A blog for all manner of witchcraft related recipes, items, spells, etc. Modern witch/divination witch/queer witch. Always open for submissions/questions. Â Occasional Free Tarot, always open for paid readings here on Tumblr.
What is the most unusual spell or ritual that you've found over the last year and how does it compare to the presently seen ones?
This is such a fun ask! Unusual is going to be hard to define when we're talking about witchcraft because it's all weird to be honest. One of my classic favorite unusual spells is a spell to silence gossip and those who speak lies using cow tongue.
Maybe this isn't quite the sort of legnthy answer you're looking for but I do think that because of the internet as well as wicca and ideas of "white witchcraft" we are seeing spellwork be increasingly co-opted into the mainstream and as a result sanitized severely. Most spells one will find these days involve burning paper or mixing herbs, which is fine, but I do think we've lost the stomach for spells that are downright nasty, morally reprehensible, and labor intensive.
Witchcraft is a serious thing. It isn't only gathering flowers under the full moon. It is also bleeding yourself, stealing the piss and hair of a rival, putting things into other's food, picking through offal, and digging around graves that aren't yours. These things aren't nice, they aren't pretty, they aren't - technically speaking - *good* (and I don't recommend or condone some of them certainly). But they are as much a part of it as anything else and in the past decade we've seen witchcraft both get more popular and more watered down as a result.
seeing a lot of responses to that "sufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from chores" discussion going around that made me realize that more people might really benefit from reframing "chores = punishment" into "chores = necessary maintenance." like, it's something i've struggled with as an adult as well, but i do genuinely recommend figuring out a way to detach "chores" as a concept from something you view as this bad horrible thing you must surmount, and instead frame it as tasks that need to be done for your health and well-being. and i think then that take will seem less discouraging, if you initially took it as such.
trust me i also struggle with getting my mundane chores done and i'm still learning to keep house in my 30s. i'm a very clutter prone person and i've had to fight to incrementally incorporate a regular routine into maintaining our home but every small step of progress i make is worth it, and the same has been true for my magical practice.
also just general disclaimer that i understand folks that struggle with chronic fatigue and other disabilities will have to approach this in different ways! this is just what's helped me.
This is an experiment to see if there really are as few of us as people think.You can also use this to freak out your followers who think youâre 25 or something. Yay!
The reason people are told "mundane before magic" is so they remember to do things like check whether they've got mold or carbon monoxide in their house before they decide the problem is a malevolent spirit, find out whether their health problems have a treatable medical cause before deciding they're cursed, and make sure they have a mechanic check their car once they hear funny noises instead of just casting a safety spell on it and calling it good. People get hurt if they neglect the mundane.
Human relationships are not transactional but they are reciprocal, which I think many of you with your âi donât owe anyone anythingâ shtick are too happy to forget
Transactional: everything has to be exactly 50/50 all the time, pay me back for the ÂŁ5 sandwich or buy me something worth exactly ÂŁ5, I refuse to make an effort for you if thereâs nothing in it for me
Reciprocal: you were there for me when I needed help, and Iâm going to do the same for you, it doesnât matter if one of us needs more or is capable of less, because the point is not equivalent exchange but mutual care
something that I've noticed in neo-pagan/polytheist spaces is this focus on one or a few deities. while this is a valid approach and seems to be working amazingly for many people, i wanted to write a short defence of a different form of polytheism that, while maybe less visible on social media, is equally viable.
the poly in polytheism necessitates the belief in multiple gods however modern forms of worship take many different forms on top of that. from my years being in pagan spaces on social media I have noticed that to many, being a polytheist means worshipping one or a handful of gods and having very close relationships with them. which deities someone chooses to have this kind of relationship with stems from multiple possible sources, for example, personal interest, the deity's domain being somehow related to a person's life or an inexplicable draw to them.
to me, this seems to be the dominant view on social media of the form that neo-paganism takes, however, after years of exploring my spirituality and practice, I have come to the conclusion that this is not how I want to worship. I am writing this post for more people like me, who are interested in exploring this often less mainstream approach.
an ancient template
reading about Ancient Greek and Roman civilisations I was always struck by the number of minor deities with hyper-specific domains and associations. as a modern pagan, I could not understand the appeal of worshipping such a deity, ie. using so much time and resources to build a relationship for only a handful of niche issues that you could approach them with.
but as I kept reading and exploring, I realised that I was approaching polytheism completely differently than the ancients did. they truly did live in a world full of gods and they did not require a relationship built over days, if not weeks or more, to approach a deity and ask for their aid.
as long as you followed the rules of reciprocity, you could approach any deity that was relevant to your situation because they were the best equipped to help you with your problem. now this is not true for all of the population all the time, there were definitely also for example, people devoted to one deity, but from my understanding, this seemed to be the general form that polytheism took in those ancient civilisations.
the influence of monotheism
I think another feature of online neo-paganism is this expansion of the major deities' domains which then removes the need to worship the smaller deities. now, don't get me wrong, I'm all for expanding the domains of deities, especially if this is done from a revivalist perspective in order to modernise them for the contemporary worshipper. but sometimes I feel like completely unrelated domains are added for the sake of convenience more than anything else, ie. so that someone can keep worshipping the same deity(ies) without approaching others.
this, in my opinion, goes against one of the core aspects of polytheism which is the idea that different gods rule over different domains and have power over them. following this idea, it would make very little sense to pray to Neptune during air travel as he has no influence over the skies. yet, I sometimes see the deities be treated more like monotheistic gods which are all-powerful and can influence anything in the world.
if this is your view of how the gods work, that's fine, but I feel like sometimes people accept it without questioning it much or thinking about their view of theology at all. after mulling this idea over for some time, I realised it made much more sense to approach those specific deities, even if they are much less known or minor because this fits into my beliefs about polytheism much better.
a poly-practice
so, how would a poly-polytheistic practice look like in the modern day? well, there are many ways to go about it but I will just share bits from my own experience.
what I have ended up doing is focusing on different deities as they become relevant in my life - I focused on worshipping Janus at the beginning of the year while also taking the time to pray to Fortuna in moment when I needed her aid. I then did some extra reading on Jupiter, but didn't forget to thank Mars every time I went to the gym. I no longer felt the pressure to have some sort of special "connection" to every deity or "feel their presence", just trusting that they are there and then catching glimpses of divinity in my daily life.
looking into which Roman festivals I wanted to celebrate also opened my perspectives to more deities I would not have otherwise worshipped on my own. like this, I feel like I am building an arsenal of deities I can turn to when I need and of course, it is also vital to remember that I can call on multiple ones at the same time, just like the Romans saw the gods aiding one another in their tasks.
I only have one altar, which is practical and thus quite minimalistic, but there is space for my prayer notebook as well as other supplies that I need for my rituals.
conclusion
of course, this kind of practice results in a much more "impersonal" relationship with the gods, but I never really felt the need to communicate with them directly or things like that, so it fits me well. I find comfort in imagining a world full of gods, who may only know me in passing but who look out for me nevertheless.
in the end, the goal of this post is not to change anyone's mind about how they worship, but to present an alternate perspective which you can learn from but also completely disregard. in the end I am just happy that you were interested enough to reach until the end of this post. thank you for reading!!
For discussionâs sake and because I think the waters are muddy for a lot of people on this: What do you think is the distinction between the realms of the High Priestess and the Hierophant? What counts as spiritual and what counts as religious?
Not my post, but religious I think implies structure and sanctioned ritual, as well as a core set of beliefs that has rules, traditions, and guidelines that are clearly set top down. It implies group practice that is mediated by an authority.
Spirituality implies a more personal relationship with divinity and an expertise built upon individual experiences and beliefs by contrast.
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.
"I would love to use my embroidery/cross-stitch/needlework in witchcraft more, but I like working with taglocks and other components that ruin the piece if I sew them into it." Attach your taglocks, snakeskin, nails, whatever to the back of your fabric. The needle is still piercing or securing them the same amount of times and the magic is still bound to them. They don't need to be visible to be incorporated.
You come from a long line of people who have survived, in many cases survived real horrors, and found that survival worthwhile. Find something to be moved by. Find something or someone to move.
Not Your Mother's Spellbook @notyourmothersspellbook - Tumblr Blog | Tumgag
