crows

19 // they/she // weirdcore fanatic, lover of seraphs and orbs

[the-cobalt-athenaeum-deactivate]

HEDGE WITCHCRAFT

WHAT IS A HEDGE WITCH?

A hedge witch is a witch who utilizes the practice of hedge riding. This is a magickal practice that involves spirit work and, most notably, spirit flight (astral travel/projection). The history of spirit flight is a long one and one that is found in many cultures throughout the world. The idea of spirit flight is most notably found in folk magick practices from Europe as well as Ireland and Scotland.

The reason this particular practice is called hedge riding, hedgecraft, or hedge witchcraft is due to the symbolic nature of a hedge. A hedge, if you are unware, is generally a border between two different lands. The word hedge comes from the Old English word heċġ meaning fence. The hedge in hedge witchcraft is the border between this world and the spirit world.

The word hedge in hedge witch or hedgecraft indicates a symbolic barrier between this world and the spirit world. The hedge divides the current world from the otherworld, the mundane world from the spiritual one. The hedge is the border between the material and intangible existence.

To put it in simple words, a hedge witch is one who can cross the hedges present in the world through their practices. They are able to move through the veil and interact with the spirit world and then come back to the material world. In fact, this ability of crossing is their most important one. This is often why you will hear the phrase “riding the hedge” or “flying the hedge” which is often shown in images of witches with brooms crossing over the sky.

By riding the hedge, these witches move through the veil between the two worlds. In some practices this is done to attend a great feast with other spirits, deities, familiars, and witches. These journeys to the spirit world involve the use of gateways or doors, trance, and journeying. The reasons a witch might ride the hedge vary greatly. Some employ familiars to act as guards as they cross. Some witches ride the hedge to gain knowledge that is only accessible from the spirit world and the spirits that reside there.

What Sets the Hedge Witch Apart?

People often mistake hedge witches for green witches or kitchen witches. A green or kitchen witch is often known for working with nature, their home, and their surroundings. However, an important distinction is that for a hedge witch, spirit work and work done across the hedge is the main focus of their practice.

Consequently, the hedge witch travels to the other world for their journey and practices. In hedgecraft, the witch leaves the physical world on a spirit flight through a gateway or door into the spirit world. It is highly recommended to travel with a familiar spirit during this process to guide and protect you. By moving to the spirit world, one can seek healing, answers from spirits, protection, knowledge, and even space to rest away from the stresses of the material world. They hold the power to become healers and seers as they work with the astral world to perform their magic.

Dangers

Being a hedge witch can be intense and unpredictable. It is advised for one to be confident in their skills before attempting to practice such witchcraft. It is also heavily advised to contact a familiar spirit that can travel with you. This familiar is then responsible for keeping you safe and guiding you. Just because it is the spirit world doesn’t mean it is free of dangers. One has to have patience as they move through different parts of their learning through trial and error.

On the other hand, being open to experimenting has allowed hedge witches over decades to have their own unique practices to cross realms while staying rooted in the material world. Even more so, with time, one may come to have new favorite spirits, ancestors, or guides that they would want to work with in terms of healing and foresight. There will always be realms that will yet have to be explored!

The journey to becoming a hedge witch is to trust your abilities, your instincts, and to often push your own boundaries to see beyond the veil. The practice of seeing beyond the veil holds the knowledge between the apparent and the unseen, but also all the things in life that are more below the surface. It is embarking on the journey of understanding the layers to the world around us and accessing the knowledge present in our ancestral guides.

HEDGE WITCH PRACTICES

Psychic ability attunement

Spirit communication

Spirit work (deities, ancestors, other spirits or entities)

Astral Travel

Meditation

Herbal work (using herbs and substances for dream/astral work)

Entheogens (mind altering substances to enhance or assist hedge riding - totally optional)

Familiar work

To begin, I recommend working in your home. Invite in a house spirit, cleanse your home, and reinforce your wards weekly. You need to create a safe haven before beginning any type of spirit practice.

Spend time working with the spirits of plants and crystals in your house. If you don’t have any plants, this may be the time to pick out an easy plant to care for in your home as well as some crystals. Speak to the spirit, ask it where it would like to be placed, how much care it wants, etc.

Green witchcraft is a good foundation if you want to be a hedge witch. Do some theoretical study on the properties of different herbs and work practically with the spirits of these plants. Kitchen witchery is also fun and safe to experiment with at home.

It’s also good to infuse a bit of magic into your daily routines. Make cleansing, bathing, warding, and grounding regular activities.

Hedge witches are in-tune with the seasons. Do some research into seasonal holidays and festivals of different traditions and try various activities that correlate to nature.

For example, in the spring, I tend to clean, cleanse, prune my plants, etc. As the natural world wakes up and becomes more active, so do I. In the fall, I do a lot of introspective spirit work that can be a bit darker; I also work with the shadow self and perform rituals.

Many hedge witches like to focus on healing. If you’re interested, you may want to learn about the medicinal properties of herbs as well as the spiritual properties. Start with simple concoctions such as tea or herbs to help you sleep, relax, or ground yourself.

Once you have the basics down pat and are skilled at defensive spells, you can begin attempting to cross into the spirit world. After all, being a hedge witch is all about traveling to other realms!

However, hedge jumping can be dangerous. You intrinsically open yourself up to beings that don’t behave in the same ways as those in our physical world.

Therefore, it’s essential that you know how to protect yourself before beginning your journey as a hedge witch. You should learn how to cleanse, ward, and banish. You should also learn how to cast a circle before you start any spell work or spirit work.

Astral travel, dancing, drumming, trance meditation, sigils, and the use of entheogens are all popular methods of hedge jumping.

Once you feel properly protected, experiment with astral travel. You can find great drumming beats on YouTube to help you travel astrally. The goal is to get into a deep enough trance that you can travel to spiritual realms.

Crystals for psychic development can help you on your journey, especially if you work with the spirits of the crystals. You can also use sigils to both ground you and enhance your psychic sight.

When you’re working with spirits, I recommend that you begin with your ancestors. Most ancestral spirits are very safe and will help protect you from beings who could mean you harm.

Once you have been working with your ancestors for some time, you can branch out and begin to contact other types of ghosts or spirits such as deities, angels, demons, etc.

Work with the spirits in your area. The spirits of the trees, flowers, and water right outside your door are available and are great to contact when you’re just beginning your work as a hedge witch.

--------------------------------------

Don’t worry about the “rules” of hedge witchcraft. Try all things and experience, but always protect yourself before beginning something new.

Remember that no two hedge witches are alike. What works for others may not work for you, and that’s totally okay.

Do some experimentation and find your own path. After all, hedge witchcraft is about being authentic and connecting with both the physical and spiritual world around you.

For more information about Hedge witchery or about any other types of witchcraft, come check out the Cobalt Athenaeum discord server!

[the-cobalt-athenaeum-deactivate]

Difference Between Charms, Enchantments, Amulets, and Talismans

Charms: A charm's main magical purpose is to bring about luck, happiness, love, good fortune, health, etc. It isn't strong magic, but it's something. Ex.: "See a penny, pick it up, and all the day you'll have good luck", that's a charm and it's said by school children all the time. It's an object that is spoken over to give it a little bit of magic. It doesn't have to rhyme, and it can be whispered, but it can help bring about a minor magical intention. (It's like the first-level armor you get in a video game. It's not strong, but it helps)

Enchantments: Enchantments are usually worn or carried and the objects are themselves magic. They are wearable or portable spells that effect the wearer/carrier. They can have a much larger effect than charms can, however, they are a bit more complex in the making - creating a spell, speaking over it, and whatnot.

Enchantment hows and whys can be found here.

Amulets Amulets are magical objects that protect people from evil spirits, negative energy, disease or illness, general harm, bad luck, etc. People believe that the amulet has some kind of magical power that protects the person possessing the charm.

Amulets are all different types, which includes herbs, stone, garlic, coal, horseshoes, plant or animal parts, coins, or any other metals. Amulets also include various signs and symbols. Amulets can be of the general type or can be personalized or changed according to the person going to use them.

It is often used in the form of jewelry so that it stays within the person every time and the chances of losing it becomes negligible. Amulets are natural objects and do not harm anyone. They improve the quality of life of a person having it as they satisfy the natural desired of the individual.

Talismans Talismans are magical objects supposed to give strength and power to the person possessing them. People also believe that it provides some kind of magical abilities to the person having it.

Talismans are natural amplifiers. They boost up the energy and empower the people leading them to make the right choices. Talisman is usually in a single piece, made up of gemstone or any other crystals. Talisman is a magical charm that can be customized or changed according to the person.

The talisman can be personalized according to the requirement. Some of them are supposed to bring joy and happiness, some of them bring health, some bring good quality of life, and so on.

[queer-tech-seer]

tip for those who struggle with building up their grimoire:

I'm rebuilding/reworking my own grimoire atm and, in poking around for inspiration here and there, I've seen a bit of a trend regarding indexes and tables of contents.

A lot of posts for Beginner Witches have looong lists of things you Absolutely Must(TM) include in your grimoire. These read almost like a super extensive syllabus that covers what seems like every topic under the sun, and are, quite frankly, completely unnecessary.

This is a friendly reminder that you don't have to include anything in your grimoire that you don't want to.

Not interested in astrology? No problem. Don't include it.

Don't work with herbs or crystals? Why spend time writing notes on them, then?

Don't celebrate Wiccan holidays? No need to include info on the Wheel of the Year.

etc etc.

Part of the reason why I never finished my last couple grimoires were the fact that I felt pressured to write extensive entries on things I wasn't interested in, or on things I already knew and thought redundant to include. I had dozens upon dozens of unfinished pages, and the knowledge that I was expected to write things on each of them filled me with such anxiety and dread that I just... stopped opening my notebook up altogether.

This time around, however, I'm taking a different approach to my grimoire. I have limited time and energy to commit to my craft, and I'd rather not spend it on shit I didn't really care about. In my new grimoire, I have not and never intend to include notes on the 'basics', or overviews of every pantheon and every deity, or summaries of the different types of witches or spells or what have you. I'm including only what I think is important to me.

Your grimoire is supposed to be your personal journal, documenting not only the things you've learned but the things you're actually interested in. That doesn't mean you shouldn't do research -- it's very important to expand your education, especially regarding different worldviews and outlooks to your own. But!!

Don't feel like you've got to write an encyclopaedia, or produce a textbook for future generations to consult, because that isn't the point.

[p1nk-sanri0-deactivated20230214]

🌙WORKING WITH A PENDULUM🌙

I've been getting some questions about pendulums, so here is some info!

Finding your pendulum:

You can find a pendulum online or at a metaphysical shop or you can even have it gifted to you. Choose your pendulum wisely, one that speaks out to you & sticks out more than the rest. It will call to you.

Connecting with your pendulum:

Once you bring your pendulum home it's time to connect with it. You can do this by putting it under your pillow at night and/or carry it in your wallet or purse. Your pendulum needs to get to know you better & understand your energy (same with tarot, runes & other divination tools)

How to use a pendulum:

The pendulum is best for "yes" and "no" questions. Always cleanse it before use. Ask your pendulum "what is yes" and it will move in the direction of yes, then ask "what is no" and it will move in the direction of no. The pendulum moving in another direction that isn't yes or no usually means "I don't know" or an unknown answer. Not all pendulums are the same with they're answers, that's why it's important to ask! You can also write down which direction is which you don't have to ask every time. When you ask your question, the pendulum will move in the direction of the answer. It may take a few seconds so don't rush. Write down what your answers are, this could help in the future. When your finished, thank the pendulum for the answers it gave you. Keep it in a safe bag or box. Every so often if you aren't using your pendulum it's still important to cleanse it! Same with tarot cards or rune stones!

Extra info:

You can use a needle and thread to make a pendulum!

The best crystal choices for a pendulum I would recommend are: amethyst & rose quartz.

~ p1nk-sanri0🎀🫧🌸🫶🏻🔮🧚🏼‍♀️

[hare-beneath-pine-deactivated20]

some elements of spellwork distinguishing animist or spirit-based approaches from the energetic and psychological – a laughably basic and woefully incomplete list:

waking: most especially relevant for dried herbs or other preserved material. rouse what lies dormant with breath and touch and whisper.

speaking (or writing, etc): ask for assistance, don’t demand it. give praise, throw in some epithets. make deals, discuss terms and conditions. say thank you. say what you mean.

listening: now shut up for a bit. anticipate communication. words, song snippets, images, colours, feelings, whatever. look out for a “no” and be ready to honour it–it may hit hard in the chest or the guts. we have two-way streets here.

giving: praise, prayers, food, drink, candles, incense, crafts, all the usual suspects and more… reciprocity is key, no one likes a perpetual taker. some situations call for altruism, others for hard-nosed contracts, others for a secret third thing.

feeding: giving again, but specifically to maintain or revive longer workings. remember what the dormouse said…

sourcing: the perfect is the enemy of the good, but it makes a difference. grow, make, forage (responsibly) as much as possible. listen & give when sourcing things from the earth. shop ethically, re-use, thrift.

paring down: if it seems like a lot to go through for everything you want to include in your spell, then good. depth before breadth. use fewer herbs/stones/whatever that you know well, and that really need to be there. god i hate 12-ingredient spell jar recipes with #babywitch stuck on them. yes i will probably stick #babywitch on this. sue me.

to me these follow logically from the premise that plants, stones, bones, bits & bobs have spirit, not just energy. because that implies that their power must be given, it isn’t just there to be channelled (energetic model) or derived from the practitioner’s mental associations (psychological model). i claim nothing of reality and little of truth, but this premise has served me well.

just in case: the writing style is a little conceit that i use in many of my personal notes, which this was originally. obviously “in my opinion/experience/practice” etc.

[coinandcandle]

What's your best research tip?

Witchy, occult, and magical folks who do a lot of research: what is your favorite or best research tip?

Bonus: How did you come about learning this tip?

[lavender-grimoire]

Period Bath Ritual

Materials

A candle to represent femininity

A candle to represent masculinity(optional; I use this to help with my dysphoria)

A yellow candle to represent positivity

Aloe

Your favorite bath salts

A bubble bath

Instructions

Draw a warm bubble bath with your favorite bath salts.

Add some aloe vera to your bath and stir with intention.

Get in and light the candles on the side of your bath.

Meditate in your bath. Stay in as long as you'd like to take time to enjoy yourself.

Once done, dry off and find a nice place to lie down(nude or clothed).

Arrange the candles around you in whichever way you like and meditate with them for a while. Once done, snuff out your candles and clean out your tub. Take time to rest and hopefully you're period will be a bit lighter now.

[tarotwise]

Red moon cycle

It’s is generally observed that the woman menstrual cycle is synchronised with the moon cycle means they tend to bleed on the new moon day and are most fertile during the full moon . However, an opposite is seen in case of few women that is they have their period on the full moon day hence this cycle is called the red moon cycle . Means their personal energies are in counter balance with the energies of the moon . In ancient times these women were known by the prefixes such as enchantress , witches etc and were believed to be involved in all odd jobs such as prostitution , while some of them were regard as healers and supposed to help other women with their cycle . Apart from the red moon cycle and white moon cycle their are other small cycle such as pink moon and purple moon cycle when your period doesn’t synchronise with either of new or full moon

Women are generally inclined to the moon energies and once you find your balance your periods will naturally incline to either red or white moon cycle

[enchanting-jewel]

Egg shells in witchcraft

Save your eggshells and make them into a powder. You can use them for protection, peace and cleansing!

Also, can be used to make Black Salt. Just add some incense ashes!

Just rinse them, allow them to dry, crush in your mortar and pestle and store them in a labeled bottle.

Powdered Eggshells can be used in your magical workings to cast circles or for protection.

To add some extra oomph, add a pinch of salt and dragon's blood resin in your protection blend.

[wishful-seeker]

Let's Talk About Hagstones

Hagstones are rocks with naturally occurring holes in them. These rocks are usually found by bodies of water, and the hole is created by erosion from the water. I personally also consider shells with holes in them hagstones.

Editing bc someone mentioned this: the holes in shells are not caused by erosion but actually by creatures burrowing holes into shells. I know this and still consider them hagstones because they both involve holes and water, but that's just what I do in my craft personally.

Hagstones are considered to be good luck, to help with fertility, protection, healing, and seeing and communicating with spirits.

Some claim the only way to use a hagstone at "full" power is by finding it yourself or if it was given to you as a gift. Some people even say it has no power if you buy it yourself. "It only works if you find it yourself." I honestly think that's some superstitious (and slightly ablist) bs because mine were purchased and work just fine. Don't let superstition stop you from buying a pretty rock.

Anyways, here are some other superstitions regarding hagstones:

It is said that hagstones can ward off or attract the fae, as well as see through glamours. if you wish to attract some, you can pour morning dew through a Hag Stone hole and anoint yourself with it. 

It's said that if you find a large hagstone, big enough to walk through, if you walk through with your partner you'll be blessed with a baby.

To have a good dream and calm mind tie one to your bedpost.

Nailing a hagstone to a boat will disperse oncoming storms

To make a wish come true place a hagstone in your left hand and rub it clockwise while thinking about your wish.

Tie them to something you want to protect to protect it.

Some say if you hold a hagstone you can't lie.

I personally keep one infront of my scrying mirror to keep spirits from leaving the mirror. I haven't anointed my stone with morning dew or seen much but looking through it definitely gives me a strange feeling. It definitely feels like a film infront of the world has been stripped away when you look through it.

Either way it's a pretty and cool rock

[trials-of-a-spirit-worker]

Sneaky Witchcraft!

Using songs as spells. (Singing it for extra charge)

Intention behind simple tasks (chapstick blessing to keep the lips soft and the words persuasive, lotion to keep the skin smooth and repel buggies etc)

Booping a child's nose and using that intention to dispel fear and/or bless the child in question. (Now a favorite past time for my itty bitty nephew.)

Blasting music to break up icky vibes throughout the house

Diffuser or incense certain scents work as offerings, cleansing, or just good way to bring luck into the home.

[alabaster-the-crow]

Cottage Witch, Common Sense

Part 2 Here

Requested by @jasper-pagan-witch

DO NOT MIX CLEANING SUPPLIES! These are chemicals we are talking about, you don't want to accidentally make a toxic fume that would be harmful to you or your pets.

Put salt in your water before boiling noodles, and a cap of olive oil. The salt helps it cook better, the oil keeps the noodles from sticking.

In a pinch white vinegar works as a disinfectant.

Use some baking soda to keep your fridge smelling fresh.

Wash your white clothes in hot water and your colored clothes in cold water. AND DON'T USE BLEACH IN YOUR COLORS.

If you are washing something that is supposed to be absorbant (towels, cloths, washable puppy pads or fleece guinea pig bedding, etc) do not use fabric softener, it will make it less observant.

DO NOT POUR OIL DOWN THE SINK! It will clog the whole freaking system!

The box is a suggestion, if your noodles need more water to finish cooking, then add some more.

Peroxide removes blood stains from clothing.

White wine removes red wine stains

I have a ton of others but these are the ones from the top of my head!

[marigoldwitch]

🔥 Fire Safety Tips — For Witches 🌞

I just want to share some of my tips, as someone who has been practicing witchcraft for almost 20 years, for working with fire (as it relates to safety):

🔥 Buy a cauldron : I use mine for burning herbs, incense, candles, paper, fabric etc. I have one with just salt in it that I use to burn my small tapered candles and incense. It’s one of the most useful tools in my practice.

“Can Salt Burn? No, salt does not burn. It can melt at an extremely high temperature (800°C/1472°F), but this is unlikely to happen in everyday surroundings. Salt is made up of sodium and chloride, which come together to form a highly reactive bond.”

🔥 Don’t burn candles for more than 4 hours : Even if you’re in the room the entire time, it’s recommended that you don’t burn a candle for longer than 4 hours.

“If you burn your candle for more than 4 hours at a time, carbon will collect on the wick, and your wick will begin to "mushroom." This can cause the wick to become unstable, the flame to get too large, your candle to smoke, and soot to be released into the air and around your candle container.”

🔥 When burning things like paper, in your cauldron, fill the bottom with sand first : I’ve found that it helps avoid any flames from getting too high or out of control.

“Because its primary constituent is silica (SiO2), which is already oxidized, sand cannot burn. This is why it works as an effective firefighting method, which can extinguish fires by cutting off the oxygen supply and absorbing flammable liquids.”

🔥 Make sure that you triple check that nothing in the immediate area of any open flame is combustible or flammable : This means don’t burn something on a plate that’s sitting on an alter cloth lol. Or don’t spray anything into the air (like perfume or air freshener) around an open flame.

Be safe witches :)

[the-lost-kemetic]

Red Flags In Pagan Circles

I've seen a lot of younger, inexperienced members of the pagan (and witchy!) communities fall into some traps set up for them by people who wish to harm them. It saddens my heart to see this happen, as a lot of newer practitioners join these circles so they can learn! And because they're new, they often get taken advantage of.

So I'm creating this non-comprehensive list of some red flags in pagan and witch circles. Again, this isn't comprehensive. I will be updating this as time goes by, so I recommend checking in on this. For each red flag, I'll give a brief explanation as to why it's a red flag. As always, feel free to add your own in the replies and I'll add them to this post!

EDIT: 11/15/2022 - since there's been some people misunderstanding some of the things in this post, I've rewritten a lot of it so hopefully it makes more sense! Apologies to any confusion that's been caused. I also added some of the additions people have reblogged as well!

Usage of the terms "black" and "white" magic:

While this doesn't always mean someone is racist or xenophobic, within occult spaces there's this tendency to use this. The association of darkness/black things being evil isn't always a racist thing (we as humans are naturally afraid of the dark), but it did play a part in the Atlantic slave trade by associating dark skin with animalistic, evil ambitions and light skin as being pure and good. This isn't 100% a red flag, but it's good to keep an eye out when it is used! Another issue is that "black magic" was often used to refer to African traditional magic. It's why you'll often see hoodoo and voodoo portrayed as evil.

Argues that anyone can practice whatever they want, regardless of the status of it being closed or not:

Closed practices are closed for a reason, specifically because these practices have had their people murdered, their land stolen, and their practices made illegal for many years. The reason they are closed is so that outsiders cannot just come into their sacred spaces, take what they want, and bastardize it. The belief that you can join these closed practices without being initiated/born into them is rooted in colonialism and racism. This is one of the biggest red flags. Some examples of closed practices are hoodoo, ATRs, Native American beliefs, brujeria, and santeria. Some plants are closed as well, so please do your due diligence.

The belief in folkism/volkism: that open pantheons should only be worshiped by those with their blood:

This is the complete opposite of the above. Open pantheons are open because they have not been passed down to us in a single line, and they are currently being revived. As such, these practices can't really be "closed". People who argue that open pantheons should only be worshiped by those with their blood are partaking in the same beliefs as Neo-Nazis. Please watch out for this especially in heathen/Nordic spaces! These people ARE NAZIS. The specific dogwhistle here is "go back to your roots". (Thank you to @chrisasiaheartman)

Offers to teach advanced practices (baneful magic, deity work, etc.) to newcomers:

It's true that everyone is on different parts of their practice, and not everyone will progress the same way. However, there are certain practices that newcomers should not be doing until they have the basics down. This includes baneful magic and deity work, as you can open yourself up to disastrous consequences if you don't take the proper precautions. This isn't too much of a red flag as often the people doing this do mean well, but it's still something to look out for.

They use the terms "witchcraft" and "Wicca" interchangeably:

They are not interchangeable! Witchcraft is a practice, and Wicca is a religion. These types of people often believe you must be Wiccan to practice witchcraft, which you don't.

They refer to Wicca as an "ancient" religion:

This is false. Wicca was founded in the 1960s. If they do this, it could either be tongue-in-cheek, or it's just blatant misinformation. I would be careful.

They act as though baneful magic is evil.

It isn't. Baneful magic can be a form of protection and self-defense, it is not always a bad thing.

They act as though the "threefold law" is the end-all-be-all of practicing:

Not every witch believes in the threefold law, nor are you required to. This goes back into my point about them believing you must follow Wiccan teachings to practice witchcraft. You don't, period.

The use of racial or cultural slurs, even if they claim it's in a non-discriminatory way:

They are racist. If they're mentioning these slurs in an educational way, that's fine. But if a witchcraft space is just dropping these slurs casually in speech, it's a good sign of them being racist.

They push a specific diet:

You don't need to eat vegan or vegetarian to be a witch. No one has to. Some witches might think that's the best way to practice, and that's fine! Some witches might not subscribe to that idea, and that's fine too!

They push pseudoscience and/or anti-science ideologies (anti-vax, etc.):

This is extremely dangerous. Witchcraft and science can work together just fine. People have done this for so long, and pushing these ideologies can be extremely dangerous to peoples' personal health.

Enforcement of gender binaries:

This is things like the divine "masculine" and divine "feminine". Often times these people will also claim that the womb/uterus should be worshipped as well, and the people who do this are often TERFs/transphobic. Not everyone neatly fits into a gender binary. (Thank you to @hagstone-enthusiast for this!)

They promote the idea that only witches can be female, or that male witches are called warlocks:

Witches can be any gender, and the term warlock is actually derogatory as it means someone broke their oath.

Promotes the idea that mentally ill/neurodivergent witches that that way because they have a strong intuition:

This is very dangerous because being neurodivergent/mentally ill isn't a special thing, and it often is a detriment to many people. People who claim this often believe in indigo children/starseed children. In addition, look out for people to claim that neurodivergent people are that way because they "don't have a position attitude" (thanks to @urchinbeans5000).

[starlit-chaos-witch]

[creature-wizard]

Hey folks, as you're exploring your various paths of spirituality and magic, it's important that you're mentally prepared to find out that you're really, really wrong about something somewhere down the the line. You might discover that a practice you take for granted is appropriative and misrepresented from its original form and intent. You might find out that something you thought was real history was actually made up by somebody fairly recently. You might find out you've been subscribing to an idea that has its origins in a hate movement.

It's not a matter of if this kind of thing will happen, but when. Even if you're doing your very best to research reliable sources as exhaustively as you possibly can, you can be certain that somewhere along the way, you'll absorb something like this. No one is immune. This won't make you a bad person. It's not like you misinformed yourself on purpose, much less went out there with the intention of harming someone or misrepresenting their practices. It's not like the people giving you bad information told you "hey, guess what, I'm a hateful shithead and I'm lying to you." You just didn't know, that's all. Nobody can know everything, not even the most well-read scholars. While being wrong isn't good, it's also not a moral failing. What's important is that you acknowledge that you were wrong, and accept this as an opportunity to learn and grow. It's the most anyone can do, and if someone tries to make you feel bad about being wrong in the first place, don't listen to them. (Being right doesn't inherently make someone morally superior!)

Ultimately, what's really going to speak to your moral character is your ability to admit that you've fucked up and your willingness to do better. You will fuck up one day, so have a healthy plan in mind for dealing with that.

[ts-witchy-archive]

Low Energy Witchcraft

I'm neurodivergent and i experience really intense burnout. I get to a point where I struggle to even get out of bed, take my meds, remember to drink water, let alone practice. But, when I want to practice i have a list of things i can usually do. Everyone's experiences with burn out/low energy are different so this list may not apply to you, and that's okay. Take what resonates, leave what doesn't and i hope you enjoy my silly little list :)

create a playlist and infuse it with an intention. eg, a money spell playlist filled with songs about wealth.

draw sigils with soap when in the shower. (you can also use a wet wipe if you can't shower)

found some juice? give it a little shake and use the ingredients as a spell.

have food that has grains as ingredients? wow! an abundance spell!

the classic add intention to your tea and coffee.

bind your hair. for me with is as simple as putting my hair in a ponytail.

watch a witchy video. while not technically practising witchcraft, sometimes all you need is to sit back and relax to connect with your practice.

when I have a decent amount of energy I'll grab a large pillar candle and carve sigils into it. I use it as a long-term spell; all I have to do to activate it is light the candle. I like to light one of these spell candles when I'm having a bad day.

if you're religious, pray. Even if you're lying in bed. Even if you haven't showered in a week. If it makes you happy and you can, do it

burn some insence! it smells good, you don't have to really worry about forgetting about it, it's good for cleansing. it's great!

take a nap with some crystals. any restorative crystals or calming crystals work great! just make sure that they aren't geodes or roughs. i'd hate for you to hurt yourself while sleeping.

if you don't have any crystals for your nap, set an intention instead. please let yourself rest.

It's important to remember that you're allowed to take breaks from your craft. If you're forcing yourself to practice when you have no energy because "that's what a good witch would do!" then you're probably going to make your situation worse. it's a great way to fall out of love with witchcraft. give yourself some grace. rest is infinitely more important than 1 full moon, 1 new moon, or missing your daily/weekly/monthly cleanse. You aren't a bad person if you don't pull your morning tarot card or check the astrology forecast for today. and you aren't a bad person if you miss your daily prayer. take care of yourself. your health is WAY more important than your craft. Go get a drink of water and take care of yourself <3