A Book Of Scale

Or Maybe Shadows

[servantofthefates]

Strict Tarot Rules My Grandma Taught Me

Sweep the floor with a whisk broom before every reading. It shows respect for the old gods who will be coming in.

Answer only three questions for a querent in one seating. Revealing too much sacred information will dilute its meaning.

Always use the Celtic Cross for a personal reading. “You cannot truly appreciate the weight of the advice you are giving if you don’t fully understand the way the querent is feeling.”

Make an offering to the querent’s higher self before proceeding. “The body may want a reading, but the soul may be unwilling.” A piece of chocolate or anything sweet should be appropriate.

Ensure the querent’s hands are clean. Prepare a hot towel or a water basin. It rids their body of negative energy and keeps your cards from getting dirty.

Dim the lights before you deal the cards. “The Fates live next to Hades. They are not used to harsh lighting.”

Play soft and quiet music. It calms the mind and encourages the querent to bravely tell you what they really seek.

You shuffle, they cut. Shuffling lets the cards connect you to the source. Cutting allows the cards to feel the querent’s life force.

Honesty is better than sympathy. Exaggerating hopes and softening harsh truths do more harm than good.

Never forget to thank your cards afterwards. “The messages come from the goddesses, yes. But your cards make the effort to speak them in the way you can understand best.”

[breelandwalker]

Do you know any traditional Celtic dishes for yule? Everything I found so far is just generic Christmas-y treats and someone adding a star or something and calling it Celtic.

Indeed I do, my friend! I have three lovely cookbooks in my collection which I highly recommend on the subject:

Celtic Folklore Cooking (Joanne Asala)

Witch in the Kitchen (Cait Johnson)

The Food and Cooking of Ireland (Biddy White Lennon & Georgina Campbell)

Celtic Folklore Cooking includes an entire section in the index on dishes for Yule. The Food and Cooking of Ireland has a number of feast-worthy recipes, and a very informative foreword which describes the holiday traditions celebrated in Ireland today. Witch in the Kitchen has a lot of tasty vegetarian options for any occasion year-round.

Dishes for Yule include:

Apple Fritters

Baked Apples

Chestnut Soup

Chranachan

Christmas Plum Pudding

Eggnog

Faerie Cakes

Hot Buttered Rum

Irish Stew

Marmalade Loaf

Mulled Cider

Pan Haggerty

Roast Goose with Stuffing

Savory Yuletide Pie

Shortbread

Stuffed Acorn Squash

Stuffed Braised Beef

Tea Brack (aka Barm Brack)

Wassail

Stay tuned, I’ll be posting the recipes for all of these throughout the day!

[breelandwalker]

It should be noted that there aren’t actually “traditional” Celtic dishes for Yule, because Yule is not a Celtic holiday. But there are plenty of traditional Celtic dishes for winter feasts, so go nuts!

[breelandwalker]

Editing to include a note that “traditional Celtic dishes” doesn’t necessarily limit the menu to “foods and preparation methods that were only available in Medieval times.”

In the case of the recipes I’ve collected for my seasonal posts, the sources are usually cookbooks from Ireland, Scotland, Wales, England, and, to a certain degree, from the States, where immigrants from those countries created their own unique regional cuisines based on budget and availability of ingredients. (And of course, I’ve included some personal and family recipes from my own files as well, mostly for the autumn list.)

So yes, these dishes will be a good deal more modern than one might expect, if one goes in with the assumption that “Celtic” must needs mean “pre-Christian.” These recipes are from colonial times to modern ones, largely because those are going to be the easiest for the average home cook to reproduce for their holiday feast. I could dig back into Renaissance or Medieval dishes, but I don’t think they’d go over as well.

Anyway….hope you’re all enjoying the recipes and tucking in for a snug winter season!

[naturalista-witch]

Two new reads &+ a glimpse of my book collection

[breelandwalker]

General Advice for Beginner Witches

A brief masterpost of some of my advice posts for beginner witches and the episodes of my podcast dealing with the same. (There is UPG here, particularly where marked, as I base a good deal of my advice on my own experience and observations of other witches.)

Hex Positive Podcast Episodes

Hex Positive, Ep. 04 - Advice for Beginner Witches (July 2020)

Hex Positive, Eps. 6-7 - Come In For A Spell 1 & 2 (Sept 2020)

Hex Positive, Ep. 12 - Witching From The Broom Closet (Jan 2021)

Hex Positive, Ep. 24 - Warding A Witchy Home (Dec 2021)

Hex Positive, Ep. 27 - When Inspo Takes A Holiday (March 2022)

General Tips & Advice

I Feel Like I Might Be A Witch...But I Don't Know

I Have Mental Health Issues - Can I Still Be A Witch?

Can I Still Be A Witch And Use Magic If I Take Medication?

How Do I Teach Myself To Believe In Magic?

How Does Magic Work? (upg ahoy)

Will I Be Possessed Or Haunted If I Try Witchcraft?

What Are Some Things I Can Do To Get Started?

How Can I Start My Practice If I Don't Have Tools Or Books?

How Do I Organize My Study Materials?

How Do I Contact A Deity?

How Do I Worship My Deity If I Can't Have An Altar?

Tips On Working With Deities And Spirits (here be upg)

My Intuitive Spark Feels Low - How Do I Get It Back?

I'm In A Slump - How Do I Get Out Of It?

I've Reached A Stopping Point - What Do I Do Next?

My Candle Is Flickering - Does It Mean Something Bad?

How Do I Make A Magic Circle For Spellcasting?

What Happens If I Get Interrupted While Casting A Spell?

Do I Need To Maintain Positive Vibes For My Spells To Work?

What Should I Do If I REALLY Want To Hex Someone?

How Do I Know / What Do I Do If I've Been Hexed?

How Do I Become More Skilled And More Powerful?

How Do I Know When I'm Ready For The Next Step In My Practice?

Additional Tips For Developing Your Practice

Witchcraft Exercise - Quantifying Your Craft

Witchcraft Exercise - Dig Through The Ditches

Witchcraft Exercise - The Book of Lessons

Witchcraft Exercise - Home Brews

Tips on How to Visualize and Construct Basic Wards

Practicing Your Warding Technique

Cleansing Before Warding / Warding A Shared Space

Refreshing / Patching Existing Wards

Non-Appropriative Herbs for Smoke-Cleansing

Smokeless Cleansing / Other Methods

Recommended Reading & Book Suggestions

[breelandwalker]

If you're enjoying my content, please feel free to drop a little something in the tip jar or check out my published works on Amazon or in the Willow Wings Witch Shop. 😊

[windvexer]

actual magical advice (*it's not about fire safety)

Ok I've had my fill of shitposting so here's something that might actually be helpful:

We all work in various ways of course, but I find that making permanent spell vessels and charging them when you need them is a really great way to deal with having too low time/space/energy to cast spells on an as-needed basis.

When I say a spell "vessel" I mean a physical object which is not destroyed in order to complete or activate a spell. So a candle which has to be burned down, a knot which has to be untied, etc., don't count for the type of thing I'm talking about right now.

The kinds of "vessels" I'm talking about are things like witch ladders, poppets, container spells (bags, boxes, jars, bottles, etc.), enchanted jewelry or figurines, manifestation boxes, and so on.

These objects don't have to look "witchy" at all and can easily be made stealthy.

In order to be useful time and time again, I find my own vessels tend to employ more general intent. For example, I might make a "vessel of ill-will" but I wouldn't make a "get Becky from accounting to suffer the consequences of her actions" vessel.

So there are limitations to this system - pre-making stuff for later use means that it's only going to cover generalities.

Another downfall to this method is if a person has really energy-intensive methods of charging, or if they're already struggling to accomplish manifestation due to issues properly gathering and applying energy.

The benefit for me is that my method of charging is very low-energy for me, so once I've spent the energy making the vessel, recharging it when it runs out of batteries is pretty simple. But if someone's personal charging method leaves them exhausted for a couple of days, the benefits to this system dwindle.

In addition, if someone's magical fatigue/difficulty manifesting has to do with not yet having figured out how to cast spells in a way that works for them, then of course this in and of itself won't fix anything.

All that being said, I do think there are lots of benefits to working this way, including:

having time to experiment with and develop spells for the future (as opposed to emergency casting on current situations),

being able to more rapidly respond to situations as they arise (not needing time to research/develop/cast an entire spell; just charging a vessel instead), and,

spell vessels accumulating greater power over longer periods of time that might be very difficult to achieve for one-off spells.

IMO the benefits list does get pretty long but also pretty specific, like, it's a great way to test your energy-raising and charging abilities because you're eliminating the variable of the vessel in your work.

And, you can still cast as many one-off spells as you want towards a goal while the long-term vessel is activated.

And, you can practice magic on lots of stuff that you're not actively dealing with right now.

And, you can get into experimenting with managing and caring for long-term magical objects, which in and of itself is a pool of knowledge. Stuff like that.

So anyway yeah if you're someone who struggles with figuring out how to employ more magic in your life start catching those spells like pokemon and leaving some of them in the PC until needed.

[the-broomstick-cupboard]

Artist : @/sunlightafterdark on instagram

[cajunwitch101]

[hexpositive]

Hex Positive, Ep. 030 – Atheist Witchcraft and Placebo Magic with Sedna Woo

We all joke about the irony of polytheistic witches being called “godless,” but what happens when your craft is quite literally without deities or spirituality of any kind? I sat down with YouTube’s own Sedna Woo to find out. The answer is both simpler and much deeper than you might expect. (Spoiler: I’m totally adding open label placebos to my own practice.)

Check out Sedna Woo and subscribe to her channel on YouTube! 

Mid-Summer Witch Mkt Diversity Richmond, Richmond VA Sunday, June 26 – 12pm-5pm Indoor/Outdoor, Masks Requested Facebook Event Page

Visit the Willow Wings Witch Shop to purchase my books and homemade accoutrements for your craft! Check my WordPress for show notes for past episodes and information on upcoming events.

Follow the show on Twitter @hex_podcast for the latest updates! You can also find me as @BreeNicGarran on Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, and WordPress. For more information on how to support the show and get access to early releases and extra content, visit my Patreon.

Proud member of the Nerd and Tie Podcast Network.

This episode is sponsored by:

Portland Button Works – http://www.portlandbuttonworks.com The Spiral House – https://portlandbuttonworks.com/spiral-house-shop

MUSIC CREDITS

“Spellbound” & “Miri’s Magic Dance” Ads – “Feelin’ Good,” and “Danse Macabre – Violin Hook” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

[windvexer]

Practical Magic Tech: Spellcasting Altars (101)

This post is part of a series of animistic, spirit-oriented spellcasting for beginners. Go to the masterpost to see them all.

This is a 101 theory post. Go to the masterpost to find actionable steps for altar building and consecration.

Loosely defined (remember, we aren't trying to label everyone, we just want to clear the weeds in our corner of the magical universe), an altar is a sacred space used to facilitate two-way communication and movement with the unseen worlds.

Altars are often built to house and honor gods and spirits. There is a fairly significant difference between someone building an altar or shrine to honor their god(s), and a spellcasting altar for witchcraft.

Our goal with a spellcasting altar is not really to honor anything. We can build a separate altar or shrine to honor a god if we would like to do so.

Instead, for the purposes of this series, a spellcasting altar is:

A hardwired connection to the otherworld,

Which makes gathering metaphysical energy easier, and

Drawing power out of the ethereal and grounding it into physical objects is easier, which means

Successful manifestation is easier.

Delivering targeted spells is easier.

Also, it's beacon that naturally accumulates and collects spiritual power (this is why people can put things on their altars to automatically charge them).

And it's powerful method of classical conditioning.

Classical Conditioning: It's Hella Useful

If you use a spellcasting altar for most of your spellwork, after a little while just being in its presence is going to click you into a magical headspace.

Yes, spellcasting altars are imbued with actual magical power and have very useful metaphysical properties. But their utility extends beyond the metaphysical.

Also they're a great place to store all your spellcasting stuff.

(By the way: try using a specific stimulus, such as an earthy grounding scent or wearing a headband, every time you practice grounding, centering, and exiting a magical headspace. It's a really really helpful tool)

Does it need to be a physical altar?

No. A physical altar is only one piece of spellcasting "tech". If that tech is not viable for you, you have many other techs to draw upon.

Digital altars can also hold metaphysical energy. True magic can be done through web pages. Ask anyone who's been in an occult server on the rough side of the web.

All that being said, you don't necessarily need any altar. They're a handy tool but no one tool is everything.

Let your path serve you, not the other way around.

What about size? What about shoebox or mint tin altars?

Oh boy, get ready for my favorite hill to die on!:

Spellcasting altars are nothing more than container spells.

In a jar spell you take, idk, some rosemary for sleep protection, some iron nails against nightmares, and some lavender for sweet dreams. You put them all together in a jar and consecrate them to your intent and those independent components come together to create something greater than the sum of their parts in order to effect magical change.

In a spellcasting altar, maybe you take a candle for connection to the otherworld, a crystal to accumulate energies, and little colorful stones to represent the Western buildingblock elements (fire, earth, air, water). You put them all together on a specially marked flat surface and consecrate them to your intent and those independent components come together to create something greater than the sum of their parts in order to effect magical change.

When you cast a container spell, you are linking up a variety of powers to work together in the long term. And nobody is out there telling you to get a gallon-sized glass jar. In fact it's popular to use the teeniest little jars possible.

Get yourself a mint tin if that's what you prefer. Hell, a matchbook with a sigil drawn inside. Make your altar into a notebook or a tumblr blog. All that is necessary is that you find it to be useful; that it gives you more back than what it takes to use it.

But I do have one thing to say in support of the classic on a shelf/flat surface altar: They're kind of like hypersigils, and that's really handy

What if you made a container spell for general prosperity, and then put that container spell inside a bigger container spell for general empowerment of everything placed inside of it?

That's what a spellcasting altar is!

It's a big cauldron of power designed to help you manifest your desires and link power to objects in the way that you choose. Start adding other finished spells back into it, and it's like a magical combo move that multiplies power and makes it easier for you to manage everything there.

Too much volatility and movement in your financial life? Take some of the prosperity stuff off of your altar - and just like that, the magic in your life has shifted.

All your spells are lagging and there's not much motion? Light a spicy, fiery candle on your altar to give everything there a tangy boost.

Feeling irritated by someone? Print out a picture of them and place it on your altar, facing away from you. No spellcasting, chanting, or ritual required - an act of magic was done because an action was taken in a magical place designed to manifest every intent you put within it.

The real benefit of spellcasting altars is that they do a lot of the heavy lifting for you.

You're probably not interested in practical magic because your life is great and you already have enough time, energy, interest, or ability to manage everything in a mundane way agreed upon by Society.

I actually think there's a pretty good chance that you're interested in practical magic because there's not enough of you to go around to deal with things in a mundane way.

Magic is real, and real things tend to take real work.

So how is it helpful to turn to a new methodology of managing your life, when it takes just as much time and energy as you were spending before?

Spellcasting altars, even small ones, even digital ones, help us out. They automatically collect power for us to use later on, so we don't have to drink our precious Get Stuff Done juice. They house doors to the otherworld you can just open and close, instead of having to create the door every time you need it. They help us automatically get into the spellcasting mindset through a hardwire connection to the otherworld and the magic of classical conditioning.

Spellcasting altars do specific things and fill specific needs. Therefore, they're not going to be necessary or even useful for everybody. Try them out and see if they're useful for you. If so; a tool has been added to your toolbox. If not; you have considered and discounted something unhelpful, and now you can move on to better things.

This post is part of a series of animistic, spirit-oriented spellcasting for beginners. Go to the masterpost to see them all.

[spezispud23]

Playing Cards As Tarot Cards

Whether you're in the broom closet or you just love to save money (because capitalism has us forced into wage slavery amiright), you may want to divine with a tarot deck without actually buying/owning a tarot deck. In a limited sense, you can use a deck of regualr playing cards to divine in a similar manner.

Disclaimer, this only works to represent the first 13/14 cards in each minor arcana court, unless you use more than two decks. Since a playing card deck has 1-10, a knight, queen and king already, I'll be discluding the knave from each suit, as well as the reversed meaning of each card. However the knave has the same meaning as the first card of each court, so don't feel held back by that.

Diamonds = Pentacles

King: security, control, fatherly, power, discipline, abundance

Queen: practical, home body, motherly, down to earth

Knight: efficiency, routine, conservation, methodical

Ten: wealth, inheritance, family, established routine

Nine: gratitude, luxury, self sufficiency, culmination of works

Eight: apprenticeship, education, quality, engagement

Seven: vision, perseverance, profit, and investment rewarded

Six: generosity, charity, prosperity, sharing wealth

Five: isolation, insecurity, financial loss, poverty, general worry

Four: control, stability, security, possession, conservation

Three: teamwork, initial fulfillment, collaboration, learn from others

Two: balance, adaptability, time management, prioritizing

One: manifestation, new financial opportunity, new job

Spades = Swords

King: clear thinking, intellect, authority, honesty

Queen: quick thinker, organized, perceptive, independent

Knight: opinionated, hasty, action oriented

Ten: backstabbing, defeated, betrayed, a state of crisis, endings and loss

Nine: depression, nightmares, intense anxiety, despair

Eight: isolation, self restriction, imprisonment

Seven: betrayal, deception, getting away eith something, stealth

Six: regretful but necessary transition, rite of passage

Five: conflict, tension, loss, defeat of enemies, win at all costs, betrayal of allies

Four: contemplation, recuperation, passivity, rest and relaxation

Three: painful separation, sorrow, heartbreak, grief, rejection

Two: indecision, choices, truce or stalemate, blocked emotions

One: raw power, victory, a breakthrough, mental clarity

Clubs = Wands

King: natural born leader, visionary, interpreter, honorable

Queen: exuberance, warmth, vibrancy, determination

Knight: energy, passion, lust, impulsiveness, adventurer

Ten: burden, responsibility, hard work, stress, achievement

Nine: courage, persistence, test of faith, resilience

Eight: speed, action, air travel, movement, swift change

Seven: challenge, competition, perseverance

Six: public recognition, victory, progress, self confidence

Five: disagreement, high tensions, strife, conflict

Four: celebration, harmony, marriage, home, resilience

Three: preparation, foresight, expansion of enterprise

Two: planning for the future, progress, decisions, discovery

One: inspiration, power, creation, beginnings, potential

Hearts = Cups/Chalices

King: emotional balance and control, generosity

Queen: enotional security, calm, intuitive and compassionate

Knight: romance, charm, imagination, "knight in shining armor"

Ten: harmony, marriage, happiness, alignment

Nine: wishes fulfilled, comfort, happiness, satisfaction

Eight: escapism, disappointment, abandonment, withdrawal

Seven: fantasy, illusion, wishful thinking, choices to be made

Six: reunion, nostalgia, childhood memories, innocence

Five: loss, regret, disappointment, despair, bereavement

Four: mediation, contemplation, apathy, reevaluation

Three: celebration, friendship, creativity, community

Two: unified love, partnership, attraction, relationships

One: love, compassion, creativity, overwhelming emotion

So that's the tall and thick of it, of course it's all in your interpretation as to how any card relates to your life and experiences. I don't mind giving a second opinion on any readings you try with this methods, so feel free to interact. Happy casting

[thevirginwitch]

vintage headers, dividers, and other images for your digital grimoire/book of shadows

i've compiled several images i've been using for my digital book of shadows, and thought i'd share some of my favorites!

[breelandwalker]

Um, hey.

Do you maybe have any advice for someone who wants to start practicing witchcraft, but who's major authority in their life is their devout christian mother, and who has pretty much nothing except paper, writing stuff, and a pretty scented candle? I get overwhelmed easily so it's been really difficult getting started at all. Sorry if I'm being rude or annoying, you just seemed like someone who could help (*/_＼). /lh

No worries! This is exactly what I'm here for.

I have a podcast called Hex Positive and I did a whoooooole episode with advice and tips for stealth witches - Episode 12: Witching From The Broom Closet. You can find it on your favorite podcatcher or at the link. There's also a transcript on my Wordpress and that will be MUCH faster than me trying to explain it all in one tumblr post. :)

Main takeaway - You're not alone in this and you've got options. There are PLENTY of witches out there who practice in secret and they are every bit as valid as those of us who are lucky enough to be able to practice openly.

My inbox is also open for questions if you have other specific things you want to ask along the way. Hope this helps!

[breelandwalker]

Witchcraft Books by Bree NicGarran

Grovedaughter Witchery: Practical Spellcraft

For the witch whose town is devoid of occult shops and covens, learning the craft can be a daunting task indeed. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways for a budding practitioner to make a start.

Stroll down the forest path with Bree NicGarran, author of The Sisters Grimmoire, and discover the surprising ways you can practice your craft with commonplace items from the supermarket and the craft store. Build a travel kit for on-the-go magic. Create your own spells from scratch with a step-by-step guide. Learn how to make your own witch webs and magical powders. Uncover the secrets of walnut charms and witchballs and much, much more. Every page carries tricks of the trade and homegrown charms from the files of the Grovedaughter herself.

From besoms to banishings to a bit of good advice, Grovedaughter Witchery is the ideal book for any witch with an inclination toward a practical, no-frills approach to witchcraft.

The Sisters Grimmoire: Spells & Charms For Your Happily Ever After

Mirror, Mirror, on the wall, Who’s the cleverest witch of them all?

With the spells in this book, it just might be you!

Inspired by the well-known works of The Brothers Grimm, this volume boasts over sixty original spells lovingly crafted from favorite fairy tales, along with helpful spellcrafting instructions and several indices to aid you in your journey. All of this is wrapped up with useful chapter forewords discussing the various themes within the tales, some insight into the creative process, and a bit of discussion on ethics and the usage of magic.

Whether you’re ready to yell “All Heads Off But Mine,” looking to turn your luck around with some Buried Coins, or just wanting to show the world What Big Teeth you have, there is sure to be a spell within these pages that is exactly what you’ve been looking for.

After all, who couldn’t use a bit of Happily Ever After?

Pestlework: A Book of Magical Powders & Oils

From the author of Grovedaughter Witchery comes a volume of potions and powders for all occasions, suitable to enhance the craft of any practitioner.

Old standards like Banishing Powder and Blessing Oil meet new classics like Dream Dust and Stargazer Wishing Oil. Need to rid your house of a troublesome spirit? Try a sprinkle of Ghost-Be-Gone Powder. Looking for a way to get your zest back after spellwork? Brim With Vim Vitality Oil might be just the thing. Over 200 original formulae await you within these pages, along with helpful hints, safety tips, and detailed instructions for creating your own magical powders and oils.

Collected for the first time in a single volume, these recipes are the product of twelve years of experience and much experimentation. While magic is never a guarantor of success, the potions within these pages just might give your spells the edge you need.

Visit my Amazon Author Page for listings and book reviews! You can also visit my Wordpress shop to order books and other witchy goodies directly from me. (All orders billed through Paypal. Nominal shipping charges will apply.)

Make sure you check out my podcast, Hex Positive, on your favorite podcatcher app! (Part of the Nerd and Tie Podcast Network.)

If you own a shop and would like to carry my titles, please contact me at [email protected] for wholesale information.

[insanity4-deactivated20220607]

Veldismagn

Veldismagn is an Icelandic magical Bind Rune that is used to grant the wearer with protection against evil,and luck in having good health.

Veldismagn is an ancient Icelandic magical sigil meaning 'to give power and strength' ('veldi': power; 'magna': to strengthen). Traditionally drawn out in blood on the chest,it was used for protection,luck, health,and the safe return from travels,so that "Nothing evil will harm you, and whole and healthy will you come back home, whether travelling by land or sea".

Linden (Tilia) was a sacred tree to the ancient Norse and Germanic people, who associated it with Freyja, goddess of love and beauty. The bark of the wood has been left in its natural state.

Icelandic magical staves,or 'Galdrastafir' are runic symbols shamanically designed to control the elements,increase energy, or influence developments.They were traditionally inscribed or painted onto objects,doors,clothing and vessels as magical talismans and charms.

[witchesversuspatriarchy]

Terry Pratchett really understood us witches.

[windvexer]

Spellcasting Altars: A Powerful Tool For Sticky Situations

This post is part of a series of animistic, spirit-oriented spellcasting for beginners. Go to the masterpost to see them all.

In this other post, I was talking about two ways to think about spellwork: continuous magic, or one-shot magic. But our goal in this series is not to learn how to just cast single spells like a cool reading out of a recipe book. Our goal is to learn how to be a chef that can manage a kitchen and its staff.

So, real talk: Very often, aspects of our lives are not going to be solved with one spell.

Yes, it's really good to be able to cast a spell and have it manifest. But, more real talk: Getting spells to do something is actually pretty easy.

The real problem with practical spellwork doesn't lie in getting together some magic and causing stuff to happen. The real problem is situations resolving in the way you want, especially complex situations that are resistant to change or that require a lot of change.

In this other post, I talked about the virtue of a general spellcasting altar; one that you use to handle most any spell you need to sling.

In this post, let's talk about specific spellcasting altars, built to address one area of your life, or one important situation, that requires close monitoring and regular, active spellwork.

An Altar With a Goal

When I build a general spellcasting altar, I align it towards my method of spellcasting in general. I might invite a god or goddess of witchcraft to oversee the altar. I will probably store my tools and components near there that I use for spellcasting. It might be my good-vibes spiritual center that reflects my current path and progress.

In contrast, I build goal-oriented altars to very specifically reflect their purpose:

An altar to assist me in divinatory power might be dressed in indigo, silver, and violet; have figurines of mermaids or ravens, be decorated with mirrors, stuffed with amethyst, and drizzled with wormwood.

An altar to aid my finances and prosperity might be covered in green and gold, have stacks of fake money and dragon figurines, jars of coins, nuggets of jade, lodestone weighing down paper money, and just loads of chamomile and basil as far as the eye can see.

An altar to assist with bringing peace to my home might be decorated in soothing pale blue and white, filled with plates of cream and honey, decorated with a figurine of Hestia or Eirene, and sprinkled with aquamarine and blue chalcedony.

Most importantly for me, any such altar has space to hold one-shot and continuous spells as they work unto my needs. This may be in the form of a digital altar where spell cards are stored, or in a physical surface or container where components are held.

Goal-Oriented Altars Can be Like Hyperspells with Many Intents

I support limited, focused intent for individual spells. This means that any single situation may require a variety of spells to be cast upon it to achieve my goals.

Suppose I want to bring peace to my household. Depending on what's going on, I might need to cast a few different spells:

Reducing arguments

Increasing loving communication

Reducing feelings of anger

Increasing feelings of wellbeing

Keeping an instigator away from the home

Drawing enjoyable, healthy experiences into the home

If I build and consecrate an altar unto the purpose of peace in my home, that altar becomes like a hyperspell slowly storing and building up all these intents, until my purpose is finally achieved.

Certainly, one single spell might do - but we don't need to build altars for situations easily resolved with one spell. If your situation is being resistant to spellwork, or it's something you know will need ongoing maintenance, consider an altar instead of a series of independent spells.

Using Goal-Oriented Altars

Remember at the beginning of the post, when I was saying the real challenge to practical spellwork is resolving complex situations to your satisfaction?

Your situational altar is the command center for addressing a sticky, tough-to-manage situation.

Perform divination about this situation nearby

Store one-shot and continuous spells effecting that situation on this altar

Keep a detailed record of what you've tried so far

Use this altar as a platform for hosting complementary, simultaneously cast spells

Light candles or incense on the altar, or feed it with direct energy work, to charge all spells stored within it

As you continuously store spells and magics related to your situation in this one altar space, it will accumulate and gain power. That power will become more nuanced and more finely honed to your purposes with each spell you store in it.

With enough active focus and work, this altar will become a source of power in and of itself. Each successive spell will coast on the crest of the one before it, and amazing progress can be made in ways not as easily seen with spells individually and stored outside of an altar's nexus.

The types of spells you cast should be specially chosen based on how you need the energy to move in the situation.

A major benefit of a goal-oriented altar is that it lets you see your current, ongoing efforts - and past, completed efforts - all in one place. You can walk by your prosperity altar and see that your debt-banishing candle is nearly burned away, you have a whole pile of incense ashes for your cash-drawing petitions, and that you've already given the spirits an offering today. In a real way, it carves out space in your life to give important issues the attention you want to give them.

This also gives you a chance to consider the types of spells you're using and whether you need more or less variety, or more or less effort applied to a specific end.

Maybe the problem with your situation is a specific blockage that won't be overcome by more conjuration type spells; maybe you need a banishment-type spell to bust open the way forward.

The post that details that isn't in the queue yet, so if you don't see something like "spell categories #2" in the masterpost, remind me to write it. There's a ton of information to get down and sometimes stuff gets lost in the stampede.

Setting Up A Goal-Oriented Altar

Set up a goal-oriented altar with any methods used to consecrate a spellcasting altar (methods will be in the masterpost... if you're far enough into the future).

Keep a goal-oriented altar as long as you need it. For some people, altars for prosperity or protection might be kept indefinitely, as these issues are often ongoing for most.

Other altars might be extremely specific, like "help me get into a new housing situation with room mates I gel with," and will be relatively short term.

Take down the altar when you're done with it. It's not like you have to, keep that bad boy for as long as you want. But you don't need to keep the altar up once your purpose has been served.

This post is part of a series of animistic, spirit-oriented spellcasting for beginners. Go to the masterpost to see them all.

[upthewitchypunx]

For those of you who were asking, I'm uploading and archiving episodes of PDX Witch Guild Podcast at archive.org. You will eventually be able to find them here.

However, I guess uploading 7 Nobody Cares About Your Stupid Zine Podcasts that are over a decade old seemed suspicious and I've been warned to slow my uploads so, I will get to the other podcast later.

[upthewitchypunx]

I gotta say, both of my podcasts had theme songs and I'm still really happy with them!

[upthewitchypunx]

Ok! All 4 episodes of PDX Witch Guild are up now!

[upthewitchypunx]

For those of you who missed it last night.

I've uploaded all 4 episodes of PDX Witch Guild and all 7 Episodes of Nobody Cares About You Stupid Zine Podcast.