Another Witchling

- Sideblog - Sea, plants, stars and random stuff -

[bakwaaas]

botanical candles

[dog-rose]

What to use when in Witchcraft -

Ok so I am gonna say this is my personal reference, its mainly through associations. You might TOTALLY disagree and thats chill!

Its more something to think about and a guideline of what I use myself…

Candle Magic:

Carve a candle when…. the candle represents the target, in sympathetic magic. When, essentially, the candle is a poppet and lighting it is a symbol of destruction or empowerment to the target.

Place something under the candle or before it when… you are doing general candle magic, when the candle represents empowering a wish, idea or concept.

Anoint the candle when… doing work with spirits and gods, when you mark the candle for a special purpose, when doing high magic.

Herbs and plant work:

Use dry herbs when… it is convienent to do so, when the herbs are out of season or when you need to store them in a jar or bottle for a long time.

Use fresh herbs when… the spell is very earth orientated, when doing magic on behalf of another or when the magic is sympathetic so that the herbs represent the target, within kitchen witchery.

Use flowers when… when the spell concerns love and sex, or perhaps fertility and attraction, due to flowers being the reproductive parts of the plant.

Use fruit when when… working with children as a target, or with children practising. When you work with fertility and abundance spells.

Use wood and twigs when… when the spell is for protection or binding, for hardiness.

Burn herbs (recaning/incense) when… you wish to cleanse or banish, or invoke an atmosphere - that being, for divination using herbs that are said to open up your perceptions, when banishing, burning acrid or pungent herbs.

Use oil infusions when… you wish to anoint something, when you wish to mark something permanently.

Use floral waters (rose water etc) when… dealing with spirits and gods, for glamour as it has a long history of being used to beautify.

Crystals:

Use metals (haematite, copper, ores etc..) when… you work in protection, when you do energy work due to the conductive properties of metal.

Use shell, pearl, coral and such when… you work in sea magic, when you work within emotional magic due to the element of water.

Use points when… you wish to direct magic to a target.

Use tumble stones when… you wish the magic to be gentle or manifest at a certain place on the body on a target.

Use geodes when… you work in protection, when you work with glamour aimed to obscure and hide.

Knot magic:

Use cotton when… it is convenient.

Use silk when… doing spells that benefit the target.

Use ribbons when… love spells and wealth spells, as well as confidence and beauty spells. Spells to ensure victory.

Use rope when… doing spells that aim to hurt or weaken the target, binding especially.

Poppets:

Use cloth when… the spell aims to benefit who the poppet represents, use particular care when sewing or cutting, choose colours that are appropriate to them.

Use wax when… you wish to manipulate the target.

Use clay when… wish to create fetches or servitors, when you wish to create permanency.

Use twigs when… you wish to bury or throw the poppet out, when you want the poppet to be easily destroyed by breaking or setting on fire.

Sigils:

Use an alphabet grid or circle when… you wish the sigil to be more random and less attached to you.

Combine the shapes of letters from a sentence… when your sigil is very specific and a short term goal.

Use your own personal symbols when… you want the magic to be connected to you, when it is personal.

[babyynebula]

Fruit Correspondence

I love fruits especially any with citrus in it, so this is my different correspondence of fruits.

Apple; healing, fidelity, fertility, intelligence, immortality, joy, love, marriage, wisdom

Apricot; love, passion, peace, romance, strength

Banana; fertility, money, passion, prosperity, sexuality, spirituality, success, wealth

Blackberry; healing, money, prosperity, protection, sex, wealth

Blueberry; acceptance, cursing, home blessings, legal matters, luck, peace, prosperity, protection, power

Cherry; clarity, creativity, divination, happiness, love, lust, passion, psychic energy, romance  

Coconut; chastity, confidence, protection, psychic abilities, purification

Cranberry; action, anti-negativity, courage, determination, healing, health, love, lust, passion, positive energy, protection

Date; abundance, fertility, fortune, friendship, good luck, happiness, healing, spirituality, protection, resurrection

Fig; abundance, divination, energy, fertility, good luck, health, love, money, peace, power, strength

Grapefruit; cleansing, confidence, cooperation, healing, inner strength, mental clarity, purification

Grape; dreams, fertility, mental powers, money, prosperity, spiritual energy, wealth

Guava; cleansing, love, romance

Huckleberry; anti-negativity, banishment, dreams, fortune, good luck, hex breaking, protection, wishes

Kiwi; happiness, health, longevity, love, romance

Lemon; contact spirits, cursing, faithfulness, fidelity, friendship, growth, happiness, health, longevity, love, psychic powers, purification

Lime; cleansing, cursing, energy, healing, health, love, peace, protection, purification, relaxation, strength

Mango; balance, harmony, love, marriage, romance, protection, sexual, spirituality

Melon; cleansing, healing, purification

Nectarine; love

Orange; beauty, divination, fortune, health, love, good luck, money, peace, purification, wealth

Papaya; banishment, cleansing, healing, hex breaking, love, protection, regeneration,

Passion Fruit; calmness, friendship, harmony, hoodoo, love, peace, relationships, sleep

Peach; exorcism, fertility, happiness, longevity, love, purity, romance, spirituality, wishes, virginity, youth

Pear; arousal, clarity, confidence, energy, enthusiasm, love, lust, passion, peace, security, sexuality, stress relief

Persimmon; changing, happiness, healing, luck, lust, sex, sexual identity, wisdom

Pineapple; chastity, creativity, fortunate, happiness, healing, luck, memory, money, prosperity, power, protection

Plum; adoration,anti-negativity, attention, healing, love, peace, protection, relaxation, respect, sex

Pomegranate; conception, divination, fertility, growth, luck, prosperity, protection, wealth, wisdom, wishes

Raspberry; courage, dreams, fertility, good luck, happiness, health, love, marriage, protection, relationships, sleep

Strawberry; fertility, fortune, friendship, happiness, love, luck, passion, romance, sensual, success

**My personal associations

[zivyx-deactivated20200628]

I'm not sure who needs to hear this at the moment but if you have any kind of animistic slant to your practice and enjoy plants you absolutely should be reading Daniel Schulke's Viridarium Umbris. PDFs are extraordinarily easy to find, the information and tech is phenomenal, and it is easy to pick and find what you want to work on at any given time. I started getting my teeth into it for the first time last year and I'm only sorry I hadn't picked it up sooner. It should be required reading.

[root-thorn-flame-deactivated202]

Yes or you can purchase it and help a witch make some money

[zivyx-deactivated20200628]

Yeah if you have hundreds or even thousands of dollars to drop on a hard copy my dude.

It was a highly limited print that's pretty much coveted as a collector's item. I have no bones about telling people to use a PDF or print a copy themselves.

[pieandhotdogs]

@root-thorn-flame You purchase it.

[mockingbirdmagick]

For those who are interested, it looks like scribd and zlibrary both have copies

[thegrandart]

[north-of-annwn]

So can you tell me a little more about Skadi? I know her stories and domains, but what is she like as a deity? What does she offer to her followers, and what does she want in return? What draws her to certain people? What ways can I honor her without hunting? (Tysm for all your help)

I love Skadi! She’s one of my primary deities. I could probably talk about her for hours and we don’t have that kind of time. But know I’m always up for a talk about her or Hel. 

Skadi is resilience incarnate. I’m not sure how else to say that. I’m sure you know from her stories that she’s a goddess of survival. She’s the voice in the darkness urging you to keep going when you feel like giving up. When you’re lost in the woods, hers is the voice that says “that way” when that choice could propel you towards camp or towards the unforgiving wilderness. She’s the sparks in your flint and your primal need to survive. But I also remember that she’s a Jotunn and the goddess of survival for everything in nature, not just me. 

Another unlikely association that I have with her is as a deity of urban survival too. A goddess of scrapping, canning, thrifting, jerry-rigging, foster kids, and those with unstable living environments. Survival has changed for most and many of us fear man vs nature scenarios anymore.

Her personality is very direct albeit supportive. She’s never one for subterfuge or trickery. In fact, she abhors lying and deceit in all their forms. From my experiences, I wouldn’t recommend anyone working with her if they struggle with untruths or even white lies. In my experience, she will always expose them until you take a more direct approach.

I’ve always found her to be assertive, supportive, and fierce. I consider her to be one of my best friends and I love having her around. Sometimes she gives me that shove that I need. 

Hope this answers your question. I would like to make sure I add that these are my own personal experiences with her and everyone’s experience with deities is unique. If you’re interested in working with her, I’d suggest inviting her over for a meal or to help you learn a survival skill. 

Best of luck!

💙 Fynn

Website || Venmo || Ko-Fi

[esoteriqueer]

i’ve written before about how uncomfortable it is being Jewish in most witchcraft/magic/occult spaces, but right now i’m feeling it particularly acutely as i try to navigate this queer & trans witchy renaissance we seem to be having (which is, i think, a direct response to the terror & loss of control we all feel in 2017 - magic has always been about resistance & survival to me & a lot of other people)

i’m tired. i’m scared a lot of the time. i want community & inspiration to help keep me going, so i reach for something like a zine that bills itself as an inclusive mix of queer & trans voices on witchcraft, resistance, activism - because it’s a group of marginalized folks, i (maybe foolishly) have this expectation of seeing myself in it, or of the editors being conscious of the many forms of cultural appropriation that happen in these spaces & working to educate about them

but what i’m finding, over and over, is two things: the first is that despite the fact that we exist in greater numbers than i’d ever have expected, there are no Jewish voices in any of the witchcraft-focused publications (indie or otherwise) i’ve ever encountered. the second thing, that cultural appropriation of Judaism & other forms of pervasive anti-semitism DO exist in these publications, just makes the lack of Jewish perspectives more glaring

so in the interest of being direct, here are a few things the queer & trans witchcraft community (i’d like to ask the ENTIRE witchcraft community, but i am speaking to people with whom i share something right now) can do & think about to help:

include us. if you didn’t think that any Jewish folks were involved in witchy communities, ask yourself why! is it because you thought Judaism was a religion only? or incompatible with ideas about magic? Judaism is an ethnicity & a culture - or more truthfully, a group of ethnicities & cultures - with long & complex histories of magic, mysticism & folklore. some of it is considered traditionally “kosher” & some of it isn’t! our relationships to that are individual, fascinating, & worth being shared!

stop throwing around the words “Abrahamic” & “Judeo-Christian” - especially when you want to talk about cultural values or historical oppression. 9 times out of 10, you just mean Christianity. yes, we share some text, but we have VERY different relationships to it. plus, if you’re talking specifically about the persecution of people believed to be witches, that’s the history of Jews being murdered by Christians. honestly just do us a favor & remove “Judeo-Christian” from your vocabulary, there’s almost no context where it’s an accurate description of anything.

educate yourself about appropriation. i should never have to see someone mention “practicing Kabbalah” in a zine that includes no Jewish people. our mysticism is connected to our culture, our history, our faith - not only do you have no business taking it, what could it possibly mean to you without its context? 

understand that anti-semitism runs deeper than current appropriation - if you engage at all with any Western occultist or “ceremonial magic” literature or practice, you need to learn its history. what does it mean that the 15th century grimoire you’re drawing inspiration from contains Hebrew & calls itself Solomonic, but has no actual connection to Jewish people? what does it mean that the person who created the most iconic image of Baphomet, something beloved by a lot of queer & trans witches for being androgynous, gave himself a fake Hebrew name? i’m not asking you to throw all of these concepts & traditions out entirely - i have something of a love/hate relationship with ceremonial occultism myself, i collect vintage & antique things related to it & some of it is really interesting - but please at the very least educate yourself about it. specifically, educate yourself about how medieval Jews were treated while non-Jewish occultists were incorporating (often misunderstood or mangled) Jewish mysticism, language & folk practices into their frameworks. 

if you’ve stayed with me this far, i appreciate it - i know this post is long & that confronting this stuff can be difficult, but i urge you to do some reading & listening before you push back. i’m writing this because i want to see things change - i want to see communities where people connect meaningfully to their own heritages & participate in actual cultural exchange & learning based in equity & mutual support. 

i’m speaking to my own experience, but all of this goes for ANY marginalized culture/tradition being “drawn from” in witchcraft communities without actually including members of said culture. 

many of us got involved in witchy things because we felt locked out of mainstream religious practice due to a mix of oppressions - let’s not replicate that in our own spaces.

[sloppywitches]

for fuck’s sake

‘I don’t see us mentioned anywhere’

‘But when I do you’re using the wrong language’

‘But I’m going to assume the people writing about Jewish mysticism are not Jewish’

‘But I’m not going to confront these people directly instead I’m going to try and lecture everyone on Tumblr’

Make up your damned mind. 

Oh and Judeo-Christian does mean things. 

Abrahamic does mean things.

Dislike does not make things meaningless. Disagreeing with a word does not take away its power.

I don’t disagree with the OP on principle but don’t let yourself get in knots over things like this. I don’t know what place it is they’re operating from but it’s too murky and confused.

“Witchy things” is not a fucking monolith and no one, and I mean no one, is obligated to share their personal practice with anyone. Just that the OP tries to create a singular “witch” community in which (ha ha) to direct their frustration shows their total lack of understanding

[will-o-the-witch]

Let me try to help here.  “Witchy things” are absolutely not a monolith, but as more and more people with like minds interact with each other, a community forms. By having this blog and interacting with other witchy posts you are contributing to the formation of a witch community. Obviously no trait will ever be 100% but trends can absolutely still form and we can still talk about them without going #NotAllWitches. Now to the specific points: 

- I’ve almost never seen Judaism talked about in witchcraft as a living thing. The mysticism is discussed as this ancient, influential thing, but it’s hard to find posts that discuss diversity within the craft that remember Judaism and Jewish people. The few times we are (often innacurately, oversimplified, or misleading) does not negate the overall infrequency of it. 

-So many people writing about Jewish mysticism are not Jewish, to the point that when researching my own culture I have to go out of my way to actually find Jewish authors. Especially when I don’t have access to my Rabbi right now. Judaism has struck a weird medium where it’s different enough to feel foreign/exotic to the outsider, but “close enough” that people still think they totally understand it even if they miss big points. 

-This post was obviously not directed to the most obtuse of the antisemites, but the well-meaning gentiles who want to be more inclusive but maybe never learned how to be a good ally to Jewish people (because again, people don’t really talk about it.)  

- Yes, “Abrahamic” has a dictionary definition, and people are using it incorrectly. There is no unified “Abrahamic” belief in the nature of the divine, magic work, sin, Hell, prayer, diet, dress, ritual practice, etc. Saying something is the “Abrahamic” way of doing/believing something has about the same functional power of saying it’s the “Pagan” way. Aka not much. “Judeo-Christian” has the same problem except with the bonus effect of othering Islam and erasing Christianity’s historical oppression of Jews.

- It kind of feels like you’re the one getting in knots about things? This was just a list of how to make the communities we form more welcoming to Jewish people. You say you agree with OP “on principle” but then try to undermine what they say the problems are and tell them to fuck off in the tags. 

[chillgamesh-the-swing]

Anyone going on about Abrahamic religions better be prepared to explain how their opinions square with the Muslim and Baha'i perspectives too. If you mean evangelical Christian (cough because you’ve never actually engaged with any other religion cough) just say that. Or sit down.

[thats-howthelightgets-in]

BETTER SHIT TO PUT IN YOUR GRIMOIRES THAN THE BASIC SHIT EVERYONE SAYS:

Maps! Maps! MAPS! If you're a death witch, get one for the cemeteries you visit and mark gravestones/areas you've practiced in! Garden witches! Map out your gardens! Green witches! Map where you find specific herbs in your area! Lunar witches! Mark the best spots to go look at the sky! Make a key! Take notes!

Recipes for COMPONENTS! Write down how to make the mixtures you use in spells often- A special salt mixed with herbs and put under the moon, a mixture of oils for protection, the herb mixes sachets you keep making to add to sachets, whatever!

For green witches- press samples of stuff and glue them in! Go to an arboretum and ask for permission to take leaves to press, they'll usually let you take some- add them in with your notes about trees

Cool ways to make spells! I make spells in envelopes and on empty spools, what are some ways you do?

The local plants in your area and what they do. You're not going to be likely to find chrysanthemums to forage in Missouri, but you will find creeping charlie and prairie plants. What can you do with a thistle?

When you celebrate a sabbat, write down what you did and include samples! Ribbons from your Beltane altar, a pressed sample of your lemmas harvest, a scrap of your Yule decorations. Maybe do a spell and tape the remnants into your grimoire in a plastic baggie

Learn how to make an envelope out of paper just by folding it, how to string seeds, how to dry plants, how to macrame rocks and hang them from your window. Find those little witchy skills and write them down.

How to incorporate your hobby into your magic. Sigiling origami paper, weaving knot magick into your crochet, making blessed bookmarks, etc

Substitutes! Rosemary, rose and clear quartz are good for most things, but there are more substitutes to be used that are more powerful. Roanoke bells are good substitutes for bluebells, apparently.

Correspondences of odd things. Turns out different kinds of cats have different correspondences, huh.

Superstitions and such from where you're from.

For kitchen witches: easy to alter recipes. An egg noodle recipe that takes herbs really well, a simple bread recipe that can be dressed up for spells or rituals, how to make a good pie crust that you can sprinkle nutmeg in or whatever you desire.

Or: What foods go good with what herbs. You'll make a better apple pie (and get the benefits of apples, nutmeg, and cinnamon together!) If you know how your herbs taste together with your cooking. (Most kitchen witches know this stuff, but for a green witch who likes to make teas or a sea witch that likes to make soup, etc, this is important)

[wearebathedinstarlight]

Custom Sigil Wheels

So I read this post https://in-her-broomcloset.tumblr.com/post/160210641160/witch-tip-making-your-sigil-look-better and I took it too seriously/misunderstood what it meant.  So here are the results of what I thought she was saying, lol.

Feel free to make your own sigil wheels and stuff like that. You can encircle the sigils in a circle or in the shape of the sigil wheel used (whichever you prefer). Happy sigil making! ^^

[salt-and-sulfur-deactivated2023]

My mom just randomly picked up the Self-Love/anti-depression sigil jar off of my windowsill, stared at it intently, and said “this is very pretty… I don’t know what it is but I love that you’ve made it and I hope that it’s working” It was so precious and accepting and I just…

[stsathyre]

Witch tips without warnings just keep popping up . . .

Hey kids,

Before you rub an unknown thing on your skin, ingest an unfamiliar thing, light a random recommendation from the internet on fire, or otherwise come in contact with something that you are not personally knowledgeable about, take 2 seconds and google it.

For example:

St. Johns Wort, if ingested, has negative interactions with anti-depressants, and interferes with birth control because it speeds up the metabolism of certain substances.

Continuous exposure to fluorite causes a painful bone disease. Fluorite dust can be absorbed through the lungs, skin, and is soluble in water.

There are parts of  yew that should not be burned.

Mugwort is related to ragweed and can cause allergic reactions. Also, it can cause and enhance anxiety.

 Essential oils, man …

No, really. 2 seconds. Google. You’re at an internet connected device anyway. Save yourself the trouble of a bad time.

[bluemoongrimoire]

Cinnabar is Mercury

Any candles or incense can be fatal if you have pet birds(for the birds)

Charcoal, if ingested, can mess with your meds including birth control

Powdered quartz can destroy your lungs and cause lung cancer.

[my-witchy-journal]

📚Witchy Books 📚

Good day, lil’ Witches and Warlocks! With this little list I would like to share with you some PDF books I have been using. I hope it will be useful for someone. 

The Common Book of Witchcraft and Wicca by The Ancestors

A Wiccan Bible by A. J. Drew

A Witch’s Notebook by Silver Ravenwolf 

A Witch’s Bible : The complete witches’ handbook by Janet and Stewart Farrar

Beginner Guide to the Basics of Witchcraft by Ashe. G.

Celtic Magic by D.J. Conway

Charms, Spells and Herbs by Esteban Portela

The Encyclopedia of Witches, Witchcraft &Wicca  by Rosemary Ellen Guiley

Grimoire of a Kitchen Witch by Rachel Patterson

Wicca: A guide for the solitary practitioner  by Scott Cunningham

The Green Witch by  Arin Murphy-Hiscock

The Inner Temple of Witchcraft by Christopher Penczak

The Way of the Green Witch by  Arin Murphy-Hiscock

The Way of the Hedge Witch  by  Arin Murphy-Hiscock

The Witch’s Book of Self-Care by Arin Murphy-Hiscock

Th Spiral Dance by Starhawk

Wicca Book of Spells and Witchcraft for Beginners by Arin Chamberlains

Wicca for Beginners by Lisa Chamberlain

Wicca for One: The path of Solitary Witchcraft by Raymond Buckland

Witchcraft Step by Step 

Witchcraft Today  by Gerald B. Gardner

[magicoldcottage]

Written in Blood

Easy to make blood ink

For anyone who hasn’t come across dragon blood before, it is a great way to give your written spells a boost.

I know it’s old craft and in modern times witches no longer need to make their own inks but I personally find natural inks more potent than modern synthetic alternatives.

To avoid any confusion this is for positive spell work. If you you are cursing or hexing you need the bat blood version (don’t worry no actual bats or dragons are hurt in the making of this ink, both are just herbal.)

Dragon Blood ink

This is the easiest method to make the ink. No thickeners or cooking are required. Just the right Ingredients

Warnings.

Neat alcohol is used in this method which is highly flammable, do not make this anywhere near a naked flame and in a well-ventilated location.

Ingredients:

15g Real dragon blood Resin (see notes below)

70g Pure alcohol 99% (see photo)

There are three types of dragon blood resin on the market. Real traditional resin called ”Dracaena Draco”. The cheap version called ”Daemonorops” and finally fake resin which tends to be a cheaper version like frankincense dyed red.

For this method to work ensure that you are using real Dracaena. The cheaper versions do not dissolve in alcohol.

Method:

Simply grind the resin slightly, it doesn’t need to be really fine as it will dissolve.

Add in the alcohol and stir for about five minutes. To thicken allow to evaporate for three hours stirring each hour.

All the resins are slightly different so test it now for colour. Add more resin if needed. If there are impurities sat at the bottom filter before bottling.

The alcohol preserves the ink making it last for ages, a slight shake will be required before use to remove any separation.

For More Ideas Click here for my Witch Crafty guide

[theweatherwaxgirls]

This is so helpful!

[luminacrystals]

I’ve got the flashiest labradorite palm stones to put up in my shop! Once I get better lighting and the weather cooperates I’ll be taking soooo many pictures 😍😍❤️😍✨

[itslittleczarownica]

I’ve picked up my first witchy book from the library the other day! It’s called Slavic Witchcraft: Old World Conjuring Spells & Folklore by Natasha Helvin. Trying to tie in my Polish roots to my practice (the folklore and superstitions, not the racism, misogyny, and anti-LGBTQIA+ views that the Polish neopagans seem to have) and I wanted to start with a book that reflects that.

Would anyone be interested in a review once I’m done?

[fire-and-seawater]

h e l l

y e a h

[labradoritefae]

Witchcraft and Gender

I am a genderfluid witch, and I try to keep gender out of my practice. This can be difficult and annoying because everything in witchcraft seems to be gendered.

The sun is masculine, the moon is feminine, this tool is masculine, this rock is feminine.

And that is as far as it goes. There is very little non-binary representation in witchcraft.

This can be damaging to those of us who do not identify as strictly masculine or feminine. You could call it... overgenderalization. (Yeah I just typed that and you just read that. Bad jokes aside...)

I used to struggle to connect with my tools because of these ingrained associations. When I had a feminine day I would struggle to connect with my staff because it is a "masculine" tool. When I had a masculine day I would struggle to connect with my rose quartz because it is a "feminine" stone. When I was literally anywhere else on the spectrum(where I am most of the time) it got complicated and confusing and overwhelming so I would practice less.

I felt like I was trying to change myself to fit my practice rather than changing my practice to fit me.

I say, do away with it. I replace the gendered associations with healthier things.

For example:

The sun is action

The moon is emotion

Deities only appear to us as binary gendered if that is what we expect of them. Deities tend to appear genderless to me.

A staff is for building power and directing energy

A cauldron is for burning and brewing

I felt trapped and restricted by everything having binary genders, now that I've released the silly and harmful notion that everything is masculine or feminine, I feel so much more free in my practice. I thought I'd share since I know I'm not the only one who feels this way.

[fire-and-seawater]

Yes! I feel like wicca played a big part in assigning genders to everything and honestly it sucks because wicca seems to be the most popular form of witchcraft. Which can turn a lot of people away from their spirituality if wicca is how they are introduced to the craft.

[mentalmentalwitch-deactivated20]

Wands - this one a bit experimental. Making wands makes me happy.