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Sweet Seals For You, Always

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Xuebing Du
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let's talk about Bridgerton tea, my ask is open

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JBB: An Artblog!
he wasn't even looking at me and he found me
Stranger Things
Aqua Utopia|海の底で記憶を紡ぐ
Monterey Bay Aquarium
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d e v o n

shark vs the universe
seen from United States
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@foxensage
Small working space at the hearth of my cottage…
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Historical Witchcraft 101: Shapeshifting
A shapeshifter typically refers to a person who puts on the body of an animal, although it can sometimes be a human, through magic. The term can also technically refer to animals who turn into humans, such as the Irish selkie and the Japanese kitsune, although we’ll only be discussing human transformation here. Warning: Really fucking long post ahead.
[Image description: German woodcut of a werewolf, half transformed.] [Image Source]
Witches were often said to transform into cats or hares, but mice, deer and even birds such as ravens or owls were also common. One telltale sign that the animal was a transformed witch was that it would be entirely black or entirely white, as in this tale about a witch called Auntie Greenleaf. Other witches were also said to be able to recognise witches in disguise.
Cats would be chosen because they were a common household animal that would not arouse suspicion. Hares, more so in Britain than in the New World, are associated with witchcraft due to the fact that hares jump and box during mating season, which is said to resemble a coven of witches dancing at a sabbat.
Advantages:
Connecting with nature on a deeper level
Travelling to places you might not otherwise be able to go to
Gaining a better understanding of the animal you shift into
Gaining a new perspective on a problem
Temporarily adopting or building up over time certain qualities associated with a particular animal
It is important to note that in most shapeshifting rituals, an item connected with the animal that the witch wants to shapeshift into is required, such as an animal pelt or feather. For example, folkloric werewolf transformations often involve wearing either a wolf pelt or a 7-tongued belt made of wolf skin, and sometimes also include a salve of wolf fat infused with (most likely trance-inducing) herbs.
If you want a piece of an animal for a shapeshifting ritual, please check the laws in your area first! The ownership of animal parts of many predators, such as wolves and coyotes, and feathers of many kinds of birds, is restricted. Check that these things are legal to own in your area, and if you’re buying, make sure the seller is also acting legally and humanely in their collection of animal parts.
Methods of shapeshifting: familiars
Okay so this is kind of cheating, but one way witches were said to shapeshift was to take advantage of the close bond between themselves and their familiar. The witch would go into a trance state send out their soul (think of it like astral projection) in spirit flight, and lay their consciousness over that of their familiar’s, and possess it. They would then be able to sense everything the animal was sensing, as well as control its movement.
This practice, also known as ‘borrowing’ after Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels, is described in further detail here.
Methods of shapeshifting: the witch’s fetch
Shapeshifting using the witch’s fetch is a slightly more complex idea that is linked to the ideas of ‘the sidereal body’ and is also kind of comparable with the practice of astral projection.
The ‘sidereal body’ is an idea taken from Eliphas Levi’s ‘Transcendental Magic’, otherwise known as part one of ‘Dogme et Ritual de la Haute Magie’. He also refers to it as the ‘animal soul’ of a person, and the ‘intermediary between the soul and the physical envelope’. Think of the ‘sidereal body’ as a part of your soul that you can project ethereally into the world around you, kind of like an aura. This ‘sidereal body’, this part of your soul, can also detach from your body in sleep and in trance states. In its detached state, the ‘sidereal body’ can be referred to as the witch’s ‘fetch’, or ‘fetch-beast’. Here is a post on a possible ritual for practising raising the fetch.
With the aid of an animal talisman to act as a focus, the witch can mould their sidereal or astral body in two different ways in order to shapeshift:
They can choose not to separate it from the real body, but instead mould it into a kind of magical cloak around themselves, into the shape of the animal they wish to shapeshift into.
Or they can choose to project the sidereal body outwards, and mould the ‘fetch’ into the shape of the animal they wish to shapeshift into. This projection, much like an astral projection, can manifest in the physical realm much like a ghost does.
An example of the witch’s fetch in folklore are the tales in which a witch falls asleep or into a trance state and an observer sees an animal, their fetch-beast, crawl out of their mouth, often a mouse or toad.
Methods of shapeshifting: rituals and charms
In ‘Call of the Horned Piper’, Nigel Jackson gives an example of how a ritual transformation may have been performed. The initiate would undergo a symbolic death, undressing and crossing a lake or a river to symbolise passing to the other side. They would then put on the wolf skin or belt, and perhaps apply a wolf fat salve. In an altered state of consciousness, the initiate’s soul would then ‘be projected forth in the form of a wolf’.
Another means of transformation would be a charm, most famously that recited by Scottish witch Isobel Gowdie. She would say the transformation charm below three times to turn into an animal:
“I sall gae intil a haire,
Wi’ sorrow and sych and meikle care;
And I sall gae in the Devillis name,
Ay quill I come home again.”
And to change back, she would say (once):
“Haire, haire, God send thee caire,
I am in a hairis likness just now,
Bot I sall be in a womanis likenes evin now.”
Less well known are the other charms that Gowdie provided for shapeshifting into a cat and a crow:
“I sall gae intil a catt,
Wi’ sorrow and sych and a black shat;
And I shall gae in the Devillis name,
Ay quill I com hom again.”
“I sall gae intil a craw,
Wi’ sory and sych and a black thraw;
And I shall gae in the Devillis name,
Ay quill I com hom again.”
Isobel Gowdie’s charm was incorporated into a longer charm known as a fath-fith, which stems from ‘deer form’, and was used by hunters, warriors and travellers for stealth.
An example of a possible shapeshifting ritual you can try can be found here. Lizzie of visardistofelphame also writes on how you could create a ritual mask for shapeshifting here.
Warning:
Shapeshifting was often seen as dangerous for the witch: if the possessed animal or projection was harmed, typically by fire or silver, then this damage would be reflected on the body of the witch. For example, if someone kicked the leg of a shapeshifted cat, the witch would have a corresponding leg injury.
Other dangers include not being able to return to your body because you’ve forgotten you were human, have got lost, or travelled too far from your real body. You could also be captured or injured by malevolent spirits while travelling.
This post is already ridiculously long, so sources are under the cut (sorry mobile users)
Keep reading
How to Do the Major Arcana Grand Tableau
This spread uses all the Major Arcana to give you an overview of your whole year ahead. It is best performed on your birthday or on New Year’s Eve.
STEP 1: Lay out the Major Arcana in order.
Line 1: The Fool to The Lovers Line 2: The Chariot to The Hanged Man Line 3: Death to The Star Line 4: The Moon to The World
STEP 2: Shuffle the Minor Arcana.
As you do this, ask your higher power to show you a glimpse of your destiny for the upcoming year.
STEP 3: Draw a Minor for each Major.
One by one, take 21 cards from the top of the deck and place them over the Major Arcana, starting with The Fool. Then take the card at the bottom of the deck, and place it over The World.
STEP 4: Read the Minor against the Major.
The Major Arcana represent the important aspects of your life. The Minor Arcana reveal what will take place within these aspects.
The Fool – What will begin in your life?
The Magician – What dream will manifest?
The High Priestess – What secret will be uncovered?
The Empress – What will you harvest?
The Emperor – What will you have control over?
The Hierophant – What will remain unchanged?
The Lovers – How will your love life be?
The Chariot – What will make you victorious?
Strength – Where will you find strength?
The Hermit – What will you need to reflect on?
Wheel of Fortune – Where will you find luck?
Justice – Who will avenge you?
The Hanged Man – What will you have to sacrifice?
Death – What will be reborn?
Temperance – What will bring balance into your life?
The Devil – What will you be most passionate about?
The Tower – What will trigger a profound change?
The Star – Where will you find hope?
The Moon – What will stay clouded?
The Sun – What will bring you joy?
Judgement – Which of your oppressors will be punished?
The World – What will give you a sense of accomplishment?
Sample Interpretation:
The Four of Pentacles on The Lovers – “Your romantic partner will be very protective of you, maybe even to the point of being possessive.”
The Ace of Wands on The Hanged Man – “You will need to sacrifice a part of your career or pause a project you are passionate about.”
The Ten of Cups on The Devil – “You will be focusing all your attention and energy on starting or expanding your family.”
If we tie it all together, we arrive at: “You will get pregnant this year, prompting you to leave your stressful though fulfilling job, so you could focus instead on ensuring you have optimal health to carry the baby to term. During your pregnancy, your spouse will be taking care of you even more than before.”
STEP 5: Identify the court cards.
The Kings, Queens and Knights are the people who will play a vital role in your life, positively or otherwise.
King of Wands – Leo (Fixed Fire)
Queen of Wands – Aries (Cardinal Fire)
Knight of Wands – Sagittarius (Mutable Fire)
King of Cups – Scorpio (Fixed Water)
Queen of Cups – Cancer (Cardinal Water)
Knight of Cups – Pisces (Mutable Water)
King of Swords – Aquarius (Fixed Air)
Queen of Swords – Libra (Cardinal Air)
Knight of Swords – Gemini (Mutable Air)
King of Pentacles – Taurus (Fixed Earth)
Queen of Pentacles – Capricorn (Cardinal Earth)
Knight of Pentacles – Virgo (Mutable Earth)
Sample Interpretation:
There are two couples here — the King and Queen of Wands and the King and Queen of Pentacles: “You and your other half will be highly supportive of each other. You could be a Taurus and they could be an Aries, or vice versa. Either way, you will strongly feel the love and passion in your relationship.”
STEP 6: Notice the dominant suit.
Wands – Passion will overflow.
Cups – Emotions run the show.
Swords – The battle is in your mind.
Pentacles – Finances will be bright.
Sample Interpretation:
There are nine Wands and nine Pentacles each: “Your year will definitely not be lacking in passion and stability — materially and emotionally.”
STEP 7: Note the numbers that appear at least thrice.
Aces – A year of beginnings
Twos – A year of dilemmas
Threes – A year of affairs
Fours – A year of stability
Fives – A year of changes
Sixes – A year of harmony
Sevens – A year of challenges
Eights – A year of labor
Nines – A year of completion
Tens – A year of harvest
Sample Interpretation:
No number appeared more than twice. There is no discernible theme, numerology-wise.
STEP 8: Observe the ruling colors.
Black – Loneliness, regret, obstacles, purging
Red, Yellow, Orange – Passion, love, happiness, power
Blue, White, Green – Spirituality, logic, innocence, intuition
Sample Interpretation:
Red, yellow and orange are the ruling colors: “Your year will be filled with a passionate love that will bring you joy and a strong sense of control over your life.”
STEP 9: Record your grand tableau.
Take a photograph of your spread, and write down your interpretations of it.
STEP 10: Review your grand tableau.
At the end of each quarter, note which predictions have come true. By the end of the year, compare your interpretations to how the spread manifested. Doing so allows you to reflect on your past year, and improves your divination skills.
By LoranDeSore on VK.com
Were there any particular spells/rituals in Seidr or Galdr used for Healing, either on the physical plane or elsewhere? If so, do you have any information about them?
There were indeed many Old Norse spells revolving around healing. In the Old Norse worldview, infections and disease were caused by malevolent spirits or other entities, especially elves, trolls, and thursr (malevolent jotnar). Wolves were also commonly named as the causes of ailments. (Sometimes it’s unclear even in context if the evil spirit is a wolf or a troll as tuss and tusse - modern versions of thurs in some Swedish dialects - are used interchangeably for both entities indicating the likely were historically as well.) Therefore the solutions in turn were largely focused on expelling these malevolent entities. As such, Thor was the main deity invoked in healing magic as it was his function to protect people from trolls and other monsters. Other gods were called upon as well but Thor seems to be the most common by far until Christianity took hold and a shift to Jesus, Mary, and the saints took place.
There’s so much to cover here that I literally can’t cover it all in depth in a tumblr post so instead of providing you with tons of spells I’m instead going to detail the logic and beliefs behind main types of spells and hopefully explain how these spells were believed to work. Hopefully this will provide not just an understanding of the Norse worldview but also enable anyone interested to make their own historically informed spells if they so desire. (Not to mention, some of these spells are not medically advised so… I’m not sharing them on a website with a history of promoting dangerous advice without thought.)
Note: There will be a summary at the end for those who need and want it.
Keep reading
Hel - Goddess of death and the underworld.
Ways of Worshipping Lady Hel
(For @daisyisoverwhelmed )
- practice mirror scrying or make a pendulum board specifically for communication with her
- ethically sourced bones and skulls or skull symbolism
- raven/crow feathers
- graveyard dirt (please learn graveyard etiquette first lovelies)
- roses that you allow to wilt on her altar
- taking care of the elder, the sick end the dying
- tend to graves at your local cemeteries or simply visit and spend time amongst those who have passed, learn their names and stories if you can
- (dark) chocolate
- food offerings such as: apples, apple pies, meat, bread, soup (leave until rotting/molding)
- dark wines, teas, chai, apple cider, apple juice and coffee
- coffee beans
- work with spirits/the dead/your ancestors
- her associate herbs and plants: wormwood, yew, rue, holly, yarrow elder, elm, ivy, juniper, mullein, willow, yew, blackthorn, jasmine, evergreens, white flowers or an apple tree
- working on your relationship with life and getting the help you need. It isn't your time yet
- associated crystals: moonstone, obsidian, smoky quartz, black agate, jet, quartz, hematite and onyx
- blood offerings (this can be period blood)
- incense and candles in her scents and colours: Rose, myrrh, apple, jasmine, and black, white or blue candles
- meditate, or have time where you allow yourself time in the quiet and or dark
- practice dark and baneful magick in honour of her
- learn and use her associated runes
- (baneful) protection workings
- pray and do offerings on Saturdays and new moons
- devote your shadow work and self healing to her
- take your antidepressants
- devote your time to feeding and helping the homeless
- live your life and live it to its fullest, do not fear death, she will take care of you when it is your time, for now, live as if everyday is your last, think of her everytime a small thing in life makes it feel more worth staying for
- wear a (dark) veil! This is a form of protection magic
The fact Loki is loved by the outcasts and marginalized and hated by those who benefit from the staus quo is so indicative of his nature it's exquisite.
He embodies the force that the ruling class can't control: the variety of humanity, the untamable spirit of nonconformity, the deviance in the rules they desperately want to shape the world with but can't. And oh how they hate him. And oh how we love him.
Bind Loki Laufeyjarson? A happy tale the elite to tell themselves to ease their worries.
The truth is, you could sooner command the tides.
God of Lies.
Not God of Lying.
God of Lies.
God of knowing when someone isn't quite telling you everything.
God of the unspoken truth left hanging in the air.
God of knowing when someone is putting on a show to save face.
God of manipulation in its many forms, and not falling for any of them.
God of seeing right through everyone's hypocritical bullshit.
God of detecting deception when people aren't even aware they're deceiving themselves.
God of knowing the truth, in order to see the lies.
God of Lies, not God of Lying.
A God of Lies is, by default, also a God of Truth.
The Basics of Water Scrying
I’ve discussed scrying in several articles on this site, including this basic one explaining the concept and how it differs from other forms of divination. There’s also this article on using the open sky as an airy scrying medium, and a general article on fire scrying. Since publishing the last two, I’ve gotten several specific requests from readers to write about water scrying, though I already had plans to do so anyways. Perhaps because we humans are made most of water ourselves, or perhaps simply because it’s so freely available, water scrying is extremely popular among witches and diviners these days. I’ve experimented with the technique (in different forms) many times over the years and experienced a wide array of interesting results.
Water scrying was a favorite activity of mine during the summer prior to my going off to college back in the mid-2000s, as well as throughout my freshman year at that school. In my high school art class, just before graduating, I made my own “cereal bowl.” At least, I told the teacher that was what I’d made, but in reality, it was meant to be a scrying bowl. Remembering it, the outside was painted a deep blue color that I associated with psychism at the time, and the inside covered in jet-black enamel.
At the time, I was very freeform in my methods, and would merely dim the lights in my room and peer into the bowl after filling it with plain tap water. Though I’d already received interesting results with Tarot, water scrying opened up a whole new world of vague impressions that soon resolved into concrete information. I got better results with water than I ever did with fire at that point (though things have changed over the years), but I’m unsure why. I do recommend anyone wanting to scry consider making water their first scrying medium, since I had such good luck with it.
Many books give details on the history of water scrying. There are unconfirmed stories suggesting that the famous Nostradamus employed this technique. In his text, Oracles of Nostradamus, Charles A. Ward quote Psellus, speaking of magicians during the time of Nostradamus:
“(T)hose about to prophesy take a basin full of water, which attracts the spirits moving stealthily in the depths (dæmonibus congruentem in profunda repentibus.) Le Pelletier translates this, (appropié à l'usage des démons cachés au fond des eaux). The basin then, full of water, seems in sort to breathe (or move) as with sounds (s'il allait émettre des sons); it seems to me that the water was agitated with circular ripples, as from some sound emitted below. Now, this water diffused through the basin differs but little in kind from water out of the basin, but yet it much excels it from a virtue imparted to it by the charms [that have been droned over it], and which have rendered it more apt to receive the spirit of prophecy. For this description of spirit is tetchy and terrene, and much under the influence of composite spells. When the water begins to lend itself as the vehicle of sound, he [the spirit] also presently gives out a thin reedy note [of satisfaction], but devoid of meaning; and close upon that, whilst the water is undulating, certain weak and peeping sounds whisper forth predictions of the future. A spirit of this kind is vagrant everywhere, for he is endowed with the solar pass [so that our terrestrial atmosphere lies everywhere open to him], and that order of spirits, in the work appointed to it, speaks at all times with a subdued voice, that by its indistinct obscurity it may be less easy to seize the falsehoods that it utters"
In this same text, Ward also describes the highly Christian-influenced traditions of these prophets, who may have included Nostradamus and regularly involved prayer, saints, and Christian Holy Days. Many modern readers may find this surprising, and may also be surprised to learn that, as referenced in the above Psellus quotation, water scrying during this period often purposefully engaged more than just the eyes - the creation of ambient noise with water inside a vessel or basin allowed an auditory element of the experience to develop.
While most scryers today do not employ those particular techniques, many still receive auditory impressions, albeit in a different, less tangible fashion. I personally feel that most scrying has the potential to engage all of the senses, but everyone is different, and some may get impressions visually, while others might experience them in an auditory fashion. For me, elements such as water and air, when used in scrying, tend to engage the senses more than fixed elements such as fire and earth, but, as usual, your mileage may vary.
Previously, I described a method of air scrying requiring no materials that you’d need to purchase or make - it uses the sky itself. With water, you can likely achieve a similar result just gazing into a still pond, as many ancient peoples did, and allowing impressions to form for you. The problem, though, is that, given human’s diffuse existence on this planet, not everyone is going to have access to a pool of water that’s calm, private, and conducive to scrying. Thus, for those wishing to scry with water, I’m afraid I must recommend at least some equipment.
Most water scryers use bowls. When choosing one, it’s important to pick a vessel large enough to give you a good amount of space on which to scry. A large teacup may work for impromptu scrying, but to get the most out of the experience, I recommend something large enough to fill your field of vision at a reasonable distance. Also, while bowls that have patterns carved or painted into their depths may look visually appealing, they aren’t as useful for scrying. Many people find patterns distracting, and it’s best to scry with a vessel that is a solid color.
Cassandra Eason notes that a simple dark cereal or fruit bowl of sufficient depth works well, and many of us have these available to use. I myself made my own water scrying bowl from clay in a high school art class, as noted, though that was many years ago and I’ve since left that behind. If you can make your own scrying bowl, go for it! It’s a great project and can help you connect to the element.
Recently, I’ve been experimenting with another method entirely for scrying with water, though, and I’ve found it quite effective, useful, and it creates a scrying surface or medium significantly larger than that offered by your average bowl. I call this method the Scrying Jar. Below you’ll find instructions for finding your own and using it!
A scrying jar uses the same principle as a scrying bowl, but instead of gazing into the depths of a shallow bowl of water, the scryer stares through the transparent glass of a jar.
The ideal scrying jar should be clear glass, and relatively large. Look for the sort that you can easily find a craft and hobby stores, and have no imprint or logo on the glass surface. Many jars say “BALL” or have another manufacturer’s logo sunken into the glass - when choosing a scrying jar, avoid those if at all possible, because the logo both looks tacky and makes it difficult to concentrate on the water within the jar when you’re scrying. Most jars will have a crafter or manufacturer imprint on them somewhere, but I’d recommend choosing one where it’s located out of sight near the bottom of the jar. I’d also avoid those with patterns, because as was the case with a scrying bowl, a scrying jar works best if the surface is fairly uniform.
In practice, a scrying jar works very much like a crystal ball, except the element you’re working with is water. One could argue that, since you’re viewing the water through the solid glass of the jar, a modicum of the element of earth will be present. Regardless, it’s an easy and fun way to start scrying with water. Before beginning, though, you must fill your jar with liquid. There are various ways to go about this - some will want to use the purest, clearest water they can find, and might get good results from filtered or spring water. Others might try ordinary tapwater, out of necessity or preference, and that can work, too. The effect with any kind of clear, pure water will be a little different than if you decide to darken it by using a herbal infusion, oil, or something else. I honestly have had the best luck with water that is slightly opaque, and I achieve this effect by filling the jar with the following recipe rather than clear water.
I begin by making a very strong infusion of herbs - a sort of herbal tea. Generally, mugwort is part of this, because it’s the plant I most associate with divination - you might have different associations you’d like to use, but mugwort works for me! It’s traditionally considered Lunar, and the Moon is the celestial sphere of all things psychic and divinatory. I start with a large amount of mugwort, roughly twice as much as I’d use for a normal tea, and add similar quantities of two more herbs - one associated with Mercury (usually lavender or some sort of mint) and one associated with whatever sphere governs the subject I’ll be scrying about. Whatever you do, don’t grind the herbs prior to putting them into boiling water, because you need to strain this brew very well, and ground herbs have a way of slipping through even the finest mesh - I just gently mix them with my hands. You might want to add a bit of salt, as well, for added Lunar association, and also because it makes the liquid last slightly longer in the jar - you’ll need to clean your jar regularly, but adding salt can stretch it to last a day or two.
Lately, I’ve been working with an infusion of mugwort, lavender, pink sea salt, and rose petals, the latter chosen because the subject of my scrying lately is almost always my upcoming marriage, and rose is associated with love. You yourself might choose something different based on your own needs, perhaps throwing in some basil if you’re scrying about business or money matters, for example. I infuse these herbs in boiling water for as long as possible, usually leaving them in the pot until the entire concoction has cooled to room temperature. Then, I strain the brew into the jar, very, very carefully. You want a relatively uniform appearance to the brew, and thus don’t want big (or even small) chunks of herbs slipping through. Please wait until it is quite cool to do this - pouring boiling water into most jars will likely break them! This results in an infusion that is incredibly strong and decidedly undrinkable, but perfect for pouring into my scrying jar to create a nice, dark medium where I can scry. Once the brew is in the jar, you might want to bathe it in the full moon’s light for a night, if possible, but I personally haven’t tried this.
When you feel ready to scry, take the jar into a dimly-lit room. Candlelight works well for this, and what I’ve been doing is lighting three tealights in a triangular formation around the jar. You might burn incense as well, but I personally find it distracting from my water scrying for some reason, and the faint scent of the herbal infusion works just fine for me. Sit comfortably, and gaze through the glass jar at the water within. If you’ve scryed with fire before, you may find it odd at first just how easy it is to fix your gaze deep into the water and persist with it. Visions come gradually, and usually they begin with the appearance of mist filling your vision, which often takes on a particular significant color. This mist tends to presage the appearance of more complex visions within the water.
Sometimes, you can control the subject of your scrying, projecting images into the jar and then watching how they evolve within it. I do this. For example, if you’re wanting to scry on the subject of where you’ll be physically in six months, keep the notion of “six months from now” fixed in your mind, and imagine your own familiar form within the jar itself. Then, watch as it changes and evolves. The images you see may indeed sometimes be literal, but often they’re metaphors, so keep that in mind if you happen to see something unpleasant.
When you are finished scrying, keep in mind that your jar must be cleaned regularly, regardless of its contents. I don’t typically clean my jar after every single use, but I do so quite regularly anyways. It’s also useful to empty and refill it dependent on what you’re scrying about or your general goal for a scrying session, and while some of the herbal suggestions I made above might be useful for many witches and diviners, creativity is key. You should definitely try all kinds of different things in terms of what sort of water to use, what to infuse in it (if anything), and just how to scry in general.
I hope my ideas in this article help to get you started, though. Thanks for reading, as always. You’re all wonderful! If there’s a topic you would like me to write about, or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to send me a message or ask, but do please read my FAQ and master page beforehand to see if I’ve already addressed your question. And finally, if you enjoy the content I produce, please consider donating to fund further endeavors. Thanks for reading!
parallel ~fiona hsieh
Loki, treasured
The human heart has hidden treasures, In secret kept, in silence sealed; The thoughts, the hopes, the dreams, the pleasures, Whose charms were broken if revealed. Charlotte Bronte
A Folk Witch Library
Hidden like Viking gold under the landscape there is a rich body of nearly lost folkwitch tradition hiding in plain sight on the internet. Particularly in the 18th and 19th century antiquarians, folklorists and ethnologists documented the rural and occasionally urban folk beliefs of practically all of the UK and much of Europe. Organizations like the Folklore Society, founded in 1878, were created to help catalog and publish this body of collected ethnological data. A vast repository of a spectrum of witch and cunning craft practices.
Below are a list of links to various sources on the internet. The non Abramhamic roots of British folk traditions date from an era of Celtic settlers, and thus much of the spirit tradition concerns beings we now collectively call “fairies”, though their origins and nature differ greatly.
Books Available Online for free:
Folklore Society/Folk-Lore Journal:
Over 100 publications made by the Folk-Lore Society can be found on Archive.org. Unfortunately these are mostly unsorted, although they represent a massive amount of folkwitch information. Particularly in the realm of curses, hexes, salves, second sight, and boundary magic.
I will be launching a separate blog dedicated to delving into the contents of the Folklore Society’s publications in the next few weeks. In the meantime - Happy digging: Link to archive of FOLKLORE JOURNAL
Books whose content focuses on first-hand accounts of folk traditions, alpha by author. (* denotes particularly important titles)
Richard Blakeborough - Wit, Character, Folklore and Customs of the North Riding of Yorkshire (1898)
J G Campbell - Witchcraft & Second Sight in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland (1902) - Superstitions of the Highlands & Islands of Scotland, Collected entirely from Oral Sources (1900)*
Edward Clodd - Tom Tit Tot - an essay on savage philosophy in folk-tale (1898)
Oswald Cockayne - Leechdoms, Wortcunning, and Starcraft of Early England (1864)
Thomas Crofton Croker - Fairies Tales and Legends of the South of Ireland (1834)*
John Graham Dalyell - The Darker Superstitions of Scotland (1834)*
Walter Evans-Wentz - The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries (1911)
Richard Folkard - Plant Lore, Legends and Lyrics (1892)
W. Gregor - Notes on the Folklore of the North East of Scotland (1881)
Lady Gregory - Visions and Beliefs in the West of Ireland (1920)*
William Henderson - Notes on the Folk-Lore of the Northern Counties of England and the Borders (1866)*
Thomas Keightley - The Fairy Mythology (1828)
Robert Kirk - The Secret Commonwealth (1893, written 1691)*
Fiona Macleod (William Sharp) - Where the Forest Murmurs (Nature Essays) 1906
James Napier - Folk Lore - Superstitious Beliefs in the West of Scotland within this Century (1879)*
Sir Walter Scot - Letters on Witchcraft and Demonology (1884) - The Existence of Evil Spirits Proved (1843)
Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe - A Historical Account of the belief in Witchcraft in Scotland (1884)
Wirt Sikes - British Goblins Welsh Folklore fairy mythology legends and traditions (1880)
Eve Simpson - Folklore in Lowland Scotland (1908)
Benjamin Thorpe -Northern Mythology, Comprising the Principal Popular Traditions and Superstitions of Scandinavia, North Germany, and the Netherlands Volume 1 Volume 2 Volume 3
Lady Wilde - Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms, and Superstitions of Ireland * Volume 1 Volume 2 Volume 3
Thomas Wilkie - Old Rites, Ceremonies, and Customs of the Inhabitants of the Southern Counties of Scotland (1916) (History Of The Berwickshire Naturalists’ Club Vol 23 1916-18, pages 50-145)
Suggested books that are unfortunately in copyright or otherwise not currently available online:
(Links to goodreads and worldcat.org)
Katharine Briggs - The Anatomy of Puck (1959)* - Pale Hecate’s Team (1962)* - Fairies in English Tradition and Literature (1967)
Thomas Davidson - Rowan Tree and Red Thread (1949)
George Ewart Evans - The Pattern Under the Plow (1971)* - Ask the Fellow Who Cuts the Hay (1965) - The Crooked Scythe
Harold Hansen - The Witch’s Garden (1978)
DA Mac Manus -The Middle Kingdom (1959)*
Emma Wilby - Cunning Folk and Familiar Spirits: Shamanistic Visionary Traditions in Early Modern British Witchcraft and Magic (2005)* - The Visions of Isobel Gowdie: Magic, Witchcraft and Dark Shamanism in Seventeenth-Century Scotland (2010)
C. L. Zalewski - Herbs in Magic and Alchemy: Techniques From Ancient Herbal Lore (1990)
Misc Short articles:
Frederika Bain - The Binding of the Fairies: Four Spells (2012)
Thomas Forbes - Witch’s Milk and Witches’ Marks (link to pdf)* (Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine, XXII 1950)
Fae Honeybell - Cunning Folk and Wizards In Early Modern England (2010) (link to pdf)
Canon J. A. Macculloch - The Mingling of Fairy and Witch Beliefs in Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century Scotland (Folk-Lore/Volume 32/1921)
I'm reading The Viking Spirit by Daniel McCoy after being recommend it, but I'm finding myself quite disappointed with it as the author seems to often insert his own opinions and emotions, mostly without clearly stating what is his own conjecture and personal opinion and biases.
Do you know of any better books that go over the history of the religion of the Norse peoples?
Hey, yeah, I don’t recommend Dan McCoy -- anyone presenting their website as “Norse Mythology for Smart People” is trying to sell you something other than just the information you’re looking for.
I gotta admit, the longer I’ve been out of academia, the less qualified I’ve become to answer this. Still, if I sat here for a while I could probably come up with hundreds of books on the topic off the top of my head (although to be fair, most of the authors would be listed as “I forget their name, I think they’re Danish?”). It’s a huge, multidisciplinary field. The old general introductions are all out of date and the topic has gotten so broad and detailed that a new general overview probably couldn’t possibly be written, because it would be such a massive undertaking that by the time it’s done, it would already be obsolete. I’ll give you a few recommendations though. Some of these are about narrow topics like seiðr or fate, but it’s impossible to treat those thoroughly without also digging into other aspects of Norse religion, so even those may be helpful even if those more narrow subjects aren’t of particular interest.
The best way to find good reading material is, once you have something already that you like, check out that book’s footnotes and works cited. Look into the author, see what else they’ve written and who they’ve worked with. Of course, you need to already have gotten started for that to work, so hopefully my response can help with that.
I have a lot of very well-informed followers, so hopefully some of them can add some stuff to the list too.
Most of the work that gets done in the field gets is in articles rather than books. That can be hard to break into, because most of them assume you already know a bunch of stuff that you might not. Any peer-reviewed article should be well-cited enough for you to investigate any of that, but sometimes those sources will turn out to be hard to acquire or maybe in a language you don’t know. Still, it’s not a bad idea to head to https://www.academia.edu and search for some sub-topics interesting to you, or find a paper like this one (just a random example) and check out the related papers on the right.
Old Norse religion in long-term perspectives, ed. Anders Andrén, Kristina Jennbert, and Catharina Raudvere (2006). A big collection of conference papers from a conference on this topic in 2004 by some 70ish authors, covering a huge range of topics. It’s not a general overview -- this is like going to academia.edu to look for papers but taking a shortcut by having a collection curated for you, but it’s a good collection by some of the most important authors in the field.
Thomas DuBois, Nordic Religions in the Viking Age (1999). I’ll be honest, it’s been a long time since I’ve actually read this, but it was kind of a game-changer when it was written. I found it early in my own development and it helped send me in the right direction. Once this book came out, it was no longer possible to write about all Nordic peoples having a single monolithic culture. It also takes the Sámi people into account in an actually respectful and considered way, which has become more common since then, but was a big deal when it was written.
Christopher Abram, Myths of the Pagan North: The Gods of the Norsemen (2011). This is an introduction to the study of Norse mythology, which is to say, not an introduction to Norse religion. It treats these as two distinct spheres of study with different methods for approaching them
Anders Andrén, Tracing Old Norse Cosmology (2014). This is actually about the pre-history of Nordic religions. It’s about using a dialogue between archaeology and later mythological texts to try to see what can be learned about the development of that later mythology. Andrén focuses specifically on three aspects of the cosmology: the world tree, middle-earth, and the sun.
Karen Bek-Pedersen, The Norns in Old Norse Mythology (2011) or her dissertation, which is free online, Nornir in Old Norse Mythology (2008). The most thorough source out there on the topic of the norns and of fate in Norse myth and religion. One thing that stands out about this book is just how much upheaval of old assumptions and misunderstandings it does. If you happen to be heathen yourself, that probably makes this one even more important.
Neil Price, The Viking Way (2019). An extremely dense, detailed book about seiðr, using mostly an archaeological and anthropological perspective. Definitely a must-read for anyone interested in the topic, and it’s very well-sourced and there is a great deal of text in it explaining the history of research and fairly presenting opinions of other authors that diverge from his.
And here are some more that might be useful, but should be read with a little bit of caution:
Neil Price, The Children of Ash and Elm (2020). Full confession: I haven’t read this one. It comes highly recommended from many corners of the internet. I’ve already recommended a book by the same author. This is probably something somewhat like what you’re looking for. Just, if you’re going to read it, read this review by Mathias Nordvig and keep the criticisms in mind.
E.O.G. Turville-Petre, Myth and Religion of the North (1964). This is kind of the old standard introduction. It’s quite out of date, having been written back when such a general overview was possible. While I recommend reading it with the understanding that anything in it could have become corrected, recontextualized, debunked, or otherwise made obsolete in the last half-century, it’s still actually not a bad idea to read it anyway, not only because there’s plenty of stuff that actually will be found to hold up, but also because it gives you a picture of the state of scholarship as it went into the more contemporary modes of research. Norse mythology has been studied for so long now that scholars aren’t just studying that, they’re also observing and dialoguing with Norse studies from earlier periods, and this is among the best of that. It also has the benefit of being in the public domain: https://archive.org/details/TurvillePetreMythAndReligionOfTheNorth
I hope that helps, and if you want some more, or if there are particular subtopics that you’re looking for, or if there’s anything I can clarify for you feel free to send another ask.
Shadow Work Prompts
If you saw my earlier post about beginning shadow work and are looking to explore your shadow self through journaling, I’ve included some beginning prompts that can help you get started! If any of these prove difficult, I encourage you to spend some time thinking through the topic and perhaps exploring it outside of your practice.
Write a letter to someone who has hurt you.
What grudges are you holding onto?
Who has helped you the most in your life?
What is your biggest insecurity? Biggest strength?
How can you use your strengths to overcome your insecurities?
Are you an optimist or a pessimist? Why?
What is a habit you have always wanted to have?
Write about a recurring dream you have and try to analyze it.
What careers/hobbies/activities draw you to them? Why?
Write a letter to yourself 5 years ago. What would you tell yourself?
Write a letter to yourself 5 years in the future. What do you hope has changed?
Do you feel that you have a good support system?
What is something that would greatly improve your life if you had it?
Do you consider yourself to be a jealous person?
These are the prompts that helped me the most when I was beginning my shadow work. If you have more general questions about what shadow work is or why practitioners recommend it, be sure to check out my earlier post!
As always, leave a comment if you have a prompt or practice that has helped you with your shadow work!
"God grant me the strength not to [do something]" doesn't work when you're a Lokean because half of the time Loki would be like "do it lol"