Lavender Roxx

Animal Lover 🐾 Liberal 🏳️‍🌈 Nature 🌿 Married 💑 Mom & Granny 👶 She/her ✌Feminist 🔮 Secular Tarot Reader

[lavenderroxx]

Dancing in the starlight

As the lightening bugs take flight

The planets perfectly aligned above

Peace, awe, amazement, and love

Under the sparkles the crickets sing

My soul awakening did ring

A tiny part of everything

I am me.

You are me.

We are one.

[deactivated-blog]

From My Grimoire...

I thought I’d consolidate and create a list of every spell or working I’ve ever posted, and I think I’ve managed to do that, though I may have left out a few. They are organized into loose categories. Enjoy.

Love and Emotions

A Venus Charm for Love Magick

Devotion Oil

Attraction Potion

Relationship Clarity

Bridging Distance

Calming Spell With Playing Cards

Gaining an Ally

Prosperity

Prosperity Working

Spell for Servers/ Waitstaff

Safety

Crowd Dispersal

Counter-Curse Working

Witch Bottle Charm

Warding and Magickal Lockdown

Seeing Through Lies

Concealing Your Craft

Self-Development

A Saturn Charm for Self-Discipline

Motivation Bottle Charm

Blogging Potion

Focus Enhancement

Self-Confidence

Amethyst Warning Spell

Changing Behavior and Thought Patterns

Misc.

Golden Thread Charm

Casting a Lunar Circle

Making a Pendulum

Enchanted Flower Crown

Simple Planetary Magick for All Purposes

Astral Travel

To Bring the Sun Inside

Making Verbal Sigils

[hellenic-polytheist]

A Page Out Of My Book Of Shadows: Powerful Binding Spell

Only you can decide what you are ready to practice this <3

Make a poppet (doll) to represent the person you wish to bind. Bonus points if you use their clothing to make it.

Write the full name and date of birth of the person on a piece of paper three times. If you do not have all this information just the first name can also work.

Fold the paper away from you to send out your intentions. Place the paper inside of the poppet.

Sew the poppet up while saying “This poppet and person are one in the same. I command you poppet this is your name.”

Get a black, white, or red cord and sharp thorns or needles.

Wrap the poppet in the cord and stick the sharp objects into it while repeating “I blind you and bind you by this charm that you may no longer do any harm” nine times. Make sure you stick thorns in the eyes of the poppet.

Hold over a lit candle and say “By power of fire know this is true all harm you have done is now done to you.” do the same substituting for different elements until you have done all. Bury the poppet in the earth far away from your home.

Use this with caution and only for ones who deserve it. Cross reference all steps and ingredients of this and any other spell you find before preforming. Always cleanse and protect your space afterwards. Feel free to add, subtract or substitute anything appropriately. 

Hope this helps <3

[liberumbrarum]

Lavender Faery Wine for Imbolc

Ingredients: 1 cup of milk per serving. 1 tsp honey ¼ tsp of vanilla extract ½ a cup of brewed lavender tea Lavender buds or cinnamon Steep lavender buds or any lavender tea in ½ a cup of hot water. The more tea leaves or buds you use, the stronger the lavender taste will be. Warm a cup milk on the stove; be careful not to boil or else it’ll froth up and make a mess. Once warmed, pour in the tea, honey, and vanilla extract. Serve in a teacup and sprinkle lavender buds or cinnamon on top.

Back to Imbolc-Candlemas

[the-surreptitious-solitary]

Tarot Spread For The Upcoming Year, Two Ways

First, a simple overview, shown above. Shuffle while concentrating on the upcoming year. If you have a particular type of concern for the days ahead (career, romance, finances, etc), focus on that and ask for guidance. If not, ask for general guidance or predictions and deal as shown. These cards represent:

Overall theme for the year

Message for January

Message for February

Message for March

Message for April

Message for May

Message for June

Message for July

Message for August

Message for September

Message for October

Message for November

Message for December

Read upright/reversed based on their relationship to the center of the wheel; center is the bottom, the rim is the top, so, for instance, card 2 is in a normal orientation, while 5 is on its side with the top to the right.

Alternately, you can take a more comprehensive look at the upcoming year. As above, shuffle and concentrate on the kind of overview that would fill your needs. Last the cards as shown. These cards represent:

A lesson you will bring with your from the past year into the upcoming year (will help you deal with the coming year)

Overall theme for the new year

Overall struggle/adversary for the new year

A lesson you will need to learn in the coming year to prepare your for the following year

Message for January

Message for February

Message for March

Message for April

Message for May

Message for June

Message for July

Message for August

Message for September

Message for October

Message for November

Message for December

Struggle/adversary for January

Struggle/adversary for February

Struggle/adversary for March

Struggle/adversary for April

Struggle/adversary for May

Struggle/adversary for June

Struggle/adversary for July

Struggle/adversary for August

Struggle/adversary for September

Struggle/adversary for October

Struggle/adversary for November

Struggle/adversary for December

Read upright/reversed on the monthly messages as indicated with the first spread. The struggle/adversary cards (3 and 17-28) should be read holistically; the upright or reversed meanings may be most appropriate to be aware of. Use your intuition. Be aware that these cards often have advice for how to deal with that struggle.

The struggle/adversary may be a person, situation, mindset, etc.

I suggest reading each month as a pair (its message and struggle/adversary together). You may find that a month that has a negative message may carry advice on the struggle for how to get through it, for instance. It is surprising how these cards interact sometimes.

[themanicnami]

Questions for Tarot Reading

Sometimes it is very difficult to come up with questions for tarot readings on the spot, whether you are giving the reading to yourself or if you are getting it done by another. Here is a small guide to hopefully help you with better wording your questions.

What shouldn’t you ask?

A good place to start is with what you probably should avoid. This does change reader to reader so this is not always true, but some typical things are:

Avoid Yes/No questions, these may be fine for pendulum readings but they are very difficult for tarot reading which gives you more details than a simple yes or no. Limiting yourself to yes/no questions can make the reading more difficult to interpret and even in my case when I get yes/no questions I am sometimes left baffled at what the card could mean.

Avoid questions that dig into another’s life. This could vary between readers, though such questions can be rather rude such as asking how two other people’s relationship is going or asking about a person’s secret life like “what is K keeping from me?”. these are generally avoided because well, they are rude and can make readers uncomfortable. Instead try to reword these questions such as “How could I improve my relationship with K, i feel like we are distant?” It is much more proper and involves you showing more appropriate interest in this person’s life

 Try not to ask outrageous questions. This should be a bit obvious but asking a tarot reader “how will the world end” or “when will WW3 happen” etc may seem funny but again, it is a bit rude. It is very mocking to us, try to ask questions we can actual try to answer. 

Don’t ask about your own death or when/how you will die. Though this is not agreed on by every reader, I know myself and many are uncomfortable with this question and will not answer for numerous reasons, including that we don’t want to scare or panic someone.

Health and Medical Advice. many tarot readers are not comfortable answering questions about your health or the health of others. We are not doctors or medical professionals, go and ask these questions to someone with knowledge in the subject, not us

Mental Health/Illness questions. Many tarot readers will not answer these questions because again, we are not professionals. Please seek professional help about your mental illnesses.

Always ask the tarot reader what questions they are not comfortable answering. This varies so much between person to person, so if they are doing free readings or event readers, check their FAQ if they have one or ask them what questions they are uncomfortable in asking. They will appreciate your courtesy and it can also ensure you don’t end up asking things that they won’t want to answer.

How can I come up with good Questions to ask?

This is a bit more difficult than what you can’t ask for it, again varies person to person. But as a general list of suggestions, here are some common questions that many don’t mind answering and can be nice for you too:

How will my week/month/year go? Simple but good for a general overall reading

How can I improve my relationship with _____? Not too nosy into the other person’s life and also gives you some information you can work with

How will my schoolwork/career go this month/term? 

I feel distant from _____ how can we best approach this problem?

What should I focus on this month?

What is holding me back? What can I do to improve myself?

What energies are around me today/this week/month?

What should I be more aware of in my life?

What is something i have been blind to recently?

I want to improve my ____, how can I approach this?

What are some good things coming my way?

What are some bad things coming my way?

There are many other questions you can ask but these ones above are some good general ones to start with.

When asking questions, try to make them about you rather than others. This is because you are the one getting the reading, not the other person. Plus, again some tarot readers may have personal preferences not to answer questions relating to another person’s life without their permission.

Remember not all tarot readers will do the same things! Always ask, if they don’t mention it in their FAQ if they are comfortable answering the following:

Love/Romantic Readings: I know other tarot readers who will not answer questions related to whether your crush likes you or how another person’s relationship is going. It makes some people uncomfortable due to lack of consent in some forms of these.

Communicating with Spirits or the Dead: not all tarot readers work with spirits so they may not wish to try to communicate with them

Questions about the Deceased or Death: again, some people are really uncomfortable with these types of questions

Deities: not all tarot readers are willing to communicate with your deity for you or see how your deity feels, especially when they are not connected to that deity or have a very different religious standing. Please respect that

Past Life Readings: not all tarot readers believe in past lives so not all will be willing to do a past life reading

Spreads: Not all tarot readers if they are offering you free readings will be using spreads. Spreads take time and a lot more energy 

Entity Communication: these would include communication with fae, merfolk, dragons, angels, demons, guides/guardians, and many other things. Not all tarot readers are willing to interact with these entities for you, especially if they are inexperienced with them or uncomfortable.

Revenge Readings: these would include questions related to how you can get someone back for something they did, if they will get punished for it, etc. Again, many readers may not be comfortable with these types of readings due to how aggressive and the wish of harm to come onto another can put people off.

Please always remember that tarot readers will be doing the absolute best to give you a clear, accurate reading. But, take readings with a grain of salt, things change all the time, so the reading may not always be 100% accurate. Don’t attack the reader for this, for they are trying their hardest to give you a good reading. Things aren’t always accurate, though we all try to be as accurate as possible to give you good advice. Sometimes the reading may seem like one thing will happen but something else happens, we readers make mistakes too. We are human. And the future is ever changing. Just remember that a reading you are given is never carved in stone.

I hope this has been helpful to you all and has aided you in understanding what questions to ask when getting a reading done. Have a wonderful day all of you!

[crimsonsongbird]

Never Alone: A Message from Hekate

“The path is dark And it is steep. You may fall down, Or break down, And you may weep. But know this, my child, You were never meant To walk this path alone.

When real hands Failed to catch you, Divine hands were there To break your fall. When your tears Were berated or bullied, Divine hands were there To wipe them away.

In times when you felt Unloved or unwanted, Divine hands embraced you And surrounded you with love; Whether you needed A Teacher, Guide, or Friend, A Mother, Father, or Sibling, We were there to fill the void.

Even when you felt Your most alone in life, When you felt as though You were on your own, We were always there, Walking beside you. And you have my word That this is how it will always be.

When you can’t hear our words Or feel our embrace, When you can’t sense our presence Or you can’t see our face, Know this, dear child, We are still with you And have been all along. You are never truly alone.”

[stygiantarot]

Unusual Divination Methods

A long ass list of methods of divination, just in case you’re curious ~~~~~~

Divination is the method of discerning answers beyond a direct interaction. It can be used for foreseeing future outcomes or problems, but that isn’t inherent. It can also be used to commune with entities like deities or spirits, or even for delving deeper into the self (like shadow work).

There are many forms of divination. So many. There are even many forms of what would be considered “unusual” beyond the more commonly practices like cartomancy, runes, or stichomancy. Today I shall be focusing on ones I’m familiar with so I can better elaborate and answer questions.

The methods I will be exploring today:


Aleuromancy: divination using flour (or a flour substitute!)


Catoptromancy: a form of scrying using a mirror (my method uses a cast iron pan actually!)


Osteomancy: divination using bones

~~~~~~

Aleuromancy

A form of divination using flour that’s mentioned in some Mesopotamian cunefiorms, as well as being practiced in Greece and Rome. There are a couple ways this can be done. Firstly is when you pour out the dry flour and look at the way it falls into a bowl or on a plate or surface. Much like tea leaf reading (tasseography), you seek out shapes in the flour and interpret based on that. Another variation is doing the same but after you’ve mixed the flour with the liquids you’re baking with and kneaded it/mixed it and then taken it away to be baked. You examine the remaining streaks of wet dough on your surfaces for shapes and patterns.

The third method is to actually put slips of paper into the items you’re baking to be taken at random and broken open to answers questions after they’re cooked (akin to fortune cookies). This can be a tricky process depending on what sort of paper or ink you’ve used (speaking from experience :-X). The historical Greek version of this used excerpts of famous philosophy and mixed the balls of doughs nine times (a significant number in ancient Greek)

It can take a lot of patience to try and find shapes and patterns in flour and admittedly it’s much easier with tea leaves. No wonder that became the standard. Don’t get disheartened if it isn’t something you have success with. You might have more fun and results experimenting with the baking slips of paper into dough methods. Great for ritual cookies!

The kind of divining using this method is very simple, more “omen-like” than detailed q&as like in Tarot or runes. Expect to see simple images that may give insight to something coming your way (a boat or bird showing a trip) or warn of a specific type of trouble that may be on the horizon (a money sign showing finances) rather than getting a formulated question clearly answered. However, you can dabble in that methodology when using the slips of paper instead. That way is more akin to stichomancy where you get a general idea or snapshot of the emotion or proverb-like metaphor to your question.

The type of flour can be tailored to help “fine tune” the reading as well- much like a certain flavor or tea or a certain deck of cards. Keep in mind that all types of grains/flours have a baseline association with prosperity and material gain/finances so this method of divination is especially good for those type of questions!



Flour Correspondences:


Acorn: An uncommon one in stores of course, but has deep wildcrafting results if you have the time and patience to grind some yourself. Associated with protection, health, money, healing, potency, fertility, luck, wealth, wisdom, and personal power.


Almond: creativity, luck, wisdom, spiritual understanding, nostalgia

Buckwheat: Money, protection, dreams and sleep


Flaxseed: health, finances, prosperity, beauty, psychic powers

Oat: family, home, hearth, money

Potato: protection, banishing, soothing/healing


Rice: prosperity, career/job, travel, romantic relationships/sex

Wheat: general prosperity, rebirth/renewal, solar energy

~~~~~~

Catoptromancy

From the Greek word katoptron, meaning mirror, this is a form of scrying that specifically uses a mirror rather than flame, water, or crystal ball. However, my version is a bit of a kitchen witch twist on it. We’ll get to that in a moment!

 The Wikipedia article on it refers to a Greek temple that used this method but it was also practiced in many other countries in history. There’s references to the “true seeing” of Hathor/Het-Hert/ḥwt-ḥr mirrors as well, despite them being mainly for practical purposes. The divination is practiced most commonly by placing a mirror near water, outside in moonlight, or near a candle flame. Then the reader looks into the mirror and interprets the images seen. They can be direct appearance-based (how you look) or seeing other images. The mirror can be a standard one, a painted one, or one made of a more opaque substance like obsidian or metal.

I will say personally, I practice catoptromancy in an “inner eye” scrying way rather than a pattern/tasseography way. That means that I am the conduit and the mirror/surface is to help me get into a trance state and what I “see” will be from my mind’s eye or may likely be added to what little I see on the surface through intuition and that sixth sense. But either method is absolutely fine.

I also don’t use a mirror. I use a well loved, well seasoned cast iron skillet for my catoptromancy, with a lighted candle usually. The glossy surface is mostly black iron but is just mirrored enough from the soaked in fat during the past decades of seasoning that it performs quite well for scrying. And the sentimental value helps it’s power. You may want to select an object in a similar fashion. You can choose an important mirror (the size doesn’t matter) or pick something that is mirror-like. The reflective ability is all that matters.

Get settled down in a comfortable spot without too much light. Get your one light source ready; a candle, the moon, a small table lamp or booklight even. You’ll want to be grounded, centered, and calm and then let yourself “zone out” in order to get into the mindset for scrying. Then examine your own reflection for certain aspects that stand out or look past yourself (or angle the mirror to not be looking right at you) to see other shapes or patterns that you expand upon with your trance state. Keeping a journal for this method is especially important. There’s an emotional and internal reflection aspect that can be helpful to refer back to and examine how things went in your life after certain sessions. It can also pair well with dream magic. What you were seeking might manifest after the trance mirror session in your dreams. This method of divination is especially good for shadow work as well.

~~~~~~

Osteomancy

Bones, bones bones! Throwing the bones! Examining the bones! Reading the bones! This is a divination method that obviously uses bones in order to determine associations and messages. It was prevalent in so many cultures throughout ancient and more recent history that it’s hard to pin down a single source. However, there are definitely methods that have particular cultural ties and those should be respected when it comes to closed ones. 

Much like runes or staves, the most common method counts upon both the appearance of the bones themselves as well as their placement in a “casting” (when you gently toss them onto a flat surface). Casting sets also frequently include items that aren’t just bones like small stones, coins, shells, pieces of jewelry, etc.

You can carve, mark, paint or stain the bones in ways that have personal associations to you to help in reading them. You can obtain these bones in any ethical way you are comfortable with. I don’t believe they have to be remains you have processed yourself; though that can add a different spiritual component. You should be considerate in collecting your set though. There is no set number of objects to have (even a single piece can answer yes/no questions) but I don’t recommend starting out of the gate with a pile. You should get comfortable with each piece and determine its associations before moving on to a new one.

Unlike Tarot, they don’t come with set meanings. Though there are sometimes obvious ones: a coin for finances, a seedpod or nut for fertility/prosperity, a sharp tooth for protection, etc. Think about what creature the bone is from, what part of the body, what shape it has when helping determine your personal associations. Treat it like a correspondence for herbs or crystals and that way you can have a more organic “sliding scale” type meaning for when you cast rather than a rigidly detailed one like with Tarot. For example: a meaning like “luck” or “prosperity” is better than “success in work”. It’s also common to have objects touch and then their meanings are joined. In the previous example you could get promotion/raise at work from having a work piece crossing with a prosperity or luck piece.

It is also up to you on what level of ritualized dedication and/or care you would like to give your set. Many people like to do a special dedication ritual to almost “welcome” the item to its new job as a divination tool (my own is what I call “Massaging the Bones”). You can also regularly cleanse and “feed” the casting set (energy that is- not literal food, though you could give it energy from something you’ve cooked in a non-literal way!). I do recommend a special bag or box to keep everything in as well as a soft thicker cloth to cast on. Just so the items don’t get damaged. Be careful in your casting. Practice a lot to know your strength level to throw while still keeping the objects safe. There may be a couple pieces (like baculums or thinner bird bones) that you need to wrap in a square of cloth before storing with the rest of your set for extra protection. This is especially true if you plan to take your set anywhere where it’ll be traveling in a bag or purse.

You can have a ritual circle of string or another material (embroidery hoop!) you lay out to help organize your cast if you like too. This is usually treated one of two ways. Like the face of a clock and items “closer” to certain times are more immediate and further away items around the imaginary numerals are more in the future. Or it’s concentric and the closer to the center of the circle are more important/relevant and then less relevant or immediate as you get closer to the edge. Those that fall outside the circle aren’t relevant to the reading.

This is a divination method you need an large amount of patience for as it is basically creating a tool yourself from scratch, even if you buy the supplies from elsewhere. The framework is laid by you. And just like someone designing a Tarot deck from scratch; be gentle with yourself and allow yourself the room to practice, change, grow, have fallow periods, return, get bored, become fanatic, etc. It’s a process sort of divination that grows like a living thing. This makes it a bittersweet one- rewarding and frustrating but mostly immensely satisfying.

~~~~~~

Divination is something that can be tailored to your desires, needs, and supplies. It can be made personal. You can create a whole new type if you like! Use what inspires you, what works for you. Use the marks on toast, the recommendations of Netflix, steam in a bathroom mirror after a shower. The world is your oyster!

[twelfthremedy]

Offerings Masterpost:

(Last updated: 9/7/2020)

Major Hellenic Deities:

Apollo

Ares

Artemis

Athena

Dionysus

Hades

Hephaestus

Hera

Hermes

Hestia

Persephone

Poseidon

Zeus

Minor Hellenic Deities:

Hecate

[twelfthremedy]

Hecate offerings

For larger altars:

Round cakes decorated with candles

Fish (red mullet and salmon) and cured meats

Red wine and mead

Garlic

Honey

Milk

Breads

Crescent shaped sweets

Pomegranates

Raw eggs

Mushrooms

Dandelion tea

Large candles

A cauldron

Imagery of dogs such as statues, toy dogs, paintings, etc.

Incense (lavendar and myrrh are great)

Graveyard dirt (ask before taking! Do your research before gathering please.)

Snake skin

Animal bones

Mugwort

Wands

For smaller/hidden altars:

Almonds

Foxglove

Mint

Sage

Yew

Rose petals

Lavendar

Cypress and willow leaves

Frankensince

Obsidian

Quartz

Seashells

Black dog fur

Dog nail clippings

Images of dogs (pictures, personal drawings, dog plushies, etc.)

Keys

Personal offerings (nail clippings, hair)

Anything relating to the moon (pictures, keychains, personal drawings, etc.)

Crow, raven, and/or owl feathers.

Actions:

Helping and being friendly to dogs

Donating blankets, food, toys to animal shelters in her name

Volunteering at an animal shelter

Devoting time at night to her (meditate, talk to her, just have some silence for her, etc.)

Sharing your expierences, especially painful ones and your anger or sorrow with her

Study herbs and planting herbs in your garden

Having rituals or casting spells during a dark moon and invoking her

Taking care of graveyards and keeping them clean

Holding a feast for her and having all her favorite foods and drinks

Please feel free to add more, these are what i've personally collected and also what i have thought of.

[twelfthremedy]

Artemis offerings

For large altars:

Bows

Arrows

Moon shaped food (cookies, cakes, etc.)

Animal shaped food

Honey

Round honey cakes

Fruits

Wine

Cooked natural meat/fish

Incense such as jasmine or lemon

White, green, and red candles

Animal bones*

Tusks*

Animal hides*

Deer antlers*

Moon shaped objects

Moon water

Pictures of wild animals

Images or statues of Artemis

Clothing (either your favorite garment or clothes bought specifically for Her)

For small/hidden altars:

Almonds

Walnuts

Mugwort

Wormwood

Tarragon

Cedar leaves or bark

Oak leaves or bark

Willow leaves or bark

Fir leaves or bark

Moonstone

Amethyst

Quartz

Owl or quail feathers*

Animal claws/nails/teeth*

Wildflowers

Amaranth

Pearls

Silver

Art or figurines of wild animals

Art or figurines of bows and arrows

Your own hair (collect by getting a haircut or collect some from your hairbrush)

Arrowheads

Actions:

Dancing

Herbalism

Donating to wildlife programs in Her name

Donating to women's programs/shelters in Her name

Donating girl's and women's clothing

Cleaning up nature trails or parks

Taking nature walks and enjoying the wildlife

Giving Her offerings at midnight

Including Her brother, Apollo, in your work and offerings

Making arrows

Practicing with a bow and arrow

If you hunt, invoke Her at the start of your hunt and give thanks to Her when you finish your hunt. Never take the creature you hunted for granted and try to use the whole animal or donate what you dont use

Having a feast in Her name that includes all her favorite food and drink

*Artemis will not accept nor like these items if they are gotten in unethical ways. Please, either buy them from a reliable source or find them yourself in nature.

Sources:

https://sacredwicca.com/goddess-artemis

https://otherworldlyoracle.com/goddess-of-the-hunt/

And the rest are what I offer Her!

[littlewitchygreen]

Protection Spells (and Hexes) for the BLM Movement

As promised, here is a list of protection spells and similar things that can be used for the BLM protestors, as well as hexes for oppressors, for any hex-friendly witches who wish to do so! All spells and info are linked to the original posters, so please give their posts some appreciation if you use them, too, and please don’t reshare their stuff without crediting them!

Protections

Using tarot to protect someone

Protection spell masterlist

Written spell specifically for protesters

In-the-moment protection spell

Crystals with protective properties

Candle spell for protecting others

Spell for BLM

Sigils for BLM

Emoji spell to protect protesters

Another emoji spell for protesters

Sigil to protect protesters

Spell jar for protection

Spell jar for protesters

Protection charms for protesters

Jinxes, Hexes, and Curses

A jinxes, hexes and curses masterpost

Tips for hexing and cursing

Curse for guilt

How-to guide to curses

Curse that’s fueled by rage

Materials list for cursing/hexing

Reflection hex

Candle curse

Revenge hex

Using tarot to avenge yourself/someone

How to cast a curse

As always, use your own judgement regarding your personal ethics and your skill level as a witch, before casting any spells. If anyone has anything else they wish to include, please feel free to add to this list, as it is by no means comprehensive! This is just some of what I was able to gather together for this.

I drew from a lot of sources for these and did my best to make sure they weren’t from any closed practices, but if they are and I missed that PLEASE let me know so I can either edit the post appropriately or remove it entirely. The same goes for if a post of yours was linked here and you wish to have it removed!

With that said, Black Lives Matter, and let’s cast some spells for them, witches. 

[thiscrookedcrown]

Deity Dossier

This spread is intended to answer those “I’m being contacted by a deity but which one!?!” questions. This is your answer. It won’t give a name up it will give up a LOT of information to help you find out the answer.

I’ve been working on this one for what seems like forever. This is a HUGE spread. The kind of spread where you lay out on the floor and hope the cat doesn’t mess up the spread kind of spread. It’s meant to look like a tree with the four cards at the bottom being roots but I am not an artist. I can’t even stick figure well. However, I also gave you two demos of the spread in action!

Special thanks to hellboundwitch and whatever beings were used as testers.

The text is tiny so I’ll copy it below for your convenience.

Spirit or Significator: This represents the spirit, deity, or being in question. The card can be drawn or selected, depending on if you know the nature of the spirit or a card that could represent them.

Past: These are past deeds or dealings the spirit has had with either other people or you that you should know about.

Underlying Influences: Similar to Past, this represents influences that could be important to know. This may be an emotional thing rather than a past action. (Example: if previously betrayed by humans, a spirit is less likely to want to deal with humans.)

Attitude and Thoughts or General Personality: General personality and/or how they think.

Present: Their current status. If a spirit is in trouble, this information would appear here.

Situation at Hand (optional): If there’s a specific situation at hand, draw this card. (Example: A spirit asks for a large offering that would be very expensive - draw this card to see why it suddenly needs that offering.

Health: The health of the spirit, deity, or being. (Example: A land spirit could be ill or ailing due to pollution.)

Mind: Their mental health or, possibly, their overall mood.

Physical: Their physical health or how they could physically manifest. This is especially useful for finding out what deity is contacting you.

Things They Like to Do: This could be things they like to do for others, part of their sphere of influence, and/or things that could be used to connect with them or honor them. Think of this like hobbies or likes.

What to Know: Things that are imperative for you to know. This could be used to see how working with this being could affect you in the future.

What to Avoid: Things that are imperative for you to avoid doing. Example: If a spirit hates blood, don’t give blood offerings. This could also be used to see how the spirit could negatively affect you in the future.

Positive Influences: What is helpful? What will help your relationship with them? This can be something that is not in the spirit or deity’s sphere of influence but still influences them. A deity might be one of fertility but their sibling could be a deity of war. That will somewhat play into how the spirit acts. Another example would be a spirit becoming powerful because a nearby coven is worshiping it.

Negative Influences: Exactly as above, but the more negative side of things. What isn’t helping this spirit? What will not help your relationship with them? Do they feel used or not appreciated? The examples above also apply. 

Conscious Desires: What they want. This could be offerings or a general goal. This may be what they want from you. If they have an agenda they’ll admit to, it will be here.

Unconscious Desires: This is what they want but won’t admit to or what they don’t know they want. If they have a hidden agenda, it will be here.

Hopes: This can be a general list of hopes, a overall hope for the future, or what they hope to get from you.

Fears: This can be a general list of fears, what they fear for the future,or what they’re concerned about in regards of you or your life.  

For those of you staring wide-eyed at this, I offer this reading in my shop.

Have fun everyone! 

thiscrookedcrown 

This Crooked Crown Witchery & Curiosities

[theabyssmeowsback]

witches of tumblr, i need help.

so i volunteered to do tarot readings at a charity thing next month, and i’m a bit nervous. i’ve read for friends and family before, but i’ve never charged money. what are some things i could do to make sure i’m ready?

[tarot-sybarite]

Oh, these can be so much fun!

First thing:  make sure you and the charity organizers are cognizant of local laws about “fortune-tellers”.  Many communities in the USA have anti-fortunetelling legislation on the books (example).  It’s unlikely you’ll get tossed into jail, but you could wind up with some pretty sizable fines for anything from operating without a fortunetelling license to violating a ban for reading for money.  If necessary, have the charity event collect the money and give the querent a token for a “free reading”.

You don’t make it clear in your question: is the charity event expecting you to set your prices for readings?  If so, does all the money you get for those readings go to the charity?

If you set the price, then as a general rule, I charge the same fee for a reading at a charity event as the cost of a glass of beer purchased at that same event.  Failing that, $5 - $10 per reading, depending on what the organizers feel comfortable with.  You could also put out a large jar and say “Pay me what you think the reading was worth.”  It’s a charity event, people will pay you something.

Now, for the event itself:

1) Keep it short and simple.  Three to five card readings only.  Don’t spend more than five minutes on a reading for any individual person if it’s a large event, ten minutes tops for anybody.  In smaller situations (less than twenty people), folks don’t mind waiting a half-hour for a reading if the event has other things going for it (good food, good music, etc), but you have to be prepared in case it doesn’t.  Plus, sometimes you get a querent who wants to monopolize your time, and wants to go longer or keep coming back for additional readings.  Maintain a strict one-reading-per-person stance.  Bring a timer, stick to it, and give yourself a breather between readings!

2) Keep it positive.  This is a charity event, and therefore not the best time for the sort of contemplative soul-searching that goes on in a standard appointment.  Give every reading the most positive spin that you honestly can.  Compliment them where you sense their strengths. Emphasize their growth in areas they consider themselves weak. Like them, be their friend for that.  Remember that at events like this, you’re less of a tarot reader, and more of a tarot entertainer.   

3) Put together a “Tarot-To-Go” Kit, consisting of…

your preferred deck for parties/charity events, etc.,

a back-up deck, in case you just. can’t. connect.

a timer/stopwatch/wristwatch (or the very least, your cell phone) so you can pace yourself,

mints or throat lozenges (trust me on this)

If it’s a large event, a sign-up sheet on a clipboard  with a couple of good pens,

a note pad and pen for yourself,

a reading cloth for the table,

if the event is outside, some “healing stones” to put on the cards so that they don’t blow away,

some flyers or business cards if people want to get with you separately for readings.  

If you have a business, have a separate sheet or guest book so you can get people’s names, addresses, and emails for follow-up. 

any fun “fortune-teller” accouterments for your table, such as a crystal ball, a candle and candle holder, and so forth)

Clothing to put you and the querents “in the mood”, and in layers so you can adjust to temperature changes.

Cushion for folding chairs.  This extra bit of comfort helps!

If you continue to do charity events, fairs, or other such events, a professional-looking sign can’t hurt.

4) See if you can have a semi-private space for doing the readings.  Some people, regardless of the event’s atmosphere, aren’t entirely comfortable getting a reading. They won’t want people standing around watching as you give them one.  Also, depending on the event, you may have the risk of drunks and noise.  It’s nice to minimize the event’s atmosphere so you can keep your head on straight.  A separate room is ideal, or at the very least, a table with a privacy screen.  Ask BEFOREHAND to see if this sort of space can be provided to you.

5) For that matter, get to the event early, find out where the host wants you to set up, and make sure that will work for you.  If not, you’ll have time to work something out with the host.

6) If the event’s so large (or the interest so high) that you need to use the sign-up sheet, find out if anyone needs to go do something else and schedule them first. You might suggest that the people who are comfortable waiting longer go later during the event. This will give you an idea of how many people you have to work with and how long you can expect to be at the event.

7) During the event, introduce yourself to querents and say a few things about the tarot, yourself as a reader, and what will happen during each session. Think of it like the patter that a waiter gives when he comes to your table, only instead of saying, “Hi, I’m Amy, I’ll be your server.  Tonight’s specials from Chef Castro are grilled lamb with mint sauce and spaghetti puttanesca”, you say“Hi, I’m Amy, and I’ll be reading tarot for you.  We only have five minutes since there are so many people here tonight. Tarot’s a great tool for self-exploration and discovering what you know.  Did you have a particular question, or were you looking for a general reading?”    At the end, you can say “Our time’s up right now, and obviously there is more we could explore. I offer private readings by appointment. Here’s my business card. Give me a call if you want to set up a longer session.  Thanks for getting a reading from me tonight, I hope you enjoyed it!”

9)  Speaking of the business card: when you construct your business card, don’t fill it with info. Simple is better. You only need your name, what you do, preferred phone # and e-mail on it. Do not use your physical address or your personal phone where wackos can stalk you.

10) General Reading Tips: 

If you do get a private room to do readings—-NEVER EVER EVER  close the door when you’re in there with a querent, male OR female.  You avoid a lot of trouble that way.

Shuffle the cards while the querent concentrates on their question.  Then fan them out face-down and let them push three (or five, or however many) cards towards you. The great thing that I’ve found about letting the querent choose their own cards is this: when we’re discussing a situation in the querent’s life and the querent asks me how the tarot can be so eerily accurate, I tell them, “I don’t know. YOU chose the cards. I’m only interpreting them.” I feel it really does bring the querent into the reading, they feel that they are more of an active part, rather than just the cold subject. 

As a rule, I don’t ask for their question and ask that they not tell me. It makes it more difficult for me to interpret the cards if I’m trying to interpret everything to a definite question, so I don’t.

You don’t need to read each individual card on its own. Imagine a general story for the reading as a whole before getting to the nitty gritty of any individual cards. Details flow out of a good story, and this lets you simply skip over cards which are more difficult to discern. If three out of five cards are court cards, you can say “I see so many court cards - Are there are a lot of people in your life? You’re so popular! Has your life been very dramatic lately?”. You can then treat them as a group that is basically a single card with three people in it, and come back to them as you see fit.

By the same token, in a longer reading where you have time, you can make all the cards clear. In a timed situation, you deliver your interpretations without making your process totally transparent - You simply don’t have the time.

I like to state interpretations as yes/no questions. Sometimes this can be dangerous if someones a talker, but sometimes letting someone talk gives what little you get to say much more weight - and people are impressed by good listening. I find interaction crucial in good readings, and helps you because it gives you a wealth of feedback in the texture of their response.

Move the cards around when it helps. I find placing them in relation to eachother based on how I understand them can help me quickly interpret, and it looks neat to the querent. This helps me read much faster 

11) Keep a bottle of water handy at all times—you’ll be talking quickly, and a lot.  Avoid other beverages at the event—sticking to water will help keep you clear and focused.  

It’s usually a good idea to have an emergency snack stowed away in your purse, in case you can’t get away for food.  

Schedule breaks for yourself, and have a hard limit as to when you’l stop reading. More than 4 or 5 hours and you really run the risk of burn-out if you’re not used to reading that much

12) Be prepared for skeptics.  Some folks will get a beer in them and start in on you.  Laugh them off.

13) I wouldn’t read for anyone under 18 without their parent/legal guardian present, I wouldn’t do questions on health, and I wouldn’t do third-party readings.

14) If you get cornered on the under-18 thing, (High School Grad Nights are always looking for readers) there are just some questions you should not answer, and some information you do not want to get into. Use your common sense, remember that you’re reading for people for whom a lot of small things are very intense. Your goal with teens is to empower, not to depress.

15) When you think you’re done for the night, expect that you’ll be doing at least three more readings for people who rush up when they see you packing to leave.

.Good luck!  Have fun!

Trying to do readings for myself and… I don’t understand the answers at all.

Not even a little.

I’m so frustrated.

[tarot-sybarite]

A few suggestions that might help:

Write your reading down in a tarot journal along with your initial thoughts and impressions.  Come back to it in a few days and see if you have different insights.  A “tarot time out” often provides clarity.

Get a second opinion.  Share your interpretations (or confusion) with a fellow tarot reader – a fresh set of eyes might give you a new perspective and help jog your sixth sense.

Do the reading as if you were interpreting for a complete stranger.  In other words, detach from your brain (and any wonky emotions) and go through the interpretations as you would for another person.  Consider what advice would you might give them.  Say the reading out loud – or record it to listen back later. This usually does the trick for me (plus it’s more efficient than writing it down or bugging someone else!)

Having trouble detaching?  Before you begin doing a reading, take a few minutes to meditate.  A short period of quiet can calm the mind and emotions, which always lends to a better result.

If you’re still having trouble, re-shuffle, and do a three-card reading for a fictional character.  Look at the cards, and see what story they tell about that character. 

Some general patterns to keep in mind:

Look for Major Arcana cards.  The Majors make up fewer than one-third of the deck. If there are more than that in a reading, it tells me that there is something bigger going on than perhaps you think. There are life lessons and probably many forces beyond your (or the querent’s) control.

Look for the Court cards.  Fewer than one-quarter of the cards are court cards. If more than that shows up in a reading, I keep in mind that there may be many other people involved or influencing the situation. Or perhaps the querent is feeling torn about how to behave.

 Analyze the suits present.  Are all four suits equally represented? If not, what is predominant and how might that influence the energy of the situation? What is missing? Is that suit one that should be brought into the situation by the querent?

I don’t always expect the suits to be equally represented. For example, if I would expect more cups in a relationship reading. What is striking to me is when there are no cups present in a love relationship reading. When reading about a job or career, it is interesting to determine the querent’s priorities by the suits present. Pentacles is financial, of course. Wands shows that ambition and excitement are valued. Swords indicates a love of problem-solving and analysis. Cups suggests that emotional fulfillment and good relations with co-workers and clients matter a lot to this querent.

Look at the visual pattern made by the cards.  Tarot is a visual medium. Art and artistic elements matter to most readers. Before looking at the art of each card, look at the cards on the table altogether as if they were one picture. Look at the colors and shapes. Is there a flow…or lack of flow…that you can see? 

The next time you do a reading, try these four steps and make a sketch of your interpretation. Then fill in the details card by card.

[courier-witch]

Tips for doing tarot readings on others?

When I do tarot readings for myself it’s always much easier to decipher, and at my own pace. But as soon as I try others it falls apart and I fumble around. I’m sure part of it is nervousness and rushing to avoid boredom on their part. (as I have to look a lot of cards up still)

But I’d like to learn how to read other’s cards better because tarot is important to me and I’d like to share it properly.

[tarot-sybarite]

I’ve found having a very particular “script” for conducting your reading makes it easier.  FWIW, here’s what I do:

Create a relaxing atmosphere. I try to read in a space that’s quiet, private, and not prone to interruption.

In hand with this, try to help the querent relax.

If the querent hasn’t had a reading before, he or she might be a little hesitant. So:

Smile, be friendly and open.

Introduce yourself. “Hi, I’m OnceAStreetRat, and I’ll be your tarot counselor today!”

Explain a little bit about yourself and your approach to tarot. “I’ve been reading tarot for X years, and I find it’s a great tool for exploring your subconscious and discovering solutions to issues in your life. It’s important to remember that you’re in charge of your own life, though, so the cards can’t predict your future. However, the cards can help you understand the choices you’re facing. This will be a collaborative process, meaning you and I will discuss the cards that come up, and what they may mean, and implementing them in your life.

"A few other quick things. I don’t do third-party readings, and I’m not a qualified health care, financial, or legal professional, so I can’t answer questions around those issues. But I’m glad to have the chance to read for you and help you figure things out.”

(NOTE: If you charge money for your readings, this is the time to make your client aware of your fees, clear up which of your reading services he would like, and to clarify your refund policy. This is also the time to provide a copy of your tarot code of ethics, if you have one. For a really good look at the ins and outs of this side of tarot reading, see Professional Tarot: the Business of Reading, Consulting, and Teaching, by Christine Jette. It was published back in 2004, so some of the info about being online with your tarot business is outdated, but the sections about interacting with a client are spot-on)

Ask the querent “Would you like a general reading?” I do this, rather than force a question, to allow the querent to get as vague or specific as he or she feels comfortable.

I have the querent shuffle the cards and cut the deck, because I like to involve him in the reading from the very start. I also think it helps the querent relax, too.

After that, I start the reading. I think querents can get a bit apprehensive once we start the reading itself, so I try project confidence and balance my attention between the querent and the cards.

My approach is to look at each card like they’re words, and see what sentence that they form. I try to take time with the cards (when possible, it’s not possible always), largely because it helps me not get confused about anything I’m seeing. I like to use positional spreads for that reason, as well, though as I get more experience I sometimes find myself just putting down cards as the querent formulates questions.

If a reading just makes no damn sense (and this will happen to you; it happens to everyone), or my mind just goes blank, I try to focus and not panic: 

Sometimes I’ll use a technique I learned from an article written by Douglas Gibb, which is to pick a random card in the spread and say “There’s a lot of interesting stuff that’s come up in this reading, but this card in particular is grabbing my attention. What does this image say to you?” I like getting feedback from the querent about what he’s seeing in the reading anyway, so I figure I may as well start.

Sometimes I look at the elements in the cards, so see if one dominates or one is lacking (for example, a lack of water cards may mean that there’s a lack of emotional support in the querent’s life).

And sometimes I get very literal with the cards’ meaning, and see if that has resonance with the querent.

After we’ve worked our way through the reading, I ask the querent if there’s anything I can clarify, or that was confusing or wasn’t clear. That gives me a chance to address any questions he might still have. If appropriate, I may put down additional cards to clarify.

One thing I like to do is record the reading itself. I have a small digital recorder that I use, which records the audio in MP3 format. I can then email it to the querent after the reading. Some querents are less interested in this than others, so check first. I’ve heard of people doing this and sending a digital photo of the spread, as well.

I know some folks like to use rituals to open and close readings. I don’t, but YMMV.

[shipping-the-gods]

Hello! I was hoping you might be able to do ones for Artemis and Demeter? Thank you so much!

Sure :)

Artemis:

Go hunting during hunting season

Learn to shoot a bow and arrow if you can

Take a walk in the woods during a break

Just take a walk anywhere

Learn about wild animals

Join a charity protecting wild animals

Light a candle in her honour

Take time each night to just look at the moon and settle in with it

If you have a young daughter, niece, friend, etc., be helpful to them and protect them (babysitting or supervision counts)

Go camping

Pick up trash near animal-populated areas

Learn about her associations with death and disease

Dedicate a piece of your meal to her

Build something out of all natural materials

Demeter:

Spend time growing things in a garden

Grow wheat or grain in particular

Eat healthy, nutrient rich foods

Support a non-GMO farm if you would like to

Visit your farmer’s market

Go apple picking/Pumpkin picking

Learn about her associations with the Eleusian Mysteries

Light a candle in her honour

Send “Harvest” baskets to your friends, full of fall and harvest related things

Celebrate the sun upon the earth, and the soft dirt in between your toes

Spend time with people, and cherish every moment. You never know when you’ll lose them