by Kalyn Anderson
As a Taurus Sun/Libra Rising, Venus plays a big role my in chart...which means that love, beauty, and pleasure are all KEY players in my life. Naturally, when I began doing witchcraft, it felt instinctual to start incorporating magic into my beauty/self-care rituals. In fact, I was working at a shop that sold natural bath products at the time, and one of my first dives into witchery was looking up the magical associations for the ingredients in EVERYTHING we sold so I could figure out how to use them intentionally for spellwork. My point is...whether or not you've got prominent Venusian placements in your chart, we could ALL benefit from indulging in more acts of pleasure + self-care...and it never hurts to add in some magical intention along the way. You'll be seeing more posts from me about how to incorporate magic into your beauty/fashion rituals, but this week I wanted to focus on SHOWER MAGIC.
Why Shower Magic?
Bath magic tends to get the spotlight when it comes to bathroom spellcasting--and don't get us wrong...I LOVE some bath magic. Like I said--some of the first spells I cast were using bath bombs. However, I've definitely lived in apartments that only had a shower (and I know many other witches do, too). And while I can't claim to understand it, I also know there are witches out there that simply don't LIKE baths (I once had a coworker who referred to baths as "skin soup", which has stuck in my mind forever but somehow never dampened my love for bathing). Additionally--shower magic allows us to incorporate magic into what is a nearly daily ritual for most of us. If you have the time + presence to take a magical bath every day...major respect. Realistically, I think most people shower more often than they bathe.
Another inherently magical quality of showers (before we get into some spellcasting techniques) is their liminality. Liminal spaces are "in between" spaces where the veil between worlds is said to be thin--and where we can often access magic and insight that we may not uncover otherwise. Running water is itself a liminal space: that's why many spells will call for you to discard or set forth spell ingredients into a stream or other moving body of water. Perhaps that's why so many people (including our HWIC) say they have some of their best ideas in the shower! This gives shower spells a magic all their own.
The Tools
I have a few go-to magical tools when I'm putting together a shower spell. You can, of course, mix and match these suggestions based on the intention of your spell, what you have on hand, and the kinds of products you actually like to use in the shower. Looking into the magical associations of herbs/flowers will go a LONG way in helping you choose products with intention.
- Magical Washes: Most of us use some kind of body wash in the shower, but by choosing a soap or shower gel that has ingredients that empower your intention, you can make every wash a spell! I often like to use a wash for a grounding spell to start my day off right since I usually shower in the morning. For this, I'd look for ingredients like patchouli, eucalyptus, rosemary, or vetiver. You can use your shampoo this way, too!
- Magical Scrubs: When I want to clear my energy, doing a physical SCRUB feels super effective. Visualize yourself scrubbing away all energy that is not yours/no longer yours to hold, then imagine it ALLLL washing down the drain as you rinse off the scrub. Scrubs with some color to them make this an extra-powerful visualization, in my opinion. In addition, scrubs made with sugar can be used for calling in sweetness + abundance while scrubs made with salt are perfect for purification/energy clearing. I'm personally a HUGE fan of all the FirmeArte Spell Scrubs. Fuck Outta Here has charcoal + rosemary and casts a powerful spell for clearing. Hella Sensitive is my other go-to, soothing + grounding with a delicious lavender-incense scent. Of course, you can also DIY your own scrub and add any magical ingredients you like! (Or turn any wash into a magical scrub by using it with a shower pouf...these plant-based ones are heavenly!)
- Magical Shower Steamers: If you're not familiar with shower steamers, they're basically like a tiny, concentrated bath bomb that you put on your shower floor. When it gets wet, it fizzes like a bath bomb and releases aromas into your shower! There are tons of DIY tutorials online if you search "DIY Shower Steamer", and most involve some type of mixture of baking soda + essential oils. This makes it easy for you to get creative with using plant oils that align with your intentions...and to add a luxurious aromatherapy moment to your showers! If you shower in the morning, I'd go with energizing ingredients like citrus or mint. If you shower at night, try some soothing ingredients like lavender, sandalwood, or ylang-ylang!
Some Miscellaneous Tips, Tricks, and Inspirations
Beyond incorporating intention when choosing what products I'll use in the shower, here are a few other ways I've found to make my showers more magical
- Magical Foot Baths: This is less of a "shower magic" tip and more of a tip on how to work bath magic with no bathtub. If you want to use a lovely magical bath bomb but don't have a tub to use it in...why not treat yourself to a relaxing magical foot bath? Soaking your feet in a warm, fragrant tub of water is a HIGHLY underrated experience in my opinion. Take it the whole 9-yards by rubbing in a botanical lotion aligned with your intention after your soak. I would soak my feet in this Gaia bath bomb and follow it up with aromatherapeutic Earth lotion for the ultimate grounding + empowering foot bath!
- Dry Brushing: Using a dry brush before you shower is another way to get that scrubbing + energy clearing action going. You can even speak or think words of intention such as "I wipe away all energy no longer serving me" as you sweep the brush along your skin. Beyond that--this practice stimulates circulation and can help you feel more energized while leaving your skin silky-soft!
- Shower Oranges: Hear me out on this one because while it may sound whacky, I'm certainly not the only one to do it...or the one who thought it up! All it involves is eating an orange in the shower. There's something SO pleasure filled and satisfying about biting into a juicy, cool slice of orange while in a hot shower. Not only that, you can let the juice drip on your hands with no fear of stickiness, AND the orange peels fill your whole shower with their sweet, joyful, and energizing scent. This is a simple shower spell for joy, pleasure, and sweetness, and no one can tell me otherwise.
- Singing/Dancing: Plenty of us sing/dance in the shower, but not all of us realize that this can ALSO be an act of magic! Song + dance are both powerful tools for energy clearing and stating/celebrating our intention to the universe. Put together a playlist of songs that make you wanna shake your groove thing AND align with your shower spell intention...then do your thing and feel the magic happen!
This gives you some places to start when it comes to casting spells in the shower! I talked a lot about grounding + clearing since those are two intentions I use OFTEN when casting shower spells, but you can really craft a shower spell for anything: self-love, joy, romance, abundance, peace, dreams...you name it! Do some research into basic magical associations of plants (or use your intuition based on how certain scents make you FEEL) and the world of shower magic is your OYSTER! Not into the research? Some song, dance, and a shower orange will do ya just fine.
You can also shop our whole collection of Bath + Shower products here!
xoxoxoxo