The Swamp Witchcraft Field Guide

The Swamp Witchcraft Field Guide is based on Southern witchcraft practices using the natural elements of swamp magic with Plants By Laurali! Here, I’ll cover the groundwork on how you can become a swamp witch if you feel drawn to it.

What is a swamp witch? Typically found in the Southern United States, a swamp witch is also known as a bog witch. This is a type of green witch who has access to swamps, bayous, and waterways they can incorporate into their witchcraft practice.

I consider the swamp witch to be the daughter of the green witch, as bog witchcraft is a branch of green witchcraft less talked about. Make no mistake, swamp witches are powerful witches!

The swamp witch, much like her green witch counterpart, uses the genius loci or spirits of the land to manipulate energies and create spells. This includes using Spanish Moss for binding, working with alligator animal familiar, and creating DIY war water for curses.

The swamp witch knows the lay of the land! She works with what she has on hand in her natural environment to design powerful spells.

As a swamp witch, the main element you’ll work with is the water element. Water magic can include everything from sea witchery to foggy bayous. The water element is known to align with our feelings, intuition, psychic abilities, and emotional landscape.

The water element is most associated with love and the cups suit in the tarot card deck. With water, the swamp witch can blend different types of water to create potions and elixirs.

Water Magic

Swamp Water - Deeply connected with swamp magic and closed practices such as hoodoo in the South. It can be used in a sour jar spell curse or to create war water for a revenge spell.

Moon Water - Moon water can be created during any of the lunar phases. I find it to be especially effective during a full moon!

Sea Water - Saltwater is deeply connected to the ocean, mermaid magic, and sea witchcraft! It can be very effective in cleansing rituals due to its salinity.

Crystal Water - Crystal water is made by infusing water with water-safe crystals. It can be used to amplify a potion and increase its magnitude! It can also be used for divination.

Herbal Water - You can use herbs in potions and elixirs. It can be used for tea witchcraft when steeped or in cold water for herb-infused water bottle spells for nature walks!

Freshwater - In this case, I’m speaking of freshwater in its purest form, from lakes, waterfalls, rivers, and brooks. The kind of water you can drink right from a stream. Freshwater can be used in nymph magic spells, cleansing spells, and spells for hydration and beauty magic.

Brackish Water - Brackish water is a mixture of both saltwater and freshwater merged. This works well for otherworldly witchcraft, dream premonitions, and the in-between spaces where the faerie folk live. If you are trying to connect with fae magic, brackish water will help you meet your goal!

To become a swamp witch, you must have some kind of connection to water magic! Water magic is great for tea witchcraft and kitchen witchery as well if this is a natural next step for you.

It’s important to remember your witchcraft practice is your own. This means you get to mix and match the elements that you’d like to play with, in addition to water witchcraft.

To practice bog witchcraft, you’ll most likely set course on a solitary path to witchcraft! This is the path to self-learning and gathering experiences you can hold with you in your heart.

Swamp witchery is the kind of witchcraft where you work in the field! It’s important to practice safety, as you walk through marshy bogs and tall grass, be aware of your surroundings.

There are dangerous creatures living in the swamps and bayous. It’s not uncommon to see water mocassin snakes, alligators, wild pigs, and vile insects in this area.

Always tread carefully and practice safety before ever leaving your house! Wearing the proper boots and bringing the proper equipment is essential for the swamp witch.

Keep a backpack filled with plenty of water and healthy snacks for nourishment. Bring bug repellant and sun protection. Some heart-shaped sunglasses and an herb-infused water bottle can make all the difference in the world when collecting specimens from the swampland!

This should go without saying, but always let someone know where you’re going and bring a compass or navigation system with you depending on what you are up to! Some swamp witches live so close to the bayou, they never have to leave their backyard.

Now that you’ve got a plan in mind, it’s time to do some fieldwork! You might want to use your phone to keep field notes on your experiences as a swamp witch.

The Swamp Witchcraft Field Guide

The swamp witch, much like the green witch, will take lots of field trips to collect specimens for the craft. It is important to keep track of what you find and record it for future spellwork. A lot of witches will memorize their spells by heart!

However, there are many things you can find in your backyard if you live in the South. You can collect Spanish moss from trees, take wood carvings from old oak trees (with their permission of course!), and cut pussy willows from wildlife embankments.

Be sure to keep a compendium of all of the cool natural items you find! Be open to anything from natural glass to palm tree fronds.

Spanish Moss can be found hanging from trees, especially here in Florida where I live. It is an herb that resonates with the Deep South and holds memories of the Native Americans who lived here long ago.

Spanish Moss - Typically found dripping off of oak trees in the Southern United States, Spanish Moss works great in binding spells, and love spells, and can be used to make a poppet. Spanish Moss makes a great addition to any waning moon spell!

Astrological Correspondences: Feminine/Moon/Water Element/Cancer

Notes:  Pairs well with the alligator animal familiar! You can also use Spanish moss in love spells on a full moon to bind someone to you, such as in a traditional handfasting ceremony.

You can use Spanish moss to create a voodoo doll with oak tree branches, Spanish Moss, and acorn eyes. Spanish Moss works great in any kind of binding spell!

Oak trees and acorns can be used in love spells or any kind of spell where you’d like to see long-term stability in your life. I also find it can be a wonderful addition to areas of your life where you feel you need more wisdom, knowledge, and experience.

Acorn - I use acorns in love spells, for longevity and wisdom, and youthfulness!  Acorns, especially when you carry a pair in your pocket, will make you lucky in love.  There's something very grounded and stable about working with acorn magick.  Since acorns come from the oak tree, it's important to remember that trees are magic when using them in spellwork.

Astrological Correspondences: Masculine/Sun/Fire Element/Leo

Notes:  Acorns pair well with tree spirits such as gnomes and elves!  You can use acorns in spells where you'd like to add a little fun, mischief, and trickery into your life.  Any spells you do with an acorn will be long-lasting and eternal (including eternal youth) so it's important to be mindful of what you ask for.  

Alligator Animal Familiar

In addition to working with the earth element and Spanish Moss, you can also work with the alligator animal familiar! The alligator animal familiar will pick up the energy and the essence of the swamp. It can be used in swamp magic.

The alligator animal familiar is considered a symbol of good luck and opportunity! I find it pairs well with a combination of Spanish moss and swamp water. You can use it during a full moon to create a wonderful opportunity in your life.

To access the alligator animal spirit, you’ll want to clear your mind and visualize a swampy bayou land. If you have access to a swamp or bayou, even better!

Sometimes, just the sight of an alligator can be enough to connect with this magical creature of the night. The alligator familiar is best known for its night vision, lending credence to your psychic abilities. I have found they work well in prophetic dreams and for healing emotional landscapes.

If you are at a point in your witchcraft where you’d like to deepen your intuition or commune with nature in the night, let alligator animal totem be your guide! For this reason, the spiritual meaning of the alligator lies in divination.

Alligators are ancient, prehistoric even, and can tell stories of a history we can only dream of! This makes alligator animal familiar perfect for divination work.

Graveyard Magic in the South

While graveyard magic can be done anywhere, I find it especially delicious in the Southern Eastern United States where I live! Graveyard magic is often associated with rootwork and the long-held tradition of Hoodoo.

In the South, many of our cemeteries were built on swamps. This gives us a deep spiritual connection to the swampland and the people who once lived there. Many of these gravesites, especially in Louisiana, have caused bodies to become unearthed due to the hurricane flooding and storm surges.

Graveyard magic is an advanced level of witchcraft where you spend time in graveyards and cemeteries communing with the spirits of the deceased, bridging a connection between our world and theirs. With cemetery magic, you will use graveyard dirt to create powerful spells and curses!

Cemetery magic is a huge part of being a swamp witch! You’ll use the magical properties of graveyard dirt in your swamp witch practice.

Swamp Magic

Swamp magic is the art of utilizing the natural elements of the swamp in your witchcraft practice. You’ll begin to see the world you live in in a fresh light. Everyday objects like tree moss and lichens become a score for your magical practice.

Being a swamp witch is more than getting down and dirty in the swamp. It’s a practice that holds a deeper meaning for many of us who live there.

When you live in the swamp, you become aware of the secrets that lie in your wake. It has become a place of mystery and depth to the heart of the swamp witch, in which she creates many tools and magical uses from the trees, plants, and gravesites that dwell there.

In a pinch, we turn to our ancestors for emotional support. Working with ancestors and keeping an ancestor's altar is a huge part of swamp witchcraft. We work with the past and the history of the people who came before us.

We work with animal familiars and old oak trees dripping with Spanish Moss. We practice rootwork and learn to use the whole plant, not just the parts that seem important. We waste nothing like many of our Native American ancestors would have done.

The art of being a swamp witch is in how it resonates with you. How does working with the natural elements of the swamp, bayou, or bog resonate with you?

At the end of the day, being a swamp witch is more like being a keyholder. You’ll learn secrets and hold the key to the swamp and its vast magical history. Are you a swamp witch?