🌱Manfred the pothos and I have been together for over 27 years💚

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ellievsbear

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DEAR READER
Stranger Things

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JBB: An Artblog!
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Today's Document
"I'm Dorothy Gale from Kansas"
PUT YOUR BEARD IN MY MOUTH
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noise dept.
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oozey mess
Xuebing Du
Misplaced Lens Cap
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@moondustandstarshine
🌱Manfred the pothos and I have been together for over 27 years💚
Me, A Witch, On Every Major Holiday: Oh hey yeah there’s a thing today
from Alexis Nikole’s instagram
TLDR: A plague of AI-written foraging books, which means inaccuracies, which means danger. If you're going to buy a foraging book, make sure it is written by a real person and referenced in more places than just Amazon.
…Do they WANT an amateur fungi forager to eat a Destroying Angel or a Deathcap and die? Are they going to say it’s fine to eat belladonna berries because they’re small and black like blackberries? 😱
When you look for books, make sure they’re books vetted by respected sources. Sometimes national parks list identification books their park rangers use to ID flora and fungi. You can also look up known experts and researchers and see if they’ve ever recommended books.
Also, make sure they’re books published before 2022-2023. Those are the ones more likely to have been written by humans.
BRB, I’m off to launch a whole new genre with my must-have new book, Dr. Ymfington’s Illustrated Field Guide To Foraging Guides.
(Seriously though, this is a perfect summary of the danger with autogenerated books. Sure, this time the fake expert was easy to spot, but machine learning-wise, that just means that your next iteration should include a fake blog as well, and a few fake recommendations from a trusted authorities.)
I've seen confusion about this a few times so let's clear something up:
With closed traditions, you are COMPLETELY 100% ALLOWED to:
Think about them
Talk about them in conversation
Learn about their history
Follow and talk to members
Ask questions about it in good faith
Think it's very interesting and cool
Find aspects of it relatable to your own philosophy
Accept willing gifts from members, or buy what they are willingly selling
Attend events if you're invited, or events open to the public
Eat or cook traditional food
Listen to traditional music
A lot of people seem like they're scared to interact with people from closed traditions because they're afraid somehow even looking our way will offend us. We're not angry people with secret social rules, we're just people. Like just be nice and you're fine
Simple Imbolc Cleansing Chant
Light a few candles and prepare some Sage. Hold the burning Sage in your hands for a few minutes while you meditate. Breathe in the smoke and imagine it clearing out your body; imagine the black tar dissolving away out of your veins, the pores of your spirit, out of your mind’s gears, out from between your chakras, etc..
Once calm and focused chant:
Like a flower pushing through the snow, May I push through the stress, negativity, and doubt; May my hard work enable me to grow into the person I want to be.
Wave the Sage around your body to make sure you’re clean inside and out.
Snuff everything out.
Quick things to do to celebrate Imbolc
Okay since my Yule post was popular I made an Imbolc one since most of us are still going to be locked down lol.
1. Clean and Cleanse your space I know BOO right?? But this is the holiday for cleaning and cleansing. (Even if you hate doing this, this is like the one time a year you have a reason to do it). Time for deep cleaning!! You know that layer of snowy dust behind your bookshelf? Time to open windows and tackle every corner. Scrub off that spot of dirt you have been putting off scrubbing. Time to steam and vacuum your carpets. Wash your bedsheets and add rosemary or juniper oil to the soap. Smoke cleanse your room with Juniper (or Rosemary). Sweep out old energy, old habits, unwanted spirits. Throw out things that do not spark joy. The time is upon us!
2. Bath Magic Along with cleansing your space, it’s also the time to cleanse yourself! This is the day to have a ritual bath, the type that looks instagram worthy where you have a bunch of candles and you sit in a hot tub full of colorful soap very pleased and covered in bubbles. If you don’t have a tub you can make a special scrub to anoint your entire body with and rinse it off in a shower. This is the time for face masks, feet soaks, those things you glue on your nose to painfully peel off later and fill you with a sense of relief/disgust of what was dwelling in your pores all this time, skin exfoliants, bath jellies and body creams.
Tip: I like to celebrate the eves of sabbats, so I tend to do the cleaning and cleansing stuff the evening before so there’s less of an overwhelming pressure to do everything at once. Especially since cleaning can get draining sometimes. On the day is usually spellwork, nature walks and feasting.
3. Candle Magic This is the sabbat for candles. Not just to look at how pretty they are burning on your altar rejoicing that the winter days are probably like 1 hour longer than before, but to set intentions for your dreams and aspirations!! First take a moment to meditate and ground yourself, then focus on your goals or anything you would really like to accomplish this year, big or small. When you visualizing it coming to be, then light your candle! This is also a great time for candle scrying. You can read your candle flame which can dance fiery omens of the obstacles ahead of you. Here is a helpful but general page for candle scrying.
4. Burning Bayleaves and Barrier Breaking Often when our candle spells keep going out or we receive omens that the obstacles before us are a little more difficult than anticipated, then it’s time for Barrier Breaking! Write down anything you feel is holding you back on a small piece of paper. Make sure to get a fire proof dish ready. With that paper think about the obstacles before you or anything holding you back and visualize the sensation of those obstacles coming undone or you being free from it’s chains. Make sure you hold on to that feeling as you light it on fire with your spell candle then set it aside on the fire dish to burn completely.
Sometimes this step may call for shadow work as the obstacles that can be holding us back isn’t external but internal issues. You can divine with tarot cards to figure out the nature of this obstacle if you aren’t aware of it consciously.
Lastly, Burning Bayleaves helps with wishes. You can burn them to help overcome obstacles or to bring luck and set intentions in your life. Just write what you need on the leaves, burn it with your spell candle and set it aside on the dish. Beware as some bayleaves have natural oil in them so they can ignite in a fiery whoosh!! That is usually good luck and shows that your intentions will have no problem being manifested, however, if you are not in the most fire safe area I would not recommend this activity. If you are comfortable doing fire magic and have a safe set up then you can partake in this tradition.
6. Cleansing ALL of your magical tools As this sabbat feels like a gentle awakening and fresh start, you can lay out all of your magical tools and give them a serious cleanse. You can play a cleansing frequency on youtube which could help or ring bells over to disperse any energy hanging on. If you have a smoke bundle or incense you can clease with that and bless your items.
7. Play some Music! Listening to music always helps to set the mood of the day. Here is a playlist for this sabbat!
8. Make a Feast So for a Feast for 1 it’s usually just like a festive dish with a side of veggies and a nice dessert. Think about what you’d like as your main dish. For this sabbat I’ve always made an Imbolc Shepards Pie recipe. Reasons being is that I lived someplace where this time of the year was blizzard season though we were halfway done with Winter. So the pie represented the top being the potato mashed “snow” and the meat/beans layer underneath was spicy and represented the earth stirring. (Plus its cute that it’s called Shepards pie cause there is a sheep/lamb theme going on but I digress..) Anyway I moved to England and this time of year feels like… very early Spring.. Like it’s not really spring spring but it’s like.. early pre-spring. (Seasons here in this climate are weird haha but the sabbats make sense here since the traditions were founded in this climate). So the symbolism of the Shepards Pie is a bit lost. However there are a lot of other options such as Cauliflower or Celeriac soup with cheese (or cheese less if you are vegan), winter onion soup, if you are a meat eater than lamb and sage stew (I feel like stews are a big theme here but it fits as it’s winter and there is that ‘fire in the belly’ symbolism that fits with getting sustenance and warmth from a chalice-bowl object). Side dish can be roasted parsnips or stuffed white cabbage (it depends on the main dish). Dessert depends on if you are into cake or tarts but I always either have cheesecake or a milk sponge cake like tres leches. If you live in a snowy area a dessert I used to make would be a warm brownie with vanilla icecream as it’s like “snow melt” on earth with life stirring within. Etc.
I know with lockdown and such no one is going to be seeing anyone extra in their lives anytime soon and no one may have the energy to cook a lot, but here is a list of recipes with a feast mood board to check out for ideas.
Have a lovely luminous Imbolc!!
How could you NOT fall in love with the glow of the moon and stars, the warmth of the sun, the ancient life within the trees, and the sweet melodies of the winds?
Predators. They're predators.
@thecoloredcanvas wrote
So a couple of things
1. Witch is a gender neutral term
2. Not really sure how anyone practicing witchcraft at home is suddenly a "predator"
3. Not a man.
All that aside, you respond to a video criticizing someone literally targeting vulnerable people to take advantage of them, and your reaction is "the person doing the criticizing is just as bad because of the gender identity I assume they are?"
Like seriously, what the fuck.
Trae: hey, there's a pervasive problem in my community of people conflating neurodivergent coping mechanisms as magical powers and using that conflation as a means to create an insular community which if gone unchecked can turn into an abusive situation where people can get hurt.
This rando: Ah, but I can see by your video that you are not what I consider female and therefore YOU are the abuser! Checkermate!
Seriously. Even setting aside the fact that Trae is not a man (the big genderqueer flag is visible in every frame, but I guess not everyone is familiar with that flag). There is so much wrong with the mindset that witches have to be female (and implied here as gender-conforming cis female) but also... just to touch...
Women can be predators. Women can be abusers. Women are fully capable of manipulating people for personal gain, whether that be for money or for something even worse. Women are not exempt from criticism of their actions.
I swear to every god. If you think women can't be predatory then you have never had a friend from high school guilt you into a mlm scheme.
I know approximately fuck-all about traegorn except what is presented in this video and not one single second of it raises a flag about them.
What does raise a flag is the “yes, if you suck at setting boundaries, please join our communities.” That, my friendos, is how you end up in a cult.
SILENCE TRANSPHOBE
SILENCE TRANSPHOBE
Grimoire - Rituals and Spells (Curses and Hexes Included)
Types of Spells & Basic Methods of Casting
Using a glass of water for Manifestation
How to send good vibes
An autumn spell to be in good favour with the faeries
To Nullify a Spell
Self love and healing spell bottle
Nightmare Hex
A Spell to Strengthen Intuition
Candle Healing Spell
Emotional Healing Spell Jar
“Mend Your Heart” Spell
Spell for Clear Thoughts
Spell to Aid a Sick Pet
Magic Mirror Beauty Spell
Jinxes, Hexes, & Curses
Jar Of Cuddles
Small rituals you can do
"You Feel The Pain You've Caused Me"
Wrath’s Charm for Self-Love and Cosmic Love
Raise the vibration
Small witchy things you can do around the house
Super Casual Mini Spells
Healing & Easing Emotional Pain with “Fire Dust”
Love Spells and Enchantments
How To - Glamour Spells
Ideas for your spells
Why your spells don't work
Spiritual Crafts
Seven ways to bless a poppet
Spells are not simple
"It will be okay" spell
Components of a Spell
Sigil to protect a grimoire
Spell Jar for Protection
Full Moon Rituals
Anxiety-Relief Tea Potion
Tarot Decks I’m Considering:
XIII Tarot - $14.88 (was particularly drawn to at the store I found it in)
Ostara Tarot - $17.65
Welcome to Night Vale Tarot - $20
The Light Grey Tarot - $25
CR Major Arcana - $25
Light Seer’s Tarot - $25
Dark Wood Tarot - $28
Cosmos Tarot and Oracle Deck - $35
The Wild Unknown Tarot - $40
Spirit Speak Tarot - $43
Golden Thread Tarot - $45
Prism Visions Tarot - $45
TWU Animal Spirit (Oracle?) - $50 to $60
Starchild Tarot - $65
Scrying Ink Lenormand - $34
Light Visions Tarot - ???
Dixit: Revelations (use as Oracle deck) - ???
Witchcraft for Beginners: Lesson 1
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Welcome to the first lesson! I am excited to get into our first lesson but please note; I try to make all my lessons as unbiased as possible, and I try to give you just general information so you can have a solid understanding of the topics discussed, so if you may not agree with some of the topics presented, that is okay and let me know so we can have a conversation about it. With that being said, let’s get into it.
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Witches? Witchcraft??
Witchcraft is an art form. It is the art of using magick. This leads us to understand that a witch is an individual who uses magick and practices witchcraft. Some people may believe that you need to subscribe to certain religions or groups (such as Paganism, Wicca, etc) to become a witch but this certainly is not true. Anyone, from all walks of life, can practice witchcraft if they wish to.
A lot of people tend to overcomplicate witchcraft. In its simplest form, witchcraft is a completely natural process that has been used for many years. When participating in a spell or ritual, you are simply stating your will to the universe.
What Exactly is Magick?
There are many different ways to describe exactly what magick is. The way that I will be describing magick is through energy. Take a look around you. Everything and every person you see is filled with energies. There are energies within the air, and within the food you eat. Magick is the art of “tapping into” these energies to create changes.
When you meet someone, they have different personalities or properties. The same can be said for the energies within objects. To better understand, I have grouped them into three categories to generalize; Positive, Negative, and “stale”/neutral energies. Have you ever walked into a room after two people fought? You may be able to sense the negative or tense energies covering the room. The same may go for positive energies. If you are good with picking up on these energies you may be able to sense when you are walking into a very loving home, for example. As for these “stale” energies, these are “leftover energies” that will cover a room or object when they haven’t been used. It is like dust energies. For example, when you get home from a long vacation and everything just feels stuffy. These categories of energies can be said for people as well. If you are someone who is genuine and helps others out, simply put you will have a good deal of positive energies. If you have harmed others, and you tend to keep a negative headspace your personal energies are negative. But magick goes farther than just three types of energies.
As I said before, magick is about “tapping into” these energies. Over the course of your witchy journey, you will slowly become more and more intune with your own energies and with the energies around you. Getting in-tune allows your spellwork to flourish. But just like anything, it is a skill that needs practice. An excellent way to practice this skill is to meditate. Meditation allows you to practice getting in-tune with these energies and it also allows for you to increase your ability to visualise.
It may seem like a lot at first, but start small. Try meditating for 5 min before bed every night, and start with basic spells before moving onto anything else (we will discuss this in later lessons).
Magick? Magic?
Many witches will use the spelling of “magick” when referring to the art of witchcraft and manipulating energies, and “magic” when referring to stage illusions and tricks (like a magician pulling a bunny out of a hat). Not all witches do use this, but it is important to keep in mind!
What do I need?
I always hear beginner witches ask, well, what do I need to start off? Well, the answer is nothing except your energy, time, and devotion. You do not need a ton of crystals or special tools to succeed. Think about it this way- the first witches did not go on Amazon to order their supplies, they used what was around them! So, look at what you have and adapt spells to fit the materials you do have, and get crafty!
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Thank you so much for reading the first lesson! I really appreciate your feedback so please feel free to let me know your thoughts!
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