How to Use Natural Remains in Your Witchcraft Practice
Nature is constantly leaving gifts behind, shed, discarded, and released with zero ceremony. A snake doesn't mourn its old skin. A deer doesn't look back at its antlers on the forest floor. These are powerful, intentional releases, and witches have known for centuries that what nature casts off still carries serious magickal weight.
Natural remains like bones, teeth, antlers, shells, shed skins, and more, have a long, deep history in witchcraft. And unlike so many tools that require you to buy, cleanse, charge, and consecrate something new, these items arrive pre-loaded with the energy of the creature they came from. Here's a quick rundown of what you might add to your practice and why.
Bones
Animal bones are perhaps the oldest magickal tool in human history. They carry the essence of an animal's life force, its instincts, its power, its wildness. In practice, bones are often used for protection, ancestral work, divination (bone casting is its own entire practice), and banishing. Small animal bones lend themselves beautifully to spell jars and charm bags, while larger ones make striking altar pieces.
Just make sure your animal bones are ethically sourced and found out in nature. And if you happen to come across an animal skull on your nature walk, there’s plenty of videos online to show you how to safely preserve it for later display or use. (Please send us a picture when you’re done!)
Teeth
Teeth are an animal's primary tool of survival. They bite, tear, and defend. In magick, teeth correspond to protection, aggression, boundary-setting, and personal power. Animal teeth are especially potent in workings where you need to defend yourself energetically or hold firm in a situation. They also make deeply personal amulets that you can add to a spell bag, jar, or slip into your pocket for the day.
Naturally Shed Antlers
Antlers are unique because they're naturally shed and regrown every year, making them one of the most potent symbols of cycles, renewal, and regeneration you can work with. They carry masculine energy and connect strongly to forest spirits, the Wild Hunt, and figures like Cernunnos or Herne the Hunter. Use antler pieces on your altar for seasonal work, particularly around Samhain and the winter months.
Snake Shed
Snake shed is pure transformation energy. A snake literally slithers away from its old self and keeps going: no drama, no looking back. Snake shed is used in glamour magick, shapeshifting workings, personal reinvention, healing spells, and releasing what no longer serves you. It's also associated with wisdom, liminal spaces, and goddess energy (think Medusa or Lilith in her serpentine aspects). If you find one intact? You found treasure.
Shells
Shells are the armor of soft, vulnerable creatures, and that duality is exactly what makes them magickally rich. They carry water energy and are associated with the moon, emotions, intuition, protection, and feminine power. Cowrie shells have a long sacred history in African and diasporic traditions, so be careful not to tread into a closed practice with them. Abalone shells are commonly used as smoke cleansing bowls. Spiral shells connect to the ever-turning cycles of life. Use shells in moon magick, water rituals, and emotional healing work as they are natural vessels.
Feathers
Feathers carry the energy of the bird they came from, not just generically, but specifically. A crow feather has a different vibe than an owl feather or a blue jay feather. In general, feathers correspond to air energy, communication, divination, and spiritual connection. They're excellent for wand-making, altar work, or as offerings. Always check local wildlife laws before keeping feathers, though. In the US, many songbird feathers and feathers from hawks and other birds of prey are protected and illegal to keep.
Insect Remains
Beetle casings, dragonfly wings, wasp nests, and cicada shells are having a moment, and for good reason. Insects represent resilience, transformation, community, and adaptation. Scarab beetles carry centuries of spiritual significance in Egyptian tradition. Dragonfly wings are gossamer and liminal. Cicada shells, like snake shed, are potent symbols of emergence and rebirth. These delicate remains are beautiful in spell jars and shadow boxes.
A Note on Ethical Sourcing
The golden rule: find it, don't take it. Natural remains that are shed, found already deceased, or sourced from ethical taxidermists or natural history dealers carry much cleaner energy than anything taken through harm. Your magick is only as aligned as your methods. Honor the creature, honor the practice.
Stay magickal,
~ Megan Winkler