I dont know what I am doing

Hello everyone! My name is Prince and this is a blog that will contain of Pagan posts~

[cyberneticpredacat-archive]

[unclegrandpaapologist-deactivat]

reblogging this again just to say: if you havent seen this yet you really need to

[kingdomheartstwo-deactivated201]

this vine is just so excellent. the way that second guy just jumps in. the voice. the back shot and the dissonance of the FUCK OFF. this vine is a work of art.

[hoiist]

i may never see this vine again 

[stxriss]

Now that vine is getting shut down I got to share it while I can 😪

[hermesmystic]

Hellenic Protection Blessing for LGBT Youth

May Hestia help your family to be more accepting of who you are, and not try to change you.

May Zeus help repeal any laws that put you in harm, or try to deny you any basic human right.

May Hera bless your current or future marriage, with a gorgeous ceremony where you and your beloved are entirely safe.

May Demeter make sure you have enough food during any dark times when you don’t know when your next paycheck or meal is.

May Poseidon keep you safe from harassment during those dreaded swim trips before transition.

May Artemis protect you from sexual assault, especially Her sapphic daughters.

May Apollo aid you with smooth hormone therapy, and surgeries without complications, especially His achillean sons.

May Athena give you the strength to deal with ignorant bigots, and explain your identity so they understand.

May Hermes help you stay financially secure through abusive homes and relationships, transition, lost jobs, and moving out.

May Aphrodite bless your love life to find a partner who understands and supports you, and so that you love yourself a little more.

May Hephaestus help you be creative in coming up with new ways to pass a little more, while still being safe.

May Ares help you protect yourself from people who wish you harm, so that you can fight back the oppression.

May Hades comfort your lost brothers and sisters who are now with Him, and help you keep hope.

May Dionysos protect His trans children from fatal self-hatred. There is nothing wrong with you, for Dionysos, a God, is just like you. You are lovely, and you are ethereal.

[dovewithscales]

This is beautiful.

[stormbornwitch]

Sinking

(photo credit)

Sinking refers to a method of grounding which is favoured by water/sea witches. To use this method you will need a body of water. This could be a freshwater stream, a slow moving river, a lake, the ocean or even just your bathtub. The water should be cool (but not super cold) and deep enough so that you can sink below the surface of the water.

Ensure you will not be disturbed during the sinking process (if you are nervous though it is perfectly alright to have a “spotter” there to check that you’re not drowning)

Slowly step into the water and close your eyes. Feel the water as it caresses and flows around your skin. Slowly sink beneath the water until only your head and shoulders remains above water.

Slow your breathing and listen to the world around you. Feel your muscles relax as you float in the water.

Now sink below the water. Do not take a massive breath of air before you sink. Just breathe normally and as you slip below the water, release the air through your nose. The less air in your lungs the easier it is to sink below the water.

Try to think of nothing. Empty your mind completely and allow your mind to drift as you float beneath the water.

If you are relaxed you will be able to stay under the water for longer so do not focus on the air you breathed in (if you begin to panic you use up your oxygen faster and you will need to go up for air faster).

Instead focus on your heartbeat. Feel it pulsing in your temples and hear it in your ears. The water around you will warm as your energy (in the form of heat) seeps into the water.

Now slowly rise back above the surface of the water and take a slow breath in. As you breathe out sink below the water again. You should repeat this process a few times.

Not only does sinking help ground and centre yourself it is also extremely relaxing.

CAUTION: I do not recommend sinking to those who do not know how to swim proficiently or to those who are afraid of drowning. Please, do not do this in harsh running water (whether it be in a rushing river or in the ocean with crashing waves). I don’t want anyone to drown doing this.

- Marci

[witchoftheways]

I’m a witch who lived by the ocean (San Diego) for most of my life, so I’ve done a lot of swimming. Here are some other tips and facts to add on to this already lovely post:

*Salt makes you float, so the more salt is in the water (like in ocean water, or possibly lakes with lots of minerals) the more you will float. Sinking will most likely be easier in clean or fresh water.

*Once you’ve gotten the hang of sinking, another good thing you can try is to adjust the air in your lungs to achieve neutral buoyancy - aka, a state where you are neither floating back up to the surface, nor being pulled to the bottom. Scuba divers do this with a belt so that they can swim freely without constantly being pushed back up. It’s a great way to exercise your self control, and really, really tune into yourself. Again though, harder in salt water.

*When you go anywhere that’s not your bathtub, don’t be afraid to go somewhere with a life guard or experienced spotter. Heck, I’d even recommend that all water loving witches learn basic lifeguard safety themselves so that they can be safer :)

*Here IS something for you sea and salt water witches: wave greetings, cleansing, or “flying”, whatever you want to call it. This is actually a fun game that can actually be a useful tool in your craft. Stand a little deeper in the waves, somewhere you feel comfortable. For those who are not comfortable or strong swimmers, I recommend the classic rule where you stand in water that goes no higher than your belly button. Adjust and stand in shallower water if the waves are too strong. Now crouch down when the wave is at its lowest point. Spring up as the crest goes in, and if all goes well, you will be lifted up with the power of the wave, and then gently set back down, exactly where you started. When you’re on the way down/crouching, imagine the negative energies on you, being sucked out of your body, and as you jump, the waves knock them off of you, and fill you with their own energy. The reason I call this wave greeting is because you can get a feel for a body of water and get to know it’s personality so well. Do the waves caress you? Or are they strong and forceful? Do they playfully splash around your and tickle your fingertips, or do they seem controlling, and try to drag you? Get to know your oceans before you work with them, or use their water for spell work, because it could really affect your spells!

*Lastly: IF YOU GET CAUGHT IN A RIPTIDE, DON’T FIGHT IT. SWIM AT AN ANGLE AND TRY TO SLIDE OUT OF IT!!!

Sorry for the long rant, but Marci did such an amazing job, that I felt compelled and inspired to add on.

[thewitchexchange]

This is just a reminder for everyone, because I keep seeing this come up:

If you are not of Native blood, you do not have a spirit animal. Native American religions are closed to outsiders, and the term spirit animal is NOT interchangeable with other terms. You may have a familiar, or a patronus, but you do not have a spirit animal.

Please do not use Native terminology or beliefs if you are not of Native blood. This goes triply for sales - it is actually illegal to sell things described or tagged as “Native American” “Indian” or any Native group’s name (Cherokee, Nahuatl, ect.) if you are not a recognized member of one of those groups.

[precipitationprince]

Spiritwork

Person: you're a witch? Maybe you can help me you see I have a ghost at my house and it's always making noise and bothering me how do I make it stop?

Me: have you tried yelling at it

[kindulums]

Question: how do you use a pendulum? i've looked through your help tag but i still can't really figure out the actual step-by-step process of using one. (Also, some tips for beginners would be great!) Thanks!

Hello! Sorry that our help tag has been unclear about this. Let me see if I can’t help you out.

Make sure your pendulum swings evenly before starting. Give it a swing and make sure it’ll swing back and forth smoothly and without wavering, so you’ll know the difference between a clear answer and an unsure one.

Find a place with no drafts and where you won’t be interrupted. You may want to decorate the space with candles or other such things to set a mood or improve your pendulum’s answers. It’s your choice whether you do or not!

If you haven’t used your pendulum before, you’ll need to ask it to swing in the direction that means “yes,” “no,” and “maybe.” This is so you know how to read the answers. If you think you’ll have trouble remembering the swings, you can make a pendulum board, something like this: 

(You might include a Maybe line on yours as well, though Italus swings in a circle when he’s unsure.)

For multiple choice questions with more than a few options, you can write the answers on cards and lay them in a semicircle like this:

It’s important not to hold the pendulum directly between those top two cards, otherwise it may be difficult to tell which it’s swinging to.

Once you know how your pendulum swings, you’re ready to start asking questions! I personally prefer to get to know my pendulum before starting in earnest, and if you’d like to do that as well I recommend the following questions:

Do you have a name/Would you like a name?

If the answer is yes, you may want to follow up to find a name your pendulum agrees to. You can just pick out some names and ask your pendulum to choose between them, though I did something a little more extensive by asking whether his name started with a vowel or a consonant, then continued from there going through all the vowels and then finding names that started with I until he settled on Italus.

Do you have preferred pronouns?

Of course, if the answer is yes, you may wish to go through a series of pronouns such as he, she, they, xe, ey, etc. Google is your friend here!

After this, you may want to gauge the pendulum’s accuracy, which you can do a number of ways.

Ask your pendulum questions you already know the answer to, e.g. “Is my hair blonde?” or “Do I have a brother?” Try to ask an even mix of yes and no answers, and try to be very careful not to sway your pendulum.

Write “yes” or “no” on a number of paper scraps. Mix them up and pick one out of the bunch, and without looking at it ask your pendulum which it says—do this multiple times to get a feel for how often your pendulum is wrong.

Then you should be good to go! Some general tips for new pendulum users:

Remember your pendulum is not infallible, and remember not to get angry or upset with it if it doesn’t know the answer. It’s not a foolproof divination technique—those don’t exist. Use it as a loose guide rather than word of law.

If your hand is shaking, rest it on a solid surface. I like to rest my forehead on top of my hand with my elbow on my knee and my pendulum board in my lap. By sandwiching my arm like that, it moves less and I can get better answers even with my unsteady hands.

Work with your pendulum regularly. It doesn’t have to be every day, but keeping in practice never hurts!

Thank your pendulum after a session. It’s always good to treat these sorts of things with respect.

Also, cleanse your pendulum regularly. My preferred cleansing method is to tape Italus to my window on a full or new moon, since I can’t viably set him outside. There are more posts about cleansing in our help tag, as well.

Don’t overwork yourself or your pendulum. Readings take energy. It’s best not to use your pendulum if you are already low on energy or are feeling emotionally unwell.

It never hurts to verify your answers with another pendulum, especially wielded by someone else. This is why we offer to have more than one mod answer a question.

You don’t have to ask your questions out loud, especially if you are practicing in secret. Italus responds just as easily to me thinking my question at him decisively. Try to keep your thoughts from wandering when doing this, though. I usually have to repeat the question constantly in my head until Italus is finished answer so I know I won’t get distracted.

Ask your question multiple times, and try rephrasing it in different ways to see how the answer changes. Sometimes wording can be a little tricky!

I hope this was helpful, friend! Good luck!!

–Mod Cy

[flamekeeperwitch]

Witch Tip #18

Altars don’t have to be super fancy. Sometimes, all it takes to create a sacred space is a bowl full of seashells or a candle. You could even place a small statue or stone that you like in a safe space. An altar is anywhere you are, any sacred space that you have deemed sacred and have made a conscious effort to do so.

[visardistofelphame]

Spells

Memory

Astral Memory charm

Plants and Pets

Garden Dirt Ball Charms

Love

True Love’s Spell

Grow love

Seeking: Luck or lost objects

Simple Good Luck spell/ward

Simple Item location spell

Dancing lights

Money/Prosperity/Jobs

Ginger Root job shrine spell

Increase wealth candle spell

Shrine spell of prosperity

Job powder of success!

Glamour

Stand Out spell

Mirror Mirror On the Wall: Glamour spell

Eye Color Glamor Spell

Prankster’s Fun (A full moon spell)

Ignore me please

Sigil of Chicanery

Appearance

Slap them in the face: A spell to help stop someone from ignoring you

Sigil spell to make you stand out

no more fucks to give

Hair Growth Potion

Weight loss spell

Healing 

Words of Love Spell

spell to cause sickness

spell to aid in getting over a sickness

Simple spell to heal your heart

Open the door: Spell to get out of a stump

Poppet Spell: Get off your lazy ass

Call upon your ancestors for healing of the mind

Wishes 

Wishing Powder Mix

Wishing Spell: I want to move

Truth

Baby’s Breath Truth spell

Make them see spell

Make them tell the truth

Protection: Binds, warding, etc

Protection from Theives, Tiger’s Eye spell

Anti-Gossip/Rumor Spell

Easy Binding Spell

Devour Box

Simple Shrine Protection Spell

Nightmare-Preventing Stones 

Ward Stones

simple shrine spell of protection and understanding

Fairy Net Ward

Unwanted Suitors warding powder

Candle spell: to protect the home

Astral spell to banish someone

Offering to the Salamander: to protect from fires

Bind their words: to silence them

Cleansing

Little Witch: favorite ways to cleanse myself

A good house cleaning and cleansing 

Mirror Cleansing: to help transition the home

Banishing: of spirits and witchcraft

Destroy your love for another

Calling Spirits, Summoning power

Gain the witch’s power

To summon the wind and rain

Curses

Curse of the Storm Cradle

The nine levels of hell

Curse of the Warriors

Get Lost: Banishing curse

Cursing a stolen item

[vvitchella]

Youtube is a wonderful resource with lots of helpful information on it! I’ve collated together all the Divination Lessons I could find. If any of these links break, or you find something that should be added to the list, please message me!

This is as much a resource for me as it is for you - I have only watched part of most of these so take them with a grain of salt!

Tarot

Learn the 78 Tarot Cards in Two Hours (Part 1, Part 2)

Tarot Cards - Understanding Reversals

How to Practice Tarot Readings when you’re on your own (Part 1, Part 2)

How to Shuffle Tarot Cards

How to Get Good Results Every Time with Tarot

The Only Way To Learn The Tarot (and a bit about what Pages mean)

How to read a Tarot card easily and comfortably

Putting it all together in a Tarot reading

Know How To Use Your Tarot Cards By Munisha Khatwani

Tarot - An Introduction by Munisha Khatwani

22 Major Arcana Cards In Tarot - Munisha Khatwani

Tarot Cards Use and History

7 Tarot Tips for Learning Tarot Card Meanings

Runes

How to read runes (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3)

How to Cast Runes (Runes for Beginners)

What are Runes?

150. A Technique for Memorising Runes

How to make Runes

Your First Rune Readings: Practicing with Meanings

The Long History of the Rune Stones

All About Runes (Intermediate Magic) (Part 1, Part 2)

Pendulum

How to Use a Pendulum (Basics)

Your Pendulum and Its Secret Uses

An introduction to dowsing with a pendulum

How To Use A Pendulum For Divining

How to use a Pendulum for Spirit Communication

How to use a Pendulum to get answers from your Subconscious

Scrying

How to Scry (Part 1, Part 2)  

Magical Techniques: Part 1 - The Art of Scrying. 

One Witch’s Way - Crystal Ball (Part 1, Part 2)

Crystal Ball and Mirror Gazing Tutorial 

Crystal Spheres and Scrying 

Simple Water Scrying 

How to Scry 

Scrying Mirrors | Witchcraft 101

Tasseomancy

Tea leaf reading with Amber McCarroll 

Tea Leaf Reading 

Tea Leaf Reading 

What Is Tea Leaf Reading? | Psychic Abilities 

Tea Leaf Reading with Shaheen 

Tea Leaf Reading 

Cartomancy

Fortune Telling with Playing Cards 

Playing Card Meanings - How to read a deck of cards - Cartomancy 

Fortune Telling Cards (Reading & Meanings)

Bibliomancy

173. The Art of Bibliomancy Bibliomancy Bibliomancy Bibliomancy introduction How to do Bibliomancy, divination with books!

Palmistry

Read your palm ! - only 7 minutes lectured by Japanese Ninja  Secrets Revealed in Your Palm Secrets Revealed in Your Palm - Part 2 PALMISTRY: THE FATE LINE wealth indications in detail more points palmistry palmistry detailed analysis (very refined hand) Palmistry Saturn Line Fate Line Money Line Wealth Line Analysis

[sylvaetria]

Casting Spells Using Oils

WARNING!

Many people exhibit a dangerous tendency to assume that if a plant is used for magical reasons, particularly benevolent ones, it does not also create a physical impact. This is not true, and this assumption can lead to disaster.

Botanicals are an holistic power: they affect us simultaneously on spiritual, emotional, magical, and physical levels. It is possible to cast word charms, image magic or play with candles and crystals without profound physical effect. This is not so with plants. Plants are the basis of medical knowledge, and even magical plants have a physical effect.

Because something has power doesn’t mean it is always the right power for you. For instance, many magic spell sites on the Internet offer directions for protective spell baths featuring the herb rue with nary a health warning, despite the fact that it has abortifacient properties and the British master herbalist Nicholas Culpeper said that he couldn’t recommend that a pregnant woman even walk through a room containing rue, let alone handle or bathe with it.

Be careful. If you have anything that could be perceived as a physical vulnerability, it is your responsibility to verify whether any botanical may aggravate your condition. If you are pregnant, attempting to become pregnant or nursing a child, the potential safety of all botanicals must be determined. This is not obscure information. Many excellent literary sources on herbs and botanicals exist. Knowledgeable, professional herbalists, physicians, and medical providers can give you information as well. This does not only apply to traditional modes of internal application such as consuming botanicals, but also inhaling fumes or topical application such as bathing, or even perhaps intensive, concentrated handling, depending on the potency of the plant.

Magic is always intended to improve one’s life; injuring one’s health in the process of casting a spell defeats that purpose. Incorporate your personal needs into choosing the best spells for you.

Oils have always been prized components of magic spells. However, not all oils are truly oils, and not all oils are even truly botanical.

Essential Oils

Essential oils are not true oils, despite their name. They are volatile liquids extracted by various methods (usually, but not always, by steam distillation) from aromatic botanicals. Modern aromatherapy is the manipulation of these essential oils for therapeutic, cosmetic, magical, and spiritual purposes. The roots of aromatherapy stretch back to ancient China, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Middle East. If you would like to access the power of a botanical, essential oils are the most concentrated form and as such have many magical uses. Once upon a time, essential oils were also referred to as chemical oils, especially in older grimoires. This relates not to their chemical constituents, which we are only now beginning to understand, but to their previous use in alchemy, the term being a corruption of alchemical oils.

Their potential physical impact upon you is as concentrated as their magical power:

Never take essential oils internally without expert supervision.

Even when taken externally, they are used sparingly, drop by drop. Each drop packs a lot of power. More is rarely better.

Because their power is volatile and fleeting, when creating magical baths, potions, or oils, essential oils are usually the last ingredients added so as to maximize the intensity of their power and fragrance.

In general, essential oils are not appropriate for use during pregnancy, especially early pregnancy.

Because essential oils are so concentrated (and because some are profound skin irritants) they are usually diluted in true oils (usually referred to as “carrier oils”) before using.

Fragrance is an extremely important component of magic, particularly in romantic spells and spirit-summoning spells. Each spirit has a characteristic aroma, which calls them and by which they may be identified. In ancient Egypt, this was one way that true spiritual visitation was determined: the deities signaled their presence through the sudden appearance of their characteristic fragrance. Vestiges of this belief survive in folkloric Christianity, where the devil is described as appearing amid the smell of brimstone. (Signature fragrance isn’t limited to the spirit realm alone. In the 1944 Ray Milland movie, The Uninvited, the ghost signals her presence via the scent of mimosa.) Fragrance, especially as transmitted by true botanicals, is the primary and most effective magical device for communicating between realms.

The human sense of smell remains the most mysterious of our senses. The olfactory system (the part of our brain that processes scent) is near what is known as the reptilian brain, the most ancient and least-understood part of the human brain. Scent is our primal sense, the one shared most closely with the animal and spirit realms. Magic is a primordial art; to truly master it, one must access these inherent primordial talents. The sense of smell may be the most concrete, accurate way we have of identifying and accessing magic power. Essential oils are frequently the most concentrated, potent, and accessible way of accessing an individual plant’s energies, even though this very power means they must be handled with care.

True Oils

True oils, also known as fixed, carrier, or base oils (because they carry essential oils’ energies and serve as their base) have always been perceived as precious and sacred. The ancient Egyptians had an astonishing repertoire of true oils, far greater than our own. Although true oils are used as carriers for the magic powers inherent in dried botanicals or essential oils, they also have their own magic power, and spells can be cast using true oils alone. Castor oil has protective, commanding magic properties, while sweet almond oil is a component of many romantic and erotic spells, for instance. Mineral oil (baby oil) is not a botanical, but a petroleum product: its magical uses are restricted mainly to hexes—malevolent spells.

There are several ways to distinguish essential oils from true oils. Essential oils, also known as volatile oils from the Latin volare, “to fly away,” evaporate completely into air, without leaving a trace. Although they may deteriorate and their power fade, they do not grow rancid. In contrast, true oils will leave a ring or residue and will not evaporate—as anyone who’s had to clean out a greasy pan can attest. True oils will also grow rancid over time, although some become rancid more quickly than others.

True oils are, in general, extracted from the seeds or fruits of plants. Cold-pressed oils (which will almost always be labeled as such) are preferable, when possible. (Grapeseed oil, for instance, can only be extracted via the use of solvents.)

Fragrance Oils

Because real essential oils are extracted via expensive, laborintensive, time-consuming processes, synthetics are often substituted. If an essential oil is too reasonably priced, be cautious. Often we do get what we pay for. Labeling is not always clear and manufacturer’s terms may be meant very loosely.

Essential oils cannot be obtained from every botanical. There is no such thing as cherry or cucumber or apple essential oil. Furthermore, essential oils must be derived, by definition, from botanical material. There is no such product as essential oil of rain, although products exist that reproduce the fragrance of a rainy day. Invariably, these products are crafted from synthetic materials, known as fragrance oils, the staples of the perfume industry. Some are real dead ringers for the genuine material and can fool many an expert. However, because no plant material is actually contained, fragrance oils lack true, complete magical power. That said, sometimes, especially for candle magic, fragrance alone may be sufficient to spark your magic, to evoke a response from your brain. In general, fragrance oils are fine for dressing candles, but not for the body.

Hydrosols

Hydrosols, also called hydrolats, are the other product of the aromatherapy industry. When essential oils are produced by steam distillation, water is passed through the botanical material and then eventually separated out; that water has also been magically transformed by the distillation process: it is no longer plain water but contains plant molecules. Although other flower waters are sold (usually rose or orange blossom water) these are frequently only flower-scented or flower-infused waters. Hydrosols actually carry the power of their respective botanicals. Hydrosol production is an old alchemical process, although it lay dormant, forgotten, and unappreciated for centuries. Now fresh attention is paid to hydrosols; new ones become available every day. They are an increasingly important component of magic spells.

Flower Essence Remedies

Alchemists, witches, and herbalists have always painstakingly gathered morning dew from individual plants to access its magic powers. Infused with the specific power of the particular plant, these tiny liquid dewdroplets also contain the perfect balance of the four primal elements: the power of water, the earth radiating through the plant, and the surrounding air and fire from the sun.

Once upon a time, if you wanted to access this power, you were limited to the plants growing on your lawn. This is no longer the case. Modern flower essence remedies bring the power of flowers from all over Earth—from the Amazon rainforest to the Australian outback—right to your door.

The pioneer and founding father of modern flower essence remedies was Dr. Edward Bach, a Harley Street physician and homeopath. Dr. Bach eventually came to the realization that true, complete healing was not possible when approached solely from the physical plane. Emotional and spiritual imbalances are the root causes of dysfunction of all kinds. True healing and transformation must be accessed through the soul and emotions. Dr. Bach devoted the rest of his life, at great personal sacrifice, to developing the original Bach flower essence remedies, which provide the vehicle for this healing and transformation. According to Dr. Bach, the flowers communicated to him directly, sharing their secrets and potential for healing with him. Since then, many other flower essence practitioners have followed in Dr. Bach’s footsteps to bring us greater access to a wider variety of botanical material than ever before.

It’s easy to be confused between flower essence remedies and essential oils: they have extremely similar names and are even packaged in a similar manner (in tiny glass vials). Although they complement each other’s powers and work very well together, they are extremely different and cannot be substituted for one another.

Essential oils are true plant extracts, with extremely potent and sometimes scientifically documented physical effects. When I taught therapeutic aromatherapy, many of my students were nurses learning to incorporate essential oils into conventional hospital practice. All essential oils are, to a degree, antiseptic; many have potent anti-bacterial and anti-viral effects in addition to whatever magical power they also hold.

No one completely understands how flower essence remedies work, although they do— profoundly. General consensus is that it is a form of vibrational healing. Flower essences are pure water, infused and charged with the plant’s energy and vibration. There’s no need to kill the plant to access this energy; typically only a few carefully chosen leaves are used. By definition, the remedy won’t work if the plant used is not a powerful, healthy specimen. These essences provide a healing bridge between the soul of the botanical and your own. While essential oils may be understood as the lifeblood of a plant, flower essence remedies capture the plant’s aura.

Flower essence remedies are the exception to the rule regarding botanicals’ impact on the physical plane—there is no direct physical effect. All the effects are felt on the emotional, spiritual, and magical planes. They are safe for everyone’s use: children, animals, crystals, and other plants.

When using flower essence remedies the most common mode of administration is internal. Manufacturers will supply directions, however the standard dose for most is four drops four times a day. Topical administration is also extremely effective: massage the flower essence remedy into the body, particularly into the soles of feet and the thin skin stretched between thumb and forefinger.

Every manufacturer of flower essence remedies has a specific repertoire of botanicals. When flower essence remedies are cited in the text, the name of their manufacturer follows in parenthesis. For example: Mugwort (FES).

Source: [“The Element Encyclopedia of 5000 Spells” by Judika Illes]

[artamanen]

“How to Build a Straw Bale Garden“ by Nicole Jolly

(via Modern Farmer)

Faced with the expense of building raised beds, I decided instead to go cheap and easy: a straw bale garden. So I called up Joel Karsten, author of Straw Bale Gardens, and lead authority on all things straw. Karsten argues that straw is an ideal “container” for growing vegetables. “The hollow tubes are designed by Mother Nature to suck up and hold moisture,” he told me. And as the insides of the bales decompose, they provide a rich medium for vegetable growth. You can put together a straw bale garden right on your lawn, your driveway (oh yes, your neighbors will love you) or anywhere that gets at least six to eight hours of sun. It’s especially good for growers who live in northern climes with shorter growing seasons — the bales heat up much quicker than soil, stimulating early-season root growth.

1. Source your straw You can toss the dice like I did and purchase straw bales from your local garden center, but it’s best to source them direct from the farm. If you want to garden organically, the person at the garden center won’t likely know how the straw was grown. To help connect farmers with growers, Karsten has set up a user-generated marketplace, but it’s still too small to be useful to most gardeners. Remember, straw is easiest to come by in the fall. If you arrange your straw bale garden before the winter, you’ll be all set to plant when springtime comes.

2. Position your bales Before you set up your bales, lay down landscape fabric to prevent weeds from growing up through the bales. Arrange the bales side by side in rows, with their cut sides up. The strings that bind the bales should run across the sides, not across the planting surface. The strings will help keep the shape of the bales as they start to soften and decompose.

3. Condition the bales Two weeks before you plant, you have to get the bales cooking. This means wetting and fertilizing the bales for roughly 10 days to start composting the inner straw. For the first six days, put down 3 cups of organic fertilizer per bale every other day, and water the bales to push the fertilizer down and thoroughly saturate the straw. On the off days, simply water the bales. (Tip: try to ignore the neighbors staring suspiciously from their windows.) Days 7 through 9, lay down 1.5 cups of organic fertilizer each day and water. Day 10 put down 3 cups with phosphorus and potassium (bone or fish meal mixed with 50% wood ash works like a charm). If you stick your finger into your bales, they’ll be hot and moist. You’ll start to see some “peppering” — black soil-like clumps that signal the beginning of the composting that will continue through the growing season. If mushrooms sprout up, rejoice — they won’t harm your plants; it means the straw is decomposing as it should.

4. Build a trellis and greenhouse in one One of the coolest things about straw bale gardening is that it combines the best of container gardening with vertical gardening. Karsten recommends erecting seven-foot-tall posts at the end of each row of bales, and running wire between them at intervals of 10 inches from the tops of the bales. As your seeds sprout, you can use the bottom wire to drape a plastic tarp to create an instant greenhouse for those chilly early-season nights. And as the plants begin to grow, the wire works like a vertical trellis, supporting your cucumbers, squash and assorted viney vegetables.

5. Time to plant If you’re planting seedlings, use your trowel to separate the straw in the shape of a hole and add some sterile planting mix to help cover the exposed roots. If you’re planting seeds, then cover the bales with a one to two-inch layer of planting mix and sew into this seedbed. As the seeds germinate, they’ll grow roots down into the bale itself. While you’re at it, plant some annual flowers into the sides of the bales, or some herbs — it’s otherwise underutilized growing space, and will make the garden a whole lot lovelier.

6. Look, ma — no weeding If you lay a soaker hose over your bales, you’ve pretty much eliminated all your work until harvest. That’s because your “soil” doesn’t contain weed seeds. There’s one caveat, though — if you didn’t get your straw from a farmer (guilty as charged), there’s a chance your straw (or, worse, hay that was sold as straw) contains its own seed. If your bales start to sprout what looks like grass, you can beat back the Chia pet effect by washing the sprouts with diluted vinegar. If you don’t mind the look though, the grass shouldn’t harm your plants, and will likely die off from the heat produced by the bale’s decomposition.

7. The harvest after the harvest When the harvest season ends, the bales will be soft, saggy and gray — but that’s exactly what you want. Because when you pile the straw together and leave it to compost over winter, you’ll have a mound of beautiful compost to fill all your pots and planters in the spring.

[leeskic]

Have never done this, but I am super interested! Pretty amazing.

[pacificnorthwestdoodles]

I’ve done this in my class because our ‘garden area’ was all gravel. Works pretty well!

[wiccawiccawitch]

✨📅✏️📄💯📓💯📄✏️📅✨

emoji spell to get good grades and survive school/college this year 

likes charge it, reblogs cast it

[cladinscarlet]

Witch Tip

Echinacea can be used to strengthen spells.

[thia-at]

[phat-lava-deactivated20170920]

Grimoire.

[anywigwilldo]

Reblog, click the picture, and prepare for battle.

[vikingserket]

after a while i became convinced that the words were mocking me

[whisperrun-blog]

Nothing happened. 

I WAS PROMISED A BATTLE

*throws down gauntlet*

Edit: Went back. This is the best thing to happen to my dashboard ever.

[whisperrun-blog]

Reblogging again because my followers need to see this. To be clear, rebog, go to your actual blog, then click the picture. 

[penandpage]

[dark-ayyyyy-blog]

aight

[sunbeamrobin-deactivated2018073]

OH MY GOD I WAS NOT EXPECTING THAT

[thornsword]

DO IT

[20053]

WOW IT REALLY IS SOMETHING FREAKING GOOD PLEASE CHECK IT OUT

[cherrychanart-deactivated201703]

YES!!!

[dusty-flowers]

messy witch aesthetic

-sigils scribbled on wrists, on used napkins, on the backs of receipts -hastily mumbling glamours while you get ready because you’re late again -always forgetting to keep track of the moon’s cycle -constantly performing finding-things spells because the floor of your room is an abomination and where on earth did that chunk of amethyst go?? -knowing that if you don’t write a spell down/tag it properly/put it in a place where you’ll find it then it’ll be lost forever -standing in the shower for forty minutes and only remembering the glamours/spells you wanted to work on after you get out -picking up every coin you see and dropping them in an old jar as a money spell -how am i already out of cinnamon i literally just bought some -enchanting your phone alarm so that maybe you’ll actually get out of bed on the first try for once -always having salt on the floor -i have thirty variations of the same spell tag on tumblr but the spell i’m looking for isn’t under any of them oh my god -never being able to decide which method for drawing sigils you like best, so all of them are a complete mish-mash -half-melted candles everywhere -starting a new notebook every two weeks and never finishing one -wanting to have a consistent practice and aesthetic but never managing to find the time so you guess you’ll just stick to reading your tarot cards on the floor in front of the TV while eating chicken nuggets

[crashed-dreamer1]

it me. especially the last one.