my inbox is open! i'd love to answer any asks of pertinent questions anyone has to my craft or to your own craft. i will delete anything drama related! i will block anyone promoting any kinds of bigotry, harassment, etc.!
i am an adult and i prefer to interact with other adults. i don't want to be friends with anyone under 18 (probably 21).
substack 🌿 posts 🌻 masterpost 🍶 resources
e-shrine: @piscismdnna
🪷 hello! my name is sylvan or syl, and i use she/they pronouns. i am 22 y/o & i've been practicing witchcraft of various varieties for ~8 years now. my practice is spirit-led, primarily by my spirit guides, ancestors, and land spirits surrounding me. i am an aspiring pellar (folk healer & practitioner) and permaculturist, located in the great lakes region.
🧹 my practice is focused in hearthcraft, greencraft, and hedgecraft. within my hearthcraft i practice fire-keeping, kitchen-witchery, and hearth-spirit communion. within greencraft i am focused on wortcunning arts, foraging, and pilgrimage for communion & identification of wild nature spirits. my hedgecraft is focused on spirit-flight, spirit-communion, and gloaming-communion & healing. i also frequently perform healing-song, a variety of folk practices, and divination. my spellwork is a mixture of folk-based and drawn from sabbatic & historical tradition.
part of my aspirational pellarcraft is work as a diviner; my primary mediums are tarot, playing cards, and charm casting. my main tarot decks are verdance tarot by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law, and magicmakers tarot by Paulina Fae. i may offer readings at some point in the future, but if you are especially interested please send me a dm and we can probably work something out.
🐚 i worship and am devoted to the great mother, in her forms as the moon, luna; as mother mary, demeter; and as the crone, the spider. i also work with mary magdalene, jesus christ, and various archangels and saints. other than these, i work with spirits of the stars and planets, spirits of nature (especially those surrounding me, my plant allies, and my patron tree), my spirit guides, and my ancestors. i do work with various unrecorded deities and spirits on my spirit council, as well as a draconic spirit. i have an e-shrine blog @piscismdnna for images and things associated with these deities and individual spirits (mostly UPG)
📜 tags: all posts; asks; reblogs; practice; spellwork; pilgrimage
🌀 i speak only english and i am of primarily british and irish descent. i sparingly use examples outside of my culture in posts, but this is only for the purpose of comparisons or giving details. please do not engage in closed traditions that you are not welcome to!
🪶 current reading:
nourishing traditions: the cookbook that challenges politically correct nutrition and the diet dictocrats; sally fallon with mary g . enig, phd
the great cosmic mother: rediscovering the religion of the earth; monica sjöö & barbara mor
the living soil handbook: the no-till growers guide to ecological market gardening; jessie frost
the encyclopedia of mystics, saints & sages: a guide for asking for protection, wealth, happiness, and everything else!; judika illes
wild magic: celtic folk traditions for the solitary practitioner; danu forest
my digital altar (picrew) + representing me (picrew)
butterfly & fern dividers by @pixopix // stamps by @fernthewhimsical
Every mushroom, every speck of mold, every sprawl of fungus is an extension of my Mushroom Queen. I crouched far too long and in far too much pain, before these little mushrooms, feeding my pain into my Lady's fungal network. She takes my pain away and in return I take the pain of others.
as a somewhat broom-closeted witch, it is important to me to align many practices with existing US federal holidays, as well as christian saints days and other holidays. things like memorial day, and fourth of july, are not necessarily celebrating days that are incredibly significant to me.
that is to say, i utilize the fourth of july as a secondary midsummer ritual, celebrating the month of july, dedicated to mary magdalene – her feast day being july 22. one of my important ancestors whom i work with frequently also has a birthday on july 22. i dedicate the entire month to the two of them, being important beings whom i work with and venerate.
this fourth of july (2026) is during a waning moon, after the full moon at the end of june. the moon enters pisces the night before the fourth of july. i am not a particularly well versed astrologer, but significant to me during this month include the mercury retrograde beginning at the end of june (until the end of july), venus entering virgo on july 9th, and a bunch of personal adaptive aspects from the 22nd to the end of july.
that being said, i have nostalgic and magical traditions for the fourth of july which i will describe here:
fireworks, especially across the lake or watching from a boat
swimming in a lake, kayaking
hot dogs, hamburgers, corn on the cob, grilled food, mountain dew soda
lighting sparklers, throwing poppers, running or biking to the corner store for ice & ice cream sandwiches
fresh cherries off the tree, and raspberries and blueberries off the bush
bonfires and smores, sitting on rocking chairs, some guy with a guitar playing wonderwall, drinking & smoking around the fire
camping, sitting in the tent, biking through trails
mary magdalene, whose feast day is july 22. i've offered collected things like seaweed, flowers, driftwood, and rocks into the lake for mary magdalene, as well as things like libations of wine or water, or devotional care towards her altar earlier in the day.
the gloaming folk are active (in my experience) especially from the spring equinox onto the autumn equinox. i like to give regular offerings of milk, honey, flowers, sugar, and other plant materia throughout the summer months. i've communed with the fair folk on the nights of the fourth of july, after i've gone home but others are still lighting fireworks. it's hard for me to do this in silence so the noise of fireworks is helpful.
as i mentioned, i also do specific ancestor veneration to this ancestor whose birthday is in july. he prefers offerings of his favorite foods, drinks, and vices, so i partake in lots of mountain dew in this month, as well as mac and cheese. i might even make homemade mac and cheese to bring to a fourth of july party this year.
because this fourth of july is during a waning moon in pisces, i'd like to engage in tarot or other shadow work, emotional attunement, and creative activities. examples include the cauldron fountain ritual, or the tides of the body ritual. i also do practices from the book chakras and shadow work, by stefani michelle.
One of my tricks for flame-reading (either scrying or just paying attention to the behavior of the flame during a working for signs) is to place a "control candle" (of the same wax, same size, etc) close by. It makes it easier to determine what is sign and what is environmental.
☀️I barely slept last night so I missed the sunrise, but I did go sit out on the front step to greet the sun with my morning tea (honeybush, mandarin, and orange with homemade ginger syrup incase anyone was wondering).
☀️While I harvested some wild grape vine, cow vetch, buttercups, feverfew, catmint, and ferns from the property; I let the sun thaw some beet cubes for offerings to the Antlerless Buck, the deer skull that watches over my garden and outdoor altar.
☀️I wove the grapevine and flowers into a crown, creating sudo-antlers with the catmint and ferns.
☀️Once thawed the beet juice was poured into the skull from where the antlers were cut away as offering*.
*For me, beets are the heart of the earth. Their juice is a symbolic stand-in for blood.
4 chicken breasts (or equivalent amount of another cut, or tofu)
6-8 large russet potatoes, peeled & rinsed, then cut into 1/2" thick half slices
chicken broth (+ water if needed)
crème fraiche (or sour cream, heavy cream)
dijon mustard
whole grain mustard
sliced white onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
~2 tbsp fresh parsley, minced
butter
olive oil
bay leaf
garlic powder, onion powder, coriander powder, mustard powder, salt
tools:
2 mixing bowls
tongs
enchanted* skillet w/ matching lid
enchanted* pot w/ lid
potato masher
trim the chicken fat then season, while calling upon the spirits of mustard, garlic, onion, coriander, and salt to protect those who eat this meal from disease and illness.
place cut potatoes into pot & cover with chicken broth and/or water (reserve 1/4 cup chicken broth). add bay leaf and cover. call upon the spirits of potato and bay laurel to protect those who eat this meal from disease and illness. bring to a boil on the stove.
add ~1 tbsp olive oil to the pan and let heat, then sear chicken for ~15m on the first side. per side in the pan, or until outside is brown, flip and add the onions into the pan around the chicken. transfer to the oven if necessary. transfer to a plate with paper towel on top once cooked through.
in the pan, add minced garlic and ~1 tbsp minced fresh parsley, and cook for ~1 minute, until fragrant. add ~1/4 cup chicken broth and scrape the fond off the pan with a mixing spoon, clockwise. add 1/2 cup cream, 2 tsp dijon mustard, 2 tsp whole grain mustard, chopped parsley, & seasonings. warm this mixture but don't boil, and remove it from heat after.
remove potatoes when fork-tender, then mash and mix in 2-4 tbsp cream and 2 tbsp butter. slice cooked chicken while thanking the spirit of the chicken(s) for its sacrifice to feed us.
serve chicken on top of mashed potatoes, topped with mustard sauce, and remaining fresh parsley. pour the sauce clockwise while doing a final enchantment: this food protects those who consume it from illness and disease.
🌼 Greeted the day by standing in the sunlight while using a singing bowl. With each strike against the side of the bowl, the sun felt like it grew in intensity in response. Almost like a call and response.
🏵 Enjoyed a wonderful dinner that was filled with the color yellow and flavor. We were quite full and that felt fitting for the Solstice.
🌼 Went for a walk around the neighborhood. With one headphone in, I listened to the summer day and a playlist that helps me feel "witchy". The playlist was meant to help block out the sounds of nearby traffic while keeping my mind focused on why I was walking.
🏵 Refilled our 2 bird feeders and spoke to the birds who were waiting. I used the small singing bowl next to both feeders once they were filled and welcomed the neighborhood birds to come eat!
☀️🌻 Ways I Still Need to Celebrate the Solstice 🌻☀️
🌼 Cleanse my space using an herbal blend
🏵 Leave the herbal blend burning to represent a bonfire
🌼 Light a candle to help represent a bonfire, to promote a positive summer
🏵 Melt wax in burner meant to help "raise vibrations" (a blend I was gifted by someone at a metaphysical shop I love!)
tysm @slewfootwitch for tagging me! i am also going to cut it close and post this at the very end of june. "where i live" is by @dvoeverie-stitches!
Where I live, June looks like... blooming wildflowers spreading along roadsides and throughout the lawns of abandoned properties. the strawberry full moon peering through the trees. the roses blooming stronger the next day. fireflies speckled through a pitch black field of nighttime.
Where I live, June sounds like... chalk on pavement. crickets and frogs chirping all night long. coyotes on the prowl and dogs barking back. squirrels and chipmunks skittering around the trees. thunderstorms and rain channeling down the gutters. the air conditioning kicking on.
Where I live, June smells like... the sickly sweet scent of milkweeds blooming. the bitter smell of seaweed and algae washing up on the banks of lakes. smoke from bonfires and grills, with notes of pinecone and burger. mustard dressing on top of fresh salads. pungent weed drifting across the beach.
Where I live, June tastes like... no bake cookies. tequila, margaritas, daiquiris, & joints. salt water (not fun) and lake water (still not great). fresh caught fish grilled over the fire. hot dogs with homemade relish and hamburgers with fresh tomatoes. baby black raspberries.
Where I live, June feels like... humid heat, sticky sweat. the rush of cold when entering the house, and the rush of heat when exiting. grains of sand and rocks stuck between my toes. the perfect time for cool outdoor showers.
tagging (for june or july!): @moth-kissed-witch, @hiiighpriestess913, @chronicallyferal, @lost-at-thecrossroads, and @slewfootwitch i'll tag you back ;)
Forgot to take a picture of the Solstice altar, so here’s wine and cakes, flowers from the garden (the cosmo daisy is shy…), and spell candle for rain to help put out the wildfires.
Shy cosmo. She’s a lil scraggly, but the bed she’s been in was literally all weeds just months ago and she’s grown like a champ :)
The cakes were honey and lavender biscuits (or scones if you’re not American), and were absolutely delicious. Here’s a link to the recipe if anyone wants it:
Indulge in the delightful taste of these Honey Lavender Biscuits. Crafted with the essence of lavender and the sweetness of honey, these bis
The circle was ok, a little rushed but I’m tired. Forgot to summon the watchtowers, and had to apologise instead of saying farewell at the end. I hope they forgive me.
But, I got it all done and cleaned up in time to see the sunset.
UPG = unverified personal gnosis. while some of this may be sourced from books, most of this is just from my own mind, culture, and doesn't have to match yours.
serpentine energy, sprowl, fullest moon energy of the year due to closeness to summer solstice
strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, green (unripe) hawthorn berries
watermelon, fruit popsicles, lemonade
swimming in lakes, beachside bonfires, rocking chairs
dancing around the full moon bonfire, making s'mores, singing and blessing herbs and spells thru the smoke
hummingbird feeders, leaving oranges out for orioles
watching fireflies, watching butterflies and caterpillars in the milkweed, listening to the humming and buzzing of the insects after dark, smoking in the garage or out the window in the hot night
collecting eggs from nearby family friends or driveway stands, egg sandwiches for a late night snack
lighting a candle for lunar prayers in the truck bed, chanting prayers to the moon with my partner after dark
looking at the moon-blooming flowers in the garden
