As the vibrant blaze of autumn fades and the stillness of winter draws near, we stand at the threshold of November.

This cold and wintry month can be tough. Some days, there’s a crisp optimism that carries the very last whispers of the harvest, while other days are dreary with fog and grey cloudy skies.

Regardless of the weather outside, for witches, November is a sacred time of long nights and deep reflection. It’s an opportunity to rest, release, and prepare for renewal in a slow and steady way.

In this article, I’m sharing 15 witchy tasks, tips and spells to perform this November. As ever, everything is an invitation, not an extra item on your to-do list! Try what calls to you, leave the rest.

Some of the witchy tasks suggested here may require a few supplies – we’ve spent some time sourcing them, so you don’t have to. Some of the links here are affiliate, meaning a few pennies come our way when you click, at no extra cost to you.

So here goes – 15 witchy ways to honour November’s deep pause and quiet times…

1. Create a Gratitude Jar

Gratitude is one of the most powerful forms of magick, especially in this transitional month when it can feel like darkness is looming!

Gratitude is also a practice – and it’s one whose benefits are felt thgouth devotion and repetition, which is why finding a daily rhythm of giving gratitude is so important.

Simply write one blessing you’re thankful for each day on a slip of paper and place it in a jar.  Then at the end of the month, read them aloud as an offering of thanks.

Prefer a gratitude journal? We LOVE these –

• The 5-Minute Gratitude Journal – has SO many prompts, it will encourage you to see your blessings everywhere you go!

• Gratitude: A 90 Day and Night Reflection Journal – the sacred geometry design is just beautiful

• Intelligent Change The Original Five Minute Journal – a super simple, smart-looking journal

2. Hold a Hearth Blessing Ritual

The hearth is the heart of the home, and its warmth becomes even more important as the nights grow longer and darkness draws in.

A hearth blessing ritual can be as simple or elaborate as you wish (TIP: Make it simple, if complexity and the need for preparation tend to make you procrastinate!)

Light a candle or a small fire, and sprinkle some dried protective herbs (like rosemary, thyme, mugwort or juniper) and speak words of warmth and safety over your home.

For example: “By flame and spark, by hearth and light, Keep this home safe through the night.”

or try:

“Warmth and love within these walls,
No harm may enter, none befalls.”

or try

“Fire burning, steady, true,
Bless this hearth in all I do.”

If you feel called, you could invoke one of the hearth goddesses such as Hestia, Brigid, or Vesta, for comfort and divine protection through the dark months. Offer bread, milk, or honey on your altar, or into the fire.

3. Try a Fog or Mist Divination

November’s mists often roll across the land like a veil between worlds.

This fog carries a liminal energy, neither fully present nor fully gone, echoing the threshold between seasons and realms.

Fog, or mist divination, is super fun and can be surprisingly accurate!

You can practice this standing in one spot, or as a kind of moving meditation as you walk. Obviously, you’ll need a misty or foggy day – mornings are best.

Set an intention, or simply be open to what you are shown. Breathe deeply, soften your gaze, and let the fog’s shifting shapes reveal messages from the unseen…

Possible mist/fog shapes & their meanings:

• Rising columns: Signals of spiritual messages, pay attention to guidance.

• Swirling eddies: Confusion, cycles repeating, or the need to pause before acting.

• Blanket-like fog: Protection, concealment, or the presence of hidden truths waiting to surface.

• Thin veils drifting by: Liminality, spirit contact, or fleeting opportunities.

• Faces or figures appearing briefly: Ancestral or spirit visitations, messages from the Otherworld.

• Parting or openings in the mist: Clarity, new paths revealed, obstacles dissolving.

• Heavy, low-hanging fog: Burdens, grief, or the weight of unfinished business.

• Shimmering or glowing mist: Blessings, divine presence, or heightened intuition.

4. Dream with Your Ancestors

Beginning the day after Samhain, the month of November sits squarely inside Samhain seasons, making it a powerful month for connecting with your ancestors.

Dreams can serve as a doorway between worlds, allowing your loved ones or Spirit Guides to reach you in subtle, symbolic ways.

To invite this connection, place photos, heirlooms, and small offerings on your bedside altar. Before sleep, set a clear intention such as: “I welcome the wisdom of my ancestors into my dreams”.

When you wake up, immediately record any impressions, images, or lingering feelings in a dream journal, however strange, insignificant or fleeting they seem.

When working with your dreams, it’s SO important to keep a regular record, because over time, patterns and symbols will emerge that may reveal deeper meanings or recurring guidance. Even seemingly random dream fragments often hold messages when reviewed in the larger context of your spiritual journey.

Get yourself a specific journal, especially for your dreams. We LOVE these –

Lunar moth journal

5. Try Candle Magick

November’s dark evenings create the perfect atmosphere for candle magick.

When the sun drops below the horizon and time stretches ahead of you, you can dive deep into this beautiful aspect of witchcraft and spend some real time devoted to learning.

Light candles in colours that match your intentions, and keep a detailed record of your spells and their outcomes.

If you’re new to candle magick, try these:

• Great beginner set of 24 different coloured candles
• Complete set of black candles, ideal for dark moon, protection and banishment rituals and spells
• Pure beeswax tapers are IMO the creme de la creme of ritual and everyday candles
• Candle Magick for Beginners, a wonderful resource book for beginners

6. Make a Mulled Wine or Spiced Cider Spell

Enchant a warm seasonal drink with warming wintry spices for joy, love, and comfort.

Simmer apple cider (or apple juice) with cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and a dash of ginger. All good kitchen witches will likely have a selection of these spices in their cupboard! But if you need to restock, now’s a good time. Try to buy organic.

• Organic whole nutmeg
• Cinnamon sticks 
• Organic whole Sri-Lankan cloves– these are divine!
• THIS organic mulling spice blend can make the process easier if you’re short on time!

Drink mindfully, visualising warmth and magick spreading through your body. Share with friends, and remember to offer a cup to the spirits.

7. Charge Pumpkin Seeds for Prosperity

Pumpkins carry the rich energy of harvest, fertility, and abundance, perfect for carrying prosperity into the darker season.

As you carve or cook your autumn pumpkins, save a handful of seeds and allow them to dry. Hold the seeds in your hands and focus on your intentions for wealth, security, or creative growth. Visualise the seeds as tiny vessels of potential, each one carrying the power to multiply your blessings just as a single seed can grow into an abundant vine.

Ways to use your charged pumpkin seeds:

• Charm bag: Place a few seeds in a small pouch with herbs like basil, cinnamon, or mint for prosperity. Carry it in your wallet or purse to draw financial luck.

• Altar offering: Arrange the seeds in a bowl or on your prosperity altar as a reminder of the abundance you’re calling in.

• Home blessing: Scatter a few in the corners of your home to invite wealth and growth into your space.

• Money spell jar: Layer pumpkin seeds with coins, green crystals, and prosperity herbs in a jar to keep near your front door (read THIS for spell jar inspo)

• Planting spell (seasonal): If the weather allows, bury a few seeds in the earth as a living spell for future abundance.

8. Prepare for the Dark Half of the Year

Use journaling as a ritual of release and preparation.

Explore your shadow.

Get curious about the unknown and unseen aspects of yourself.

Write down what you are letting go of before Yule, and what intentions you’re carrying forward into the new year.

THIS Shadow work guide is a great place to start.

9. Make a November Simmer Pot

What kitchen witch doesn’t love a simmer pot?!

Simmer pots are a natural and inexpensive, no-fuss way to fill your home with gorgeous, warming scents, while also infusing it with intention.

Start by filling a small pot with water and adding spices and herbs, like cinnamon sticks, cloves, orange peel, and a few sprigs of cedar. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer, and the fragrance will fill your space. As it simmers, focus on the energies you want to invite, peace, warmth, protection, or gratitude, perhaps.

Stir clockwise to draw in positive energy, or counterclockwise to banish negativity.

Boil for a maximum of 2 hours, topping up with water as required.

Supplies needed:

• Organic whole nutmeg (grated)
• Cinnamon sticks 
• Organic whole Sri-Lankan cloves– these are divine!
• Orange slices or peel
• Few drops frankincense oil – this brand is my favourite
• … or clove bud oil
• or… sweet orange oil
• or (my favourite!) pure vanilla essential oil – this is SO good to add sweetness to an autumn blend!

TIP: Many witches have a dedicated simmer pot for magickal, intention-infused workings like this. Once consecrated, keep it reserved for your witchcraft. THIS glass simmer pot is ideal.

10. Work with Root Vegetables

As every kitchen witch knows, root vegetables are incredibly grounding and symbolise strength and nourishment – qualities we need as the weather turns colder and wetter.

They’re also in season right now –  potatoes, carrots, onions, squashes, pumpkins, and beets are all easily available locally (at least where I am in the Northern Hemisphere). So fill your kitchen with these glorious ingredients, and find creative ways to cook with them, to bring out their best.

Start here: Hearthfire Pumpkin Soup – a Grounding Kitchen Witch Recipe

While you cook, weave a little extra magick through the process by whispering intentions for protection, stability, or abundance as you chop, peel and fry.

Curious to learn more about kitchen witchery?

• The Kitchen Witch: Your Complete Guide by Skye Alexander is THE go-to book
• Kitchen Witch: Food, Folklore & Fairy Tales by Sarah Robinson – gorgeous book, one of Cosmopolitan magazine’s best witch books 2022.

• Wiccan Kitchen: A Guide to Magical Cooking & Recipes by Lisa Chamberlain

11. Whisper a Wind Spell

Wind spells can help release what no longer serves you, or carry your intentions out into the great beyond.

On a breezy day, step outside with an open heart. Whisper your worries, hopes, or intentions to the wind, and visualise them being carried away (or out into the world to take root).

If you like this kind of elemental magick, tie ribbons, feathers, or small charms to a tree branch, post, or outdoor altar, for a visual reminder of the power of the wind.

12. Try a Silence Ritual

A silence ritual can be surprisingly challenging for some witches! But it’s a beautiful practice for this time of year, allowing the mind and spirit to recharge in alignment with the reflective energies of November.

You will need to dedicate a block of time – an hour or a few hours – and turn off all devices. Sit or lie comfortably, wrap yourself in a soft blanket, and sip calming herbal tea. Set a timer, so you have a definite ending.

Focus on your breathing or meditate on a seasonal theme, such as gratitude, endings, or preparation.

Don’t berate yourself if your mind wanders or you get restless – be kind and gently bring yourself back to the present moment.

You can journal afterwards to capture insights received in the stillness.

13. Collect and Burn Pine Needles

Pine needles are great purifiers, and burning them can help clear your home and spirit before winter really sets in.

Collect dried needles from your yard or local forest (leave them to dry if still wet).

Place a charcoal disc in a fire-safe cauldron or incense burner and carefully light it. Sprinkle some pin needles onto the glowing disc, and allow the smoke to rise and carry away stagnant energy. As the scent fills the room, focus on the cleansing effect moving throughout your space and yourself.

You can also combine the pine needles with a few small crumbles of resin or some dried herbs to amplify protection and purification.

Get supplies:

• Cast iron incense burner to hold your burning charcoals
• … or THIS cast iron cauldron  is also perfect
• Charcoal discs
• High-grade pine resin – add to your pine needles, this smells divine!

14. Celebrate November’s Full Beaver Moon 

The Beaver Moon falls in November, and it symbolises preparation, persistence, and planning. Harnessing the energy of the Beaver Moon through ritual can help you solidify plans and cultivate inner resilience.

READ THIS post for a specific Beaver Moon ritual

Or choose from one of these alternative ways to mark this November full moon:

• Try one of these 5 Magickal Full Moon Bath Recipes
• Make Moon Water
• Cosy up with a blanket and have a go at moon gazing
• Put together the perfect full moon prayer
• Or choose from one of THESE 20 Moon rituals for manifesting

15. Work with Winter Animal Guides

Animals that prepare for winter, like deer, bears, and owls, can offer wisdom on endurance, intuition, and patience.

To connect, sit quietly with your eyes closed and visualise the animal in its natural habitat. Ask what guidance it has for you during the colder months or for areas where you need strength and quiet reflection.

You can also place figurines, images, or oracle cards of these animals on your altar, incorporating their symbolism into spells or meditations throughout the season.

For extra inspiration, we love these animal oracle decks:

Original Animal Medicine Cards

November calls witches to rest, root, and renew. It’s a month with quiet strength and building resiliance… but the key is to slow right down and listen in close.

Through these 15 practices, from cooking to crafting, journaling and pondering in the silence, I hope that your craft can stay anchored in the earth’s rhythm, even when it’s dark and low.

Instead of wishing it could be over, can you let the darkness be your ally this month? I do hope so. Blessed be.