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Exploring What Witchcraft Really Means: How to Step Into Your Magic

meaning-of-witchcraft

Firstly, a wonderful warm welcome to the new year, a new season of life and a wide-open road filled with opportunities ahead. A lot of our focus this season is going to be on the fundamentals of witchcraft, what being a witch actually means and how to step into your magic and honour yourself. Witchcraft and witches themselves often get a lot of bad rep, and unjustly so; there has been negative connotations to both witches and ‘magic’ in media, literature and folklore for a very long time. We’re here to set the record straight, unpick what witchcraft really entails as well as inspiring those who are interested in practising as a witch, paganism, herbalism or anything similar. There are no rules here, no exclusivity or commitments; what’s important is doing what feels authentic and genuine for you. 

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Witchcraft isn’t just crystals, casting spells and stirring a cauldron

So, what actually is a witch?

 

A witch translates literally as a ‘wise woman’, a term that is often left out of modern knowledge of paganism and witchcraft. Witches are wise because they honour their inner guidance and practise things such as strengthening your intuition and showing up authentically, both of which we’ll talk about in this article and on this blog throughout the year. Popular media and society often defines the fundamentals of witchcraft and witches as an ‘evil’ being or surrounding dark magic; though that’s not necessarily true. It’s this rhetoric that puts people off or gives the wrong impression of paganism, occult and witchcraft in general, when actually it’s much less sinister and actually a lot about honouring nature, inner guidance and belief. Witches aren’t just an easy Halloween costume or pointy hats! We’re humans on a path to knowing ourselves and stepping into our magic every day. 

 

The Welsh Witch herself, Jade, is a strong believe in trusting yourself, extending kindness and being understanding with others to promote peace and harmony with your surroundings. Kindness is a staple of the witchcraft world, while spells, crystals, divination and herbs may be great, but without the foundations of love, presence and authenticity you won’t have a strong base to start from. Let’s learn together how to truly step into your magic and make 2023 a magical year from start to finish. 

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Jade, our Welsh Witch, the owner of Wild Moon

Spreading kindness from within

 

A large part of the philosophy of being a witch and creating a better world for ourselves, our neighbours, the generations that will succeed us, animals and nature, is to extend kindness in every situation. At the Wild Moon Distillery, we believe that, as well as the fundamentals of witchcraft, you should choose kindness from deep within in any situation. Especially in a world that can sometimes feel difficult and cruel, extending a hand of kindness can make anybody’s day better. Not knowing what other people are going through means that one small act of love can make a world of difference; mental health struggles are a global pandemic – life is too short not to be kind to others. 

 

More peace and understanding 

 

Even in the face of narcissism, hate and negativity, peace seems difficult and sometimes ridiculous. But we believe being a witch means honouring freedom of expression and being understanding of others, no matter how hard it feels. Life is too short to spend it being angry at the world, showing up everyday as somebody who makes decisions and exists in peace and understanding is more likely to be level-headed and in tune with the world.

Honouring your boundaries 

 

Being a witch entails protecting yourself when needed to avoid becoming drained, energetically, mentally and physically. Sometimes letting people overstep your boundaries can seem like the easier option than causing conflict in a circumstance. But, a knowing witch remembers to honour their needs and when to say no to an opportunity or situation. This could be as simple as cancelling a plan to rest, or something huge like knowing when a friendship is no longer serving you or a toxic family member needs to be cut off. There are many ways in order to show up for yourself and really learn to trust that you know best for yourself, we’ll explore some of those ways throughout the year through educational posts and guides. 

 

Showing up authentically

 

Learning to show up authentically in a world that tries to convince you to do anything but, is a hard skill that few master, but it is an important one to practise. A crucial part of being witch includes honouring your true self and showing up as that person. In situations and circumstances, it takes courage to address them authentically and trusting your intuition. An experienced witch has faith in themselves fully; this is done through deep practise and learning. Sometimes, witches use powerful divination tools such as tarot cards, pendulums or the like; these help a witch encourage guidance from spirit, the universe or whomever they ask, which then helps them to trust their judgement and make their own authentic decisions. However you choose to deepen your relationship with yourself if up to you, as long as you do so from a place of genuine curiosity and patience with yourself while you learn. 

 

Want to learn more about being an authentic witch? 

 

Throughout the year, we will be delving deeper into what it means to be a witch, honouring yourself and your needs and fabricating a connection with the universe and others around you to spread kindness and love. We hope you stick around to learn more about nurturing your inner witch and how to connect deeper with yourself and other like-minded individuals. In 2023 we hope to spread more witchy goodness to the masses by encouraging more kindness, more appreciation for the abundance of nature and celebration of the self, we hope you’ll join us! 

 

Of course, if you’re interested in witchcraft inspired and pagan inspired premium Welsh spirits, check out our award-winning tipples over on our shop. Our lunar cycle prepped, reiki infused, magically botanical Wheel of the Year spirits honour the Celtic pagan sabbats celebrated throughout the year, perfect for a baby witch or someone on an exciting spiritual journey. 

 

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Get into the Christmas spirit with our Welsh Witch festive cocktails

 

Introducing our range of Welsh Witch Christmas Cocktails. Christmas time means party season and no party is complete without that perfect cocktail. Are you in need of some mixology inspiration to dazzle your family and friends in your kitchen or at your home bar? Or simply want to get into the Christmas spirit with some festival cocktails.

We are lucky to have some very talented friends of Welsh Witch Craft Spirits with a flair for creating that perfect tipple. They have created some memorable holiday drinks recipes from our range of potions and elixirs.

A BIG thank you to their creators Oli_drinks and thejuniperpixie, who we highly recommend following for more inspirational drinks combinations.

 

When the Viking met the Witch

The days are short. It’s dark when you wake up. It’s dark when you go to sleep, so here’s a little winter warmer to help you settle in the warm at home. Oli describes this as ‘a floral forward, truly warming serve!’.

1.5 oz Welsh Witch Beltane Gin

0.5 oz Lime Juice

0.5 oz Homemade Honey Syrup

4 oz Freshly Brewed Rooibos Tea

CLICK HERE – to watch Oli’s step by step reel.

 

 

Welsh Witch Espresso Martini

This magical twist on the classic Espresso Martini from the Juniper Pixie is guaranteed to get you into the party mood. Using our Imbolc blackberry distilled gin to add a magical twist. The earthy notes of juniper, wormwood and angelica with the bitterness of the coffee make for a great drink.

50 ml Welsh Witch Imbloc Gin

25 ml coffee liqueur

15 ml sugar syrup

35 ml fresh espresso

 

In a Witch’s Kitchen

When it come’s to Christmas what better spirit than a spiced rum and you wont find one that fits better than our Bara Brith inspired spiced rum. Our silky smooth, spiced rum consists of citrus elements, interweaved in a variety of dried fruits, spices and has often been descripted as Christmas in a glass.

1 oz Welsh Witch Spiced Rum

1 oz White Rum

1 oz Fresh Lemon Juice

1 oz Plum and Peach Shrub

Egg White

CLICK HERE – to watch Oli’s step by step reel.

 

What’s more with our multi buy offer you can get any three of our craft spirits for £95. Which means it’s even easier to try the full range of Welsh Witch Christmas Cocktails.

 

 

 

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Our NEW Christmas refer a friend offer is live

 

Introducing our new Christmas refer a friend offer. At the heart of what we do is a passion for creating something authentic that makes people feel special. Not only that, but sharing the magic of what we create with gin connoisseurs and rum lovers alike. This is why we love nothing more than when our customers, friends and followers recommend us to other people. All of which helps to spread the magic a little further.

To make it even easier to do this from now until Christmas we are giving a huge discount of 20% for signing up to our newsletter.

 

How does refer a friend work? 

It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3 to take advantage of our new Christmas refer a friend offer….

  1. Click the link below to head straight over to our sign up page.
  2. Copy the link and share with a friend who would love to here about about Welsh Witch. This includes special offers, discounts, new releases, news and much more.
  3. Once they have completed the sign up form the confirmation screen will include the discount code. This code can be used from now until the end of January and can be shared with friends.

 

What can you expect to receive?

We want our Welsh Witch customers to be the first to know about our news, new releases, exclusive offers and discounts PLUS our yummy cocktails and recipes. What’s not to love?

What’s more we aim to to use this space to say thank you for supporting our handcrafted spirits. It is this support that means we can keep making magic and bringing authentic flavours of Wales to the far corners of the earth.

Through the newsletter and customer emails we look forward to sharing more information. This includes behind the scenes sneak peeks and insights into our products, processes and the spiritual side of Welsh Witch. Each month our newsletter will fill you in with what’s new, what we’re loving, and gorgeous cocktail or recipe ideas to for you to enchant with.

Simply get your friends or family to sign up to receive a 20% discount code which they are free to share with you as a thank you.

We hope you will help us spread a little magic this Christmas.

CLICK HERE TO BE DIRECTED TO OUR SIGN UP FORM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Moon Charge Your Life – 5 Ways to Use the Lunar Cycle

moon-charge-your-life

moon charge your life

Want to learn how to moon charge your life? Keep reading to find out more! During the creation process of our Welsh Witch Craft Spirits, we understand the power of the moon and her phases being a sacred part of everyday life. We take the lunar cycles into account – we are the Wild Moon Distillery, after all – it’s only fitting we use the moon’s power to bring forward new ideas, concepts, and creations.

 

  1. Learn when the moon cycles are

 

A key aspect of learning to live with the moon cycles is getting to know the phases of the moon and what they symbolise. Finding out the current moon phase is easy, you can simply look it up online or download an app, such as Moon.ly, which will tell you about the phases and what this means. It can also be helpful to know the type of moon that is occurring that month. For example, the Flower Moon in May signifies the abundance of flora at that time of year, and the Full Corn Moon in September signifies the time of harvest and introspection. Reading up about each moon and setting intentions inline with them is a great way to sync your life up with the lunar cycles.

 

  1. Set intentions to moon charge your life

 

During the new moon, at the start of the lunar cycle, it is an excellent time to set intentions, invite new ideas and start a fresh beginning. An important part of starting to moon charge your life is becoming aware and present. This is the time when you can start new projects or try out new hobbies. Always try and align these activities with the start of the new moon as this is when intentions are most powerful. This time of introspection is important for grounding and looking ahead with clarity and optimism. Take some time to write down your goals for the weeks ahead or create a vision board of what you’d like to achieve. If you can, lighting a candle is a physical act which is perfect for intention setting. Our Welsh Witch Gin & Tonic Candles are a great witchy candle for any altar.

Our Welsh Witch Gin & Tonic Candles are perfect for setting intentions

  1. Know how to release what doesn’t serve

 

It’s important to know what to do during a full moon to utilise the powerful energy it creates. When it reaches full moon, it is easy to feel tired and emotional, as this is when the moon’s charge is energetically the strongest. Utilise these feelings to release any feelings of negativity, relationships that are no longer serving you, or unwanted burdens on your time and energy. It’s also a great time to look at your progress on your new challenges; if you started a new project or hobby during the previous new moon, use time during the full moon to appreciate how far you’ve come.

 

  1. Choose what you want to charge

 

When creating our Welsh Witch Craft Spirits, we charge our distilled healing Welsh water with the full moon, to cleanse and purify the energy before it is used in our premium award-winning spirits. You can moon charge and energy cleanse anything you wish – many choose to make their own moon water, or cleanse crystals, tarot decks or spell jars in the full moon. If you wish to cleanse yourself in the full moon, simply sit or lie somewhere in the view of the full moon, inside or outside, whichever is most comfortable for you, and imagine the moon cleansing your whole body. You can meditate or journal while you do this if you wish. Repeat each lunar cycle for an energy cleansing ritual.

  1. Cleanse your space and items regularly

 

Creating a routine using the lunar cycle is a perfect way to moon charge your life and make sure your items are regularly cleansed. Set a reminder before the new moon and the full moon in order to set your intentions and plan your projects. Journaling throughout the moon cycle is a good way to keep track of those intentions and seeing how the moon’s energy affects your emotions and moods throughout the month. Tying this into the astrological calendar, you may be able to understand your feelings better and find guidance in the lunar cycles.

 

Using the moon is a powerful way to incorporate more spirituality and intentions into your life. Throughout much of nature there are examples of cyclical processes, and at the Wild Moon Distillery we know the important role these cycles play and therefore they have a sacred place in our hearts. Do you use the moon cycles in your spiritual routines? Let us know or tag us in your rituals on instagram at @welshwitch_craftspirits.

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The Magical Story of Welsh Witch Craft Spirits

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The story of how it all began

 

Welsh Witch Craft Spirits was born in 2019, with the launch of our first product, the original Welsh Witch Dry Gin. Prior to this, our Welsh Witch founder Jade had been providing clients with her talents through her mobile bar hire. This was disrupted due to the pandemic, which overturned many businesses and forced owners to adapt and change. After dabbling in creating her own spirits for a while, Jade worked hard on flavour developing, licensing and branding designs to launch the Original Dry Gin into the world. 

 

It didn’t come without obstacles though; the December 2019 initial product launch went extraordinarily well but as we all know 2020 wreaked havoc on the entire world. The following year brought its own set of problems for small businesses and retailers alike. But we came out the other side and we’re doing what we love to do. Keep reading if you want to learn more about your favourite witchy spirits and how they’re made, the inspirations behind them and what the future brings for the Wild Moon Distillery. 

 

Who makes Welsh Witch Craft Spirits?

 

When we say small business, we mean small business. The entire process is carried out and monitored solely by Jade, the Welsh Witch herself. Since making potions as a little girl, she has turned her love of botanicals into a magical line of products which ooze magic and warmth. This means there is high quality control, small batches of botanical goodness, and an underlying passion for luxurious spirits and ingredients. Since the birth of her own little witchling in 2022, Jade sometimes receives help from family and friends in the Wild Moon Distillery, however she is absolutely the powerhouse of the mythical business. Each stage of the process – from label designing and branding, to bottling and hand-waxing the corks – requires finesse and expert craftsmanship. Through her spirits, Jade hopes to bring forth more education around spirituality, witch culture and her love of her hometown Wrexham, in the beautiful country of Wales.

 

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Our Welsh Witch Jade – the woman behind the magical brand

 

A business with Welsh heritage at its heart

 

From the moment of business conception, Welsh heritage has been weaved into Jade’s business from the get-go. Fighting the oppressing stigmas Wales has faced, Jade thought it was time to put it back on the map with her delicious hand-crafted tipples. Very proud of her roots, she wanted to bring the cultural folklore (the Mabinogion) and age-old traditions of Wales to the modern day consumer. Intertwined with a rich dedication to paganism and spirituality, the luxe spirits created by Welsh Witch are both a marvel for the eyes and the tastebuds. 

 

Welsh Witch Craft Spirits are made using locally foraged ingredients, meaningful botanicals and ritual practices to cleanse the spirits and charge them with reiki energy in the full moon. These practices are very important in reinforcing the pagan Celtic roots of the business and standing apart from competition by mindfully creating each batch and treating each product with care and attention. 

 

The rituality of creating Wheel of the Year gins lends inspiration from the Pagan Wheel of the Year, in which there are eight annual festive seasons all of which have their own traditions and meanings. This line of products is continually evolving this year. There are already Beltane, Imbolc, Lithia and Ostara gins on offer, so you’ve joined us at a very exciting time in our business! Sign up to our newsletter here to make sure you don’t miss out on our new launches!

 

A delicate and magical process

 

Fine-tuning a bespoke process is no easy task, but the Welsh Witch has created a distillation routine that creates beautifully finessed products every time. Years of hard work and inspiration led to the birth of the craft spirit range, when Jade began spreading the word about the beautiful Welsh folklore and traditions surrounding them. 

 

The core products, the Original Dry Gin and the Original Spiced Rum, pay homage to Welsh roots. The Spiced Rum is influenced by spices in a Welsh bara brith (a type of spiced tea loaf) for instance, creating feelings of instant nostalgia and warmth, among sophisticated flavours and a smooth finish. 

 

The fact the spirits are made in small batches allows careful monitoring of flavour infusions. Each spirit is flavoured with locally sourced or foraged high quality ingredients, such as gorseflower, violets or blackberries. Flavours are hand-selected due to both taste aspects and spiritual aspects; how they are linked to each Sabbat of the Wheel of the Year. For example, blackberries are sacred to Brigid, the Pagan goddess of Imbolc; they are a goddess plant and used for healing and attracting prosperity.  

Struggles and determination

 

Running any business isn’t easy, but product-based businesses have been hit hard with setbacks and obstacles during the pandemic. Not to mention, competition is fierce too, as more and more individuals take the plunge and launch their own artisan creations. 

 

Notably, Jade’s Welsh spirits have found a new and unlikely rival in their region: Ryan Reynolds. The Hollywood tycoon has recently invested in shares of Aviation Gin, as well as overtaking local Welsh football club, Wrexham. Jade takes this in her stride though, and hopes that the business deal will help encourage consumers to support their local Welsh businesses. We also think that any press about gin is good, so any spotlight he can bring to Wales is fine by us! Besides, you can never have too much gin, right?

 

Of course, running a business can be very hard work. A small business, is arguably even harder. Switching off isn’t an option, and often business hours spill over into the early hours and the work-life balance becomes askew. But that’s just what we do. While we aren’t yet running in the big leagues with huge gin companies such as Edinburgh Gin or Hendricks, we know that we have an important and special niche of magical witches, spiritual flavour enthusiasts and anybody who’s on a taste adventure. This is something we actively protect, because we’re very passionate about what we stand for, and we know others will be too. 

 

What are our favourites?

 

We asked Jade the all important question: what her favourite products are. Of course, that’s like asking a mother to pick her favourite child, but she does have a soft spot for the signature Dry Gin, as it was the first product to launch and set the wheels in motion for the magic to happen. It’s also gone on to win multiple awards at various spirit festivals, including two silver awards. 

 

Jade also gave a special mention to the Beltane edition gin, as the story behind it has a deep-rooted history and significance in Jade’s life, plus, she is a Beltane baby, so has to be a little bit biased! She’s currently enjoying drinking the Original Spiced Rum, and recommends you absolutely try it if you haven’t yet.

 

welsh witch craft spirits

 

What is the future of Welsh Witch Craft Spirits?

 

Over the next 5 years, we are aiming for the moon. We hope to take our witchy spirits global, spreading our magic across the world. The aim is to continue spreading awareness of the beauty and culture of Wales while offering a unique and luxurious experience for anyone who wishes to try one of our spiritual potions. We want Welsh Witch to become a known brand when thinking of high quality spirits and we want to adorn every gin enthusiast’s tipple cabinet. 

 

There are also some other big dreams in the works for the next few years, so you’ll absolutely want to stick around for those! We can’t wait to see what the future has in store.  

 

Cariad a goleuni

The Wild Moon Distillery 

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Recipe for Welsh Witch Spiced Rum Butter Sauce

welsh witch spiced rum butter

The Perfect Pancake Addition

welsh witch spiced rum butter

 

Today we’re bringing you a gorgeous traditional Welsh recipe of the classic Bara Brith; similar to a traditional tea loaf. This iconic Welsh cake has got a luxurious upgrade with a recipe for a Welsh Witch Spiced Rum butter sauce to drizzle over a Bara Brith, a sticky toffee pudding, or …..your pancakes!

This easy but warming recipe is a perfect addition to your pancake day feast festive to-do list. This Spiced Rum Butter only has five ingredients too, so it’s deliciously easy while being a complete dessert gamechanger.

First off, you’ll need a bottle of our warming Welsh Witch Spiced Rum, which you can purchase right here on wild-moon.co.uk. The notes of vanilla, cinnamon and a whisper of whiskey make this rum butter a luxurious addition to any traditional pudding or cake. It’s gorgeously simple to make and will create a feast for the eyes and the taste buds; a sure winner at any autumnal dinner party you might have planned.

What you’ll need for the delicious Welsh Witch Spiced Rum Butter:

  • 5 tablespoons of our Welsh Witch Spiced Rum
  • 1/3 cup double cream (you can substitute for a vegan alternative if you wish)
  • ¼ cup brown sugar (granulated or demerara works if you don’t have soft brown sugar)
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter (you can substitute a vegan alternative here too)
  • A dash of vanilla extract

These ingredients make approximately 6-8 servings worth, a perfect amount for sharing with friends and family in those cosy evenings.

The Method

What you’re going to need to do is slowly melt your unsalted butter in a pan over a low heat. Once this is melted, you can add in the brown sugar. Whisk this gently and make sure not to let it burn, a low heat should do the trick as the sugar begins to mix with the butter. Depending on which type of sugar you use, this may take a little while – but we promise the wait will be worth it. Once they have combined nicely, you’ll want to add in your double cream and whisk to incorporate. It should look a lovely golden caramel colour; now, we’re almost at the good part. Drop in a dash of vanilla extract, depending on your personal preference. Then, add in 4 tablespoons of our Welsh Witch Spiced Rum and whisk once more. The mixture should look like silky golden caramel. If you’re a fan of salted caramel, feel free to add in a pinch of salt here too, but it’s not essential.

Now the hardest part is trying not to eat it straight out of the saucepan! You can drizzle it over your dessert while it’s still warm for that sticky toffee sauce feeling, or you can transfer it to a container to allow it to cool. If you let it cool and refrigerate the sauce, it will become more of a spreadable butter consistency, rather than a pourable sauce. If you want to make it in advance, you can warm it up again in the microwave for a minute or so, stirring frequently, or by remelting it in a saucepan.

 

welsh witch spiced rum butter

Soul-soothing Welsh Witch Spiced Rum

We drizzled it over a freshly made Welsh bara brith for some ultimate autumnal indulgence; if you’d like to try this at home, you can find the bara brith recipe we used here. If you feel like going all out, frying each slice of the Bara brith in a little butter before pouring over the sauce will amp up the luxury factor for all the sugar, spice and all things nice.

This is a perfect soul-soothing comfort meal that is exactly what the colder months are all about. Bringing in that warmth and cosiness, you can enjoy a special celebration with friends and family or simply having a relaxing night in; that is the beauty of these chilly introspective evenings.

Our Welsh Witch Spiced Rum is part of our award-winning collection of hand-crafted spirits made with love and dedicated expertise at our Wild Moon Distillery in North Wales. You can learn more about the story behind the Welsh Witch herself in our The Story of Welsh Witch blog post, or you can Shop Our Collection of Premium Welsh Spirits.

Similarly, if you don’t want to miss out on any special offers, discounts, and exclusive launches, don’t forget to sign up to our newsletter too. You’ll be kept in the loop with our monthly roundup, including our Cocktail of the Month recipe to tickle your taste buds.

If you give our recipe a go, tag us on instagram @welshwitch_craftspirits to let us know how you enjoyed it!

With love,

The Wild Moon Distillery