🌹 Goddess of love, beauty, sex/desire, fertility and war
🌹 Symbols: Roses, myrtle, the ocean, seashells, pearls, the beach, apples, mirror, honey
🌹 Sacred animals: Swans, bees, doves
🌹 Colors: Pink and red
🌹 Crystals: Rose quartz, aquamarine, aragonite
🌹 Most Important Myths:
-Birth from Uranus’ severed genitals and the sea foam
-Arranged marriage to Hephaestus
-The exposure of her affair with Ares
-Judgment of Paris
-Death of Adonis
-Seduction of Anchises
🌹 “Don’t take the myths literally” understanding:
Aphrodite is not envious, petty or vindictive. She is an incredibly loving, warm being. She also does not envy anyone because she doesn’t need to. She’s Aphrodite! Comparing someone to her, beauty-wise, will not anger her. But, she wants you to see your own beauty through her, instead of trying to make hers rub off on you. She does insist on great respect and has a fierce side that should not be underestimated. Yet, she is absolutely delightful.
It is also not exactly that she was horribly “unfaithful” to her husband. She was forced into a loveless marriage and then actually found love. She just found it elsewhere and was shamed for it. That story is less about infidelity and more about how you can’t force love that isn’t working and have to follow your heart, even if that has consequences
🌹 Devotional acts: Self-care of any kind (skincare, salon trip, spa day), a long hot bath (with bath salts/essential oils/bath bombs, etc), shopping, putting a nice outfit together, doing your makeup, writing romantic poetry or love songs, writing yourself a love letter, watching a romantic movie, sexual pleasure (either alone or with a partner), buying yourself flowers (especially roses) or chocolates, doing self-love affirmations in the mirror
🌹 Assistance and Support:
-Obviously, Aphrodite is a huge help in romantic matters. But, it may not be the help that you are expecting. If you are yearning for or with someone who isn’t good for you, she is notorious for imploding or ending such situations. She will wake you up to what is really going on. Aphrodite wants you to actually be happy in love, not to invest in or stick to what you think will make you happy but really isn’t. Yes, she can also help you manifest the right person. You just need to do the inner work and healing required to align with that kind of relationship.
-She also is well-known for helping people when it comes to self-love and self-esteem, especially those who are more feminine. She will push you to improve your body image, feel more confident in your skin, see your beauty and attractiveness, and, above all, to know your worth
This is the only way I have found she can be a bit strict or “tough love”. As you build a bond with her, she will not tolerate you being down on yourself or accepting less than you deserve. But, this comes from a place of affection and love
-Aphrodite can also improve your relationship with sex. She encourages sex positivity, teaching you to fully embrace your pleasure, rid yourself of shame, and feel comfortable in your sensuality
-She also can teach you the power and the value of femininity. If you are a more feminine individual, she will encourage you to embrace that and own it, regardless of society’s negative ideas about femininity. If you’re more masculine, she will get you to do the same, to accept your feminine side without fear
-She can be called on when doing glamour magic, love magic, sex magic, and even earth magic, as she is a fertility goddess
🌹 Additional Note
-It is best to work with her on Friday, as this is the day she rules. You can and should, of course, work with her any day but this will be the most “charged” day in terms of energy
Due to health concerns in my family, the burning of actual incense is not really an availability and most, if not all, rituals of incense burning are done in the mental realm or outside. As a result, I had to sort of improvise.
Water, itself, is sacred. As stated in the PGM:
'Rainwater if you are calling upon heavenly gods, sea water if gods of the earth. RIver water if Osiris or Sarapis. Springwater if the dead.'
Making it clear that water as a method for divination, aspersion and offering held a part. We might note the possibility of sprinkling a necromantic altar with spring water, or using rain water to asperge an area to invoke the Divine Influences. Rain water, due to its height, is often regarded as a naturally blessed water. Alongside this, water from a thunderstorm is often an ingredient in War Water and protective charms, though water gathered and blessed on a Tuesday is also used in a similar fashion.
Dew of sacred days such as Midsummer is often accounted as having a property of beauty, making it useful for beauty spells and glamours.
I recall sea water often being purported as having medicinal properties for skin issues, and this was also demonstrated by a local doctor recommending that salt water, amongst other waters like oat water, had some healing properties for skin issues.
Overall, water is largely filled with symbolism and appears in many religions as such. To use it as an incense was something that almost seemed natural.
The obvious first part is to make use of a humidifier, though waters made with salt would have the effect of the salt coagulating on the heating element, which poses an issue. Thereafter, it is only supposed that water mixed with herbal infusions could be used.
A money water incense could be made using coins, bay laurel, basil and other such items of protection and wealth, though the wealth we want might be best assorted through the herbs themselves and maybe a written petition dissolved into the water.
@solariaradianta mentioned the making of a solar-lunar water with the usage of fiery plants such as pepper. This can be one way of going about it, though I would recommend a banishing post ritual since, in my praxis, the introduction of excess fire into the home can lead to arguments.
Jasmine is often regarded as being able to attract wise and helpful spirits so the addition of jasmine tea to an oil burner, a glass of water left to evaporate, or humidifier might be noted here for consecration of altar spaces.
Down here, Vicks is often added to baths or bowls for steaming due to the eucalyptus and camphor. Another addition might be Friar's Balsam, a tincture of benzoin that is useful for blessing and connecting to ancestral spirits. The two are mostly connected to cleansing and blessing, and so might be added not only to water incense but also to baths.
Rainwater might be heated and used to extract the spirit of the Bay Laurel plant to make a cleanser through the power of the Sun. Bay Laurel is also a remedy against saturnine issues, making it a wonderful addition to the kathiskos or to the pantry to strengthen the Penates against poverty, malnourishment and sickness which often fall under Saturn's sphere.
Being a Lake Witch ~ How to start your own practice
Living near a lake and being a witch deeply formed my practice. I heavily localized my craft, due to my respect for cultures I am not part of, and to bring my eco-conscious views into the forefront.
While I do not see anything wrong with being a consumer, I see however problems with the overdoing it, in the name of spirituality. YOU DO NOT NEED TONS OF TOOLS!!! Let me make this clear to anyone well-seasoned or just tiptoing aroud spirituality, and witchcraft, you do not need them to be one. Okay? It’s my little soul to soul hug from me to you.
So, I am here to share some ideas how you can use the magick of lakes in your craft, even without iving near one.
creature spirits to work with along lake theme: nymphs, merfolks, fairies
work with animal spirits (familiars) that belong to the lake world. If you seek stability and grounding in your lifestyle, please seek out them, reach out, call, they’d gladly help
if you’re able to, I suggest to visit a lake and meditate there.
Cosigning all four of these and adding the following (check your local library):
Oxford Illustrated History of Witchcraft and Magic - Owen Davies
Witchcraft, Magic and Culture 1736–1951 - Owen Davies
America Bewitched - Owen Davies
Witches and Neighbors - Robin Briggs
Historical Dictionary of Witchcraft - Michael D. Bailey
For those who prefer their learning in audio form, I also have a couple of masterlists of podcast episodes that deal with witchcraft, witch trials, the history of witchcraft-related beliefs, and resources for fact-checking and debunking misconceptions and misinformation commonly found in witchcraft spaces.
Cinnamon and sugar sand dollar cookies, with slivered almonds arranged just so. Fresh from the hearth of the sea witch’s shore cave home. Paired nicely with a steaming pot of black tea smelling of vanilla and bergamot.
People living under a colonial mindset have common threads within their thought processes and actions in relation to the craft: “plants and land are tools, I do things for only the benefit of myself and/or ‘us’, not for ‘them’, consumption is essential to the craft, and spirits can’t say no”. When spirits say no, it can be very daunting and frustrating. I know this all too well. Even after I began to deconstruct my colonial mindset, I found myself expecting things from spirits. “You will help me with this circle” (at the time I still did the Wiccan-esque practice). “You will help me with this spell”, etc etc.
I realized this was colonial when I was doing something unrelated to the craft. I was watching something on indigenous North American (I can’t remember with culture, but I believe it was in Canada) healing practices. An elder said, in a break of seriousness among the light hearted tone of the rest of the episode, something along the lines of “we do not take from the earth, we ask it to help us, it’s not by force”. It really struck me, it was like a revelation. From that point onward, I made an effort to accept “no” from any and all spirits and any and all seemingly mundane areas of my life; not out of respect for myself alone, but mostly out of respect for the world around me.
Even now, I find myself surprised and momentarily frustrated when a spirit says no to me for something I deem as important. Even now I find myself having to consciously decenter myself from my craft. Even now I am not done deconstructing my colonial mindset, as I am a colonizer living in a colonial society. I digest colonialism everyday, so everyday I must put in the work. Still, I think what I’m trying to say, is that it is important to actually deconstruct your colonial filters in not only the craft but everywhere else—it will help everyone.
Decolonize your craft. Decolonize your life. It will better the world.
Hi, so I have a friend on a discord who recently felt very called to dragons. I would like to ask some questions on their behalf, please. Also, any advice would be wonderful if you’re willing.
1: how can I tell if it’s just a hyper fixation or not?
2: how can I tell if I’m in the presence of a dragon?
3: are dragons like deities in the sense that they can help you in your practice? How do they help if they do?
4: do they like alters and offerings? If they do, how can I tell what offerings they like?
5: do dragons have names?
6: are there any misconceptions about dragons that I should know about?
Thank you very much for your time. Even if you read this and don’t respond. 🥰
The best way to tell if anything is a hyperfixation is if it persists over time. If you dive in and it doesn't stick, no worries. Sometimes being called to something even temporarily can help you find where you're going.
There's a few ways to tell: multiple dragon-related synchronicities, asking through a trusted divination method, feeling an energy or presence around you that you would describe as "draconic", random mental images of dragons, etc. It generally depends on where your strengths are in terms of subtle perception.
They can be. Depending on your practice and the dragons you work with, some can be very much like deities or even straight up *are* deities, while some are more like fellow practitioners who help you build up more magical 'oomph' than working alone.
Altars and offerings depend on the dragons you work with and your relationship to them. If you worship dragons and hold them as deities, an altar with offerings makes sense as a devotional act, while an altar for dragons as magical peers is going to be more of a dedicated work space that might include an offering if they indicate a desire for it. As for what they would like, figuring that out will be the same sort of work as determining a dragon is around you. Divination, intuition, etc. A number of folks might suggest lighting a charged/consecrated candle or incense, or keeping a crystal in a space designated for draconic offerings. Most of the dragons I work with don't require offerings, but I'll offer them energy or share food with them on occasion nonetheless.
Some do, some don't. Usually when you start working with a dragon, they will either give you a nickname or "closest human equivalent" to their name to call them by, or will invite you to give them a name. There are many types of dragons and the nature of their name (or lack thereof) can greatly differ from dragon to dragon.
Pinning down a lot of popular beliefs about dragons as a misconception is a bit of a task, since all of it is UPG and can be very contradictory amongst different draconic workers. For me, I personally have not found that all dragons stem from any one source or realm, nor that all dragons have some sort of elemental affinity or magic, and I definitely do not believe that there is any overarching single ruling power (be it deity, king/queen, or council) over all dragons. They are not a monolith. As touched on in a previous post, I also find that dragons do not require you to adhere to any sort of 'code of honor' or other moral creed to work with them, just the basic "don't be a dick", particularly to them.
Is it disrespectful to begin worshipping another god when you don’t have a lot of room to worship in the first place? I already have two small alters due to having to keep them hidden and also just generally not having a lot of room in my room, but I wish to start worshiping another god. I’m going to try and make more room, and do whatever I can to ensure that I keep the space neat and clean, but I don’t know if I’m already doomed because of my situation. So would it be better if I waited till I had more room? (Which won’t be for a while)
I don't think it would be disrespectful, but I do urge you to look at your current practice and ask yourself if you have the time and energy for another deity in your current position.
Keeping in mind that digital altars and the like exist, and are perfectly valid, and that altars aren't necessarily integral to worship, you don't want to take on too much and overwhelm yourself to the point of burnout. If you feel like you can do it, do it, if you feel more on the fence, I'd think about it more, if you feel like you can't handle it, don't do it.
When I was first starting out I wanted to work with everyone, and I quickly burned myself out trying to do that, and my relationships with the Gods suffered. I've made amends but they weren't mad at me, they were displeased, but not disrespected. They understood I was young and eager and meant no harm by it.
This isn't to discourage you from working with others, I know of people who work with 5+ deities, but rather to tell you to pace yourself.
That said, if you don't have space, digital is here for you. I've built a temple to my Goddess in the sims 4, I know people who have built them in minecraft, or you could just have a dedicated blog or pinterest board.
Don’t accept witchcraft books for history. Read history texts.
Don’t accept witchcraft books for mental processes. Read psychology and biological texts.
Don’t accept witchcraft books for mythology. Don’t accept witchcraft books for religion. Read original texts and papers written researchers credited in their fields.
Use witchcraft books for witchcraft, and witchcraft alone. That is what they specialize in and what they are published for. If it branches out into a different subject, be suspicious and research the topic later.
On the note of that last point: if you’re reading a witchcraft book and they make a historical, medical, psychological, anthropological, or scientific claim, do one of two things.
Stop reading right then and look up what they’ve claimed
Make a note of the fact - sticky notes, notes app, notebook, etc. - and research it at a later date
When researching, look for high-authority cross-reference sources. What I mean by that is, look for sources that have a legitimate, easy-to-prove claim to expertise. This’d be sources like (for example, not exhaustive) university presses, scientific research papers, museum publications, experts with degrees and years of experience in their fields, and, for cultural information, elder members of said culture and internally-run cultural heritage organizations.
Great places to find solid sources for cross-referencing:
The Smithsonian
Encyclopedia Britannica
JSTOR
Oxford Academic Journal
Sage Journals
Science Direct
Google Scholar
Your local library
If no one else has made this claim, it’s probably not true and you should take it with a massive grain of salt.
I wish all N*zis and f*scists would fall in the sea.
I hope the waves swallow them up and the water chokes out the lungs that help spit out such hateful words. I hope they bloat and swell like the empty husks they are.
You 'people' are not welcome here, there, or anywhere. If I see you at the shores, I hope you are able to glance upon my smile as I drag you, kicking and screaming, under.
romaincrisis
annaxmalina
origamiaround
baratheonpilled
titsay
blakekathryn
