Searching For Something More

Just a wandering soul working on their path. She/her, bi. Witch, pagan.

[moth-kissed-witch]

A little bit ago I stumbled across a post talking about how many people mistake "feeling" for "connection" when being in nature, observing and animal, etc. I don't remember who made it, but the jist of it was that connection requires establishing some sort of relationship, which requires taking the time to observe, study, interact, then bond. A feeling is a much more fleeting emotion or sense of awareness without much substantial ground to unique/personal/knowledgeable relevance. I agree completely with the post, but wanted to add my own bit.

A feeling doesn't have to be "just" a feeling, it's valuable and powerful in its own right, and can absolutely be a driving force which leads to that personal connection. But even if it doesn't I think having notable moments of excitement, awe, or love when you touch a tree, spot an animal, or watch the clouds move is very healthy to seek out regularly. Spontaneous moments to wonder at the beauty of nature and Spirit keeps us happy, inspired, and at peace. Even scientific studies show that frequent feelings of awe have a physiological impact on us to reduce stress levels and promote creativity and joy!

But I think there is a middle ground between a "feeling" and "connection." Sometimes things can certainly be much more than just a feeling, but not quite at the level of work to have made a connection. Perhaps attunement? Or presence? A shift in our internal state in which we leave ourselves and push our ego aside to become more grounded and at one with what it is that's struck this awe without needing recognition as validation. To take a moment to anchor those feelings into something more aligned rather than fleeting and (to a degree) self-serving. Giving your respect/thanks in return for the awe.

[vacillatordoll]

[ohmymoxie]

hey babes, i promise you’re not a bad witch if you don’t celebrate the wheel of year

[ladyiristheenchantress]

Daily reminder that the elements are not humans, so they don’t have or require gender. feel free to use whatever pronouns or language feels meaningful to your practice. You do not have to subscribe to anything that doesn’t resonate with you.

If you work with them and are called to specific ways of addressing them, that’s beautiful. If your religion or belief system or culture personifies them and uses certain pronouns that is beautiful too. There is no one belief on how to reference the elements.

Finally: be mindful of how terms like “Divine Masculine” and “Divine feminine” are used in the space, often being used as stereotypes. While many cultures hold nuanced sacred gender systems, many modern sources reduce the elements into simplistic western gender roles.

Fair winds!

🫶 🌎💨🔥🌊

[elminx]

I know there are a lot of people out there who don't want to (can't be bothered to?) learn the scientific names of plants, but it helps so, so much with plant toxicity conversations.

You aren't going to have a good conversation with poison control if you are using a common name because common names are NOT identification.

Marigold does not mean what you think it means. Lily probably doesn't mean what you think it means. Palm doesn't mean what you think it means. Fern doesn't mean what you think it means. Pothos doesn't mean what you think it means.

And those are all the common names I can think of, just off the top of my head, that mean more than one type of genera, and therefore, cannot be used to identify whether something is big T Toxic or not. Let alone that I've seen people spell things "pathos" and even weirder derivations of the "common" names.

A true Lily (Liliaceae family) can outright kill a cat. A peace lily (Spathiphyllum wallisii) is not in the Lilaceae family at all - it's an aroid. Can it make a cat sick? Yep. But relatively safe to have in a house with cats, whereas a true lily is a hard no.

True palms (Arecaceae Family) are considered pet-safe but the so-called "Sago Palm" (Cycas revoluta) is not a palm at all and is so toxic that I would never keep it in a house with pets.

This goes for generalized plant care, too. If you want to get really proficient at caring for plants, you can't just assume "all cactus are arid and don't want much water"....because Christmas and Thanksgiving cactus, as well as fishbone cactus, queen of the night, and many other so-called "jungle cactus" need to be watered much more often. You need to at least try to identify, by the scientific name, what actual type of cactus you have.

I'm not saying you need to go uber-nerd on all of us and memorize the scientific names of every one of your plants (though I personally will listen to you info-dump about that forever), but write it down somewhere.

You never know when you will need it.

[m-u-y--c-a-l-i-e-n-t-e]

100% this.

Working in a greenhouse/plant business, this has become important information to know. I get asked constantly what plants are pet safe and which aren't. ASPCA is a good place to start but can be overwhelming with how many versions of the same plant are listed and plants that have misleading names.

[mermagic]

If I was going to find trustworthy sources about Irish deities, where'd you recommend I start? I'm looking for something that'd be approved by academics, not books full of upg.

[neravaa]

I would recommend checking out maryjones.us for the literature, and Paganachd is a good resource as well!

[emmaharwoods]

photos by the artemis ii crew

[illusionsgrimoire]

This is your regularly scheduled reminder not to fuck around with using herbs OR crystals in or on the body without doing your research. I'm talking actual study of both body and the herb/crystal in question.

"this herb is supports menstrual health!" Cool. what does it DO? Like physically, what? Be specific.

How do your bodily organs function? Could you identify the individual organs? Can you explain how they work? If that organ is ill or not functioning correctly, do you know exactly what's going wrong and what needs to happen to fix it?

What component of that plant is affecting the body and how? Does your body need extra support in that way? How do you know? What other effects can this plant have on other parts of the body? Will it have chemical responses to other medications, herbs, or foods you are putting in your body?

Some minerals can start sweating sulfuric acid in high humidity, did you know that? Other rocks and crystals can contain toxic elements and heavy metals like mercury that can poison you. Sometimes they will straightup just dissolve in water — that doesn't mean they disappear, that means the water is contaminated with whatever elements and chemicals were in that stone, and it is probably not safe to drink.

Look, I'm all for herbal medicine. Crystals and stones can have really interesting uses for magic. But you can't just start smoking random plants or throwing things in a tea based on correspondence lists, or you're going to poison yourself or your loved ones.

If you want to be a healer, start with learning about the body. Not tea brewing.

[thanatosbutterfly]

It’s okay to change what you believe in.

It’s okay to step away from a community.

It’s okay to leave a religion.

If said thing doesn’t match how you want it to be

You do NOT have to try to force yourself to take part in said practice if said practice is not working for you!

[intellectually-voluptuous]

Artemis II Mission Specialist Christina Koch: Houston, we have you [loud and clear], and it is so great to hear from Earth again. To Asia, Africa, and Oceania: we are looking back at you. We hear you can look up and see the moon right now. We see you too. When we burned this burn toward the moon, I said that we do not leave Earth, but we choose it, and that is true. We will explore, we will build, we will build ships, we will visit again. We will construct science outposts, we will drive rovers, we will do radio astronomy, we will found companies, we will bolster industry, we will inspire...

... but ultimately, we will always choose Earth. We will always choose each other.

Houston CAPCOM: Integrity, from Earth - our single system, fragile and interconnected - we copy. Those of us that can, are looking back.

—the first communications between Mission Control & Orion Integrity when they came back into signal range after their trip around the back of the moon // the Integrity crew clasping hands and high-fiving on the live video feed during this exchange

[zandermote]

Houston, Integrity for the opportunistic science, the images are complete. The view that we have now, the most striking things are the size of the moon and the detail that we can see with the naked eye. It is almost a full moon, maybe about ten percent on the western limb is in the terminator, and you can really see variations in terrain. There’s clearly some large elevation changes on the western edge that’s in the terminator area. The view that we have now, the center is Grimaldi, it’s almost dead center, just slightly south of center. And Orientale is not quite an orthogonal view, but we are able to really see into it, and you’re starting to be able to differentiate the colors that are… the differences in the grade that are down in there. Like, there’s a dark V, dark gray V on the bottom, and then a light gray V on the top in the center of Orientale. And the lighter gray actually matches the rings that are out to the northeast, and the dark gray V on the bottom matches the part of the ring that’s very easily visible in the south, southwest. Also Grimaldi is the darkest that I can see so far, and then there’s one spot that’s just to the northwest of Grimaldi that is also very dark. But it really makes Procellarum and Oceanus [sic] look lighter. The grays there almost look like looking down on a forest where you can kind of see variations of splotches between light and dark gray. It doesn’t look as consistently dark as it does from so far away. And the variation in all that mare, and there’s a lot of detail in the variation in the dark grays in that mare, and it really stands out now because Aristarchus is so bright in the center of all that. But again, the biggest things that stand out to me are the size of the moon out the window to the naked eye, and the terrain that I can see on the western limb due to the terminator. I love the terminator.

Victor Glover, Pilot, Artemis II

[psalmicwitch]

"I'm starting witchcraft, what do I need-"

I'm going to stop you right there, homie. You don't need anything. In fact, you'll probably regret getting everything now. You'll end up with so much you don't want.

Don't even get me started on those witchcraft "starter packs"

I began my practice with a single candle—just one. A white, three-wick Bath & Body Works candle I already owned. I learned the phases of the moon, traced sigils with quiet devotion, and stirred intention into my morning coffee. I printed my first tarot deck on plain paper.

Even now, I don’t have much. Another tarot deck, a handful of colored candles, but my magic still lives in my spice rack. I steep my water in the light of the moon and sun, letting nature do the work.

A cauldron is wonderful, but so is a simple pot. A tiny, ornate bottle of sage is lovely, but so is the sage tucked in your kitchen cabinet.

You already have everything you need for the craft. Even if all you have is yourself.

[stormwaterwitch]

Rabbits Rabbits Rabbits

Reblog this on the first of the month for good luck all month long!

[dumbbbunnnyy-deactivated2021021]

[consecsuallyreading]

"Herbal remedies are nature's cures. They are natural, safe, and will not produce dangerous side effects like artificially prepared medicines." (p. 86, Candlelight Spells, Gerina Dunwich)

You're so right, Dunwich, they won't produce dangerous side effects like the other kinds of medicine, they will produce their own dangerous side effects. Dunwich you forget that there are plenty of herbs that kill (or you don't because you do list them later). And there are plenty of herbs that you shouldn't take together. And there are plenty of herbs that have a very difficult harvesting that could lead to potentially dangerous side effects if they aren't harvested correctly.

Like natural doesn't mean that it won't have side effects or dangerous ones. And natural doesn't mean better than man made. And I fully disagree with safe.

Unlike herbal remedies, there is a level of demanded consistency with man made medicine, the same dose always. Or as close as possible. Rather than someone's shaky hand trying to dose an appropriate amount of a specific item. This is anti-science rhetoric. This is anti-medicine rhetoric. This is anti-doctor rhetoric. And it's is rampant in the witchcraft and occult communities and I won't sit here and be quiet about it.

[nasa]

You won't want to miss this.

We're set to send four astronauts on an expedition around the Moon on April 1– our first lunar flyby with people in 50 years. Pick a platform to watch the Artemis II launch: https://www.nasa.gov/live/

Our broadcast starts at 12:50 p.m. EDT (1650 UTC), with liftoff happening as early as 6:24 p.m. EDT (2224 UTC). Set a reminder!

[mellicula]

has anyone else also named the full moons in a way that resonates more with them?

although i love the common native american names (pink moon, worm moon, etc) - i've found my own names based off the seasons where i live feel more... connected to the moons?

anyways i'd be very curious what others think, if they've similarly named the moons (and if so, what they named them).

[neravaa]

I have, actually! There are a few names I’m still sorting out, but my list is mostly settled. I’ve renamed them based off the energy of the seasons where I am. As a few examples: January is the Still Moon, April is the Sprout Moon, October is the Release Moon.

[smooththegoofyshark]

🌻🌼🌷🌸🏵️🌹🌺💐🍀

Some flowers for anyone not feeling their best today