Take A Walk Under My Skies

"Blackbird singing in the dead of night, take these broken wings and learn to fly. All your life, you were only waiting for this moment to arise." Matters of the heart from a cis woman, panromantic demisexual, empath, huge nerd, ex-Lutheran, solitary eclectic witch, and therian. . My fandom blog is @chiaroscar, and my creative writing/art blog can be found at https://moonlitlibrary.wordpress.com.

[stormbornwitch]

If you're looking for additional information on working with the weather as part of your practise, I recommend having a look at Debra L. Burris' 'Weather Magic: Witchery, Science, Lore'

You can read a bit of it for free on Google Books to see if you're interested but it covers how to work with:

Whistling Up a Wind

Ocean Currents

Weather Fronts

Clouds

Rain

Snow / Sleet / Hail

Thunderstorms

Lightning

Tornadoes

Hurricanes / Cyclones

And a whole bunch of exercises and activities to do to build your understanding and confidence in doing weather related witchcraft.

[jaded-witch-baby]

Casual late night reminder that witchcraft does not always need to involve spells and candles and crystals and cards. Some days it is my embroidery and my tea against the world and that is OKAY

[qedavathegrey]

The Poison Dagger

Used to bring sickness – physical, mental or spiritual – to your victim. It can be drawn on their doorstep, its ashes added to crossing powder, or drawn over a photo of them. 

To make Poison Dagger Powder: combine black mustard seed, the dirt from a hospital, a powdered, poisonous plant of your choosing (though one that is not dangerous with mere skin contact is recommended), 3 powdered (red) chiles, the ashes of the Dagger and (optionally) the ashes of Deuteronomy 32:24 – 

“They will be wasted by famine, and consumed by plague and bitter destruction;   And the teeth of beasts I will send upon them, With the venom of crawling things of the dust.”

[stormbornwitch]

Honeyed Lips

This glamour is designed to help you appear more persuasive. This can be helpful when applying for a job, public speaking, or convincing friends/family/lovers. BE AWARE - this type of glamour is inherently manipulative and should only be used to help you convince others and make people more inclined to listen to what you have to say.

MATERIALS

10g Shea Butter

10g Beeswax

10g Coconut Oil

1 Tsp Honey (Local if you can)

5 drops Sweet Orange Oil

On a double boiler (medium/low heat) melt the Shea Butter, Beeswax and Coconut Oil. Turn of heat and stir clockwise as you add the Honey and Sweet Orange Oil. Sing as you stir:

Smooth as butter,

Sweet as honey,

Enchant my words,

To be bright and sunny.

With honeyed lips,

And charming smiles,

Those who hear me

Are not hostile.

To my words,

They shall listen,

And be convinced

By my proposition.

Let it cool in a container of your choice (I like a small metal tin). Once cool, apply to your lips and repeat the above chant. The heat of your lips will activate it.

- Marci

[traumasurvivors]

People don’t talk enough about the guilt that can come from recovery. Or the second guessing, or the invalidation we may feel.

Thoughts can come like, “if I’m feeling okay now, was it really that bad?”

Just because you were able to heal, doesn’t mean your trauma, depression or pain weren’t valid.

You deserve to heal and feel better.

[chaoticintellectual]

Just a thought, but I think that something that often gets overlooked in the romance vs friendship/QPR debate is how those things are just as socially constructed as gender, and do not, in fact, fall into a strict binary, or even trinary system. Relationships between people are fluid, negotiated things, and terms like partner, boyfriend, girlfriend, wife, husband, friend, etc, mean different things to different people, cultures and eras.

Whether two or more people decide to make their specific type of relationship exclusive, or committed or intimate; whether they’re attracted to each other, or decide to have sex, or live together, or cuddle; whether they do all, or none, or some of those things, they should be allowed to label it how they please. QPR, bromance, FWB, open relationship, polycule, etc. Sure, those terms carry connotations and assumptions, but hailing them as absolutes without any gray areas shows a lack of understanding for human behaviour, and creates unnecessary stigma and difficulties for people who are poly, ace, or aro, as well as anyone whose hierarchy of relationships is just different from the expected norm.

[aromanticofficial]

official aromantic post

[thebibliosphere]

Calling you out for excellent self-talk strategies.

I’ve noticed in your posts about ongoing health that you often finish up with something along the lines of “I am experiencing Situations and Limitations, and this is ok. It is unpleasant, but still ok”

(Ok as in morally neutral, not as in everything is fine and normal and should be ignored)

And like… I can’t articulate how much I appreciate seeing that. It’s helpful as an outsider to see things put into context like that, and it’s also excellent modeling. Because I try so hard to talk to myself the same way, but sometimes it’s… just… really hard. And seeing other people using the same words makes it feel a tiny bit easier, for me, like it’s a little more real. And maybe it is actually ok.

Thank you for noticing, and I’m glad it’s something you find validating.

It’s actually something I’ve learned from radical acceptance therapy.

Too many people think that acceptance means either giving up or that you’ve found a way to be positive about something, when in reality it is a neutral stance.

I work daily to accept the curve balls my complex health needs throw at me. I am not happy about them, and nor do I need to be.

I refuse to embrace toxic positivity and say I am thankful for the challenges I overcome because I am not. No one needs to be thankful for surviving suffering. You are not obligated to find meaning in your pain.

It can just be something that is.

But nor should I view myself as negative.

I can acknowledge that I have negative feelings toward it, but I refuse to assign moral value to my situation because health is morally neutral. I will not berate myself with shoulda, coulda, woulda. That’s the path to madness and one I’ve been down many times before.

It’s far more healthful for me to say, “wow, this sucks. What can I do in this moment to care for myself that is realistic and mindful of my limitations?” and move on from there.

Sometimes the answer is “nothing” in which case I accept that all I can do is rest and be kind to myself over it.

It’s hard. But it’s a skill worth learning.

[ur-daily-inspiration]

By @norichan5050

[traumadrauma]

hey y’all wanna talk about a lesser talked about trauma effect?

loss of autonomy.

not knowing how to do anything without explicit permission or instruction.

feeling like you’ll get in trouble if you do anything on your own will.

waiting until you’re given permission to do so much as eat.

not feeling like your body is your own.

if you experience this you aren’t broken or alone. you were abused and traumatized and conditioned to be like this. remember you belong to nobody but yourself. you are and will be okay.

[nonegenderleftpain]

When I moved out of my mom's house to live with my dad, I was terrified constantly. I asked for permission to get a glass of water, or food from the fridge. It took me almost a year to feel comfortable doing survival tasks without asking for permission, and I STILL struggle with it sometimes, even though it's been like 7 years. This isn't stuff that just goes away overnight, but it DOES get better, and you are not alone.

[informationsorter]

I used to be paralysed by this exact thing - and no one has ever put it into words before in a way that makes me think “yes, this person knows exactly what I experience”. It’s been 8 years since I started healing and addressing this problem. I still have days where I find myself with this same old mindset, but I am getting better at employing the techniques my therapist taught me, and sometimes I am able to get out of that trauma trap.

[shadow-daughter]

It does get better, though. I promise. I'm nearly a decade out now. Maybe it's the constant positive reinforcement, every day of that time, or maybe it's time and therapy-- But I don't feel like I have to ask permission to put treats for myself on the shopping list, anymore. And when I ask if anyone else needs the hot water before I get a bath, it's because I'm being considerate in a six person household, not because I think someone will be mad if I use it all. It gets better. I promise, it gets better.

[nanalineni]

I love how varied and universally weird the circumstances for making lifelong friendships are. Here's this guy I accidentally messaged once and I could not imagine my life without them now. Here's this girl I was so scared of when I met her, I would kill for her and remind her to rest on the regular. Here's this other guy we have so much in common we used to joke we were the same person in different timelines. It took us years to meet in person and I attended his wedding. There are also people who entered my life in absolutely unremarkable ways but changed it forever for the better. It's wonderful how easy it is to find people to love.

[nanalineni]

This is the best post I have ever written, read the notes and be blessed by loving your friends magic

[niankhbast]

Gods Are Multi-Faceted

Just because you’re asexual doesn’t mean you can’t worship a god of desire/passion/sex

Just because you don’t drink doesn’t mean you can’t worship a god of drunkenness

Just because you don’t have or want kids doesn’t mean you can’t worship a god of children/childbirth

Just because you live in the city doesn’t mean you can’t worship a nature god

Gods have many aspects, and they often mean more than you might think at first. You might think you have no reason to work with these deities because of the differences between their most obvious aspects and your life, but they’re not that simple. 

A god of fertility isn’t always just about kids or sex - it can be creation, renewal, rejuvination, rebirth, growth, abundance, plant life.

A god of love isn’t necessarily just about romantic love - there’s the love for your family, your friends, your passions, yourself. 

Paganism can seem very sex-focused and while it can be if that’s what you want, it can also be surprising how much something seemingly sex-focused can apply to someone with no interest in sex.

So keep an open mind. Perhaps that deity of childbirth might have more relevance to you than you thought, even if you never will like children.

[vampireapologist-archive-deacti]

Honestly something that bothers me more than most things is having my compassion mistaken for naivety.

I know that another fish might eat this bullfrog right after I spend months rehabilitating it.

I know that turning a beetle back onto its legs won’t save it from falling over again when I walk away.

I know that there is no cosmic reward waiting for my soul based on how many worms I pick off a hot sidewalk to put into the mud, or how many times I’ve helped a a raccoon climb out of a too-deep trashcan. 

I know things suffer, and things struggle, and things die uselessly all day long. I’m young and idealistic, but I’m not literally a child. I would never judge another person for walking by an injured bird, for ignoring a worm, or for not really caring about the fate of a frog in a pond full of, y’know, plenty of other frogs.

There is nothing wrong with that.

But I cannot cannot cannot look at something struggling and ignore it if I may have the power to help.

There is so much bad stuff in this world so far beyond my control, that I take comfort in the smallest, most thankless tasks. It’s a relief to say “I can help you in this moment,” even though they don’t understand.

I don’t need a devil’s advocate to tell me another fish probably ate that frog when I let it go, or that the raccoon probably ended up trapped in another dumpster the next night.

I know!!!! I know!!!!!!! But today I had the power to help! So I did! And it made me happy!

So just leave me alone alright thank u!!!!

[shrineart]

THIS.

[the-rain-monster]

I heard a story about this, a parable I guess.

There was a big storm and a ton of starfish were washed onto the beach, stranded much further up than they could get back and beginning to bake in the post-storm sunshine. A little girl was walking down the beach, picking up starfish and throwing them back into the sea. Some guy comes up and asks her what she’s doing. “Saving the starfish,” she says.

He looks around at the huge beach and the hundreds of starfish, and says “You can’t possibly save them all. I’m afraid you’re not gonna make much of a difference.”

She throws another starfish back into the ocean, and replies “It made a difference to that one.”

[the-real-seebs]

Yeah, I mean, we know we can’t change all the things. But have you ever noticed how much better life is when you’re around people who change things when they can?

[theangriestlittleunicorn]

Kindness is a choice. Even if it’s small, it’s worth it.

[itsladykit]

This is what I’m talking about, when I say that kindness and compassion do not equate with ignorance, stupidity, or naivety. Being cynical does not make someone more intelligent or more worldly. 

Kindness is not weakness.

Kindness is brave. Especially when you also know that your kindness might not be returned, may even be met with anger or cruelty. It’s reaching out with an open hand, knowing that it’s just as likely to be bitten as it is to be held. 

Kindness is hard. If you can’t find it in yourself to be kind, then fine. But don’t make it more difficult for those that can.

[arcusxx]

mystical forest

[fatcryptid]

i want moss to grow on me. not cuz I'm like decomposing, just like. recreationally

[normal-horoscopes]

Starseeds. Thoughts?

Lotta people don't know about the conspiratorial white supremacist origins of the term.

[helianthus-hellion]

what is a starseed and what are its terrible origins

[normal-horoscopes]

Starseeds, also called star people, were introduced by a guy named Brad Steiger in his 1976 book Gods of Aquarius. It argues that certain people, mainly neurodivergent children, are alien-human hybrids who are partially possessed by the spirit of a psychic alien.

The term has a myriad of modern uses, with myriad definitions, but the original context is a stock standard new-age eugenicist narrative.

[bixiewillow]

Doesnt "indigo children" have a similar backstory?

[normal-horoscopes]

Nancy Ann Tappe's original description of Indigo Children wasn't as explicitly dehumanizing as Steiger's work, but it was still dehumanizing. Over time, the terms have sorts converged and are often used interchangeably.

[brightlotusmoon]

Oh yes, I was called Indigo and Crystal Child in the 80s.

[glowingz]

I was also called a crystal child by an elder witch. I hardcore believed in that for a while.

[normal-horoscopes]

Luckily it's less common than it was back in the 70s and 80s but you for sure still see people using it in the original context. Most anti-medical sentiments from the New Age have largely migrated from neo-paganism and into the "alternative medicine"/antivax community. It's one of the biggest avenues for right-wing radicalization of women specifically.

[kingkilling-and-stormlight]

@thebibliosphere iirc you have some insight on this

[thebibliosphere]

I'm still on hiatus but was made aware of this tag, and I felt it necessary enough to respond to.

The term indigo child was used to abuse me growing up and there’s a reason I’m so vehemently pro-science, pro-medical advocacy and anti-bullshit in my chronic illness work and why seeing new age definitions bleed into mental health topics and subjects of neurodivergence is extremely triggering for me.

Being labeled an indigo child was used to convince me I didn’t need medical care, both physical and mental. The premise of the thinking was that I wasn't chronically ill; I was special. I have vivid memories of being told I was put on this earth to be a healer; that's why I was always in chronic pain; I was absorbing the pain of others to make the world a better place.

I cannot begin to tell you the amount of psychological damage and trauma that occurred from being exposed to these sort of ideologies as a child/teen, but I can tell you at the age of 34 I’m still working in therapy to untangle it.

We know now I have multiple genetic disorders and disabilities, including Ehlers Danlos Syndrome a condition which causes a great deal of physical pain. Yet there are days when I wake up in agony and the thought still filters through my head: at least someone else is suffering less. It’s a work in progress.

Same with my neurodivergence. I wasn't mentally ill/struggling with school because of a learning disability (ADHD). I was struggling because I was a Pisces (yes, really) and academia wasnt ~spiritual~ enough for me, and I should be focusing my energy more on becoming a healer. I wasn’t struggling with emotional dysregulation, or executive dysfunction, I was just an empath and highly sensitive to the world around me. The person who set me on this path? A teacher who decided to take me under their wing and nurture my vulnerability. I wasn’t failing basic high school classes because I needed help. I was failing because I was meant to be “more than normal.”

I was an indigo child. A starseed. More than human. And thus, dehumanized, denied agency and gaslit into believing my suffering was what the world needed to be a better place.

(My parents were going through their own horrific stuff before anyone asks. My whole childhood is 13 types of trauma in a trench coat pretending to be normal.)

I was 16 years old. By the time I was 17 I was practicing holistic therapies on adults. Reiki, crystal therapy, energy work, angel therapy… and the thing is… I enjoyed it. It was new and stimulating and I enjoyed learning and having people to talk to who valued my presence. And it felt nice to be special and appreciated. I wasn’t just weird or awkward. I was special—that’s why I got on so much better with adults than my own peers. I was just too Spiritual to ever be a child.

Can we say red flags? 🚩🚩🚩

Fortunately there were adults in that social circle who realized I was being abused and stepped in to stop me being radicalized and act as a buffer. By the time I was in my 20s I had a healthier understanding of what holistic and alternative health therapies meant, and how they can be used in conjunction with medicine to help people cope with the trauma of illness. Some of which I implement in a healthy and safe way in my own care today. I also did a complete 180 and started reading proper medical journals and began trying to unravel my own health issues because unfortunately, the doctors I had access to then were as ableist as the people trying to indoctrinate me. Which is also why so many people fall prey to these types of predators*.

People who use these terms are not only perpetuating ideals founded in new age eugenics; they’re often hiding abuse, sometimes without even knowing it because that’s how they were abused too. They frame neglect or exploitation as enabling spiritual growth and it’s Terrifying to see their ideologies about reality and individual uniqueness and exceptionalism being perpetuated on social media. Especially in a lot of pagan and spiritual wellness circles. I can’t even go on certain apps without feeling bombarded by it and I’m truly concerned for the emotional and mental well-being of those being exposed to it.

I know some people still use the terms as self identifiers. And I don’t blame them. There’s usually a lot of trauma behind things like this, and not everyone has the means to break free from cult-like environments. I got lucky. But please, if anyone is coming across these terms for the first time and thinks it’s a good way to describe themselves, please know it’s rooted in ableism and new age eugenics made palatable by a sprinkling of fairy dust and wonder.

I’m going back on hiatus. Stay safe out there.

- - -

*Being desperate to feel in control of your life or to get help can drive you into the arms of the first kind person willing to listen. Multilevel marketing companies thrive off that shit. Poverty, medical instability and ideas of individual exceptionalism all play a factor in the rise of unethical companies like d*terra and y*ung living becoming as prevalent and insidious as they are. When I refer to them as cults, I am not being hyperbolic.

[mintywhisker-deactivated2021053]

a while back i read a post along the lines of “if you feel like everyone hates you, it’s time to rest... if you feel like you hate everyone else, it’s time to eat” and honest to god i’ve never used any piece of advice more than i have that one

[purehoneyblossom]

If you are mentally fatigued and your day to day life seems meaningless, please try to constantly remind yourself that you are living through a plethora of negative historical events. How you feel is a direct result of that. Be kind to yourself and take it easy.