Welcome to the Garden! Operated by a married duo of eclectic witches, Bone Garden Tarot & Apothecary offers intuitive tarot readings and witchy goodies to help the spiritually curious dive deeper into their own power and practice. Join our newsletter for a monthly ritual, shop updates, and other musings from the past month!
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✨Bone Garden Monthly Newsletter - May 2026✨
Published about 1 month ago • 6 min read
The sun is out, the temperature is rising, and we are officially one month into "lugging all our vendor stuff around the tri-state area" season. Happy May!!! This month's issue has all the usual fair, plus a BIG announcement about the future of the newsletter. Read on for a full moon ritual, upcoming events, and an exclusive look at what's coming!
Full Sagittarius Blue Moon | May 31, 2026
When two full moons fall within the same month, we call the second, "extra" full moon a Blue Moon. This is a relatively modern term, referring not to the color of the moon but to the unlikelihood of such a thing ever occurring -- only "once in a blue moon". In fact, the phrase was first used to describe something that was entirely impossible (i.e. "when pigs fly" or "when hell freezes over") but it evolved over time to mean something extremely rare and in its rarity, incredibly special. Since the lunar phase cycle is about 29.5 days, the full moon has to align just right to fall twice within a 31 day period, but every now and then it does happen, and when it does, it's a time to celebrate the impossible becoming possible.
To add to the already auspicious energy of this May Blue Moon, we'll also be feeling the energy of the moon in Sagittarius. Sag is known for its optimism, enthusiasm, and love for travel. Ruled by Jupiter, planet of luck and abundance, Sagittarius will combine with the wonder of the Blue Moon this month to usher in the energy of adventure, opportunity, and openness to whatever bounty may come your way. Enjoy the ride! This would be a great time to light a green candle for abundance and take in whatever shifts (energetically, physically, or otherwise) you may feel. It's all about the journey, not the destination. If you're feeling a little stuck -- maybe you aren't sure what your next steps are to achieve your impossible dream, or maybe you know exactly what you need to do but something keeps getting in your way -- this Full Sagittarius Blue Moon would be the perfect opportunity for a road opening spell.
The phrase "road opening" is used by many modern witches and practitioners to describe a category of spellwork meant to remove both physical and spiritual roadblocks from your path. The use of a four-way crossroads to symbolize opportunity is found in many cultures and practices, but the common name "road opener" comes from Hoodoo and Santeria, both of which are closed practices due to their origins in African, Afro-Caribbean, and African American experience and tradition. Please be mindful as you plan your ritual to include plants, products, and practices that are true to your own tradition. For more elaborate workings, and only if it is authentically within your practice to do so, you may want to seek out anointing oils, herbal powders, deities, and other specific tools unique to the traditional road openers found in Hoodoo and Santeria.
For those of us who don't belong to either of these traditions, we can still reach for ritual to get unstuck and open doors in the power of this Sag Blue Moon. Candle magic, herbal magic, and meditation are universal! At its core, a road opener is a hyper-focused manifestation ritual to remove blocks and usher in the truest and most joyful version of your life. Below is a basic structure for a road opening spell that can be adjusted or added on to depending on your own beliefs and available materials.
Ritual Magick
What you'll need:
a green candle for prosperity
an orange candle for opportunity
a key for opening doors
a bay leaf (or small piece of paper)
a pen
a fire-safe tray (or tin foil on a plate)
salt
Other altar dressing suggestions (totally optional):
crystals: tigers eye for courage, smoky quartz to ground and transmute negative energy, clear quartz for clarity
(note: if you ever don't have the exact candle color you want on hand, you can use any neutral candle and just visualize the colors)
Set & cleanse your space, placing all of your materials on or near your altar. Do whatever makes sense for you to ground and focus your energy -- maybe cast a circle of protection, call the corners, or meditate. Once your body and mind have settled, take your key into both hands and soften your gaze or close your eyes. Focus on the weight of the key in your hand and allow your energy to wrap around the key, purifying it of any previous purpose it may have served. This is now your key and yours alone.
Visualize yourself surrounded by closed doors. Using your key, open each door one by one. If your working is towards a specific goal, visualize that outcome behind every door; if your aim is for broader opportunities and options to arrive or to receive clarity in what path to take, visualize the best version of each outcome behind each door. Do not close the doors behind you as you explore; leave them open wide.
As you use your key to peer behind doors, begin to formulate a petition describing exactly what you want in the first person and present tense. This could be very specific -- "I am hired for [insert dream job here] and have built a life for myself in [insert dream city here]" -- or a little more vague -- "Money flows to me with abundance, I am free of debt, and I wake up each morning to a life that brings me joy." If you're combatting a more general stagnancy, try something like: "Every opportunity that leads me to the greatest good is freely available to me."
Once you've settled on a petition, open your eyes. On a fire-safe tray, use the salt to draw two intersecting lines in the shape of a plus sign, and decorate your protected and purified crossroads with any herbs or crystals you're wanting to use. Write your petition on your bay leaf and place it in the center of your crossroads, then place your key on top of the petition and your candles tightly on either side of the key. As you light the candles, recite the spell below. When you're done, close any circle you may have opened and allow the candle to burn for as long as you'd like (and can safely oversee the flame). You can keep your key on your altar space, wear it like a talisman on a chain, or keep it in your pocket to continue to manifest the energy of the spell! Happy spell casting!
As this Blue Moon comes to be
I ask that roads open for me.
Let all obstructions fade away.
A clear lit path is here to stay.
North, South, East, or West
The way will appear for my personal quest.
With courage I charge proudly on
As the moonlight fades to dawn.
May my key work swiftly through the day
To open doors along the way.
Yet I remain calm, whatever the pace
For life is a journey, never a race.
As I say it, it shall be.
Three times three,
So mote it be.
Herbal Journal BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!!!
In lieu of the usual Herbal Journal this week, we want to share an exciting development in the Bone Garden Newsletter! Beginning next month, we are moving the newsletter to PATREON! Rest assured, anyone who has already signed up for the newsletter will receive free and uninterrupted access to the same monthly articles, rituals, playlists, etc., but for everyone else, this full version will become the lowest paid tier (simply because it takes us so dang long to write and we gotta save up for a storefront somehow!). We will add you all in automatically, along with anyone else who signs up between now and our June issue, but when the time comes, we also invite you to check out the new paid tiers we'll be debuting for patrons! We're cooking up all sorts of stuff -- online community, virtual group rituals, exclusive products, monthly deliveries, and even discounted tarot readings. And as a founding member of the newsletter, you'll have access to an exclusive discount for all paid membership tiers. We'll send another email out in a few weeks with more info but in the meanwhile, we are so so grateful to every one of you and can't wait to take you along with us as we grow!
Upcoming Events
RICHMOND STREET FLEA
5/2 & 5/16
We are BACK at the Richmond Street Flea this Sunday, May 31! We are obsessed with our neighborhood and cannot wait to share more of our witchy goodies with you all. AND Erika will be giving tarot readings this time!
Find us on Richmond St from 11-5!
PRIDE @ EVIL GENIUS
6/6
Pride season is upon us and we are so excited to kick off the month at the Evil Genius Love is Love Block Party for the second year in a row!
Come celebrate Philly pride with a tarot reading, new stuff, and a pint of Evil Genius' finest!
And as always...
You can find all of our regular products and order custom spell kits and pocket altars at our
Welcome to the Garden! Operated by a married duo of eclectic witches, Bone Garden Tarot & Apothecary offers intuitive tarot readings and witchy goodies to help the spiritually curious dive deeper into their own power and practice. Join our newsletter for a monthly ritual, shop updates, and other musings from the past month!
WELCOME WITCHES! Whether you've been with us from the beginning or just signed up last night, we are so happy you're here. Before we get to the good stuff, we want to take a second to fill you in on the exciting changes happening here at Bone Garden.As of today, we have officially launched our Patreon! Here's what that means for you: All existing members of our mailing list will continue receiving the full newsletter for free for the next year. It will automatically show up in your mailbox...
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