring him back. As I held him and refused to accept the bottomless grief that was enveloping me, he began to breathe again. However, he was not quite all that he had been. I don't often fear dreams but this one scared me profoundly. Your thoughts?

L.

Susyn:

Dreams of the impending death of a loved one can be frightening. Even though you were able to love your husband back to life, it didn't work out as you wanted or needed it to, so it's understandable that you would be disturbed by this dream.

Usually our dreams don't predict future physical events; instead, they reveal important aspect of our psyches. The way this dream touched you on a profound level suggests that dream was symbolic and not literal.

We all carry deep-seated fears of losing those closest to us, and often these fears take shape in our dreams. If we look at this vision from a metaphysical perspective, it's clear that your relationship to your husband is deeply important to you; you are a vital part of his life and he depends on you to nurture and fulfill him.

I recommend you ask yourself if there are any struggles your husband is currently going through that might have triggered this dream. These struggles may be personal, professional or health-related. If you can't think of any, you might look to your own life to see if you have been struggling in some way. You see, this dream may not be about your husband at all, but rather about something that is as important to you as this relationship is.

Sometimes a dream like this can indicate that some aspect of your life is fading away and something new is developing that will change you, your husband or your relationship in profound ways. Though this change is portrayed in a physical way in the dream, it is really of a spiritual or emotional nature.

Extensive journaling on this dream should reveal more information. I recommend you write down the events of the dream and all the feelings that came to you during and after it. Writing your feelings down on paper like this will help diffuse them and lead you to greater clarity.

I don't get the sense that this is a recurring dream. Dreams tend to return over and over if we fail to pay attention to them; since you are paying attention, you'll be able to process and release the message of this dream in a conscious way, which should prevent it from recurring.

I think this dream has a positive message for you; it suggests that your bond to your husband is so powerful and enduring that no matter what happens, you will be able to keep your love alive.

*****

Oceania:

I think one of you is expanding and changing the dynamic of your relationship. If it's your husband, you may feel like the man you once knew is gone; here your dream represents your desire to pull the old him back.

Imagine that your husband is a little bird sitting on your palm. You can cage him or you can bless his flight with trust that if he's meant to be with you, he will fly away and then joyfully return to the comfort of your hand. Of course, it may be YOU who is stretching and growing into a freer, more independent being; perhaps you fear that your husband will reject the new and improved you.

Shel Silverstein wrote The Missing Piece, which looks like a children's book but holds universal appeal. The story explores our tendency to look to another person to complete us.

The main character is a circular being who looks like a pie with a slice missing. This creature encounters and attempts to connect with many ill-fitting pieces. We can all relate as the creature goes in search of its missing piece. In the end, the creature discovers that the missing piece is not another being but rather its own unrealized potential calling it to expand.

In The Rainbow Connection, Kermit the Frog sings, Have you been half-asleep and have you heard voices? I've heard them calling my name...Is this the sweet sound that calls the young sailors? The voice might be one and the same...I've heard it too many times to ignore it; it's something that I'd like to be... Either you or your husband is heeding that call to be something more!

After reviving him in the dream, you noticed that he was not all he had been. As YOU grow and expand as an individual, your husband may seem diminished. There are natural shifts that take place in a relationship whenever one person changes, and it can feel uncomfortable when familiar patterns dissolve and new ones are not yet established.

Many people fear that personal evolution will lead to the demise of their marriage, but changes can merely mark the end of one chapter and the start of a new one. Though change can be intimidating, we have to accept it anyway. Instead of fearing that change will kill your marriage or your husband, I encourage you to appreciate how it will keep your relationship alive and interesting.

Astrea:

Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.

Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!

While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!

I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!

As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.

I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.

You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!

Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.

A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.

You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.