Sade Olutola
Product Placement
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KIROKAZE
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Xuebing Du
cherry valley forever
Mike Driver
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pixel skylines
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@crystalline-magic
Some omens feel clearer than others
[image description: a painting of two crows perched on a yellow road sign with a swerving black arrow. the label beneath it is partially broken off, but the words “next” and “miles” are legible. behind the sign and the cawing crows is a darkening night sky.]
a study in green - beach edition
Gotta learn that dif
Mmkay, this is an important thing to discuss and it requires a little modern history.
The one-point-up vs two-points-up orientation of the pentacle has absolutely no bearing on whether it is a “good” or “bad” symbol. Flipping the star around doesn’t indicate beneficial or baneful magic. What it DOES indicate is the still-prevalent influence of the Satanic Panic on modern witchcraft.
During the 70s, 80s, and part of the 90s, there was a huge moral panic in America over the alleged presence of secret Satanic cults. Supposed “evidence” of their presence included the popularity of Dungeons & Dragons tabletop RPG games, violence and occult symbolism in children’s cartoons, hidden messages in rock music and product packaging, and the increasing shift of American youth away from “traditional values.” If you’re thinking conservative Christian mass hysteria, you are correct.
(There were also several famous legal cases involving daycare workers who had allegedly abused or even murdered children for the cult, for which there was never a single shred of physical evidence. Some of these people are still serving time for crimes that never happened. I suggest listening to the American Hysteria podcast episodes on the Satanic Panic for more information.)
Out of this panic grew the Moral Majority, which has been a part of the American political scene ever since they helped get Ronald Reagan elected in 1980.
At the same time, the modern witchcraft movement was beginning to gain steam, particularly toward the late 80s and early 90s when the panic was starting to wane. But it was still a very dicey time to be a witch or to display the symbols of your craft, such as pentacles, in public. And since the panic was largely about Satanists, non-satanic witches (Wiccan or otherwise) took it upon themselves to create this differentiation with the orientation of the pentacle.
“Nope, this isn’t a Satanic pentacle! Look, they have it with two points up, like the Baphomet symbol, right? Well mine only has ONE point up, it’s just for good magic. We never use magic for harm, only for love and light and to help others….”
Sound familiar?
Anyway, all this to say that the idea is still circulating among modern practitioners. It gets quoted in the literature, but very few authors seem to take the time to research or notate where the idea comes from. And it’s very important to do so. Because Satanic witches get thrown under the bus all the time and it’s only fair to recognize that and not perpetuate the idea of an “evil” pentacle. There is no such thing.
Hi anon, did you contact a server mod about your concerns, or provide any kind of evidence of your very serious claims before deciding to send emotionally manipulative anonymous messages?
“The Norse gods had a different relationship with mortals. To the average Norse person, the gods were like distant family members, powerful, of course, but approachable by someone willing to speak [their] mind. Gods were not to be propitiated so much as bargained with, and it was not unknown for a Norseman to more or less threaten his gods. Aid might be demanded, or else the Norseman would have a major falling-out with his god. This was not disrespect so much as a different form of respect to that found in many religions. Gods were powerful, but the relationship between them and mortals was a two-way street and humans had a right to expect fair treatment – or at least to be angry with the gods for not giving it.”
— Norse Myths: Viking Legends of Heroes and Gods
Glad to see wanting to fistfight your gods is an age old practice
Catch me shaking Loki upside down like a school bully looking for lunch in a cartoon cuz they fucking stop messing with my whiteout
FISTFIGHTING THE GODS SHOULD BE STANDARD PRACTICE REALLY, A GOOD TIME WOULD BE HAD BY ALL.
I don’t wanna say let’s meet at the parking lot fenrir but
I don't know who needs to see this, but this is your casual reminder that Joy of Satan is actually a nazi/white supremacist movement masquerading as edgy Satanists. Don't fall for their pretense that they have something to say.
Spirit war?
Anon! So sorry I didn’t answer this!
Yes, the spirit war was a funny little event in witchblr that happened a few years ago… let me think…. perhaps in 2015? or 2016?
You can likely find more information on other tumblr blogs than mine. My experience with it was not firsthand haha.
But, basically, similarly to this whole “hexing the moon” mess, the spirit war was something that got blown out of proportion, with lots of fear-mongering and hearsay. Luckily, the “spirit war” was generally kept inside of tumblr.. whereas this “hexing the moon” biz got fairly popular on multiple social media sites.
All I know of the origins of the “spirit war” is that some spirit workers were going around saying… that there was a war about to begin in the spirit realm. And that this would have grave effects on our world. I don’t know anything else beyond that, since when I heard it I immediately thought “oh, what a load of bs lol”
Controversies like this prey on the innocence of those new to witchcraft and the occult. Many new witches tend to be in a learning phase, where they seek out knowledge and mentors and what-have-you, and they accidentally put their faith in anyone that just sounds like they know what they’re talking about. So, if someone says “hey i have some really important info that YOU absolutely NEED to know!!!!1″ it’s easy for one with less experience to get swept up and believe them.
I just hope that more people learn to not believe everything they see on the internet… and I hope that this “hexing the moon” prank hasn’t turned off too many new witches to the occult.
Rabbits Rabbits Rabbits
Reblog this on the first of the month for good luck all month long!
If any of y'all follow me for Gaelic polytheism, then you need to be aware that irelandseyeonmythology is back. If you are luck enough not to know who this is, feel free to google irelandseyeonmyth (this fuck's url the last time he was on tumblr before getting run off the site for being a fuck) to find old posts that should help enlighten you.
Seriously, be wary of anyone who claims that Gaelic polytheism is a closed path. Be wary of anyone who tries to whitewash Gaelic polytheism or Gaelic history. Be wary of anyone who constantly spreads easily debunked misinformation. They are not safe people, and they should not be tolerated.
Unfortunately, I don't know that we'll be successful running this guy off tumblr a second time. The GaelPol "community" here now isn't what it was the last time this clown was around. But if you're in the GaelPol sphere of tumblr at all, then you need to know that irelandseyeonmythology spreads misinformation, vitriol, and should not be trusted or taken seriously.
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stop waiting for other people to validate your spiritual beliefs and experiences! if you believe in it, and it delights your soul, that is all that matters. your spiritual path does not need to align or agree with anyone else’s. we are all walking our own path in faith, spirituality, and divinity. follow truth, not what other people tell you is right. ✨
The Problem With Sharing Advanced Magic
The inherent problem with sharing advanced magic is exactly why we all celebrate magic: it’s personal!
When we go to 101 stuff, it’s all pretty universal. Energy balls, grounding, shielding, spirit talk, warding, cleansing. A solid practitioner who has been studying even a few weeks could tell you the basics of these commonly explained things!
Then people get bored of it, and want to move to the next step. I regularly see calls for discourse on more advanced topics, which I call “201” topics. Let’s not cast a shield, let’s cast a sentient fanged 1000 layered lotus shield with twelve spinning sigils represented by four unknown colors! Which is dope. Advanced energy work is a solid place to go and can significantly strengthen any practitioner. Then there’s the 201 of any topic; divination, spirit work, etc. How to go from beginner to adept.
And that’s where things pretty much seem to stop, and people seem to get frustrated. Where are the mystic techniques that take a practitioner from Muggle to Wizard? Where are the techniques that Make Unbelievable Shit Happen? Okay, we’ve all cast money spells. Magic is real. Woo. But I want more than a few extra dollars and hexing my enemies. I want my soul to evolve. I want to walk the worlds and learn secret songs of animals and stars. I want personal gnosis, where the spirits whisper Truth to me, instead of reading it out books. I want to birth souls and make hearts stop. I want some Real Fuckin Magic, some 301 next level shit.
I know there are a LOT of Initiated people on Tumblr who do Unbelievable Real Fuckin Shit (including me). So where are all the posts about how to do it? Where are my posts about it?
I’ve come to realize there are a lot of good reasons I don’t post “301” content. So many that I’m not even sure where to begin.
First off, it doesn’t apply to anyone but me. Ok, so I met my guiding animal spirit. Anyone can do that; I could teach you how in 300 words or less. But the lessons he teaches me, and the places he takes me, and the secrets and songs he whispers in my ear aren’t for anyone but me. I can’t make posts about him without violating the sanctity of our relationship. I can’t share the paths to the places I go without violating their safety or the trust the spirits place in me. It’s not because I’m a nasty elitist who doesn’t want other people to know cool magical secrets. It’s because I would be ejected from my path face first in to the mud if I did. Do I want people to have the same experiences I do? Yes! But you can only guide someone so far, unless you have a very trusted mentor.
I worry that people won’t respect the information I share. I suppose this is pretty big for me. I don’t want people to take my sacred animal rituals and desecrate them in honor of pagan gods. I don’t want to share a hallowed place of healing, and get a message three weeks later from a baby conjurer asking me for exclusivity rights to the holy spirits in my path. I don’t want some rude asshole messaging me telling me they’ve spoken to my guides for me and they have messages to share! (You have no idea how many times this has happened to me).
So I keep my lip zipped.
And I suppose lastly, and most vaguely, I do believe Initiation is necessary to experience certain things, so it’s kind of pointless to share because people won’t understand, believe, or accept your message unless they’ve already been there themselves. “Initiation” can mean any number of things, but I mean it in the way where the spirits or gods take you apart and put you back together as a practitioner on your path. There was a hell of a lot I just didn’t “get” until I experienced it firsthand, that no amount of books or posts or helpful bloggers could ever have pounded in to my head.
I think if you want to do “next level shit”, you have to get there on your own. And there are resources to do it. There are a lot of resources to do it. But you can only be handed the key; you have to walk the path yourself. And I think that’s why we’re lacking a lot of the info we’d like to see.
Yes. This really applies to traditional witchcraft too. There are reasons that secrets are kept.
Part of the reason for this, fortunately or unfortunately, is that the ‘secrets’ of advanced magic are the results of the facility that comes from practice. The first time one plays a chord progression on a guitar, one is likely to be awkward and weird. You do a funny thing with your lip, you lose control of the pick at the same time you shift from G to D, you can’t play the strum-pattern at the same time that you shift the fingering for the chords. The better musicians get asked onto the stage for open mic night, or to try out for the band in the garage; the best musicians have been playing for two to four hours a day for a decade. You get better with practice.
In the same way, the apprentice carpenter spends a lot of time building cruddy-looking boxes out of pine and other softwoods. They’re cheap, they’re easily glued, they’re amateurish, their proportions are wrong, and they were cut and assembled with dull tools. The amateur artisan that has learned a thing or two about a thing or two, sharpens their tools before they begin, and all through the working; their mallet strikes are precise; they work with the wood rather than forcing it to conform to the plans in the book; they work with better materials as accents, but they’ve learned to accept pine and fir’s limitations and its beauty. The master and the professional, they work with hardwoods and high quality softwoods; they stop to sharpen their tools often; they’ve found ethical sources for the rarer materials, and have replaced their first tools with higher-quality ones (or made their own from scratch). I know one fellow who makes mouldings for bookcases and fine furniture, and he built 38 carpenter’s planes for making those mouldings from scratch. He got better with practice.
A tailoring instructor of my acquaintance is much better at sewing than me. After twenty years of practice, she ought to. But she knows the same twenty or so stitches that I do, yet uses her sewing machine, and her hand sewing techniques, at a much greater level of dexterity than I do. She’s not afraid of any kind of fabric, but she’s also not above telling me that I’ve made a project much more difficult than it needed to be by my textile choices, and why. She can pick out my sewing mistakes from forty feet away. She’s better because she’s practiced.
When one cuts away the trappings of my practice as a druid and a magus, most of what I do magically is based on materials I learned in my first three years as a ritual magician, and my first three years as a druid, and my first three years of study in astrology — nine non-consecutive years of practice, out of twenty, inform most of what I do. Tarot, vegetable alchemy, geometry, drawing, scrying, pathworking, ritual work, geomancy, memory arts… none of what I do magically is particularly complicated or difficult. I just have twenty years of practice at it.
Carpentry and tailoring and guitar-playing are all like magic in that, from the outside, they look mysterious and arcane and weird, and probably narrowly-framed skills, but capable of producing marvelous things — from inside, there’s a deep awareness of both the potential and the limitation of both materials and the skills.
So if you think of your magical practice as being like carpentry or tailoring or guitar playing, rather than being secret information naturally separated into grades of “neophyte”, “practitioner” and “adept”, or 1-2-3, you may find that you get farther in your practice. It’s a skill-set that must be practiced, and practice makes you better.
So neither I nor anyone else can hand you twenty years of knowledge in a 45-minute class, not even after you’ve been practicing for five years. I can only look for glimmers of insight in your eyes, smile, and say, “great! Keep Going.”
He’s right.
Every practitioner could post their most prized personal grimoire/journals/bos/spells online for public consumption and you would only get limited benefit from reading all of that collective knowledge and experiences. Magick isn’t rocket science it’s a skill. That’s the difference between the chef and you standing in your kitchen with the recipe you just downloaded. You could both follow the exact same steps and the chef will create a masterpiece and you something the stray dog down the street wouldn’t touch.
Mary Oliver, Upstream: Selected Essays
Spirit Worker Reminders
It’s okay if your practice isn’t filled with drama and attacks. Never having been psychically assaulted or tortured on the astral plane doesn’t make you any less of a spirit worker. You’re not doing things “wrong” if the most you’ve ever had to do to banish an unwanted spirit is say “can u not”.
It’s okay if you take an informal approach to your practice. The spirits I work are routinely addressed with such lofty, respectful titles as: dude, bro, homeslice, nerd, jerkass, hey you, rat-fink, you get the idea. Obviously, sometimes you’re gonna want to break out the formalities, but it’s fine if you don’t use them in the day to day stuff.
It’s okay if your practice is mellow and modern. One of the most treasured “bonding” experiences I have had to date with a spirit involved the two of us hanging out on my bed and listening to the new Fall Out Boy album. Who would’ve guessed a dead coyote would love the song “Uma Thurman” so much? Not me.
It’s okay to stop and question yourself sometimes. There’s nothing wrong with feeling like you can’t entirely believe everything that’s happening to you, with feeling like you’re imagining things. You’re allowed to be skeptical of yourself and your practice at times. It only makes you a “bad” spirit worker if you let it stop you forever.
Just reiterating that the heart of witchcraft is (just like science) experimentation and documentation. Try things out. Get them wrong. Mess up. Do better. Write down your efforts. Make changes and alterations based on what you have access to. Above all, if it works, it works; if it doesn’t, then it’s no good. Witchcraft is a results-based practice.
BEHOLD THE FIFTH INFERNAL KING ASMODEUS, THE AESMA-DAEVA, REVENGER OF EVIL, KING OF THE CAMBIONS AND LORD OF LUST
I COMMISSIONED @charminglyantiquated FOR A SKETCH OF KING ASMODEUS HAVING A LAUGH FROM THIS POST
FOR ALL YOUR INFERNAL KING ASMODEUS HAVING A LAUGH NEEDS
ACCORDING TO OCCULT CANNON KING ASMODEUS WALKS WITH A CRUTCH WHICH MEANS THAT THE KING OF CAMBIONS THE RULER OF ALL SUCCIBI AND INCUBI AND CANONICALLY THE SEXIEST DEMON IN HELL IS DISABLED
YOU HAVE BEEN VISITED BY FUCKMASTER ASMODEUS ONCE AGAIN
True Love Tarot Combinations My Grandma Taught Me
Death + Ace of Cups
Love that lasts a day after forever
Six of Pentacles + Five of Pentacles
Love that asks for nothing in return
Knight of Wands + King of Wands
Love that makes a boy into a man
The Tower + Four of Wands
Love that can withstand any earthquake
Seven of Wands + Knight of Swords
Love that will fight and die for you
Six of Wands + The World
Love that puts you on a pedestal
The Moon + The Sun
Love that consumes you night and day
The Devil + Four of Pentacles
Flaming love that engulfs you
Ace of Cups + Ten of Cups
Love you never have to shed tears for
Two of Cups + The High Priestess
Love you recognize at first sight
Six of Cups + Two of Cups
Friendship that blooms into love
The Hermit + The Fool
Love that outlasts time itself
Death + The Wheel of Fortune
Love that can resurrect a dying soul
Ace of Wands + The Sun
Lust that matures into love
The Hermit + Strength
Love that grows stronger each passing day
Five of Pentacles + Ten of Pentacles
Love that makes lords out of beggars
The Hierophant + Four of Wands
Love no storm can conquer
