Trying to Witch

Hi, I'm Lucy! I'm relatively new to witchblr but I have been practicing various aspects of witchcraft for a long time now. They/Them pronouns please!

[larkspurlucy]

Rune of Trans Your Gender as first produced by the lovely Natalie @wodneswynn​

X Lucy

[larkspurlucy]

Witches’ Oath

For centuries, physicians have sworn an oath to practice their craft ethically. Most famous among these, although it is often not suitable for the modern art of medicine, is the Hippocratic Oath. I believe we can take elements from ancient wisdom like this and apply it to our practice, so I adapted the Hippocratic Oath to fit the contemporary witch.

Want to make this oath binding magic? Speak it oud loud and concentrate on the words you’re saying, while making a sacrifice of food as the Greeks did in Hippocratic times. Worry not, the Greeks did not waste their food: eating it is part of the sacrifice!

Have any questions or suggestions? Let me know!

Kindly,

Lucy

(Image ID is under the cut)

[Image ID: various aesthetic images with low contrast to emphasize the text on top. The text reads as follows: I swear by all the gods and goddesses, making them my witnesses, that I will carry out, according to my ability and judgment, my magic according to this oath and this indenture. I will hold my teacher in this art in high regard; I will impart advice, instruction, and all other information to fellow witches, and all others who are willing to do good, but none who are willing to do harm; I will use that magic which will benefit people according to my greatest ability and judgment, and I will do no harm or injustice to them. Neither will I administer a poison to anybody when asked to do so, nor will I suggest such a course. But I will keep pure and holy both my life and my art. I will not use magic which I do not master, but I will give place to such as are craftsmen therein. Now if I carry out this oath, and break it not, may I gain for ever reputation among all witches for my life and for my art; but if I break it and forswear myself, may the opposite befall me. /End ID]

[larkspurlucy]

Focus on a goal you want to achieve and speak the above affirmation out loud. Reblog and add your own affirmation, so everyone can read all the affirmations in the reblog chain!

Let’s help each other achieve our goals!

[Image ID: White text  upon a background of a forest skyline at night. The text reads: “POSITIVE AFFIRMATION: Good Things Will Come To Me For I am patient and deserving”. /End ID]

[larkspurlucy]

To get the chain of affirmation going I'll tell you all who I'm thinking about positively: @urbanspellcraft and @siren-song-witchcraft, both of whom are lovely people I've talked to on here before.

Keep it going, witchblr! Stay strong in spirit together! ✨

[larkspurlucy]

Focus on a goal you want to achieve and speak the above affirmation out loud. Reblog and add your own affirmation, so everyone can read all the affirmations in the reblog chain!

Let’s help each other achieve our goals!

[Image ID: White text  upon a background of a forest skyline at night. The text reads: “POSITIVE AFFIRMATION: Good Things Will Come To Me For I am patient and deserving”. /End ID]

[larkspurlucy]

5-Card Nature-based Tarot Spreads

Feel free to use ✨ I really enjoy and advise doing these in a forest / by a body of water respectively ✨  Blessings be upon you!

Lucy

[larkspurlucy]

On Larkspur (Delphinium)

Hey Witchblr, Lucy here! I thought I’d write up a post on the Larkspur, my blog’s namesake. It’s a plant I use in my practice in various stages of its bloom cycle, which is why I cultivate it in my garden (and in pots inside during winter).

I will be discussing the genus Delphinium today. There is another genus of flower called the Larkspur: Consolida. I don’t have any experience using it in my practice, so that’s why I will focus on Delphinium today. In English, they both carry the name ‘Larkspur’ and in my native tongue, they share a name as well. They also share a very important feature, which I will bold before I continue this post:

All parts of the Larkspur plant are toxic upon ingestion and unsafe for human consumption. Depending on the species, ingesting Larkspur could lead to irreversible organ damage or even death. Do not, and I repeat, do not eat any part of the Larkspur plant. This also goes for cats, dogs, and supposedly for other pets.

For reference, this is Larkspur, a plant you should avoid eating at all costs if you come across it in the wild or elsewhere:

With that out of the way, let’s talk about cultivating the plant first. I believe growing your own plants when possible is a core part of any practice that uses plants. Here are some things you should know:

First of all, because it can’t be said enough: keep the plants away from animals and children. Preferably, stow it somewhere with mild to full sun depending on your climate and keep well-watered. Every species has its own needs which you may find online, or you could ask about the specific variety of Larkspur at the store where you buy the plant or its seeds!

Delphinium Larkspurs are perennial plants. This means it will live for multiple years (if treated properly of course) with most varieties living for 2-3 years while some can survive much longer and grow up to 2 meters (6’7”).

This means that you don’t have to harvest and save seed every year if you want to keep a healthy plot for a longer time, although I do advise it because a small plague or bad luck could wipe out your stock and leave you with no seed.

The flowers, which bloom in late spring and early summer in their natural environment, are pollinated by bumblebees and butterflies, so they would serve well in attracting insects to your garden.

With that out of the way, how can a witch use Delphinium species of Larkspur in practice?

General notes:

The plant lends itself well to use in all practices surrounding growth and the cycle of life.

I have found that in general, the species of Larkspur has no direct impact on its usage. If you do use multiple species, you may find differing results based on your specific practice. Take those results as what they most likely are: signs that your magic has a preference.

The plant is associated with the months June and July, and especially with the summer solstice.

The plant is also associated with the planet Venus and therefore with Fridays in Ptolemaic astrology

Using the flower:

Use the flower in rituals regarding protection and/or growth – personal growth, not the growth of relationships with others.

Its magical potency does increase with the size of the flower, but not necessarily with the size of the plant as a whole

The buds of the flower should not be harvested, for this represents dying. Of course, I will not judge if your practice includes death, but the Larkspur is a tricky plant; consider using other representations of death if you are not familiar with Larkspur.

Using the seeds:

The seeds of the larkspur represent potential, like many seeds do. Larkspur seeds specifically represent a potency to become kinder; this is represented in the fact that the seeds are the most toxic part of the plant.

When burned (in the open air, don’t breathe that smoke) the seeds can bring said potential to the area where it is burned. Because of this, the seeds are most useful to witches with altars or places of worship in the outside air.

When buried out of season, such that they can not sprout, the seeds can be used to keep new things from beginning or arriving in your life.

Using the roots, stems and leaves:

The stems and leaves of the Larkspur are best suited for rituals regarding growth of friendship and other relationships

The roots, when dried and burned in the open air, can bless a garden with good fortune.

If you do not grow food, use all parts of end-of-life Larkspur plants for compost to complete the cycle of growth and death the plant represents. If you do grow food, keep these plants away from your compost: the risk of transferring toxicity to your food is too high.

For the same reasons, you want to dig out all of the roots of your Larkspur if you decide to plant something else, and preferrably even change out the soil before you cultivate food there.

I hope you learned something from this post, and if you have any questions - about Larkspur or otherwise - feel free to reach out!

[larkspurlucy]

Nutshell Cleromancy in a nutshell (or: a beginner’s guide to cleromancy)

Hi, I’m Lucy! I’m pretty new to witchblr, but I’ve been practicing witchcraft for a while now and I wanted to share with you all a specific technique of fortune-telling I’ve come to use regularly in my personal life and for others: nutshell cleromancy.

What is cleromancy?

Cleromancy is defined as ‘divination by throwing dice or any such marked objects, like beans, pebbles, or bone.’

What can I use cleromancy for?

Anything you’d use other divination for! Guidance, help, insight. It’s not as detailed as let’s say tarot, but it is more specific in answering simpler questions.

Is cleromancy really witchcraft?

As it is a form of divination, yes! It is like tarot or any other form of divination based on ‘randomness’ in which we prescribe meaning to a seemingly random occurrence and believe that fate or another power has guided the ‘random’ event.

Is cleromancy a new thing?

No, not at all! Although it has taken many different forms through the ages and cultures, people have practiced cleromancy for centuries. It’s present in ancient cultures all around the world.

Why use nutshells?

In history, a lot of cleromancy was practiced through the reading of bones or seeds, emphasizing the importance of the use of objects related to the cyclical nature of life. I was taught to use nutshells, and have had great results with them more so than say pebbles or plastic dice, which is a clear signal to me.  However, like many forms of witchcraft, cleromancy is a way to express your personal connection to fate and/or higher powers, and you should decide on the proper tools to suit your own traditions and craft.

Is cleromancy culturally charged?

This is a hard question to answer, but an important one! The modern witch must take care not to appropriate other cultures and take into consideration the historical contexts of all practice. I know ‘casting of lots’ or a form of reading thrown bones is mentioned in the Hebrew bible, and this is one of the reasons I have shied away from using bones in my own cleromancy. I am not aware of any cultural history behind the use of nutshells for cleromancy, but if anyone does know of anything like that, please let me know! It is our shared duty to make sure we are respectful to all cultures.

What materials do I need?

The beauty of this practice is that it is, in its essence, very bare-bones (get it?). You need a few nutshells that meet some criteria I’ll specify in a bit and that’s it. Of course, if your practice requires you to use certain other materials (crystals, candles, herbs etc.) in your rituals those should be used in your cleromancy process as well. Now, for those criteria:

The nut shells you pick must be able to lie flat on one side. Walnut shells, pistachio shells, that sort of deal. Nutshell cleromancy is about which side of the shell lands upwards, so it’s important that your shells have a defined top and bottom.

If your shells of choice have an inherent asymmetry (as pistachio shells do, for example) you need to use matching sets. This doesn’t mean you have to use both sides of one nut, but for every ‘left-facing’ shell you have to use a ‘right-facing’ one as well.

How many shells do I need?

You’re gonna need 4 shells at least, but you can expand your ‘hand’ as it’s called. In essence, this is what you need:

One marked shell. Many nuts, when you buy or harvest them, have natural imperfections. One of these shells can serve as your marked piece, but if your shells come without any apparent deviants, you can mark a normal shell by carving, colouring or otherwise altering it. Keep in mind you have to be able to see the deviancy from both sides of the shell.

Sets of normal shells. Whether asymmetrical or not, you should use an even number of normal shells for cleromancy. Two shells (one set) is the minimum, but you can use as many as you want. Just keep it even and keep in mind that more shells are more difficult to interpret.

Broken shells. For every set of two normal shells, you need a single shell fragment or broken shell. These still need to be able to lie on one of two sides.

This is an example of a possible hand:

[Image ID: A photo showing pistachio shells laid out on a wooden table. There are three sets of two shells, three fragments of shells and one shell that bears an orange/brown discoloration. /End ID]

I have my shells. What do I do?

A cleromantic reading has three stages: the question, the throw and the reading. I’ll discuss these separately:

For the question stage, you take a question in mind that you want the answer to. As the nature of nutshell cleromancy depends on the dichotomy of up and down, it will best serve you to phrase your question in a way that allows for two answers and no more. A yes or no question works very well for this, but a choice between any two options is fine. Don’t worry, you’re not limited to extremes: the reading of the shells accounts for degrees of certainty/severity. I’ll explain this later.

Now, for the throw: take all your shells in one hand, shake them an even number of times around and let them fall down gently on a flat surface like a table. If you have an altar space for your practice, that’s the ideal spot! If you have any actions you’d like to incorporate, such as lighting candles or saying incantations, do them before you throw the shells. When your shells have all landed, the actual reading can begin. That’s the fun part!

When reading your shells, these are the basic principles:

Your marked shell is your most basic answer. If you asked a yes or no question, hollow side up means yes, and hollow side down means no. If you asked another question, you have to make sure beforehand you establish which side up is which answer.

Your normal shells represent a degree of certainty/severity. The more shells have their hollow side up, the more certain/accurate your divination will be. If they all land hollow side up, it’s bad luck to ask more on the subject or ask again. Any other results welcome more questions on the subject, so don’t be afraid to specify your question and throw more than once until you get an all-up result. If they all land hollow side down, you might want to consider rethrowing with the same question another time or using another form of divination.

Your fragments represent clarity. The more they land hollow side up, the more likely it is that your answer is straight-forward and should be interpreted that way. If the majority of your fragments land hollow side down, there’s likely a second meaning or a deeper layer to your answer. Throw again if you’d like, unless all your normal shells landed the same way (as described above).

Can you show us an example of a throw?

Of course! I’m so glad you asked. I’ll be using the hand pictured above, with three sets and three fragments, as I personally find this to be a good balance between specificity and readability.

For my example throw, I’ll use a question related to my garden. This will be my question: Should I harvest my nettles soon or let them grow further? Because this is not a yes-or-no question, I’ll keep in mind that the first answer is hollow side up, and the second answer is hollow side down. Now, let’s throw! Here’s the result:

[Image ID: The shells lay scattered on a wooden table. The marked shell is facing downward, as are three of the normal shells and one of the fragments. This leaves three normal shells and two fragments lying face up. /End ID]

As you can see, the result favours letting the nettles grow. It has a normal amount of certainty in this, 3 shells, but there is another factor to be considered: the majority of my fragments is lying face up, which means I should think a little on this question. For me specifically, this means I’ll be using my nettles for something else than I was planning on.

Anything else I should keep in mind?

There’s a few little notes and thoughts I have, so I’ll put those here:

Nutshell cleromancy is great for the visually impaired witch! This is because it relies on the shape of the shells on the table, which can be determined by touch. Of course, you would need to alter your marked piece in such a way that you can feel the marking, but that’s very doable.

I tend to re-use my shells, as I don’t have a nut tree or something like it and nuts from the store are a rarity for me. However, the witch I learned this from buries her shells after every few throws and selects a new hand, which might fit well into your practice.

You can sort the shells once they’ve fallen onto the table, so that you have a clearer picture of how many of everything there is.

There is more to reading shells. When you throw shells, they might fall onto each other and overlap, forming patterns. I might make a post about some of those if you guys are interested!

And that’s the basics! The process of throwing shells is very quick and gives great insight, so I highly recommend it to all of you! Let me know if you have any questions and/or are interested in that follow-up on multi-shell patterns. Until then, stay well and happy!