guh @enigmattoid - Tumblr Blog

IT IS TIME

SPIRIT POT DIVINATION

So for the divination, I have redrawn the sigils originally used for the pots, and will be drawing tarot cards for them. I would have just done the reading by the pots themselves, but my house mate doesn't really like the witchy/spooky stuff so I'm doing the reading in my room lol.

Mind that I am writing this while doing the setup and adding on the results afterwards, so please excuse any weird switches in tensing.

During the Divination, I am not aware which sigil corresponds to which pot (i forgor ☠️) and will look back at my notes afterwards to see what's what.

The Rules:

For the divination, I will be using my Deviant Moon Tarot deck (because it Does Not Fuck Arround). Please note that Deviant Moon can differ variously in the card meanings compared to the traditional Smith-Rider-Waite, and I will be using definitions of the cards as presented by the Deviant Moon official guide.

I will shuffle randomly until a card (or multiple, as it may be) falls out.

I am telling my deck to associate any Major Arcana with the spirit seeds, and the minor for anything else in or relating to the pots they inhabit, which will also give my plants an opportunity to yell at me for poor plant parenting. For any major arcana that jump out, I will use that to infer the nature of the spirit. Any minor arcana are issues between me and the pot and I will leave out any interpretations for them.

The Divination

#1

The Empress sits on her golden throne holding a flower that emanates from her own body. As the goddess of fertility, she is one with nature.

Reversed meanings: Infidelity. Domestic strife. Infertility.

Major Arcana right off the bat and it does NOT look like something I want to be associated with my plants.

THE POT: The- The happy blueberry bush??? Wh- How--- Whyyyyy

#2

Not a major arcana, onto the next!

Pot: Sad baby pawpaw

#3

An angel stands by a peaceful stream patiently pouring water from her urns. Although the vessels are different in design, the mixture she creates is a potion of harmony.

Reversed meaninga: Conflict. Bad combinations. Discord. Excess

Oof Ouch Owie why do all these spirits so far seem so not good to go with plants

THE POT: The... The Empty Mushroom Pot.

#4

Upright meanings: Patience. Balance. Channeling one's energy. Combining elements for new results.

Well okay then.

THE POT: Capsicul Flexuosum. I know this is a good reading for these guys, especially with their slow growth and low germination, but the the complete counterintuitiveness of the last two have me concerned now.

(Okay I know I said no talking about minor arcana but reversed ace of swords is tyranny??? Excuse me??? I HAVE GIVEN YOU EVERYTHING I OWN AND THIS IS WHAT YOU THINK???)

#5

Another nothingburger (spirit-seed wise).

Pot: Herbs

Interpretations:

After seeing 3 spirits and 2 duds I was hoping I could detect a clear pattern for what conditions sprouted a spirit seed, but it's 1 spirit per category of nothing, seedling, and plant, so it doesn't seem that cohabitation matters at all for this method. Which I guess makes sense if we're working under the idea that spirits are plants (we are. they are. this is my blog don't question me) and while plants CAN form mutually beneficial relationships, they can sprout and grow on their own, and may even be inhibited by other plants.

The NEXT thing I noticed is that out of the 3 spirits, only 1 of them is happy, and that just so happens to be the capsicum flexuosum. Now, I'm not sure if anyone's noticed, but I've been kiiiinda obsessed with that pot.

My original aim in this experiment was to literally just try to grow an ethereal entity just like one would a plant, and in my head I just sort of assumed the spirit would bond with and follow a similar pattern of growth as its companion plant, but I totally neglected the factor that Plant Food. And Spirit Food. Are Different.

I have poured so much energy into the Capsicum Flexuosum pot while not giving anywhere near the same consideration to the others, and I think that's what I'm seeing in these readings. Although, I'm going to probably have to do additional readings to figure out what the fuck empty mushroom pot is talking about (I'm sorry, are there too many granules of dirt for your liking???).

Honestly, you guys, I genuinely didn't this this would come out like it did.

I was not expecting to find a clear pattern of spirit growth that A. Makes total sense and B. does not play at all into my preconceptions of how this would work.

I'm going to take the readings to heart and pour more attention into the other spirits (or... less, for empty mushroom pot...?). As I mentioned last update, I will be continuing this until the sigils break down completely. I won't be updating unless something really crazy happens, but I will do another divination at the end to see if anything's changed from now.

Thank you to everyone who's been following along with my bullshit. Please let me know if you have an interpretation to add, or if you just think I'm a dumb stupid idiot and this is a dumb stupid idiot experiment.

Takeaway: Stick a sigil in a pot and water it a bunch and you, too, can have your very own spirit

#spirit pot 2024 #spirit pot finale

Putting a pin in my experiments and logging off Tumblr for a bit while I research Ireland immigration requirements, thanks

irrevocablecondition

💙 USA 💙

national suicide prevention

national domestic violence hotline

national sexual abuse hotline

trans lifeline and resources

💙INTERNATIONAL💙

list of suicide hotlines by country

domestic violence hotlines and resources by country

sexual (+ domestic) abuse agencies by country

international trans resources

depsidase

thecarvingwitch

Stay safe, guys

gendernewtral

Get immediate help 24/7/365. The Trevor Project's crisis counselors are just a text, chat, or phone call away. Completely confidential and f

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our-trans-punk-experience

This is important punks. Deadly important.

hazey-magnolia

I’ve texted their hotline before. It was super helpful and even if it hadn’t been the amount of time you’re there can be enough to let your urges fade and stay safe.

#gonna throw this out there for anyone who might need it in the near future now...

windvexer

hey, chicken! based on your last post (the morality of witchcraft), how would you defend the idea that witchcraft ISN’T cheating/immoral?

We are in reference to this post

So I'm not like, a philosophy guy. And I don't have an answer at all. But by God I'll write an essay.

I believe the problem that causes some people to view magic as immoral/cheating, is that magic is viewed as being a force which, by default, causes harm. So if you're using it to benefit yourself, then that's always unfair/cheating.

This is mitigated if you use magic to help others, because it's immoral to help yourself (?) but okay to help others, which is just then net neutral, so magic is rarely allowed to be good. It's either neutral or bad.

However, if you don't get explicit permission to cast beneficial magic on others, then you're for sure evil. So most magic, most of the time, is always unethical to some degree. Because most magic, most of the time, is harmful and self-serving.

Right.

"Job spells manipulate hiring managers, and take away their free will. You are compelling someone else's mind to make a choice they wouldn't have otherwise made."

Well, why do we think that is true? Why would any generic "bippity boppity basil brings the jobbity" spell default to harmful mind-control?

I think what people are seeing is: a hiring manager makes a choice they wouldn't have otherwise made. And because they view witchcraft as inherently harmful and self-serving, this means that the hiring manager must have been the victim of unethical action.

Let's use a little hyperbole to engage in a thought exercise. What if the default view was that witchcraft was helpful and community-serving?:

When workers can't find jobs, that is an indicator of sickness in the spiritual body of local commerce. If you cast a job spell on yourself to find employment, you are healing one strand of that sickness. This healing is always good, just as relaxing one strand of a muscle spasm is always good.

Job spells would never ""steal"" a job from somebody else, that's just not how they work. Can you imagine thinking that sending beneficial employment energy into a community would somehow result in stealing jobs? That's literally the opposite intent. That would be like casting a protection spell that automatically puts people in danger because you are "stealing" their protection!

When you cast a job spell, what's actually happening is that you are bringing healing and support to companies who tend to be under-staffed. You are also unblocking and banishing policies that tend to turn away great candidates just because they don't have a buzzword on their resume. Companies, employees, and managers always benefit when job spells are cast on their company.

You might be pointing out that well, sure - but that's not how job spells work. The actual mechanisms depend on the type of spell you cast.

Which brings me back to the earlier point: then why is the bippity boppity basil brings jobbity spell assumed to work with an unethical mechanism?

Why is the common defense for this, "well, somebody has got to get the job and witchcraft is nothing but an advantage, just like Excel is an advantage on the resume, so if doing witchcraft is unethical, so is learning Excel, so there." ?

Why isn't the defense, "no, it's not unethical. Is pouring water into a drought-stricken pond unethical? Casting a job spell literally means generating energies of beneficial employment. When you release that into your community, you are pouring water into the evaporating pond. Those energies of beneficial employment would not have existed if you did not cast the spell, and they are fundamentally healing and restorative to your local economy, no matter whom they benefit. A job spell, by definition, challenges energies of unemployment and poverty. How could you think that's a bad thing?"

Do you see what I mean, Anon?

Why is a popular default assumption that magic is thieving, manipulative, and ruinous?

Why isn't the assumption rather that magic is generative, restorative, and healing?

Look, I'm not saying that I think all witchcraft actually is healing or restorative. My point is just to provide contrast. Having to prove that witchcraft isn't cheating is the wrong stance. You're already two steps in the wrong direction.

At the core of it all, I think it takes stepping back and asking: How did I get to a place where I have to convince myself I'm not a bad person for engaging in my faith?

I think the idea of 'the path of least resistance' has caused brainrot to the point where people actually think that it takes the same amount of magical force to kill your grandma as it does to get an Etsy sale.

I'm not saying that witches have never accidentally fucked stuff up with a badly planned spell. It happens all the time.

But I think it's pertinent to ask. If you live in a reality where you believe you don't need spiritual protection because nobody is targeting you, is that mutually exclusive with the belief that magic can easily cause awful things to happen to innocent, untargeted bystanders?

So like, if the universe is such that the behaviors of spirits and practitioners just trying to achieve their own goals is stealing, cheating, and harmful, would that not mean that the magical ecosystem we live in is indeed very dangerous, much more dangerous than mundane reality?

How can we say, "protection is almost never necessary because nobody is going to target you; but you'd better be careful, because any magical action can accidentally steal from or harm untargeted innocent bystanders."?

I don't think we get to have it both ways.

But I think both of these things stem from the same source: a worldview that colors perception of witchcraft. It doesn't come from witchcraft, but was rather applied to it.

So that's why I don't have an answer for you, Anon. How can I argue that witchcraft isn't cheating or immoral? If a witch believes that helping themselves is sinful, then any time they do that, I expect they will always feel like they are cheating or being self-centered. That's not witchcraft's fault.

If a witch believes that magic tends to maim, mind-control, and harm, I suppose that's either from personal experience and they are walking the most metal of paths, or that's because they just believe that magic is just kinda wicked.

And all I can say is, no. It's not.

But that's not a very good argument.

enigmattoid

And even if you're not casting magic for the greater good of boosting the job ecosystem overall and really are just limiting itself to only yourself for this sole instance, technically getting a job does take away that opportunity from another person (unless it's a job boom where the company seems to be expanding endlessly); HOWEVER, if you think taking that away someone else's opportunity is inherently Bad or Wrong, then why are you in the job market to begin with? And if you think having a non-criteria-based advantage is also Bad or Wrong - and answer yourself honestly here - would you also turn down a job offer from a friend or relative?

grey-sorcery

What are some non-technical words, jokes, or phrases that are unique to the witchcraft community?

I'm currently writing a paper en academia about this wonderful community! I'd appreciate any and all interactions- but especially comments and reblogs. <3

jupiter-witchcraft

Death On Two Legs - Incorporating Music Into Spellwork

Recently, I lost my job unfairly. A job I had for many years, was very good at, and I'd been there long before any management. To say I was angry is an understatement. But I was also terribly depressed, I felt like my confidence had been stripped away from me. So after wallowing in it for two months, I decided to make something of it.

Nothing gets me focused quite like music. I always incorporate music into my work, usually with noise cancelling headphones. This time around I was doing a 2-tier spell, first to send off a prayer for good luck, and second to turn the pain I've felt these last 2 months back on those who caused it. I'm not one to curse, but this was unfair and has put me through a lot of pain. For the first half of my ritual, set out with a small cast iron cauldron, a red candle, green candle, and white candle, 2 feathers, a statue of Bast, and the Chariot tarot card, I used the "Inside Forest Haven" track from The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker. It kept me level, calm, and set the mood as I burned a scroll with several sigils and a prayer inside. The scroll burned completely and left pure white ash.

For the second half, I swapped my music out for something more angry. I wanted to channel my hurt into it. One song that always gets me going, really makes me FEEL like my anger is being channeled, is "Death On Two Legs" by Queen. It's a very angry song, it feels so good to listen to when I'm mad. So I hit play, waited for the guitar to kick in, and burned the second prayer, packaged with a little blood and part of my old uniform. Lucky me, yesterday I had a nosebleed. Free samples for blood rituals in the future. I watched it as it refused to burn with a heavy flame, but slowly charred and melted from the heat. It burned slow like my anger did and left a black mass of ash and nylon. Once it stopped burning, I sprinkled salt over it and pushed 2 red pins into the mass to complete the ritual. The use of such an emotionally charged song really helped me focus through that really slow burn.

And before anyone gets mad about cursing and all that, I'm not wishing death on anyone or harm, for that matter. I want them to know they hurt someone who was loyal to them. And I want them to struggle with business because, honestly, it's probably better for public health if people don't go there (black mold infestation!). I felt this was justified. They've wronged me, they've wronged other former employees, and they lie to city inspectors to stay in business.

creature-wizard

Did you know you can download the entire Rider-Waite-Smith tarot deck from the Internet Archive?

The art is in the public domain now, so go wild.

grrlscientist

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Use Lyft code #NAACPVOTE24

Valid for two rides up to $20 ($40 total)"

windvexer

Once again in defense of witchcraft being not dangerous and fucking fine to do

I am pretty sure that some witches buy into worldviews that actively frame their own magic as inherently dangerous and unbalanced.

And I think that might be what's going on, at least some of the time, when witches eschew preventive cleansing and protection.

I think that we live in an active magical ecosystem where a lot of things are happening all the time, and almost none of those things have anything to do with us.

But somehow protection magic has developed a cringy veneer, as if in order to need it you'd have to think you're a main character who's being actively targeted by evil witches and spirits.

It seems that some witches have gotten the impression that in order to be well-balanced, they've got to believe that wolves don't exist. Neither do storms, diseases, accidents, or the unscrupulous.

Cleansing has gotten the same bad rap, I feel. Inasmuch as cleansing is removing unwanted energy, a lot of witches seem to live in a world where all energy is perfectly good and natural (but they're not love-and-light witches, how could you accuse of such a thing), and not only that, but all cleansing completely strips something of every possible energy. A cleansing can destroy the utility or value of magical objects.

Just like sweeping your floor automatically destroys the floorboards, underlayment, and foundations of your house, leaving nothing but dirt and crumbled plumbing.

So protection is unnecessary for normal people, and cleansing is at best destructive. (I'd be terrified to see the curses of many witches, given how powerfully withering their most basic cleansings are.)

But it's all well and good, and this part I actually do not mean sarcastically at all - it's all well and good, because keeping up a cleansing and protection routine actually takes a decent amount of time and energy.

Depending on your methods it can get pretty streamlined. But you're still putting something on your plate - ten minutes here, five minutes there. And it can kind of get away from you.

I mean, if you start teaching yourself how to cleanse unwanted energies, then I expect by and large you're going to end up able to sense and identify unwanted energies. And then you'll start finding more magic you could be doing to deal with more problems you've learned to identify.

But it does go on: then maybe you'll get a bit overwhelmed cleansing the home, so you'd rather make a protection for the home to just keep unwanted energy out. And then that takes maintenance. And then you find a better way to do things.

And you end up doing plenty of magic.

And, if you believe that certain types of energy can accumulate around a person and make problems, and sending that energy away is therefore is helpful; and if you believe that preventative magic can stop bad things from happening; then a regular cleansing and protection routine will help things get better and go better.

I'm not saying that everyone should do preventive and maintenance magic all the time. I'm not saying that people should believe in things the same way I believe in them.

What I am saying is, hey.

Isn't it kind of weird that some witches seem to have worldviews that frame their a lot of their own magic as inherently dangerous and unbalanced?

Isn't it also kind of weird how many witches say they wish they could be doing more magic?

But no, not that kind of magic. There's no problem to chase, and that kind of prevention isn't for them, they're not a main character. No, not that kind of magic, it's at high risk of being destructive. No, not that kind of magic, that would constitute stealing from others. No, not that kind of magic, that's unethical. No, not that kind of magic, it might have unintended consequences. Also, it's unethical. Also, it's cheating.

I kind of have a conspiracy theory, okay. It's that many witches who start out eschewing spiritual hygiene (like, cleansing and protection routines) do so because they want to establish that the magical ecosystem around them isn't inherently dangerous or bad. They don't want to be the kinds of witches who think all this magic stuff is dangerous.

And I agree with that. The magical world around us isn't inherently dangerous or bad. Not any more dangerous than the mundane world around us.

But I do think a lot of witches do view their own magic as dangerous and bad. Sometimes that badness is because magic is seen as inherently destructive (like cleansing that destroy, money spells that kill and maim relatives, and job spells that strip free will from hiring managers).

At other times, the badness stems from scrupulosity: that using magic itself is inherently immoral. Protection is bad because using it demonstrates self-centeredness and egotism. Money spells are bad because you're stealing (or cheating). Binding spells are bad because you're putting your needs before others. Conjuring anything at all - from a new friend to a lucky break - may be a bit selfish, I mean, can you imagine someone who could do magic just conjuring things for themselves, instead of only helping others?

And then witches wonder how they're meant to engage in their path, when there's hardly any magic that a moral, well-balanced person would ever do.

Well, anyway. I haven't got a proper ending. Thanks for listening to my essay. I hope you're all having a nice November so far.

randomslasher

No matter what a post on tumblr tries to tell you, your moral and ethical stances will never be determined by what you reblog and what you scroll past. Don’t let manipulation tactics force you into doing anything you don’t want to do.

randomslasher

I find it very interesting to note the times in which this post has a sudden resurgence. It often follows very stressful, upsetting events, where a lot of “REBLOG THIS OR YOU SUCK” posts start appearing on this site.

So I’ll say it again: it is okay if you come to tumblr to escape upsetting news. It is okay if you’re just here for fun and fandom. It is okay if you do not want to use your tumblr as a place to read about or spread the current events that are circulating. It is okay if you need a place to decompress and just relax. There are other ways to be involved in/support causes and you are allowed to set boundaries on social media platforms without it being indicative of your belief systems.

Your beliefs, values, ethics, and moral stances are not determined by whether or not you reblog something.

enigmattoid

BABY PEPPER IS STILL SOOOOO SMALL LIKE MY GUY HASN'T GROWN AT ALL IN 2 WEEKS

enigmattoid

It's fine It's fine I'm

FINE

The tarot reading specifically said patience

i am being so patient right now

BABY PEPPER IS STILL SOOOOO SMALL LIKE MY GUY HASN'T GROWN AT ALL IN 2 WEEKS

Testing the Effectiveness of Various Cleansing Methods

Yeah I'm doing a new thing this month

This time I am going to be testing 4 different cleansing methods on a set of identical artificial gemstones against a control of not cleansing at all. I will carry all gemstones around with me daily and cleanse (or not cleanse) each one separately. To control for how inconvenient one method might be over another (active cleansing vs passive) I'm using the cleansing methods as I would likely utilize them in normal practice.

The Subjects:

A set of Five (5) lab grown diamonds I got from a questionable seller on ebay back in 2011 for like $20

The Methods:

#1: Running Water (active) - A classic cleansing routine. I'll be running tap water from my sink over the gemstone for about 1 minute.

#2: Salt (passive) - Another classic method for cleansing. I will simply be allowing the gemstone to sit in a dish of salt overnight.

#3: Sound Cleansing (active)- For this I'm going to be using one of those buddhist bells that I (consentually) swiped from a coworker's goodwill donation bag because I am a racoon. I don't think this counts as appropriation since I am just utilizing it as a normal bell, but if any actual buddhists think it's disrespectful I'll nix this one. I'll ring the bell once and allow it to sound until it naturally peters out. I will remove the other gems from the room while doing this one to prevent cross contamination.

#4: Bleached Flour (passive) - It has chemicals. To be used the same way as salt.

#5: Control - No Cleansing

I will be cleansing daily and updating weekly, measuring effectiveness with the very scientific and rigorously tested Vibe Check methodology.

#deep cleansing 2024