Arin Murphy-Hiscock - The Witchs Book of Self-Care

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This one is for Ceri and Megan, who yell at me a lot in a caring way to not push myself beyond my limits and to stop feeling guilty for needing breaks. Back at you, ladies. I couldnt do this without you. Ice cream and spinning wheels forever.

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Interior design by Katrina Machado

Interior images Getty Images/kosmozoo

Cover design by Katrina Machado

Cover images Getty Images/kosmozoo

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Murphy-Hiscock, Arin, author.

The witchs book of self-care / Arin Murphy-Hiscock, author of The Green Witch.

Avon, Massachusetts: Adams Media, 2018.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

LCCN 2018031996 | ISBN 9781507209141 (hc) | ISBN 9781507209158 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Witchcraft. | Women--Health and hygiene. | Self-care, Health.

Classification: LCC BF1571.5.W66 M87 2018 | DDC 133.4/3--dc23

LC record available at https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__lccn.loc.gov_2018031996&d=DwIFAg&c=jGUuvAdBXp_VqQ6t0yah2g&r=eLFfdQgpHVW0iSAzG8F-WtSjrFvCD9jGMJBHtzyExXhmHvwB7sjMCnFuKz95Uyqa&m=P6HIN5qAp_a4btALkY4IWULwe2ZzDJAuXVwuySuLLqg&s=SsoUAQ3VYDrgTfd3696rKHnAlUhDFpYCx2WeDMj2KTM&e=

ISBN 978-1-5072-0914-1

ISBN 978-1-5072-0915-8 (ebook)

Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book and Simon & Schuster, Inc., was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed with initial capital letters.

I would like to thank Rebecca Thomas for offering me the opportunity to write this book. Its a topic that is very dear to me, and even though my schedule was insane, I knew I had to write it!

I also want to acknowledge the teams at Ubisoft, Partworks, and Hachette for being so understanding; I juggled a ridiculous number of projects while I wrote this book. I appreciate your flexibility! I especially thank Anouk, who is also a warrior for self-care and defending personal time and energy while spinning an incredible number of plates. Youre an inspiration, Anouk, and Im glad to know and work with you.

At its most basic, engaging in self-care is about self-respect. Self-care is all about taking care of yourself, making that stand and declaring that, yes, you are important, you do matter. Simple self-care is part of your efforts to be the best person you can bean idea that resonates in magic as well. Magic is an ideal partner for self-care: one of magics main focuses is healinghealing of the self, healing of the earth, healing of humanity and nature. In this sense, magic and self-care go hand in hand.

The Witchs Book of Self-Care helps you explore ways to reconnect with yourself, make time for yourself, learn how to experience moments in your day mindfully, and to honor yourself and your spiritual and emotional health. Through magical self-care you will call upon the energies of natural objects such as herbs, stones, and the elements to care for yourself spiritually. Inside these pages youll discover activities on finding balance, recharging, examining self-destructive behavior and transforming it into a healthier behavior, as well as meditations designed to help you get in touch with yourself again, spiritually and otherwise.

Taking care of your energy, your emotional health, your physical health, and your mental health are all essential undertakingsand can all be enhanced with magic. Being your best self is part of what makes the world a better place. This book can be that first step toward exploring how magic and self-care can partner to support you in your efforts to become the best version of yourself that you can be.

Self-care is a buzzword these days. But like media representations of magic, representations of self-care can be confusing. What exactly constitutes self-care? Is getting a mani-pedi or a new handbag actually self-care, and if not, what is? Simply put, self-care is any activity that you do deliberately to take care of your mental, emotional, or physical health.

Magic dovetails perfectly with the concept of self-care because magic is about listening to whats inside you and the messages the Divine and nature have for you. Being in the moment in this way opens you up to an intimate world of information that is supportive of your well-being. Magic and self-care make excellent partners on the road to leading a balanced, fulfilling life.

This chapter will explore not only what self-care is and some of the damaging self-care stereotypes, it will also give you some background on the magical techniques that you will use and explore in the later chapters of this book.

The goals of self-care are simple:

Healthy mind

Healthy body

Healthy spirit

The point of self-care isnt just about giving yourself a break. Its about becoming skilled at identifying your needs by listening to your mind, body, and spirit. And not just long-term needs, but also immediate needs, the needs you have at this very moment.