where i reblog magic stuffs

[sacredlittleember]

this is exactly how certain spirits feel to me — not fully person, not fully landscape, but something in between.

the kind of presence you would meet at the edge of the woods, half-grown from light and moss, carrying a branch like a staff and saying absolutely nothing because it doesn’t need to.

some beings are not here to be understood. just respected.

[slewfootwitch]

How do I lift a spell from my family? It’s been destroying us for a decade or more. If you have any advice it would be so much appreciated. Thx.

Hi, anon. If I had more information, I could give more specific advice. But, based just on what you've given me, here what I would do:

Take two unneeded items from members of your family. They can be any items, but the first should be from the oldest member of your family and the second should be from the youngest. You're going use these to represent the breadth of the spell, impacting everyone in your family. Take these items to two places where your family is unlikely to go (better if they can be in a separate town) and leave them there (if you are concerned about littering, you can absolutely put them in dumpsters or trash cans in different parts of town). As you hide or dispose of each one, say a charm such as "As far as I have flung these items, so far let this spell be removed from my family. Let it do no more harm to us or anyone else."

A few notes:

If you are putting the items in the trash, the phrase "As far as I have flung these items" helps to ensure the desired effect, even if they end up in the same dump. Because the focus is on the effort you have gone to to put them in different places, rather than on the places they actually end up.

Alternate Version: This is the version I personally prefer to use, but it's not always feasible for everyone because it requires access to remote wooded areas and the ability to walk some distance. Instead of two items which can be disposed of anywhere, you can also use two pieces of natural (biodegradable, undyed, unbleached) cord. I prefer these to be one of the length of the Nameless Finger (left ring finger) of the oldest member of your family and one of the length the Nameless finger of the of the youngest member of your family. Wrap each around a different stick and tie it three times saying "This cord measures the Nameless Finger of the eldest/youngest among us. The space between them measures the spell upon us and all the damage it has done." Take these sticks to remote areas in exact opposite directions (ex: to the North and the South) and stick them into the ground, saying: "As far removed as these lengths of cord are from each other, so far removed from my family shall this spell be and remain. Let it do no more harm to us or to anyone else. As the earth reclaims this cord, let it claim and neutralize this spell."

Whichever method you use, you should leave each place without looking over your shoulder and should not return to the exact places you discarded the items/cords for at least a season.

[herbalisyl444]

low-spoons layered wards 🏰🌳🏠

making this response post about my personal warding systems inspired me to describe some methods of warding, especially for those of us with low energy or little time.

i will eventually be posting a more extensive version of this post as an article on my substack.

layered wards are nested within each other; from innermost to outermost, i've organized them as: the body, the bed(room), the home, the property, and spiritual allies.

the body

if your hair is long enough, braiding the hair can be utilized as a potent protective method, to tie up spirits and negative energies within it.

if you regularly wear makeup, it can be incanted over to protect from the evil eye, and/or from negative energy intrusions.

bracelets may be enchanted for protective purposes; traditional protective bracelets include those with blue and red braids, or charms of cross, cornicello, hamsa, nazar, serpent, or phallus.

the lords prayer was traditionally written and stored within the shoe for protection throughout the day.

a stronger protective charm may be created that is not worn every day, such as a SATOR square charm bag, or a jar of iron nails.

the bed(room)

a spell pouch underneath the pillow is a common contemporary spell for aiding sleep, hedgewitchery, and/or psychic dreams.

an open pair of scissors under the bed is a traditional(?) method of deterring nightmares.

witch balls or witch's ladder may be hung in windows to trap spirits attempting to enter.

the home

traditional wards over the home include the horseshoe, bulbs of garlic, witch bottles & balls, prayers & psalms over the house (such as within Carmenica Gadelica), to cross upon the hearth the iron fire-tools, the stuck heart, carving sigils into door frames, floor washes, incense, & crosses.

traditional delineators of home boundaries include go-away powder, salt, cascarilla, graveyard or church dirt. in hoodoo traditions goofer powder may be employed.

the property

a traditional property ward is the hedge or "witch's lump" figure, described by Gemma Gary:

To protect farm land, and all that lies within its boundaries, take small amounts of earth from the north, south, east and west of each piece of land that is to fall under the protection of the charm, remembering to collect also dirt or dust in the same way from each of the farm’s buildings. Mix these small samples together, and work them well into a lump of rough clay (even better if the clay used can be dug from the land to be protected), crafting this into a human but sexless form. As the body is worked, so the Pellar breathes life into it. The figure’s garments must then be set with small panels of broken glass. Once fired, set the figure somewhere within one of the farm’s hedges, so that it may keep a protective watch over the land and all that lies within.

farm-building specific charms can be found in Gemma Gary's texts ("To Protect Farm Buildings and their Contents"), as well as in Carmenica Gadelica.

traditional delineators of property boundaries include buried witch bottles, & protective blackthorn or hawthorn hedges.

spiritual allies

a contemporary method of spiritual allyship for protection is befriending and asking local nature spirits around you for protection (or other petitions) – especially trees, creeks, and birds of prey.

traditionally, specific trees would be planted on the property for this purpose; here is an excerpt from The Black Toad by Gemma Gary:

The Bay is to be planted by thresholds to impart a protective influence upon the home...The climbing Ivy, grown up the walls of the cottage, creates a verdant shell of protection around the home...To impart protections upon the home, the Rowan may be planed near doorways.

other areas you may benefit from warding:

an office or place of work

your name or reputation

vehicles

pets & livestock

gardens

suggested reading:

Simple Methods of Magical Protection by Keziah @sheydmade

Witchcraft 101: Protection Explained by Windvexer @windvexer

Beginner Witch Protection Recommendations by Windvexer @windvexer

Home Protection in Folk Magic by Keziah @sheydmade

Protection Work in Folk Magic by Keziah @sheydmade

Protection & Reversal Magick: A Witch's Defense Manual by Jason Miller

referenced texts:

Traditional Witchcraft: A Cornish Book of Ways by Gemma Gary

The Black Toad: West Country Witchcraft and Magic by Gemma Gary

Carmina Gadelica (AKA Charms of the Gaels) by Alexander Carmichael (Accessible via Internet Archive or Internet Sacred Texts Archive)

thorn divider by @pixopix

[witches-bottle-deactivated20241]

Protection Spells:

Often, Protection spells fall into the area of protecting against enemies and protecting against evil forces. The latter is often taken in a negative context, associated with a lot of things like 'Cultural Christianity', but it does happen. It's not necessarily an evil spirit per say, sometimes you just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Still, protection is regarded as important for a reason, spirit or no spirit.

Planetary Forces

In practice, a lot of sadhanas and mantras are begun with the recitation of a protective hymn. This is generally done in order to protect the entire work from external forces, such as astrological ones. If a person is experiencing an issue with a particular planet, a protective hymn can be recited so as to negate the effects of that planet and be able to work. Sometimes, you need to do something, but there isn't an auspicious time nearby, so the action of the protective hymn is akin to just putting on something to shelter you while stepping out into the rainstorm.

External Non-Personified

Not everything that glitters is gold, not everything that happens is a spirit. Sometimes, you just got energy or the action itself raises and disrupts energy. Let's say you do a spell to reveal enemies, it will reveal enemies in whatever way it may see fit. If you do a ritual with a deity that is often regarded as having a chaotic and transformative energy, then obviously that energy will carry over into the rite. At that point, the protective spell is like a grounding cord. Any excess energy that could be harmful or cause more destruction and transformation that intended, is mediated.

Internal Non-Personified

Sometimes, you just got stuff hanging on you. Be it fear, ancestral issues, confusion, rampant thoughts and the like, a protection spell in this regard acts like a filter. It prevents those thoughts and impressions from directly affecting you which is important in ritual work. Not because the ritual becomes affected, or entirely, but because of the trance that the ritual induces. With all that incense, all that prayer, the flickering and the dancing and the sounds, all of that brings you deeper into the mind. It took me a while before I mastered the entire thing of 'controlling thoughts' while meditating, and it will be like that. You'll sit, and in that trance state where the waking mind isn't actively repressing, shit will come up by the dozens.

That's how it is, like a Lotus, you have to move through the water before blooming. Might not be so much of a big belief in certain circles, but some deities are active in their form. They pull you up but your bootstraps, maybe not because you want to, but because you need to. That involves having to go through that murky water, and see it properly for what it is. So the protection ritual acts as a means of balancing out, like putting on a coating so you can observe without being touched.

[theoldcottage-deactivated202208]

Mini-Spells

To weigh a person down, take a picture of them, write their full name and birth date on the back of it. On the front, write a petition calling for them to be weighed down, broken, hopeless and forlorn. On a tuesday, during the night, bury the photo head downwards and place a heavy stone on it saying: The burden's place, its on your shoulders. So long as this rock stays on this dirt, so too shall the rock of bane stand on your shoulders. So mote it be.

To cause someone to drown in misery, feel hopeless or lost, take a photo of them, write their full name on the back and on the front the petition, fold it a few times away from you. FInd a good rock of decent size and bind the picture to it with black thread. Wrap it in a small rag and bind it again with black thread. If desired, run it through incense made of parsley while saying a prayer against the person (one can say a prayer of the Reversed Lord's Prayer). After that, throw it into a river or stagnant water, letting it sink to the bottom. Give an offering of a coin to the spirits of the river.

To remove a spell. On a saturday evening, take a stone and hold it in your left hand. Say a prayer or incantation asking for the spell upon you to be removed. Take the stone and rub it over you from the top of your head, across your arms, down your feet and back up to the top of your head. Thereafter, place it in a bowl underneath the bed for the night. On a sunday morning, as the sun is rising, place the stone at a crossroads far away from the home, giving a coin, drink or sweet to the spirit of the Crossroads.

Wash the hands in chamomile tea to bring good luck in business ventures, gambling and all forms of financial work.

Wash the altar in jasmine tea to attract wise and helpful spirits, so too can you cover candles in olive oil and jasmine (taken from a teabag if the flowers are not available) or burn it as an incense during meditations. It can also be used as a bath prior to spiritual work or divination.

Use mint or basil leaves to asperge for attracting wealth and blessings, basil leaves to ward off ghosts and malefica, chamomile or lavender for peace and curse breaking, an oak branch for protection, good fortune and strength, a rose for love, harmony and peace, a red rose over the bed to attract a lover, rue for exorcisms and cleansings.

Place a clove of garlic in the four corners of the home to protect against unwanted spirits and harm.

Rub protection oil on the doorknob of the front door for protection against thieves, intruders, people with harmful intent and so on.

To make a person blind to you, or to afflict them with the evil eye, stab a needle into their eyes on their photo. To silence them, sew the mouth shut.

Black Pepper, Salt and Mother-in-Law make a fricking good combination for hexing - especially when you want to cause irritation, annoyance and conflict... tried and true.

[qedavathegrey]

To Remove an Affliction: Magical or Mundane

“After a rainstorm, go to roadside and hunt for the flattened remains of a toad. If these cannot be had, you may substitute with the bones of the same creature. Add the remains to a jar along with a hen’s egg – and to the same: a concoction of equal parts red wine, vinegar and storm water.

Powder the dried leaves of the mayapple and lacy crown of Queen Anne. Mix with shredded tobacco and add to the pot.

Seal the stew with a drop of blood and lid the jar. Swirl the contents three-times clockwise, three-times counter and three-times clockwise once more.

Bury this in the earth [in your own yard] with the lid exposed and let steep for 9 days. On the 9th night, exhume the jar and take it to the graveyard. Remove from within the egg, and bury this at the yard’s center most cross and use the jar’s remains to water the earth above it.”

photo source

[thistlefoot]

𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔠𝔩𝔞𝔯𝔦𝔱𝔶 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔭𝔯𝔬𝔱𝔢𝔠𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫 𝔣𝔯𝔬𝔪 𝔣𝔞𝔩𝔰𝔢 𝔣𝔯𝔦𝔢𝔫𝔡𝔰

I wrote this charm for a working to protect another from false friends and negative influences.

Let the Spirits who made the road before your feet set the stone firm beneath your step. No crooked tongue shall guide you, no hidden hand shall turn you aside. Let the light of the Insight go before you like the morning sun, and let the shadow of the Discernment stand behind you like a wall of stone.

If any would lead you into thorns, let their words falter and fall to dust. If any would hide their face in deceit, let their mask break and their name be known. What is crooked shall be made straight. What is hidden shall be brought into the day.

As mist flees the rising sun, so let false friends depart from you. Blessed is your road and wise be your counsel. Your path is kept, you steps are guarded, and only those who walk in truth shall remain beside.

[chapelofmyheart]

Magic with the Rosary

These should be done with a rosary that was prayed with at least once.

~ Hang a rosary on your bed frame to ward off nightmares

~ To break a curse put on your house and its inhabitants, walk around your house while praying the rosary. Follow up with cleansing with herbal smoke or holy water.

~ To bless water, place a rosary in it once you are done praying

~ Place a rosary in the hands of the recently deceased

~ To cleanse the home, hold your rosary against your front door while praying for protection over the home. You can also plead the Blood of Christ over every point in your home.

~ Always carry a rosary with you to guard against being followed by evil spirits

~ Keep a rosary on your family memorial. You can also pray for the deceased.

~ Add saint medals to your rosary to ask for their intercession and honor them

Credit: Holy Stones and Iron Bones (Check out his blog. It's great!)

[cryptotheism]

What is the diferance between prayer and spellcasting?

Broadly speaking, prayer is a religious activity in line with the religious hegemon. Practices are deemed spells when they are Otherized by that religious authority.

Historically speaking this often leads to humorous circumstances where you have two rival religions who call each other's practices malicious sorcery, while their own practices are correct orthopraxy.

[noelle-ism]

Wrong

Prayers = scale off of Faith stat (FAI)

Spells = scale off of Intelligence stat (INT)

i just cant even today

[cryptotheism]

My knuckles tighten on the hilt of my frost scythe...but momentarily relax. Tch. You're lucky we are mutuals...otherwise you'd be cut down where you stand.

[senhordiabe]

Simple Ancestral Veneration Rite

The first thing to do is to prepare a candle. The candle represents light, the eternal nature of the soul and the fire that is passed down through the generations. It can be a white candle, though the colours may vary based on your personal preference or accessibility. Holding the candle in your flames, imbue it with the heartfire declaring:

"I consecrate this candle to my ancestors, to those who prayed for me, to those who guide me and protect me, to those who strengthen me on a daily basis. I light this candle that those who are my fortunate ancestors may guide me and be present with me in my daily life. Let no unfortunate or evil ancestors, lemures or larvae come into this ritual."

Thereafter, the candle is placed on the altar. A white cloth should generally be used. The candle can be placed on a bed of rice and lit. Water should then be taken and held to the heartfire:

"I consecrate this water to my ancestors, that they may never thirst."

Thereafter, a small bowl of sugar, sweets, bread or something your ancestors would like is brought to the heartfire:

"I consecrate this meal to my ancestors that they may never hunger."

Both of which are placed on the altar. You can then sit and simply pray for a moment, asking for your ancestors' elevation, their protection and guidance, their wisdom and stories. You can recite prayers to your Ancient Ancestors, to Warrior Ancestors, to your Clan/Lineage Ancestors and to your family's patron deities from before conversion, to their saints and spirits post conversion and so on.

[slewfootwitch]

𝔞 𝔪𝔢𝔱𝔥𝔬𝔡 𝔬𝔣 𝔴𝔞𝔵 𝔣𝔦𝔤𝔲𝔯𝔢 𝔠𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔠𝔥𝔠𝔯𝔞𝔣𝔱

["A Method of Wax Figure Creation for Witchcraft"]

Note: This is one of my methods of poppet creation for wax dolls. It's not the only way. It's just one of my personal preferences. You're welcome to use it, adjust it, etc. as is comfortable for you.

I like to create my wax dolls using a central personal item from your target as a solid base. I like to use a taglock of matted hair from a target. Due to the amount of hair that is needed for this, I find it best to use hair collected from the target's brush. But, if you only have a few strands of hair, you can fill out the rest of your matted base with yard or thread. If you have herbs, written commands or other elements you want to incorporate, you can add them to this core as well. Begin by twisting and teasing the hair with your fingers until it holds together relatively well. Once it reaches this point, I recommend rolling it together between your palms until it has a firm, cigar-like shape. This doesn't have to be big, but it will serve as the core of your wax figure's torso and will give the initial wax something to cling to.

If you do not have a target--for example, if you are making a wax figure as an offering or as a seat for a spirit--you can use any item for your core. It does not need to be a taglock. That's just what I prefer to do for targeted effigy magic.

Once your taglock is complete, set it aside and use a double boiler or a countertop wax melter to melt the wax for your figure. I like to use beeswax because I have it already on hand for candles, but it's not very forgiving. If you want to make your wax figure more detailed, I recommend using a softer wax that you can more easily mold and shape. Melt and temper your wax the same way you would for hand-dipped candles (in Fahrenheit that's about 180 degrees for beeswax, 160 for paraffin wax, 150 for soy wax, 175 for calendula wax). If you don't have a thermometer, you can find the sweet spot by playing around with your heat once you start dipping. If your wax is coming out lumpier than you would like, the heat is too low. If the layers are building too slowly, it is too high.

Using tongs or a string tied around the taglock (which I find the easiest method), dip your figure's core into the wax several times to begin to build an initial shape. To speed this process along, it can be helpful to have a bucket of cool/cold water on hand to dip the figure into between wax dips. Just make sure to dab off any water droplets before redipping into the wax to prevent any water from getting trapped. Once you have a good core shape, you can start to accumulate layers with quicker dipping and use your fingers or a tool to start to shape the limbs and features. It is helpful to cover your workspace with wax or parchment paper during this part so you can safely lie the doll down to work with. Don't try to shape the limbs too long at once. They will get longer as you add layers. If anything breaks off while shaping, use a little wax to reattach and dip it a few times to reinforce it.

When your figure is the shape that you want, you can continue to add any desired detail (very carefully) using a warmed metal tool to shape fine details, smooth the surface, and make any inscriptions you like. I like to activate these figures by holding them under water once they are finished and saying "Drowned you are, waxen doll. Creature of my own making. When you are born again, you shall be changed and renamed." Then, lifting the doll from the water, say "Now you are born anew and a-named. I name you [target's name] and make you [target's name]. All that is done to you shall also be done to [target's name]."

If you are making a figure as an effigy or as a seat for a spirit, you can dedicate it in whatever way you prefer. You do not need to use the drowning method.

[slewfootwitch]

Reblogging to add: A good shortcut for these if you want a larger doll with more pronounced limbs and features is to actually make the figure itself out of Wikki Stix. If you don't know what those are, they a craft supply that I used to have in my classroom when I was a teacher, basically a thickly waxed yarn you can make sculptures out of. (You can also make your own using cotton yarn and a melted mixture of 2 parts modeling beeswax and 1 part lanolin [by weight, not very much just enough to saturate the yarn]. There are DIY tutorials for Wikki Stix or Bendy Yarn on the big online if you want to find them.) Use the Wikki Stix to make the figure and then dip it into the wax until builds the figure up the way you like.

[slewfootwitch]

𝔞 𝔪𝔢𝔱𝔥𝔬𝔡 𝔬𝔣 𝔭𝔬𝔭𝔭𝔢𝔱 𝔠𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔠𝔥𝔠𝔯𝔞𝔣𝔱

["A Method of Poppet Creation for Witchcraft"]

Note: This is one of my methods of poppet creation for cloth dolls. It's not the only way. It's just one of my personal preferences. You're welcome to use it, adjust it, etc. as is comfortable for you.

Take two separate pieces of cloth and lay them flat, one on top of the other. It does not matter if they are two different colors or patterns or whatever; what matters is that they are two entirely separate pieces of cloth. Not two pieces from the same cloth, but two separate pieces. One of these pieces will represent the physical person you want to connect your target to, and the other will represent their intangible personhood (identity, spirit, essence, etc.). Draw your basic poppet shape on the top cloth and pin the cloths together so they don't slip while you are working with them. Cut them out, doing your best to leave the pins in place. Set them aside.

Take a bit of parchment or paper and write out your poppet's command, starting with "I name you now as [target's name] and [target's name] you shall be. All that I would have done to [target's name] shall be done to them through thee." I find a long, thin strip works best for this because it is easily rolled into a scroll. After the initial dedication, you can write anything you want. When you're finished, roll the paper up as tight as possible and carefully sew it into onto the piece of cloth that represents your target's physical being (try to get it about where the heart should be). You don't have to pierce the paper. Just sew around it.

Lay the cloth pieces flat again (with the parchment/paper facing outward for now since this will be the insides of the doll) and sew around the edges of the doll (I find that a backstich works well for this), leaving plenty of space to fill it up. (Since I use the two pieces of cloth to represent the physical and non-physical parts of the self, sewing acts both as the creation of the doll and as a means to bind both 'selves' under the spell's influence.) I like to use the space from the doll's armpit to about halfway down the leg. Remove any remaining pins and flip your poppet right-side out so that your parchment is now within the doll. Fill the poppet with herbs, tag locks, charms, etc. according to your working's purpose. When you're finished, sew the poppet up. For this, I like to use a needle I don't need to keep so that I can leave it attached to the poppet by the thread. This gives me both a constant connection between my magical tool (the needle, in the case) and the doll, and a way to keep a needle always close by for this working without worrying about losing it.

You can stop here and be perfectly fine. I like to take my poppet and dip it into melted beeswax a couple of times, allowing it to cool in between layers until I have a nice, thick coat of wax. This seals the working and also gives me a layer of wax that I can use to inscribe symbols and words into as my working progresses. These markings can either be erased with low heat later or covered with another layer of wax if you need a reset.

When the working is completed and I want to release the doll, I just cut off the needle (using the cutting of the thread as a means of cutting the "cord" between the doll and the target) and cleanse it in burning herbs. I then dismantle and burn the poppet, and discard the ashes in a safe place.

[slewfootwitch]

𝔰𝔢𝔱𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔰 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔦𝔯 𝔰𝔶𝔪𝔟𝔬𝔩𝔦𝔰𝔪 𝔦𝔫 𝔫𝔞𝔯𝔯𝔞𝔱𝔦𝔳𝔢 𝔣𝔬𝔩𝔨 𝔠𝔥𝔞𝔯𝔪𝔰

["Settings and Their Symbolism in Narrative Folk Charms"]

This post is a continuation of my Notes on Narrative Charms post, where I break down some of the common working pieces of narrative charms in European folk magic and the roles they can play in the performance of magic. It goes alongside my Subjects, Figures & Their Symbolism post, where I discuss traditional figures, characters and subjects in narrative spoken charms along with ideas on additional such figures and how they can be incorporated into contemporary folk magic and traditional witchcraft. In this new installment, I will be discussing the use of the narrative's setting as a working element in narrative spoken charms, exploring both traditional settings and ideas for additional options for narrative charm settings. The suggestions and associated symbolism discussed here are based on my own background in diasporic European folk magic. I have not included symbols from outside my own folklore and study/practice, simply because I do not consider myself well-versed enough in other folklore and magical backgrounds to do them justice. These ideas are intended only as suggestions and should not be taken as an expert authority. In instances where these suggestions contradict symbols or symbolism from your own established practice or folkloric background, I strongly recommend using your own practice’s symbols and symbolism over these.

Notes: 1. Although this post is focused on the narrative setting, many of these symbols and concepts can also be applied to the practical/physical setting (that is, the place where the magic/charm is actually performed). 2. You will notice that many of the settings addressed here have overlapping symbolism and associations. Symbolism often overlaps in such cases because the narrative charm has strong historical ties to healing and protective magic, so most symbolism tends to be focused on those applications. I have used my own background where appropriate to expand on some historical associations in order to expand the application of these charms into other magical disciplines.

Traditional Settings in European Narrative Charms

Note: These settings are classified here as “traditional” because they appear often in pre- and early modern European narrative charms. The suggestions I have listed for possible symbolism and application in charms, however, have been expanded to include both traditional and more contemporary approaches to these figures. If your goal is to make your own narrative charms (or to adapt existing narrative charms) as traditional as possible, I recommend doing your own research into the more traditional symbolism of these figures within the specific region or era of charm magic that interests you.

Fields, Barns & Agricultural Settings - 1. As a physical location where the magic is performed: barn blessing, crop blessing, crop hexing, farm animal protection, farm blessing, farm hexing, farm protection, land blessing, land spirit/land wight petitions, livestock hexing; 2. As a setting mentioned in a spoken or written charm: abundance, blessing, fresh starts, growth, healing, health, hexing another’s growth, hexing another’s wealth, new beginnings, physical health, prosperity, wealth, well-being.

Agricultural settings appear in the application of narrative charms both as a physical setting of the working and (somewhat less often) as settings featured in a spoken of written charm. The frequency at which these locations appear in records of narrative charms is mostly owed to the fact that such a large percentage of European folk magic focuses on farmlife and the maintenance and protection of crops, animals, and farm tools.

Roads, Roadsides & Pathways - blessings, boundary setting, cleansing, death, direction, guidance, improvement, letting go, new beginnings, opportunity, release of unwanted circumstances, removal of obstacles, removal of unwanted energies, transition.

Crossroads, Bridges, Forest Edges, Town Borders & Liminal/Transitional Spaces - baneful magic, death, direction, guidance, hidden knowledge, necromancy, power, protection, removal of illness (by sending it to the spirit world), spirit pacts, spirit travel, spirit work, summoning of spirits, transition, witch flight.

The Church or Churchyard* - banishing unwanted influences, banishing unwanted spirits, blessing, divine vision seeking, healing, petitioning angels, petitioning the Christian god, petitions through saints and Biblical figures, power, protection, protection from demons, protection from evil, protection from harm, protection from ill will, protection from spirits, protection from witchcraft, purity, righteousness, transformation, workings that involve blasphemy

The “churchyard” here refers specifically to the churchyard proper, or the ground that lies within the church boundary. The area outside of the church gates or the Strangers’ Burial yard is not included in this symbolism. See below.

The Church Boundary & the Stranger’s Burial - baneful magic, banishing illness by sending it to the spirit world, binding, breaking baneful magic, control, death, divination, divination with spirits, familiar pacts, initiation, magical compulsion, mystery, necromancy, power, protection for witches, protection from witches, restless spirits, secrecy, spirit pacts, spirit travel, spirit work, spirit world, summoning a familiar, summoning demons, summoning non-human spirits, summoning spirits of the dead, witch flight, witchcraft

The Home - blessing, family, fertility, harmony, healing, hearth blessing, home blessing, protection, protection from witchcraft, protection of property, protection of the family, security, warding; the home can also appear as a direct symbol for a person or household with each room representing different areas of their life.

Rivers, Streams & Moving Water - blessing, cleansing, healing, magic associated with blood and the circulatory system, magic associated with movement of spirits and energies, removal of fever, transformation; particularly useful in charms for healing to do with blood and fevers, as well as charms used for blessing water for use in magic.

Specific rivers, often those appearing in Biblical texts, can also be referred to in narrative charms for healing. These charms often use the spoken charm to tell or reimagine the Bible story associated with the river in such a way that its appearance within the narrative imitates or alludes to the charm’s desired effect.

Coastlines & Seascapes - dangerous journeys, death, desire, fear, grief, loss, petitions to the sea and sea spirits, protection for seafaring travelers, spirit work, uncertainty

Hills & Mountains - ancestor work, blessings (though they may come with unexpected prices), divination, favor, guidance, luck, magic associated with the Hidden People, petitions to ancestors, petitions to nature spirits, petitions to non-human spirits, protection during journeys, protection for travelers, protection from the supernatural, spirit travel, wealth.

Forests - divination, divining the unknown, healing, healing by sending illness into the woods, initiations, magic associated with land wights, magic associated with nature spirits, petitions to familiars, petitions to folk devils, petitions to land spirits, protection for dangerous journeys, protection from the unknown, protection from wildlife, saint magic, shape-shifting, spirit travel, witch flight.

Mount of Olives - blessing, bodily health, curing of aches associated with work, curing of backache, curing of injuries, curing of pain, healing, healing of bones, recovery, rest, wellness.

Golgotha - baneful magic, divine protection, protection from curses, protection from demons, protection from evil, protection from injustice, protection from persecution, protection from possession, protection from witches.

Saint Graves & Other Saint-Related Sites - used or referred to to invoke the specific blessings, protections and causes associated with the specific saint.

The Body - banishing illness, blessing, curing illness, healing.

Expanded Settings for Contemporary Charm-Writing & Adaptation

The following list includes settings which do not appear as major settings or motifs mentioned in traditional charms that I am familiar with, but are nonetheless powerful symbols for incorporation into contemporary folk magic or adapted folk magic. I have only included locations in list of traditional settings if they were also frequently mentioned in recorded narrative charms. Therefore, there are plenty of places that acted as physical locations for the performance of magic which only appear in the expanded list. This is not to imply that these locations were not a traditional part of these workings; rather that they were not incorporated typically into the storytelling element of the workings.

Railroads - grief , industry, opportunity, protection for traveling by land, restless spirits, spirit work, upheaval.

Hospitals - banishment of illness, healing, petition for medical intervention, physical healing.

Apothecary - blessing of herbs, blessing of medicines, creation of medicine, healing.

Prison - justice magic, binding, court victory, criminal law, intervention against injustice, law, removal of obstacles.

Courthouse - justice magic, civil rights, court victory, criminal law, equity, intervention against injustice, protection, protection for activists, protection for immigrants, protection for protesters, protection from criminals, social justice.

School/University - divination, hidden knowledge, higher knowledge, initiation, mentorship, mystery, mystery tradition, opportunity, power through knowledge, tutelary spirit pacts, tutelary spirits.

Market - abundance, blessing, having needs met, needful things, petitioning for specific items, provision.

Tax Office - debt, forgiveness of debt, tax related workings.

Bank - abundance, debt, debt forgiveness, home ownership workings, money, wealth, workings for large purchases, workings for loan approval.

Mines - baneful magic, death, despair, hidden knowledge, spirit travel, spirit work, the Devil, uncertainty, Underworld entities, Underworld workings, witch flight.

Dirt Roads/Gravel Roads - ancestor work, history, looking backward, memory, roots, tradition.

Piers & Harbors - chance, folly, loss, luck, protection for travelers.

Firehouses - curing fever, curing inflammation, protection from fever, protection from fire.

[salixsociety]

what are some "faery features" mentioned in folklore?

to be fair, I just made that term up because I like alliteration, but in Germanic folklore there are quite a lot of different traits people can have that either indicate their inherent 'faery/trollish/otherworldly' nature, or are ones that in the process of getting them they adopted or gained faery/troll/otherworldliness. they're often not stated outright and rather implied, as well as being highly variable, contextual, etc. it's a spectrum, and an impossibly complex one a that. I should note that contrary to popular belief, 'faery' is not just a class of beings in the same way that 'troll' isn't. both of those words were originally more like adjectives than nouns, they refer to states of being and lived experiences rather than hard categories or specific individuals. generally speaking these words, and many many like them in Celtic and Germanic folklore - are extremely complex ways to indicate some kind of 'otherness'. 'Otherness' was a sort of socially agreed upon unnamed but highly powerful feature of the world that one found in such things as death, the unknown, the grotesque and malefic, the incomprehensible, the unnavigable, the misunderstood, the arcane, the creepy and uncanny, et cetera. so 'faery' or 'troll' is not an easily grasped class of beings so much as an umbrella term for a whole range of groups and kinds of beings/things/creatures/states that primarily exist outside of our sensory and instrumental perception.

this means that something can be a faery when it's any kind of creature that lives in the otherworld (including, at times, just the ancestors!), but somebody can also be faery to any extent, from somebody who is a full-blown changeling to somebody who just has features that puts them in connection with this concept of faery. things can be faery, places and situations can be faery, and all of this can be to completely varying degrees. just wanna get that out there before people start being like "OMG DOES THIS MEAN I'M HALF FAIRY" because no please settle down

folkloric 'faery features' can be anything like:

amputated limbs or physical deformities

notable and unusual dental differences

blue eyes, red hair, pale skin, tight curls, heterochromia

bodily fluid related notable differences

dwarfism

anything that makes you half of something: half deaf, half blind, limping heavily, being one-legged or one-armed, etc, all gives you "one [x] in the grave/otherworld/etc"

dying and coming back to life

being extremely beautiful, but like, in a Spooky Way

mental disabilities and noticeable or severe mental illnesses

speaking coherently early in life or being extremely far ahead of your peers as a child

just being freaking weird as hell

being very good at divination, very wise, or accurate in predicting the future

etc etc etc etc etc

these are not all completely neutral or free of a history of oppression but I tried to choose ones that weren't traditionally associated strictly with kinds of 'otherness' that were regarded as inherently bad (like witches and witchcraft). nevertheless at the time 'otherness' was very much something that people feared, to varying degrees, with all the effects thereof

[analytically]

Can astrologers use astrological charts to understand people's character and lives? Our new study put astrologers to the test

Astrology is very popular — both Gallup and YouGov report that about 25% of Americans believe that the position of the stars and planets can

Astrology doesn't seem to work.

[intimate-mirror]

[performativezippers]

Some highlights:

Astrologers helped design the study

No one did better than random chance, even though they only included people in the study who are experienced with astrology and stated that they expect themselves to do better than random chance

They gave every astrologer a set of 50 things about a person and 5 birth charts to choose from. They weren’t even coming up with the chart themselves!

After taking the test, most thought they nailed it. Zero out of 152 did better than 5 out of 12. None nailed it

Astrologers who rated themselves highly experienced (“world class experts”) did the same or worse as those who said they have limited experience. Both performed the same as random chance

This is hilarious

[o-craven-canto]

That's got to be the funniest graph ever published in a paper

[slewfootwitch]

𝔞𝔫 𝔢𝔵𝔭𝔩𝔬𝔯𝔞𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫 𝔬𝔣 𝔩𝔞𝔶𝔪𝔞𝔫'𝔰 𝔠𝔥𝔞𝔯𝔪𝔰 𝔦𝔫 𝔢𝔲𝔯𝔬𝔭𝔢𝔞𝔫 𝔣𝔬𝔩𝔨 𝔪𝔞𝔤𝔦𝔠

“[…] there can be said to exist two types of practitioners—the specialists or wise ones (Sw. klokfolk) and the common persons who are sometimes clients of such specialists, but who can also perform certain procedures on their own, as long as certain ritual prerequisites are met. For this reason, there are some rituals that seem accessible to both the specialist and the common person.” - Dr. Thomas K. Johnson, Svartkonstboker

Notes: This post, like all of my posts, is written from the background of diasporic European folk magic. This post largely deals with historical magic and is not intended as an admonition of purchasing “fixed” or “charged” spell items; nor is it intended to categorize such purchases in contemporary use as layman’s magic or the practitioners who purchase them as non-practitioners.

A large portion of the known body of traditional folk magic is what is known as “service magic”, magic that was bought from skilled practitioners by non-practitioners. In many cases, these services were rendered directly by the practitioner in the form of spells, rituals and remedies. Here, the magic, healing, or other working was performed entirely by the practitioner at the request of a client. This magic, although performed on behalf of a non-practitioner, still falls into the realm of specialist magic because it is performed by a practitioner in its entirety.

On the other side of the spectrum of service craft is “layman’s magic”. This was magic that, despite being purchased from a specialized practitioner, was both easily enough performed by an outsider to the craft and also somewhat reliant on an element of client participation for best results. In layman’s magic, the practitioner lays the groundwork by performing any complex or specialist tasks, and then hands the work to the client for completion. It is the layman’s participation in such magic that activates the working and binds it into its place.

How Did Historical Layman’s Magic Work?

In our modern magical community, we tend to think of magic as something that is exclusively performed by practitioners (or, at the very least, by dabblers). In our world, magic is performed by witches and mages. We can find it packaged up and categorized into clear designations of what can be done by whom, and what qualifications must be met before the performance of certain magics is appropriate. Sometimes it is even further divided into what magic is suitable for beginners vs. advanced practitioners, and so on. Factors like travel and immigration, culture-sharing, the rise of literacy and published materials, and accessibility of information through resources like the Internet have made international and intercultural interaction much more common for the average person. They have also made the development and expression of such categorizations and boundaries necessary for the protection and maintenance of closed practices.

For the early modern practitioner, however, magic was much less divided. A given area or culture would typically only have one or two folk magical traditions living within it. So there was much less of a need for boundaries about who could and could not practice magic in its many forms. Occasionally there were gender-focused rules or rules associated with the circumstances surrounding one’s birth—but even those were flexible and sometimes fluid. If an aspiring cunning person didn’t have access to a willing mentor of the appropriate gender, for example, they could still become a practitioner of magic by stealing or finding a Black Book or by being mentored by spirits directly. Magic was practiced by all genders and ages; it was taken up by both the poor and the wealthy. The only separation that truly seemed to exist in early modern folk magic and folk medicine was the divide between the cunning person/skilled practitioner and the layman.

The layman of the early modern era was different from the non-practitioner that we might come into contact with as contemporary practitioners of magic and witchcraft. In our own day and age, we might assume that every non-practitioner that we encounter is also a non-believer. We know that, as a general rule, Joe Average neither practices nor believes in magic to any significant extent. This wasn’t the case for the historical non-practitioner. Although belief in magic and reliance on both folk magicians and folk healers gradually declined between the 18th and 20th centuries in Europe, belief in magic and spirits was an ingrained fact of life for the majority of human history. Whether a person was able to practice magic or not, they were almost guaranteed to believe in it. Prior to the scientific advancements of the 19th century, anything that altered one’s fate, caused illness, and created misfortune were believed to be the work of unseen spirits, devils and magical afflictions rather than germs, gases, and other mundane causes. Non-practitioners believed in magic and the supernatural, though they also believed that the world of the spirits and control over spirits was inaccessible to them, limited (at least to some extent) to the purview of the skilled practitioner.

Magic was a necessary part of the spiritual landscape of the early modern era and a means of obtaining healing, happiness and control for both skilled practitioners and their clients. The service magic economy created a sort of magical situationship in which the non-practitioner client base could rely on the folk practitioner’s cultivated relationship with their craft, the spirit world, and the land around them to help navigate issues of fate, health, wealth, and livelihood. But they did not always need to rely on the practitioner’s direct action to be the solution to their problems. Sometimes, magic could be prescribed rather than performed on the layperson’s behalf. The same way a doctor with the necessary skills to diagnose illness and the credentials to prescribe medications might assess a sore throat, diagnose it as strep and prescribe an antibiotic, the folk practitioner had the ability to assess problems caused by spirits, devils and other supernatural forces and determine the best course of action for solving them.

Some historical service magic is comparable to the “Etsy witches” of the contemporary age, where the entire magical working is performed by the practitioner with little assistance or action required from the client. Most of the surviving examples of service magic, however, fall into the category of layman’s magic. These include examples of rites in which something was required of the client, such as procuring certain items believed to have innate magical powers, making ritual journeys or nightly repetition of charms and prayers. They also included physical items which were intended to be worn or used by the client, as is the case with many amulets, prayer and charm scrolls (Breverl) that were meant to be sewn into clothes or worn in charm bags, and magical ointments. Such examples of layman’s magic were activated by the practitioner and then sold to the client who could apply or use them for their own purposes. It was not necessary for the practitioner to place the working directly on the client, their home, loved ones, farm, etc. It was enough that the magic had been placed on the amulet, written into the parchment, or otherwise activated.

Layman’s Magic Today

This tradition of service magic is still alive and well today, despite the gradual decline of many people relying on folk practitioners for help with their daily lives. The clientèle, however, has changed with time. In Western culture, many non-practitioners no longer believe in magic and many that do avoid interaction with practitioners and artifacts of magic out of fear or contempt. In my own experience (having both owned a witchcraft shop myself pre-pandemic and having collaborated with other retailers), the vast majority of what would once have been charms, amulets and tools intended for non-practitioners are now purchased by practitioners themselves. Fixed/charged candles, amulets, spell kits and other such tools are no longer considered the domain of the non-practitioner. Instead, they are readily available in witchcraft shops everywhere and (after being created and activated by one practitioner) are worked alone or incorporated into larger workings as magical support/enhancement.

The evolution of these charms in this way is not an end to the tradition of participatory elements of service magic. The use of what would have once been layman’s charms by contemporary magical practitioners is something of a natural continuation of the tradition, which reminds us that such the participation of the client in the workings of service-oriented folk magic was not an odd exception to the rules of folk magical practice. This participation was (and still is) one of the defining features of European service magic. It is also a reminder that such folk magic has always been something done not just for our communities, but with them.

[sitting-1n-silence]

~Reversal Work~

A candle burns at both ends, dressed in reversal oil and spiritual powder. To turn their words and fire back on themselves. A community quarrels until collapse, melting themselves from the inside out.

[sitting-1n-silence]

#spell ideas#this is cool op

Thank you! I got the idea from observing my mother's altars growing up. She would find herself in some hairy situations, and found the best way to deal with it was to make her target "burn their candle as both ends." Making them burn brighter, but also burn out much faster.

It's also a good way of breaking curses and doing reversal workings I've found, as your burning a candle in a way it isn't meant to be used thus turning their work on it's head. A similar type of working could also be designed by burning the candle from the bottom to the top by placing it upside down. Adding reversal oils and powders are also good boons in this type of candle magic.