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@shadowedpath
Hey, do you have any tips for someone looking to learn runes? I've wanted to for a while but I've never known where to start
I sure as heck do!
These are resources that stood me in good stead in my baby heathen days, and I still consult now and then.
http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/meanings.html
http://www.therunesite.com/elder-futhark-rune-meanings/
http://runesecrets.com/
Curse Breaker Bath
This one actually came to me in a dream last night.
Rosemary (cleansing)
Sage (cleansing, banishing)
Milk (protection, cleansing, healing)
Sea Salt (cleansing, banishing)
Draw a bath and add your ingredients, letting the herbs steep for a few minutes before adding the milk last. Let yourself soak in the bath, visualizing the negative curse energy being sucked into the water like ink running off a page, the milky white color filling your aura. Let the water drain, taking the curse with it, and shower regularly after. You can enchant your shower soap for extra cleansing power too.
Yes or no tarot
Hope you like 🌸
\?/ Dooku’s Prideful Fall \?/
*A Spell To Cause Someone’s Pride to Be Their Undoing*
Inspired by Count Dooku taunting Anakin, and his own pride in his prowess being his ultimate ending. ** And by Pride, I mean overbearing, seven deadly sin level pride as “excessive belief in oneself or one’s own abilities”
What You’ll Need
A taglock that you are able to cut (Something to tie the spell to the person it is directed at. A picture, hair, an item of theirs etc.) In my case, I used a picture (cause let’s be honest, beheading Dooku was a good end, and cutting the picture of the target just made me feel better.)
A similar cut-able taglock that represents this person’s pride (i.e. a baseball card if their proud of their athletic abilities, or cloth if they’re proud of their clothes. Etc.)
A violet or purple candle
Scissors or a knife
What To Do
Prepare yourself as necessary. Meditate, ground, shower, build or channel the energy for the working. Whatever it is that you do to prepare for spellwork. Prepare your work space. Clean and prepare the tools and items you will be using. Arrange them in your space, put on music and do whatever you need to to get your space ready for the work.
Light the candle and hold the taglock for the person in your hand. Focus on it, on the person you are directing the magic at, and say “Blinded by pride in yourself, you’ve risen far too high.”
Place that one down, pick up the item representing their pride and hold it in your hand, say “Swelling pride deep within, chiefest of the deadly sins.”
Take the scissors or knife and hold it over the taglock. Say “So close you are to the burning sun, let your pride blind you now.”
Cut the taglocks, envisioning in your mind that the person who is so blatantly proud has stumbled and fallen, due to being too confident in themselves, or actions, considering whatever it is they are so proud of. Say “And as your eyes are on the prize, the truth shall be revealed. Your pride will catch you, hold you down. And undone your plans will be.”
Keep the pieces of the taglock separate. Throw them away in different trash cans. Or if you’re keeping them, keep them in different places. If at first it does not succeed, you can always cut them into smaller pieces.
I suggest protecting yourself with a shield spell, or other magical protection either before or after the working, just to be on the safe side. Clean up and that’s all!
Good Luck and Happy Casting Witches!
M.G.
The Basil Druid
Unconventional & Affordable Ingredients for Spells
Here is a list of unconventional and affordable ingredients that can be used in spells and witchcraft along with their correspondences; good for witches “in the woods” and witches on a budget. Many of these can be easily found for inexpensive prices or at home.
Acorns/Acorn Caps: security, abundance, longevity, good luck, youth and brings good health
Animal toys/stickers: relates to correspondences of that animal
Artist’s Charcoal: banishing negativity, protection; cursing
Baby Powder: cleansing, beauty, youth
Baking Soda: cleansing, purification, protection
Birthday Candles: wishes, joy; color magic and number magic depending on their color and/or what number they display
Black Tea Bags (used): earth magic, grounding, strength, stability, banishing negativity; ending, death
Bottle Caps: prosperity, luck, material gain
Bubble Bath: self-love, relaxation, emotional healing, serenity; plus whatever scent the bubble bath is affects correspondences
Bubbles/Bubble Liquid: wishes, joy, whimsy, imagination, fantasy
Buckeye Nuts: luck, sexual energies, warding
Butter: femininity, flattery, friendship, warmth, happiness; good for fae work
Candy Bars: love, romance, happiness, lust, fertility, emotional healing, healing of the heart, forgiveness, friendship
Candy Corn: courage, imagination, endurance, energy, motivation, happiness, celebration
Candy Foil: sweetness, secrets, protecting one’s emotions; color magic
Chocolate Syrup/Milk: happiness, love, lust, romance, sweetening relationships
Cocktail Swords: strength, assertiveness, competition; cursing, revenge; ending rumors
Cotton Balls: beauty, gentleness, warmth, sleep
Cotton Swabs: cleansing, purification
Dice: chance, opportunity, luck; number magic
Dirt: grounding, earth magic, growth, prosperity, patience, home and family; cursing
Dish Soap: cleansing
Duct Tape: binding, storing energy, cursing
Egg Shells: cleansing, protection, warding
Energy Drinks: energy, motivation
Envelopes: messages, communication, protection during travel
Epsom Salts: purification, cleansing, protection, pain relief, serenity, comfort, stress relief
Fake/Play Money: wealth, prosperity
Fish Sauce: prosperity, water magic, curses
Foil: glamour, protection, storing energy, binding
Glue: sealing, immobility, binding, curses
Googley Eyes: vision, divination, scrying, creativity, protection, imagination; curses, paranoia, nightmares
Grass: growth, nature, learning, healing, new beginnings, recovery from loss
Hand Soap: cleansing, curse removal
Hole Punches: good for cursing
Hot Sauce: motivation, lust, confidence; cursing, anger, revenge, emotional pain
Koolaid: youth, sweetness, happiness; color magic, corresponds with flavors as well
Lip Balm: glamour, confidence in speaking, honesty, beauty
Lollipops: sweetness, innocence, ending rumors and lies, lust and sexual energies, love
Lotion: protection, beauty
Laundry Soap: cleansing, purification
Marshmallows: friendliness, comfort, gentleness, fidelity, sleep and dreams
Metal Crafting Wire: binding
Modeling Clay: poppets, earth magic, grounding, balance, stability, creation, change
Mud: grounding, earth magic; curses
Muslin: poppets, change, creativity
Noodles: Longevity, good health
Pompoms (craft): gentleness, comfort, love, sleep, dreams
Paper Clips: balance, focus, organization; curses, binding
Pennies: luck, wealth
Pickle Juice: curses to sour things
Plastic Bags: protection; binding
Plastic Ribbon (wrapping): happiness, glamour, delight; binding; color magic
Plastic Wrap: binding
Popsicle sticks: poppets
Scissors: offensive magic, curses
Seltzer Water: purification, removing negativity; curses
Sewing Needles: curses, pain
Shaving Cream: cleansing, softness, patience, calmness
Stamps: travel, communication
Sour Cream: cursing
Soy Sauce: protection, banishment; cursing
Sticky Notes: communication, memory
Strawberry Milk: love, self-love, beauty, sweetness, friendship
Syrup: joy, sweetening one’s emotions
Taco Sauce: Focus, Energy, motivation
Taffy: joy, flexibility
Thumbtacks: curses
Tissue Paper: softness, serenity; color magic
Toothpaste: cleansing
Toothpicks: curse
Walnut Shells: protection, warding
Wasabi: Energy; curses, anger, envy
Whipped Cream: beauty, light-heartedness
Whistles: communication, attention grabbing, warding
Other Tips:
Recycle bottles, jars and medicine bottles for jar/bottle magic
Reuse tea bags (though not too long after use) in bath magic
If you do wish to use herbs, it is cheaper to order them online in bulk rather than the supermarket. Trust me, supermarkets and grocery stores really over price most herbs. You can get triple the amount for 2 dollars less online
Make up and toiletries are great for glamours
Its fine to use kitchen knives if you can’t afford am athame
Look at the ingredients in food you eat to see what is in it and determine that food’s correspondences, quick and easy kitchen magic
Crayons, colored pencils, markers and pens are good for easy sigil and color magic
Binders are cheaper than blank books and make great grimoires
Actions in Witchcraft
Just like each herb and crystal has certain properties and strength, so do actions taken during rituals and spells. When writing spells it is important to include the proper actions to make sure your spell is as effective as possible.
Burning - Burning an object is a common practice in spells and rituals. Fire is considered a cleansing and activating force.
If you want to destroy something’s influence, burn it and dispose of the ashes away from your home.
If you want to set something into motion, burn objects related to the situation to ash.
If you want to activate certain energies, burn objects related to those involved.
If you are performing a curse or hex, burn the object in the flame of a candle.
Burying/Abandoning - A Witch might bury and object for many reasons. They might want to put something to rest, perform a slow spell, or banish something. There are different ways in which one can bury an object to accomplish a desired outcome:
If you want to keep something close, bury the object in your back yard.
If you want to attract something, bury the object under the front door step
If you want to disperse something to a distance, throw the object into a crossroads
If you want to fix an influence, inter the object in a five-spot pattern
If you want something to work by means of spirits, bury the object in a graveyard (but don’t disrupt those buried there!)
If you want to hide something’s point of origin, conceal the object in a tree
If you want something/someone to work by stealth, hide the object in clothing or on objects
If you want an influence to begin or strengthen, throw the object East
If you want an influence to end or weaken, throw the object West
Rubbing - Rubbing an object can be the easiest and most immediate way to experience witchcraft. Transferring and garnering energy from objects can be done through physical contact with an object.
If you want to put energy into an object, rub it with your left hand
If you want to gather energy from an object, rub it with your right hand
If you want to bring positivity, rub clockwise
If you want to bring negativity, rub counter clockwise
If you want to use crystals to heal, rub the appropriate stone on the effected part of the body.
Soaking - Water is one of the main elements used in witchcraft. It comes in many forms with many different properties and uses.
If you want something to move away and sink, throw it in running water
If you want something’s influence to rise and fall cyclically, float it in a tidal estuary
If you want to protect or cleanse something, soak an object in rain water
If you are focused on your personal goals, soak your object in sea water
If you want to bring about transformation, soak your object in snow/melted snow
If you’re trying to make a wish come true, soak your object in well water
If you want to banish, soak your object in harbor water
Witch Tip Wednesday 1.23.19
The Blasting Rod
I received an ask about how to make a blasting rod a while back, and through a series of events, I delayed answering so I could gather some additional information because this tool has a very powerful mystique, coupled with a relatively simple premise.
I’ll start off with some possible ways to make a Blasting Rod aka Black Rod before I delve deeper into some of the references and my ramblings. One thing that seems clear to me, but seems obvious is that to make a blasting rod, that must be your intent. It isn’t simply a wand made of blackthorn (powerful enough on its own) but one made with the intent to utilize it for both beneficial and malefic magic. In European/Celtic tradition it is made of Blackthorn, though other sources do not specify the wood needed. Designate it as a blasting rod, include iron, thorn, or bone, and connect to it as an extension of yourself. It is called a blasting rod, because of its use as blasting the witch’s power in the direction it is aimed, alternatively named a blasting rod for the fact that it will blast or destroy if that is the witch’s intent. Aside from that, I believe the further fabrication of it should be personal to the one creating it. If that is including an inscription, a symbols or sigil of power, or a glyph that represents the witch or the possible workings. The blasting rod should mirror the witch as an inanimate representation of how the witch works, how they view themselves, and the endless possibilities that encompass the witch’s work.
There are of course specific rituals one can do to make the rod, but their validity is again an issue that one must sort through to find what is someone’s idea of how it was done traditionally, someone’s own creation, or a remnant come to light from times gone by. I’m not going to police you and tell you that it must be done one ritual is more valid than another, especially because I’m not going to share my own ritual for crafting a blasting rod. My goal is to provide some context, food for thought, and to show that it’s not as simple as spouting some universal truth in the matter of crafting it.
Top: Blackthorn and bone blasting rod. Middle: Bone and rosewood wand. Bottom: Bone and rosewood want with fossilized belemnite tip by traditional witch Gemma Gary.
Another blasting rod from the Museum of Witchcraft (Cornwall) Braided blackthorn.
More Below the Break!
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what the shit is meditation actually? how does it work? i've never accomplished anything but sitting quietly and having 3897 trains of thought, how do i do it so it does something? i tried something once that said to try to quiet the little voice in my head but i /am/ the voice in my head so ?????
It’s not so much blanking your mind out entirely, as simply not thinking.
That may seem like a contradiction, but what ‘not thinking’ actually means here is not hanging on to all those little things that pop up in our minds. Rather than grabbing one and pursuing it, you just let them pop up and wander off one after the other. You don’t argue with yourself in your head about it. You don’t talk to yourself in your head. You just relax and let the little clouds of various things pop up and drift past in their own time.
It’s like defrag for your head, turn your active attention out of there and let your head sort itself out
Yes!
This is why Yoda says things like “I must meditate on this.”
Because it lets your head sort itself out, and often a random inspiration-blob will bubble up and solve a problem you’ve been obsessing over for ages.
The technical term for this is diffuse mode - the time your backbrain sorts through everything and draws big-picture connections that laser focus mode does not allow for.
Other activities that induce diffuse mode:
- taking walks
- exercise
- simple coloring (print out some coloring pages for kids! Or for adults! Color the word FUCK in a puffy cloud surrounded by stars (I still have that somewhere …)
- taking a nap (ever sat up in bed right before falling asleep cause your brain had just solved a plothole in a story? That’s the diffuse mode in action right there)
- if you play an instrument, playing through songs that you know well (otherwise it takes too much focus)
- if you’re a crafter, very simple projects - basically, if you’d call it mindless crafting/would be able to do it in front of the TV to keep your hands busy, it’s a good option
- doing your nails up in a simple way, if you like make-up
basically anything where your conscious mind is A off the actual problems and B not too busy to have the backbrain do the work.
The best way to make sure your brain is going to meditate on THIS exactly is to focus on it for some time before switching to a diffuse mode-encouraging activity.
Here, found it! (yep did it years ago with a silly kids coloring generator. took me a few minutes, and makes me smile.)
@systlin I’ve tried to meditate before but no one’s ever explained what exactly it is as well as you just did. I thought it was about concentrating on thoughts and pursuing them, and as someone who has a really hard time turning off his mental chatter, I never got it and it really frustrated me and I gave up. But now I’ll try this!
I’m glad I can help!
Regarding the discussion about Magic-null places, can people be like this as well? Like just not sensitive to it? And if that exists, is it something permanent or rather something temporary, or could there be just people that despite lots of interest and research into paganism, never find any kind of connection to any king of magic or gods? Sorry for the intrusion, thx for reading anyways!
Yes. Yes they can. It’s more difficult for some people than others to sense that stuff, and some are sensitive to certain energies but not others. I, for example, can pick up land spirits and earth energy easily, but have a lot more difficulty sensing the spirits of the dead.
Some people have problems feeling anything. It can be learned, in many cases, but some people are going to have a lot less success with it than others.
For the sake of a curious example - a dear friend of mine, despite being naturally rather talented in terms of magic, is not only insensitive to spirits, but also cancels out any activity in a house where she is at the time. Inviting her over turned out to be a fine way to have a few calm hours for a certain haunted individual.
That said, such is the case with her due to her refusal to deal with the entities in question in any shape or form.
I tend to have the same effect, actually. Activity tends to cease abruptly if I show up somewhere, and previously mischievous and troublesome spirits clear out or lie low until I leave.
with me it is a painful opposite (which I am currently experiencing again…) - any activity tends to come close to boiling, at the same time having a hard time interfering with what usually happens to me/around me (still haven’t worked out what that is yet, will get a priest called on me by my dear mother one day)
however, I do have a friend who has the effect of nulling or calming down any activity and it is the greatest joy to go wander together and witness the absolute confusion by whatever resides in a given place.
if you listen closely enough you can nearly hear the frustrated spiritually screeched out what-the-fuck-is-going-ons.
This sounds amazing.
I neither draw nor cancel activity, but my cat draws it and my roommate cancels it, so there's this weird tennis match of activity that I witness. For example, we had this full-length mirror in the living room that my cat decided to turn into a portal (this is something he does, we also have an empty picture frame that's a portal) and started pulling things out of. Cue poltergeist happenings in the corner of the living room where the mirror was (this is also something that's happened before, he once made a poltergeist under our couch). Well I got tired of the banging and knocking and tapping and stuff being moved around, so I decided that the best solution would be to seal the mirror and move it somewhere that the cat wouldn't have access to it, so I asked my roomie if she wanted it. So she took it to her room after I sealed it and things were fine. Then one day, I'm home alone, and I'm in the living room, and I hear bumping and shuffling through the ceiling from roomie's bedroom. I go upstairs and stand in the hallway outside her room, and there's banging and shuffling and knocking, and I'm like "wtf did she accidentally close one of the cats in her room?" so I open the door to let the cat out and the noises stop and no cat comes out. Turn on the light, glance around... no cat. Close the door, go back downstairs, both cats are down there. She's literally never noticed anything. The knocking doesn't happen when she's home. (That reminds me tho, I gotta cleanse the mirror again.)
Ok on the magic jello mold thing... if you use whatever herbs etc you would use in a spell and get plain pectin to make the aspic you could very easily make Magic Jello Molds and edible spells. Hel, using regular Jello and endowing it with a spell or putting a sigil on the bowl you make it in could work too.
Colors! Tea spells turned into jello! Carve spells into fruit and plop it in there!
Really, this is fantastically creative platform to play with!
A three-card advice and analysis spread inspired by the opening of Star Trek. good for times of transition and breaking out of stagnancy.
image transcriptions (spread layout and info) under the cut
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Hufflepuff House Correspondences
Here are some magical correspondences for Hufflepuff. Use them alone or together with the other Houses. Bold indicates something taken directly from canon sources. This is my personal upg and may not align perfectly with all person’s views of the Houses.
House Masterlist here
Colors: Yellow, Black, brown
Animals: Badger, bear, bee, burrowing animals, goat, donkey
Positive Traits: Loyalty, Hard work, Dedication, Fair Play, Patience, Kindness, Tolerance, Unafraid of Toil, Acceptance, Modesty
Negative Traits: Overly modest, black-and-white thinking,
Founder Item: Goblet
Cardinal Direction: West
Base Element: Earth
Season: Spring
Tarot Suit: Pentacles
Flowers: Magnolia, Freesia, Gladiolus, Cranberry, Dahlia
Crystals and Stones: Rose Quartz, Citrine, Moonstone, Rhodonite, Smokey Quartz, Jasper, Agate, Tiger’s Eye
Trees and Woods: Elm, Plum, Lilac, Holly, Hickory, Linden, Willow, Purpleheart, Pine
Zodiac Signs: Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn
Times: Morning, Monday, Friday
Planets: Mercury, Saturn
Personalized Tea Lights
I made these super easy Tea Light Candles today and added herbs, dried flowers and essential oils to use in future rituals. (Or basically whenever i want to)
Step One: Add your Tea Lights to a pot and put it on the stove by low to medium heat.
Step Two: After the wax melted down, add your chosen herbs, flowers or oils. You can literally do anything here, get creative!
Some of my creations contained dried lavender buds and lavender essential oil (for inner peace, balance and good sleep), dried sunflower (to brighten up your mood or day, to bring happiness), sage (to purify and cleanse) and a mixture of black pepper, sea salt and cayenne pepper (to banish and absorb negative energies)
Step Three: After you added your ingredients, take the pot off the stove and let the Tea Lights harden again.
And that’s it! It’s super easy and the outcome is just as effectful as gorgeous.
Ancestors: What Types there are and How to work with them
Introduction:
What is Ancestral Veneration
Ancestral Veneration is one of the most ancient religious and spiritual practices. The respect and belief in an afterlife as well as honoring ancestors can be traced back to paleolithic mankind. It is believed that honoring our ancestors was the first religious and spiritual form of ritual work. From ways the dead were buried to views of the afterlife ancestors and the dead were never far from the mind of our paleolithic ancestors, and for some this truth remains today.
Ancestral veneration is not worshiping our ancestors, at least not in the common sense of worship. Ancestral veneration is more like honoring the dead in a respectful way. Its a belief that they are still with us in a spirit form. That they can hear us and can effect our lives from the other side. Its a belief that our ancestors like other spirits can help us become the best person we can be and to live the life that we really want and desire.
There are exchanges of offerings and gifts. This isn’t worship. In some ways I think of it like when I put a flower on my ancestors grave. Its giving something to them to signify that you remember them and care for them. These gifts can be basically anything. Though some cultures do have rules against some items being given to different spirits. In some cultures flowers are only for the dead and it’s ok to leave offerings to the dead till they rot as this signifies they have taken everything. In other cultures and practices only water is offered to the dead. Even Christianity has mention of the value of prayer for the dead. Working with and honoring our ancestors is a powerful spiritual path and there are many ways to go about it.
The act of the gift and the offering is the important thing though. Its through these exchanges that relationships with our ancestors can develop and grow. Its believed that a gift will ensure a gift. Its also believed that because the dead and our ancestors are beyond the veil they have access to energy and powers of the universe that we don’t so by asking them to help us in our work and our lives they can tap into those energies for us. Granted they dont help us unless we help ourselves. So the gifts symbolize our part to do our work.
Many religions and traditions have celebrations and days of the dead. Halloween, All saints and All Souls day, Samhain, Dia de los Muertos(Mexican Day of the dead), The Bon Festival (Japan), and Pitru Paksha (Fortnight of the Ancestors-Hindu) are different festivals in different cultures. They have one thing in common. They are all festivals to honor the dead and the ancestors. These are only a handful of celebrations that exist to celebrate ancestors and the dead. The point is that the concept of honoring the dead is still alive and well in this world today.
The practice of honoring the dead is starting to become more common in Pagan practices today as well. Part of that is that many of us are reclaiming this practice. It was a part of ancient pagan traditions, so the practice was largely destroyed in the west. For many reclaiming ancestral veneration as a part of our practice not only connects us to our more recent ancestors and keeps our passed loved ones in our lives, but it also allows us to reach the deepest ancestors we have which can be powerful guides for those starting down pagan paths.
Personal Development of Ancestor work
One of the reasons I am writing this post today is in honor of a new ancestor. A loved one of mine has just crossed the veil. It is this passing that has once again made me think about working with my ancestors and how is really always been a central part of my practice. I haven’t always considered the contact with my ancestors and the shrines to my past loved ones ancestral veneration. I thought it was simply remembering them and keeping them alive.
Ancestor veneration is a large part of my practice and spiritual work. My ancestors have a lot to teach me. I have an ancestor altar that I pray at everyday. While it is a strong part of my practice these days, ancestral veneration and honoring has not always been a large part of my path. In fact it was at one point something I really only did on the festival of the dead (Samhain) as that was the focus. I thought that was really all that was needed, and at the time maybe that was for my best.
When I started to practice witchcraft I had recently lost my Grandmother. Many of the psychics and readings I had done at the time confirmed that she was staying close to me as a spirit guide (I was having dreams of her). So I started working with my ancestors through a single ancestor as a spirit guide. That was 17 years ago. Now I have an altar to all my ancestors as I have learned that any of our ancestors can be our guides and guardians.
Originally I didn’t offer any prayers, or much to my ancestors. I would simply say hello to them when I needed to feel their presence. I had a place of memory for them where I could see them and keep them in my life. Then when I started to explore traditional witchcraft as a religious and spiritual practice I heard of the concept of giving them offerings and having shrines and altars to them. So I created one and started an ancestral prayer working.
The practice with ancestral veneration got even deeper when I started to explore Germanic paganism and found I had Germanic ancestry. When I read how they honored their ancestors and the powers of wyrd and Oorlog I decided that I had to develop my relationship even further. So I started to work them into Germanic rites and rituals through the phrases “The Alfar and the Disir”
There was a time when I stopped practicing basically everything. Then I started to explore Hoodoo. My interest and desires to understand magic and witchcraft returned. Through this I found more focus on ancestors and honoring your culture. I found that ancestors will be powerful allies in spells as well as in meditations and trance work. So through Hoodoo my work with my ancestors started to develop further and I learned new prayers to use for my ancestors.
Now today I have a prayer I say to them every morning and I have a prayer I say every evening to my ancestors. I give them offerings when I perform rituals and I invite them into my ritual circles. They have a part of my day to day life and my spiritual life. I couldn’t imagine my spiritual work without my ancestors at all. They are always there for me and they always will be. I may not be able to physically hold them and see them, but when I need them I can feel them and I know they are always there for me.
The types of ancestors:
Being adopted my ancestors actually come in different forms and types. Not all of my ancestors are of the blood. Some are of the spirit and some are of the heart. I have legal blood ancestors and blood ancestors. I have ancestors in all of my families that I don’t know but are my allies through the bonds of the heart and the spirit. I even have ancestors that are not really in my family at all but are in my spiritual family. All of these ancestors have roles to play in my life and I honor them all.
I dont consider ancestors limited to just the blood and the heart though.This post is going to discuss the different ancestors I have through my adoption and my spiritual practices and how I can honor and work with each of them. For the longest time I didn’t engage in ancestral veneration because of my adoption. I wasn’t sure if I should honor my ancestors of my adoption, my foster family, or my biological family. Thinking about this also was painful so while I wanted to honor my ancestors I didn’t go about it until I had answered my confusion.
How I came to see the types of Ancestors
That was how I came to see the different ancestral lines. One year I went to the local Pagan Pride day. I typically attend a few of the workshops that go on. This year there was one about ancestral work and contacting your ancestors. The key component of that workshop was a meditation on ancestral lines. During this meditation I saw three lines of ancestral blood flowing from my body. There was a fourth that was some what gray at the time and today its now clear.
It was then I knew that I was to honor all of my ancestors. Those of my foster family, my blood or biological family, and my adoptive family. It was through this work that I came to see that there are many different types of ancestors and that not everyone will have access to blood ancestors. Through these meditations and concepts I came to see that there are four primary types of ancestral allies: You have your ancestors of the Blood, your ancestors of the heart, and the ancestors of the spirit. Adoptive ancestors are actually a mixture of two types which I will get into in the next sections as well as being their own type of ancestor.
Ancestors of The Blood
Every one is familiar with the concept of blood ancestors. These are those of your family or blood line that goes back generations. These are the strongest allies that one can have. These are the ancestors that everyone thinks about when they think of ancestors. Ancestors of the blood also include ancestors gained through marriage and long term committed relationships. When I got engaged to my fiance his ancestors joined mine and mine his. We are a family unit. These ancestors go back generations on each side. So the lines of blood ancestors are very long.
These are the strongest allies that you can have as a spirit. They are the ones that have your best interest at heart. Through the strands of Fate, and the workings of Wyrd we are always directly connected to our ancestors. Our actions reflect them as much as their actions reflect on us. So we need to honor them in our lives and we need to keep them close to us. Before any other spirit is petitioned the ancestors will work stronger for you and faster for you. There is little that is stronger than the power of the blood.
Adoptive Ancestors
For me I also have my adoptive ancestors, These are the ancestors of my adoptive family. They are the family that raised me and that belongs to me. In ancient cultures at times the roles of the blood ancestors would be replaced by the foster and or adoptive family. In my case I never considered them to replace the blood ancestors at all. I considered them additional ancestors that I was blessed to have.
We have no physical blood that ties us. However to all of the world and all legal meanings they are my flesh and blood. That is how I feel about them as well. In all honesty at times they are more my family than my blood and biological family simply because I have minimal contact and my relationship with that family is in its infancy (until recently was non existent). Which is why they are both ancestors of the blood and of the heart. The time that they spent raising me and being involved in my life can not be undone.
They gave their blood, sweat, and tears to me. They are for my my most powerful allies. They have been there for me more than the blood ancestors. They were the first ancestors I have contacted and they were the first ones to make themselves known to me. This is the ancestral line that has been the strongest for me. My blood ancestral work is focused on more ancient pagan ancestor while my adoptive ancestral work is more with Saint and angel work (Hoodoo influences as well).
It is because my adoptive Ancestors gave so much of their blood, sweat, and tears into my life and that they took me in they are also ancestors of the heart. They are of the blood because of the family ties and concepts but of the heart because there is no physical blood. Its a spiritual and memory based blood love. The bond of the heart here shows how even just being in a family for a short while can create strong family bonds.
Ancestors of the Heart
Those of the heart are the family that has passed that are not connected through marriage or blood or even legal adoption. In my case this is where my foster family lies. They did not adopt me but are still my family. I have lost several members of that family and they were all close to me. They are now my ancestors and they watch over me. Our bond is somewhat stronger than blood or law.
These ancestors are some of my more recent ancestors. It was my Uncle Cleve’s passing which made me think about ancestors. He was my foster uncle and is an ancestor of my heart. His two brothers are also my ancestors here. I have a Grandfather here as well. To them and to me the fact that I did not live with them, and was not legally a part of the family after my adoption never mattered. I never stopped being their family. That is what the ancestors of the heart are all about.
The ancestors of the heart are those that have passed on we considered family even if there was no blood between you. These can be friends you thought of as brothers and sisters, close friends and even those who you would consider “father"or “mother” figures. If you feel that they were and are apart of your family in your heart than they are your family and are your ancestors. Never let anyone else tell you any different.
Ancestors of the Spirit:
Finally there are ancestors of the spirit. For me I consider any Occultist, Witch, and Magician who worked hard to preserve the magical and spiritual arts are my spiritual ancestors. Even though I dont agree with all of their teachings and philosophies people like Gerald Gardner, Aliester Crowley, Doreen Valiente, Scott Cunningham, and many others put a lot of work into making magical spirituality acceptable and part of our day to day lives again. Those are a few of my spiritual ancestors as a witch based on the practices I have taken into my practice.
As I explore Hoodoo and other magical systems other spiritual ancestors will come into my practice. For example Marie Laveau is a famous Hoodoo worker in New Orleans. In some respects I could consider her a spiritual ancestor. Other ancestors in the case of Hoodoo would in general be any one who struggled to keep African American spiritual heritage alive through Hoodoo and Rootwork. When a teacher passes I would add them to the spiritual ancestors as well.
You can also have ancestors of the spirit when you are spiritually adopted into a tradition. There are many religions and paths where they are only open to people of a specific culture. Occasionally through the practice of spiritual adoption outsiders are initiated and welcome into that spiritual family. The ancestors of your initiator in these situations become your ancestors and guides as well. It is a spiritual family you have entered into and like all families they will help you and work with you if you honor them as taught.
Working with your ancestors
Now that we have covered the types of ancestors out there and I have mentioned the importance of working with your ancestors its time to actually start thinking about how we can work with them. Why do we work with them, and what the best ways of working with them are.
There are two primary ways aside from meditation and spirit travel work that a person can work with their ancestors. These two forms are the altar and prayers. They work well together and serve as a starting point for building power with your ancestral allies. Unless one is experienced in astral travel and spirit communication using those tools right away to work with your ancestors is not the best of ideas. Prayers and altar work are all you really need.
The altar
Really when it comes to working with your ancestors the only real must do I have found is having an altar of some sort where you can offer prayers and other items to them as you get to know them. These altars can evolve and change over time. The point of the altar is to serve as a focal point in your work. The altar is a place for you to offer your prayers and your gifts to them.
Your altar doesn’t need to be fancy. Many people start off not knowing any of their ancestors. In which case a candle, a cup for water, and a plate for offerings is all you would need to contact them. If you know your passed on loved ones and you have photos of them you can and should add those photos to the altar.
The altar also serves as a place of remembrance of the dead. So its a place to put items that make you think of your ancestors as well as their photos. You want it to look nice and appealing. This is going to be their home for you in your house and their place in your life. So its also important to keep the altar neat looking.
There are no limits on your ancestral altar. Let their spirits come through. There are reasons for the symbols I have placed on my altars. They grew as my focus and my relationships grew. One thing has always been common though-the focus has been on remembering them and keeping their memories alive in my life.
Ancestral Prayers
The best way to work with your ancestors even before starting an altar is simply to pray to them. Prayers to your ancestors aren’t really any different than prayers for gods and spirit guides. You are simply having a conversation with your ancestors. Prayers are how we can communicate with them directly and its our best way to communicate with them. They can communicate with us in different ways (dreams, scents, meditations, sudden insights etc) but we can really only speak to them through prayers.
The easiest prayer is simply: “Blessed Ancestors I welcome you into my life. May you bless and guide me and may you teach me what you yourself can”
That’s all your prayers to your ancestors need to be. You dont need to praise them. You don’t need to have a fancy invocation. You simply can address them as your ancestors and they will listen to you. You dont even really need to ask for a blessing. You could simply say something along the lines of: “Good Morning Ancestors. I welcome you this day”.
All you are doing with your prayers is acknowledging that they exist and that they are apart of your world. By giving them a simple welcome everyday you will start to feel their presence build up. You will begin to know them and feel them like you do can with other spirits and beings that you work with. The more attention you give them the more you will notice them.
Prayers can be more complex and verbose. My personal prayers evolved from a simple Hello and welcome to a full blessing and daily petition for them to be here. There is a bit of praise and there is a bit of thanks. These prayers are offered twice daily. I feel that they flowed from me into the written form when I was channeling spirits and writing prayers for them. My ancestors let me know what they wanted.
Offerings and Gifts
The final way that we can work with our ancestors is in offerings and gifts. These gifts are ways that we say thank you and show our appreciation to them. There are many ways types of gifts that can be given to our ancestors. You can give your ancestor basically anything you would give yourself or a person. They are still family and they are still people.
For myself I consider flowers on graves a gift to them. I also place flowers on the altars every so often as remembrances of them. I try and give them their favorite flowers. I also try and give them their favorite things. For my grandmother I will think of her when I go bowling and send her some of that energy as play and a memory of our times together.
On holidays I will set aside a portion of the food on my plate for my ancestors. I will let it sit till the end and eat that last. They eat the essence of that portion while I eat my meal. When I have finished the portion for me they will have had their fill and I can take nourishment from the food. Other cultures burn food offerings to ancestors and spirits. Some burry the food in the yard. Other throw it into the woods for animals to eat.
There are some taboos in various cultures about what can and can’t be given to ancestors and the dead. If you belong to a specific culture, religion, and or tradition I suggest that you look into ways that they honor the dead. By honoring the traditions of your culture, your religion and your tradition you are honoring your ancestors in that way as well. These traditions after all were ancestral in many cases.
Conclusion:
This post has covered my own discovery into the importance of ancestral veneration. It has covered the types of ancestors and a few of the ways that we can work with our ancestors. Your ancestors are part of who you are. They are powerful allies that can teach you things you wouldn’t imagine and who can be there for you in ways none else can. Your ancestors are still here in this life and in this world just in a different form.
There are many ways to work with them. Once you start working with them you will find that there are many more ways and reasons to work with them. I’ve been working with my ancestors actively for several years and my relationships with them continue to grow and develop. I am constantly learning new reasons to honor them and new ways of working with them. The more I learn the more I realize there is to learn.
These allies seem to be the ones that develop the most as I develop spiritually. The more I understand spiritual and magical practices the stronger they seem to become and the more things we seem to be able to so together. Its my hope that any one who has read this will start to develop their own relationships with their ancestors and start to find the power and comfort in ancestral grace and guidance.
Recently came to the information that I needed to add ancestral veneration to my work. While I worked necromancy before, this is very different and has had very different results. This is a great starting point to start getting to know the ancestors.
(-,-) Chirrut’s Faith (-,-)
*A spell to help you trust your intuition*
What you’ll need:
a candle of your favorite color (i used green)
your favorite incense
one of your favorite gems
one of your favorite herbs
pen and paper
What to do
Prepare yourself however you see fit. Meditate, shower, ground and center.
Prepare your workspace, clean it and arrange your tools. Play music if need be, open or close windows.
Light the candle and incense and focus on yourself.
Hold the gem in one hand and the herb in the other
Continue to focus on yourself and any decisions you have had to make recently or decisions that lie ahead of you. Close your mind to the voices and thoughts and input of others (though always do take those into consideration before or after the spell) What does your inner voice say? What is your gut telling you about the decision? Ask yourself about the pros and cons of whatever choices you have.
If it would help you remember more clearly, write the answers to the above questions down on the paper to make a list of what your gut is telling you.
Until your inner voice is speaking to you clearly, continue to focus and ask yourself questions. Once you feel you have enough answers from your inner voice, blow out the candle (or let it and the incense burn out, up to you)
Remember what your inner voice sounded like, the kind of tone it had, and remember that if you close your mind and focus, you can hear this voice any time.
Happy Casting and good luck witches!
May the Force be with you!
M.G. /|\ The Basil Druid
Smart asf.
Urban Recon: Offerings for Urban Life
So, I recently moved to the city, and one problem I have had here is the matter of offerings. At my old house I lived in the middle of forest trails and a minute’s walk from a farm. As a result, offerings were easy to come by and easy to dispose of in an appropriate manner. Just pour some grains in a bowl, bury them, or leave them outside—simple! However, with paved streets and small public parks, this method is not extraordinarily feasible. I will need some other way to get rid of the food and drink I give to the gods and beings.
Solution 1: Trash - Definitely not the preferred method, but this solution will do in a pinch with natural and food offerings. Similarly, water and other libations may be poured down drains. I find for me this method feels appropriate when using water, not food, but your mileage may vary.
Solution 2: Non-food Offerings - This is probably the best solution. One story from Gaul exemplifies this method: Gaulish hunters would give coins to Artemis at her shrine with each successful hunt, varying the amount based on the value of any animals captured in the hunt. At the end of a set amount of time, this money would be collected and used to buy a sacrificial animal for the deity. In a non-food context, this could be used to instead buy altar items, religious books or research, or a donation in the god or gods’ names. One method I enjoy is using fake flowers and greenery as cycling, annually reused altar ornaments. A symbolic offering is still an offering.
Solution 3: Libation Alone - While leaving food outside is not usually viable in a crowded urban environment, pouring water is generally a harmless and accessible option. If you have any soil whatsoever, even a potted plant, you can pour out a libation. Cons: It may draw stares from neighbors if they see you pouring out water and muttering prayers to yourself.
Solution 4: Skills and Art - The easiest, cheapest, and most accesible option for any offering is the human body. Whether you prepare music, tell stories of the gods, compose poetry, dance, or sing, you are fully able to give these things. Artwork of all sorts can also be given, if your talent lies there. Doing works such as helping charities, exercising the body or mind, reading about deities, and offering other dedicated gifts of time and effort also fall into this category. It costs very little, takes up no space (or very little), benefits you and the honored deities or beings, and can be found wherever you go.
Solution 5: Aidu - Aidu is a Gaulish word for fire, but more specifically ritual and sacrificial fire. If you have a fireproof container and the right materials you can give offerings of food, drinks, herbs, oils, paper prayers, and even incense into the fire. While this is the most recon method of sacrifice, it is best used if you have good ventilation, building codes allowing you to light fires, and roommates (if you have them) who don’t mind fire or scents.
Anti-solution: While eating offerings occurs in some pagan contexts, such as Kemeticism, it seems to really occur in Celtic ones. Edible items were either shared by splitting into portions for humans and separate portions for the gods, or they were left alone and untouched. Certain entities in fae and folklore even seem to take offense at having their food eaten, so if you wish to eat offerings, do your research and make your own judgments.
IMPORTANT WARNING: I quickly learned that urban living with no cats in the house results in an overabundance of vermin. I don’t recommend leaving any food out for any extended amount of time, lest you attract hordes of mice or whatever house-critters are endemic to your area.
An excellent write-up. I’m starting to have trouble finding places to bury offerings and soon the ground will freeze anyway. I’m trying to move more into offerings of incense or art.
I really like the idea of money, though - and then using that to purchase things for the shrine or research materials. I wonder if there’s a precedent for it in Irish lore? I haven’t heard it mentioned in the articles I’ve read on offerings, but I shall have to take a look!
Thank you for the advice!
Well, for the Irish precedence, many gold hordes have been found at the buried under the base of standing stones, as well as thrown into bogs along with other offering items. Gold being fairly abundant in ancient Ireland it makes sense that it would be something given in offering. I don’t know of any specifics in the lore, but now I’m going to look XD
Now granted MacCulloch’s Religion of the Ancient Celts has a lot of outdated information in it, but it does source some specific money/coin offerings in regards to wells. While not Ireland specific in either case I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of well in Ireland had a lot of gold and silver at the bottom of them.
The thing to consider and I highly suggest taking this up with your gods and spirits first, is whether the offering of money is equivalent to an offering of gold or silver. A while back I did a blog post on the Value of Money as an offering. Every once and awhile I go back and revisit this notion. So far it’s been fairly standard that modern money does not have any value to my gods on it’s own. Now others obviously find things differently, I think a lot of the difference hones down to what your idea of “sacrifice” is. Is it something that hurts you, or makes you go without? Or is it an act of making something sacred and giving it to the gods? I fall into the latter camp.
However this added notion of offering money with the intention of buying some greater offering, now that is something that has merit for me. That is something I could see getting a little more attention than just giving money for the sake of giving money.
This conversation was just too cool not to reblog. =D Coin offerings in Gaul were actually really common, but they had the added benefit of being tiny works of art. I mean, look at these things…
Some of them even have mythological scenes on them ranging from basic depictions of gods to events in the gods’ lives and the end of the world. I kid you not, there is a coin with a ravenous wolf beast eating the sun and the moon. There is also one with either Sucellos, Taranis, or Sucellos-Taranis galloping away on a horse, cauldron possibly stolen from some cthonic or another, and swinging his hammer at the end of a lightning-shaped chain. There’s also one of a horse with a human head, and another one with a horse with an eagle on its back fighting a lobster-monster. I have no idea what that’s supposed to mean, but the lobster monster is cool.
But yes, I’ve started using coins. I also write prayers on paper and burn them up, as well as leave out a bowl of water on the altar.
