the education of a witch.

my logic is such: magic gives you freedom, but with greater freedom comes greater responsibility, and you cannot be responsible without widespread knowledge. my name is alex, and i'm a practising witch. i believe in God, and in Gods, and in Nature, and in Universe, and if you will respect my beliefs, i will respect yours. i'd rather have facts than faith, but if i don't leave a bit of space in my mind for things that are irrational, i fear i will go mad. i like cats, skulls, good books, and good chocolate. i am suspicious of people who don't like tea. or coffee, for that matter.

[fleurdulys]

At the Piano - Louise Abbema

~1900

[educationofawitch]

sometimes i don't notice how witch my surroundings actually are until i look at them through eyes of others -- or through a lens.

forgive canned corn in there somewhere. i was just taking a picture of the bouquet when the witchery of it all dawned on me.

[afniel]

It’s okay if you’re too tired to do everything you want for your practice.

It’s okay if you don’t have enough money to get everything you want for your practice.

It’s okay to have slumps in your practice.

It’s okay to doubt your practice.

It’s okay. You’re okay. Your...

[infinity-imagined]

Carl Sagan's Cosmos

The Shores Of The Cosmic Ocean

One Voice In The Cosmic Fugue

The Harmony Of The Worlds

Heaven & Hell

Blues for a Red Planet

Traveller’s Tales

The Backbone of Night

Journeys in Space and Time

The Lives of the Stars

The Edge of Forever

The Persistence of Memory

Encyclopædia Galactica

Who Speaks for Earth?

[asexualveganmystic-deactivated2]

Didn’t see any Catholic pocket shrines on tumblr, so I thought I’d post my own.

[educationofawitch]

(via Witchy Words: Weight Loss Spell)

[dromvarld-blog]

[sleepyoldowl]

The Farrars at home in their temple

[rootandrock]

Next time someone gets upset about their home shrine or temple I want to show them this.

The Farrars literally used side and end tables, some table cloths, and some candle-holders.

Y’all are fine.

[educationofawitch]

I spent the Third Harvest and the Day of the Dead in the company of the living. No time for ritual. And I wanted to do this elaborate thing, too. Clean my living room, then cleanse it, then set up an altar, do a Tarot reading to reflect on the past and peek at the groundwork for future. It was the Witches' New Year, after all.

But I didn't. Third Harvest I spent drinking wine and eating mushroom fettuccine in the company of two friends, who are unaware of the significance of Hallowe'en for me. Day of the Dead I spent in the company of my father, who is a religious Christian. He can be understanding, but I didn't feel like breaching it that day.

So I decided to set up a small something on Guy Fawkes. It's not so much an altar, just... light, I guess. If Midwinter is about light in the middle of Dark, and if Imbolc is saying hello to Light, then Third Harvest is saying goodbye to Light. Or, at least, that is my logic.

Oh, but my house was still dirty! And, most importantly, my living room window, on which I planned to set the candles. And I haven't prepared for ritual. I felt restless and scatterbrained, and in no way ready to perform a Tarot reading, let alone raise energy for magic. 

And then I just though, "Fuck it." The dead I will be honouring, they love me. They couldn't care less if my window was dirty or if my mind was all over the place.

And the Gods? The Gods have seen it all. Your shame, your guilt, your restlessness. They are aware. And they don't mind. As long as you are respectful, they don't care if your window is not pristine. Or if your offering is small. Or if you wanted to fashion a bouquet from autumn leaves to add it to a special type of altar decoration you've been working on, but didn't have the time for it. They only care that it comes from the heart, and with a healthy intent.

So that was it. I set up some candles and an aroma lamp with lavender oil (in a feeble attempt to calm myself). I lighted the candles on Guy Fawkes and let them burn for several  hours, until I had to put them out to go to bed. And I lighted them again today, and I let them burn out. And tomorrow I'll feed the nuts to the pigeons that live in the alcove outside my window. And so it shall be done.

[sea-sorceress-deactivated201604]

Timing: Waxing Moon; Wednesday *

Materials:

A glass jar [the width of the jar should be wide enough to fit sea shells in]

Sea green ribbon

Cowrie shells

1 Sand Dollar

2 cups of sand

Instructions:

First measure the sea green ribbon to see how much you will need to wrap...

[seabois]

I do believe in an everyday sort of magic — the inexplicable connectedness we sometimes experience with places, people, works of art and the like; the eerie appropriateness of moments of syncronicity; the whispered voice, the hidden presence, when we think we’re alone.

Charles de Lint  (via elige)

[forest-nus-blog]

[natural-magics]

This spell can help promote a more restful sleep and pleasant dreams. An ideal magical option if you’re under stress and can’t sleep. This is what you need:

1 tsp coarse salt

1/2 oz rosemary

1 oz rose petals

1 oz valerian

3 pieces of moonstone

Glass bowl

...

[snakeskinstilettos-deactivated2]

[educationofawitch]

(via Solar & Lunar Eclipses in Magic - PaganPath)

A solar eclipse is happening tomorrow. You can find more details about it here. Clicking on the photo or the cited source of photo will take you to the article about solar and lunar eclipses in magic. 

What's interesting to note about tomorrow (or today for me, already) is that it's also the day of the new moon. Usually I make a list of goals for the next 'month'/ moon period during every new moon. I don't have any outstanding spell work, so I think I will focus the majority of my energy on setting goals and giving a bit of thought to reaching them.

[educationofawitch]

(via 10 Fascinating Facts About Ravens | Mental Floss)

[alliekat3]

Altar update!  Autumn is in full swing and Samhain is nearly upon us.  It’s officially the perfect time to show off my revamped altar.

[theleveretpath]

Beautiful!

[witcheryinthekitchery]

My favourite time of the year! Here’s a very simple Samhain themed protection spell for you guys :)

What you’ll need;

Orange or black candle

Sandalwood or another cleansing incense

Glass jar or bottle

Nails (older the better, but new ones are fine too!)

...