ABÈL

[HE/THEY/EL] A romanian reconnecting with my culture and romanian folk practices.

[fathers-embrace]

ME; A BREIF GREETING

Hello, you may call me Àbel. I am a Hungarian-Romanian stuck in a foreign country and while I yearn for the journey back to my homeland of Romania, I'm doing my best to reconnect with my roots using folk practices and witchcraft. Appropriately, my posts and reblogs will be dominantly about my practices- But I will occasionally comment on queer identity and art as they are subjects dear to me.

I welcome you to join me on this journey.

[infernalwitxhcraft]

Semi-Quick Witch Tip: Can we please stop overdressing the damn candles?! I know they look pretty, but they are a serious fire hazard (coming from a firefighting witch). I'm here to explain how to do it, in the safest way possible. Firstly, never dress with more oil than needed. Essential oils and oils with specific intentions (money oil, come-to-me oil, protection, etc.) are what you're looking for, if you're learning how to do this. You can make your own - eventually, in time, I will share my recipes friends. Rub it into your fingertips, clap your fingers together a few times to activate the energy, and start rubbing the candle with it. Upwards to attrract/bring in, downwards to banish/bring away from you. Start with two to three drops and see where it gets you, because it usually is the perfect amount for tapers and chimes. Big pillar candles usually need four to six drops. If we're talking tealights, one to two drops is enough. If you've got a glass-encased 7-day candle, do one to two drops on the top and then as you light it each time, put another drop on so the candle is being dressed throughout the burn. Next step for any candle type: sprinkle your herbs onto the candle. Grind them in a mortar & pestle so you don't have large chunks, which isn't safe as they tend to create large flames or sometimes spark. Once they are nice and ground, sprinkle enough to where the candle is lightly coated with the herbs. Trust me, that is enough for your spell. Heavy coating is not necessary. And please, for the love of the gods, do not leave your candle unattended. Ever. I don't care if someone tells you that seven-day candle can't stop burning. Snuff it out and resume when you can be home and alert to your surroundings. Same goes for sleeping. Have I been to calls where candles are the cause of a house fire while someone is sleeping? Absolutely, it's a common cause of fires. Have people died or gotten seriously injured? Yep. It's not worth it. Trust me.

Crystals, whole flowers, charms, and large chunks of herbs should be taken out if you make or purchased a candle that has a lot going on. While these are beautiful, I find them to be better for decoration elsewhere, never to be burned, as you will need to carefully remove these objects by melting the wax first (take a lighter and carefully run over the top). Not to mention, I think the work of the witches that make them deserves to be displayed. Place them onto an altar or shrine dedicated to a deity, spirit, or daemon that you feel would enjoy it.

Please, please, PLEASE practice fire safety. Get yourself a fire extinguisher. Make sure it's not only full, but in date. If it isn't, it's time for a new one. If anyone has questions about how to use one, feel free to drop your comment below and I will answer :) Sand also helps, but know you may need to use a lot and regardless, keep an extinguisher ready. Type ABC is good for the general house since it is multipurpose, and a type K for the kitchen should be in that room as well.

Perhaps I'll do a fire safety post for witches in the future, that way y'all can hear it from a firefighter. In the meantime, please practice fire safety!

[recklessmoss]

The Bears of Comănești

[hallow-witxh]

hiii

do you know any plants / flowers that are good for ‘love growth’ ? i want to gift my boyfriend a planter i made and some seedlings of a plant so we can do a small ritual of planting said seedlings and for it to represent our growing love 🙇🏻‍♀️

Hi, friend! I hope you don't mind that I use this ask as an opportunity to share some information with everyone else. I also want to apologize for it taking me so long to answer.

Love growth is a form of love magic that I can condone under certain circumstances, and this is definitely one of the circumstances where I think it's endearing and special. You put time, effort, and heart into making something special for your partner and it's only natural to add in plants and flora that would emphasize that.

I would recommend the following:

Lavender is known for calming and purification, but it's also a symbol of love and partnership. Growing lavender can help influence both of you into having calm conversations instead of arguments, and it can also invoke a sense of calm and peace into a loving home, whether you live together or not.

There's a reason that basil is called the witches' herb. It's more than invoking money and protection. Growing basil can bring love and sympathy into the relationship, and also help strengthen loyalty and passion.

If you so desire, starting an apple tree in a small planter is also a good idea. Apples are known for love and healing. Bring a sense of love into your relationship as well as healing from past relationship trauma and arguments or fights. When the plant gets too big, plant it somewhere special to both of you, preferably in a home that you share.

Avocados are a potent love symbol. Much like an apple tree, start an avocado tree in the pot and replant it when you need to. Growing them can also influence passion and lust, bringing you and your partner closer together intimately.

Another great plant to grow for love growth is beets. They're relatively easy to grow, and can also be used in kitchen magic when they're grown. They're great for growing a sense of affection, closeness, and love.

Cardamom represents love as well as lust and fidelity! Growing this can bond you two closer, and bring your spirits closer together as well.

I also recommend chamomile. It brings rest and peace to a relationship as well as increases the sense of love and closeness. Plus, you can brew tea once it's grown!

Chili peppers represent love and fidelity. Growing chili peppers can grow a passionate bond and help you resist any temptation that you may feel. They're also delicious.

I would also like to add coriander to this list. Growing coriander can grow your love but it will also protect your love from outside forces trying to manipulate your relationship (for example; toxic in-laws). It also represents health and immortality.

Daffodils and daisies both represent love and luck. Growing either of them or both of them can increase the luck in your relationship (example: finding a way to move in together, having good dates, etc) as well as growing your love.

Pansy flowers attract love.

Periwinkle flowers specifically help grow love in relationships and marriage. I would recommend growing these and daffodils or daisies together, although in separate pots.

Poppy flowers attract love and abundance. As well as growing the love in your relationship, poppies can also bring forth prosperity and abundance to you two.

Roses, obviously.

I would also suggest rosemary, because it can be used in love magic while still offering protection and cleansing properties.

Of course there are many others, but these are my number one recommendations! I hope it's helpful.

Blessed be!

[fathers-embrace]

posting this so i never lose it its a source filled with books on romanian folklore (although i suppose most of them are in romanian, apologies to the people who are not fluent)

disclaimer : i did not make this list and havent read and of these yet. i don't know if any of the authors are problematic :,)

Recommended Reading

Romanian Folklore   Borza, Alexandru; Dictionar Etnobotanic; Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste Romania, Bucuresti, 1968 Butura, Valer;

[maceofpentacles]

divination readings!!

i wanted to make a post kind of advertising my readings so i could link it in my pinned post for easy access!!

a little about me :) i’m a 21 year old with a passion for divination! i’ve been doing readings for 2ish years now and i’ve loved every second of it! i love helping people and giving them guidance when they need it. i offer paid readings so i can afford to pay my rent every month and buy groceries as a full time college student. i’m also trying to save up so i can get on testosterone since i can’t use my parent’s insurance as they’re not the most accepting people :( so anything helps!! including just sharing this post.

forms of divination i use: tarot, oracle, rune, cartomancy (playing cards), pendulum, osteomancy (bone throwing)

tarot readings:

single card pull - $3

advice from the universe - $8

asset + hindrance - $5

release + retain - $5

week/month/year ahead - $5/$8/$12

inner child - $8

shadow work - $8

general love - $8

connecting with your guides/deities/entities - $15

guide/deity/entity identification - $15

messages from your guides/deities/entities - $10

custom - message me!

oracle readings:

single card pull - $3

three card pull - $5

add on to any tarot reading + $3

messages from your guides/deities/entities - $10

custom - message me!

rune readings:

single rune pull - $3

three rune pull - $8

messages from your guides/deities/entities - $10

custom - message me!

cartomancy readings:

single card pull - $3

three cars pull - $5

messages from your guides/deities/entities - $10

custom - message me!

pendulum + bone throwing readings: (yes/no)

three questions - $3

five questions - $5

ten questions - $8

unlimited questions (you can come back to message me whenever you want) - $15

i accept payments through paypal, venmo, and cashapp! i always send a picture of what i end up pulling (cards, runes, bones, etc) so you can get a feel for the energy i gather during the readings :)

i do readings for just about anything but i DO NOT do any readings regarding physical health, fertility, or things that make me uncomfortable. i enjoy every reading i get to do so please message me if you’d like a reading but don’t know what you want, i’m sure we can figure something out for you <3

if you are interested in purchasing a reading from me please shoot me a message telling me what type of reading you’d like, along with any info (name, pronouns, etc) you feel is necessary for me to know beforehand!

[fathers-embrace]

oh someone followed my blog :) thats nic- WHY ARE THERE BOOBS ON MY SCREEN??

[fathers-embrace]

THE FEELING YOU GET WHEN YOU FINALLY FIND A JUICY IN-DEPTH RESOURCE ON YOUR FOLK PRACTICE AFTER NOT FINDING FUCK ALL FOR YEARSS

[fathers-embrace]

Currently reading: What can the dead do such great things? Saints and Worshippers from the Martyrs to the Reformation by Robert Bartlett

As of now, I definitely recommend it, although with a shocking 815 pages its quite a commitment.

[fathers-embrace]

praying to a saint for the first time evokes the same feeling when as child you had to wake up your parents in the middle of the night and say you vomited... my apologies for the awkwardness st. joseph of cupertino 🫶🏻

[micaelawalsh-deactivated2023121]

100 shadow work/journal prompt ideas

I enjoy journaling. It’s almost like therapy, but you’re figuring it out by yourself. You’re trying to figure out your own issues by putting it on paper, sometimes it’s for self reflecting or for figuring yourself out. This is very similar to shadow work. 

What is shadow work? 

Shadow work is addressing your shadow self, the side of you that you bury deep down and avoid. It’s your unconscious mind, and it is important to uncover this side of you in order to achieve your highest self. There are multiple ways to do this, but the most known (and most effective in my opinion), is journaling. I thought I should share 100 prompts that really make you think. 

1. What was one time you remember feeling wronged as a child? How did you react? Has this affected you into adulthood? How?

2. Think about one time where you’ve felt betrayed. What would you say to the person who broke your trust?

3. Write about a time you felt let down by someone you’d previously looked up to.

4. What’s one trait you see in other people that you wish you had. Why do you not possess this characteristic yourself?

5. Do you often find yourself over-thinking what you’ve said or how you’ve acted? What usually triggers this?

6. What were your parents’/guardians’ core values while you were growing up? Do you hold these today or do they differ? How so?

7. What are your core values as a human being? What’s the most important to you? What are you morally passionate about?

8. What tends to trigger envy for you? Why do you think this is?

9. What are the first signs that your mental health is dipping?

10. When are you hardest on yourself? Why? Where do you think this stems for? Why do you put yourself under so much pressure? Why are you so reluctant to be kind to yourself?

11. How do you react when you’re angry? Is this similar to other people who have been in your life since childhood? Why do you think this is?

12. What triggers you? Can you identify where this came from?

13. How do you perceive failure? What is your definition of failure? How does it make you feel? Are you afraid of it? Why might this be? How did your parents/guardians react to failure?

14. What situations make you feel less than or not good enough? Why do you think this is?

15. What is your relationship with your parents and/or siblings like? How was it as a child compared to now? Why do you think this is?

16. What parts of your parents/guardians growing up do you see in yourself now? When did these begin to become apparent?

17. What toxic traits have you recognised in your parents? How did it make you feel when you realized that your parents weren’t perfect? Do you also possess these traits yourself?

18. What are your toxic traits? How do these present themselves? How do you project these onto others?

19. What aspects of yourself would you like to improve? Why? Has anyone in your past ever made comments suggesting that you should? If so, how did this make you feel?

20. How do you feel about who you are as a human? Why?

21. How often do you forgive yourself? What kind of things do you feel you need to be forgiven for? Why is this?

22. Write about a time where you messed up and needed forgiveness. Did you ask to be forgiven? Did you apologize? How did it play out?

23. Do you form obsessive or unhealthy attachments easily? Why do you think this might be; do you have a fear of change/abandonment/rejection? Or, on the other hand, do you find it difficult to form emotional attachments; do you struggle with commitment or get restless staying in one place for a certain amount of time? Where do you think this stems from?

24. How do you fill your time when bored? What gives you enjoyment? What self-care do you regularly practise?

25. What negative emotions do you tend to avoid? Why might this be?

26. What negative emotions do you actually feel quite comfortable sitting with? Why might this be?

27. Write about one person you’ve never forgiven. What happened and why did you not forgive them? Was it warranted? How has this event affected you going forward? Do you think you could forgive them now? How did you move on from this?

28. How do you carry the weight of your past trauma? How has it affected you?

29. How did you process emotions as a child, teenager, and young adult? How do you process negative emotions now? Has this changed over time?

30. How do you enforce boundaries? How do you feel when people overstep them? How do you react?

31. What is the biggest lie you consistently tell yourself? Why?

32. What misconceptions have you noticed about your harbor? Can you think about where these started?

33. What are your preconceptions about femininity? Why do you think this is? Where did they come from?

34. What are your preconceptions towards masculinity? Where did these come from?

35. What does the term ‘Shadow Work’ mean to you?

36. What are three main goals you want to achieve with your shadow work?

37. Did you have any heroes growing up? Who did you look up to and why?

38. How were you taught to deal with emotions as a child?

39. How do you deal with negative emotions now?

40. What’s the most hurtful thing you’ve ever done to someone else?

41. What’s the most hurtful thing you’ve done to yourself?

42. How have you moved forward from hurting someone else?

43. How do you plan to move forward after hurting yourself?

44. What’s the biggest promise to you that someone else has broken? How did it make you feel? Why?

45. What’s the biggest promise you’ve broken to yourself? Why? How do you feel about that?

46. Have you ever broken a promise to someone else? Why?

47. When you really think about it, is there any area of your life you’re in denial about?

48. What do you constantly lie to yourself about?

49. What do you lie to other people about? Why?

50. What’s the biggest lie you’ve ever told and why?

51. Have you ever had your heart broken? Write about this time in your life.

52. Have you ever broken someone else’s heart? Was it unintentional or intentional? Write about this.

53. Do you ever find yourself manipulating people in an attempt to protect yourself?

54. What’s a question you had as a child that you never got a real answer to? Do you have that answer now?

55. What is something that you’ve always wanted to confront someone about? Why haven’t you? Do you plan to? Why?

56. What is the meaning of life to you?

57. What was the last argument you had about? Was it resolved?

58. How do you feel about confrontation? Why do you think this is?

59. Do you ever have physical reactions to emotional feelings? Write about these. Why do you think this happens?

60. What’s your favorite way to self-soothe? Describe your perfect self-care day.

61. What family patterns am I repeating? 

62. When was the last time I truly felt at peace? Where was I? Who was surrounding me? 

63. In what situations do I feel less than others, equal to others, or better than others? Why do I feel that way? 

64. How do I define failure? 

65. What has been my biggest personal failure and why? 

66. When was the last time I felt jealous of someone else? What do they have that I want? 

67. What is your ultimate dream? Are you currently living your dream? What steps can you take to make it happen?

68. What is your favorite book of all time and why? Movie?

69. Are you doing what you love for a living? What is your dream job?

70. Make a list of 10 things that make you smile.

71. What do you wish you could do everyday?

72. Write down your own bucket list.

73. Write about someone who inspires you.

74. What’s an embarrassing moment you can look back on and laugh now?

75. List 10 of your favorite things, can be anything.

76. Write down your top 10 travel destinations.

77. How do you spend your time alone?

78. What are you the most grateful for in your life?

79. Do you care what other people think of you? why?

80. What excites you about the future?

81. What are some new hobbies you would like to try?

82. How do you want to be remembered?

83. What do you want to accomplish today and tomorrow?

84. What is your favorite song and why?

85. What motivates you?

86. What are your top priorities in life?

87. What are 5 physical features that you love about yourself?

88. What gift do you think you were born with?

89. What holiday or event do you look forward to every year?

90. How would you describe yourself to a stranger?

91. What life lessons have books taught you?

92. Which fictional character would you most like to be, why?

93. What is your favorite place?

94. Is there anything that has changed your outlook on life?

95. Can you keep a secret?

96. How would you change the world?

97. Are you good at organizing your time?

98. What would you do if you could travel into the past?

99. Where in your life do you need to be more fearless?

100.What would you change about your high school experience?

[sharkboxes]

[hiswitchcraft]

New Witch Resources

I’m gonna say it again, I made a google doc full of online resources for new witches! 

See see see it’s absolutely packed with good stuff! We’re talking PDFs, small businesses to get books from, and tons of links. Please go check it out! And remember my DMs are always open if you have any or many questions 💕

[the-cobalt-athenaeum-deactivate]

HOW TO ENCHANT

Enchantments are used widely by witches and practitioners in the community for many different reasons. It can be super helpful within your craft, as enchantments are basically portable spells that you wear or items around your home made magical for a specific purpose

Why: Enchanted items can act like a spell that you wear or carry. It can look like a simple necklace or a ring or earrings, a rock you found in the garden, pretty much anything you want. They help bring about a magical intention. (This can also be done with larger objects around the home, but i suggest the third or fourth method below for that) It itself becomes imbued with magic, your power, and intention to bring about your chosen action.

How: There are a few methods to choose from that are listed below. Some methods may not work well for most people so I made sure to include a handful of different methods to choose from.

The first method is putting herbs that match your intention into a bowl of water with a candle in the middle. Place your jewelry or item you wish to enchant in the water, and speak your intention over the bowl. Light the candle and let your small item sit for as long as you feel is necessary.

The second method is to use energy and your own intention to activate it. Just hold it in your hands and focus, meditate with it and put energy that matches your intention into the item you're holding. You can also use elemental energy for this as well. Visualize yourself holding a piece of earth to create a grounding effect. A ball of fire for passion or love or energy. Water for intuition, psychic abilities, peace, etc. Air for mental agility, communication, freedom, etc. This also works for larger items as well, just direct your energy instead of palming it.

The third is to write a petition down on paper, what you want the enchantment to be, any limits you want it to have, anything you want it to achieve, and even how you wish it to recharge and cleanse itself if you desire it. Fold the paper a couple times (works best if its longer than it is wide), Burn the paper and bathe the piece of jewelry or the item in the smoke. Put out the smoldering paper in some water or snuff it out. it doesn't have to burn to completion.

You can also dip the item in oils that match your intention, or anoint larger objects with the oil of your choice.

There's no special trick to it and every witch does it differently. Do whatever method works best for you in your practice.

[attichaos]

P.1 Common Herbs A-Z

This is A-C of some common herbs and their uses

Acorn

Good luck

Protection

Wisdom

Personal power

A dried acorn is an excellent natural amulet for keeping a youthful appearance.

Allspice

Money

Luck

Healing

Obtaining treasure

Provides added determination and energy to any spells and charms. Burn crushed allspice to attract luck and money. Use in herbal baths for healing.

Almond

Wisdom

Money

Fruitfulness

Prosperity

Invokes the healing energy of the deities. Provides magickal help for overcoming dependencies & addiction. Associated with Candlemas and Beltane. Carry, wear, or use as incense to attract abundance.

Aloe

Protection

Luck

Place on the grave of a loved one to promote peaceful energy. Thought to relieve loneliness and assist with success. Hang in the home to attract luck and protection for those who live there. Grow in the home to provide protection from household accidents. Burn on the night of a full moon to bring a new lover by the new moon.

Apple

Love

Garden Magick

Immortality

Friendship

Healing

Place seven apple seeds in a bag with Orris Root to attract sexual love. Use in rituals to give honor to gods and goddesses of fertility. Considered the food of the dead, which is why Samhain is called the 'Feast of Apples'. Symbolizes the soul and is burned at Samhain in honor of those who will be reborn in the spring. When doing a house blessing, cut an apple in half -- eat half and put the other half outside of the home as an offering.

Apricot

Love

Add leaves and flowers to love sachets or carry apricot pits to attract love.

Banana

Fertility

Potency

Prosperity

Basil

Love

Exorcism

Wealth

Sympathy

Protection

Dispels confusion, fears & weakness. Drives off hostile spirits. Associated with Candlemas. Carry to move forward in a positive manner despite perilous danger. Strewn on floors to provide protection from evil. Sprinkle an infusion of basil outside of the building where you hope to be employed for luck in a job interview or in your business to attract money and success. Wear or carry to aid in attracting money and prosperity.

Bay leaf

Protection

Good fortune

Success

Purification

Strength

Healing

Psychic powers

Write wishes on the leaves and then burn the leaves to make the wishes come true. Place under the pillow (or use in dream pillow) to induce prophetic dreams. Place in the corner of each room in the house to protect all that dwell there. Carry bay leaf to protect yourself against black magick.

Black pepper

Banishing negativity

Exorcism

Protection from evil

Blackberry

Healing

Protection

Money

Sacred to Brighid. Leaves and berries said to attract wealth and healing.

Bluebell

Luck

Truth

Friendship

Incorporate into rituals of death & dying to comfort those left behind and ease their sorrow.

Blueberry

Protection

Though not recommended, blueberry is said to cause confusion & strife when tossed in the doorway or path of an enemy.

Burdock

Used for cleansing magick when feeling highly negative about oneself or others. Use in protection incenses and spells. Rinse with a decoction of burdock to remove negative feelings about yourself or others.

Cabbage

Fertility

Profit

Good luck

Lunar magick

Money magick

Cactus

Chastity

Banishing

Protection.

Bury with other banishing symbols for protection. Grow in the home or garden to prevent unwanted intrusions. Place in all directions of the home (north, south, east, and west) for full protection.

Cardamom

Lust

Love

Fidelity

Carrot

Lust

Fidelity

Cashew

Money

Celery

Mental powers

Psychic powers

Lust

Fertility

Male potency

Chamomile

Love

Healing

Reducing stress.

Add to a sachet or spell to increase the chances of its success. Sprinkle an infusion of chamomile around the house to remove hexes, curses and spells. Burn or add to prosperity bags to increase money. Burn as incense for de-stressing, meditation, and restful sleep. Wash hands in an infusion of chamomile for luck before gambling or playing cards. Use in bath magick to attract love. Keep a packet of the herb with lottery tickets for luck.

Cherry

Love

Divination

Gaiety

Happiness

Chestnut

Love

Chilli Pepper

Fidelity

Love

Hex breaking

Scatter powder around the house to break hexes and spells against you. Use in love charms & spells.

Chives

Protection

Weight loss *weight loss spells can be dangerous*

Cinnamon

Spirituality

Success

Healing

Protection

Power

Love

Luck

Strength

Prosperity

Burn as an incense or use in a sachet to raise spiritual and protective vibrations, draw money, and stimulate psychic powers. A popular herb for use in charms to draw money & prosperity. Wear in an amulet to bring passion.

Citronella 

Draws friends to the home, customers to the business. Promotes eloquence, persuasiveness, and prosperity. Protects and cleanses the aura. Encourages self-expression and creativity (great for writers & actors!) and brings clarity to the mind. Repels insects and deodorizes

Clove

Exorcism

Love

Money

Protection

Coconut 

Chastity

Protection

Purification

Coffee

Helps to dispel nightmares and negative thoughts and to overcome internal blockages. Provides peace of mind and grounding.

Coriander

Love

Health

Immortality

Protection.

Tie fresh coriander with a ribbon and hang in the home to bring peace & protection. Add to love charms and spells to bring romance or use in ritual work to ease the pain of a broken love affair. Promotes peace among those who are unable to get along. Throw the seeds in lieu of rice during Handfastings and other rituals of union. Use the seeds in love sachets and spells. Add powdered seeds to wine for an effective lust potion. Wear or carry the seeds to ward off disease and migraines.

Cucumber

Chastity

Fertility

Healing

Cumin

Fidelity

Protection

Exorcism.

The seed is said to prevent the theft of any object which contains it. Burn with frankincense for protection. Scatter on the floor alone or with salt to drive out evil. Use in love spells to promote fidelity. Steep in wine to make love potions.

Curry

Protection

Burn curry powder to keep evil forces away.

And as always, merry meet <3

Atti

[pierdutaintimpsispatiu]

so about this post and this post i've seen in the #romania tag : (ikea's race for the last of Europe's old-growth forest) and (Romania is home to 60% of Europe's remaining old growth forest)

i've looked for something to do and found this petition (it seems to me that only people from Romania can sign, if someone wants to correct me on this please do):

it has 12.627 out of 15.000 signatures

it's adressed to ikea, kastamonu, romanel, massiv, expansion, succes, losan and yildiz entegre

it's asking these companies to refuse wood from virgin forests, reservations and national parks

why sign now? because it's starting to be too late to do something

because the goverment isn't doing anything

because virgin forests, natural reservations and national parks are the most important when it comes to sustain life and biodiversity (these forests formed after the last Ice Age and kept their properties so far)

because the protected parks aren't treated as requested by IUCN and the goverment finds reasons to legalise their harmful exploatation

because virgin forests are destroyed faster than they're able to be protected by law

because virgin forests make up only 2% of the country anymore

because the factories consume more wood than it can be legally extracted out of forests already in the economic cycle

because the factories mix the wood, making it impossible to track it's origins

the foreigner and local companies need to be more responsable. doing the minimum won't help anymore. the companies need to involve themselves actively in avoiding the wood from virgin forests, natural reservations and national parks

[elegantshapeshifter]

Connection between the Sabbath and the Night Battles

“The origin of the călușari is obscure, and I will not endeavor to discuss it now. But I will cite an illuminating parallel to the ambivalent relationship between the zîne and the călușari. In Romanian popular beliefs an important role is played by a group of seven or nine mythological figures called Sântoaderi (taking their names from Saint Theodore). […] there is a curious rapport between the zîne and the Sântoaderi: both groups travel by night on a specific date, singing, dancing, and accompanied by fiddlers . Both bring specific diseases to punish those who break certain interdictions; both are mysteriously related to magical and medicinal plants (in the case of the fairies, a few specific herbs serve to keep them afar; and other plants, collected in the name of Saint Theodore, hasten the girls’ marriages). Moreover, twenty-four days after Easter there is a feast when the fairies meet the Sântoaderi and play with them, finally offering each of them a bouquet of a particular flower (Melites melissophylum, a species of mint or balm). This feast emphasizes the desire to bring together two classes of supernatural beings who represent, for human society, different but equally malicious forces. Now, these “ mythological” horse-men, Sântoaderi, cannot be identified with the initiatic and cathartic group of călușari, although the latter are also literally designated as “horse-men.” But the folkloric scenario which brings together two classes of mythological beings - the fairies and the Sântoaderi - finds a striking parallel in the mythico-ritual scenario of the călușari: a para-Männerbund secret association, renowned for its powers to cure the victims of the zîne, is nevertheless under the protection of “Diana,” the Queen of the Fairies (Doamna Zînelor) . Although the călușari use apotropaic imagery and substances (i.e., the horse, the medicinal plants) to defend themselves against the fairies (zîne) , their cathartic and therapeutic techniques are based mainly on a particular choreography which imitates the mode of being and the behavior of the fairies . In the last analysis, the scenario actualized by the călușari consistently implies the merging of opposite, though complementary, magico-religious ideas and techniques. The amazing persistence of this archaic scenario finds its most probable explanation in the fact that the antagonistic “ principles” which are pacified and brought together-sickness and death, health and fertility-were personified in one of the most inspiring expressions of the primeval feminine-masculine dyad, the fairies and the horse-riding cathartic heroes.   This archaic, pre-Christian scenario survived, with inevitable modifications and loss of some original elements, only in Romania. Needless to add, the origin and development of such a mythico ritual pattern does not explain the origin of Western witchcraft. But the Romanian documents do contribute significantly to our understanding of the process which produced witchcraft and black magic in western Europe. First, there now can be no doubt concerning the continuity of some important pagan rituals and beliefs, mainly related to fertility and health. Second, such mythico-ritual scenarios involved a fight between two groups of opposite, though complementary, forces, personified in mythological (and late, folkloric) figures, ritually impersonated by young men and women (cf. benandanti,: striga,călușari). Third, the ceremonial fight was in some cases followed by reconciliation between the antithetical groups. Fourth, this ritual bipartition of the collectivity implied a certain ambivalence, for one of the two opposing groups always impersonated the negative aspects of the antagonism, expressing the process of cosmic life and fertility; moreover, at a certain moment in history or on certain occasions, the impersonation of the negative principle could be interpreted as a manifestation of evil. This seems to have happened in the case of the Romanian strigoi and, to a certain extent, to the Zîne, the fairies who correspond to “Diana’s troop,” as well. Under pressure of the Inquisition, a similar modification took place with the benandanti. In the West this process was considerably more complex, thanks to the early identification of any pre-Christian mythico-ritual survival with satanic practices and, finally, with heresy. Of course, I do not mean to say that sorcery and black magic did not exist, everywhere in Europe, from time immemorial. But these practices were always restricted to a few individuals. What medieval authors designated as witchcraft, and what became the witch crazes of the fourteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth centuries, had its roots in some archaic mythico-ritual scenarios comparable with those surviving among the Italian benandanti and in Romanian folk culture. In times of religious and social crisis, under economic or ecclesiastical pressure, such popular survivals could have received, either spontaneously or as a result of the Inquisition trials, a new orientation-specifically, toward black magic.”

- Mircea Eliade, “Occultism, Witchcraft, and Cultural Fashions: Essays in Comparative Religions”