How I Feel? @surreptitiousvixen - Tumblr Blog

*aggressively cares about you but doesn’t want to be clingy about it*

Sigil Crafting

Sigils were the first magic I ever learned. As an artist, symbolism and aesthetic are things that are incredibly important to me. I have used multiple ways of crafting sigils, but I have created my own personal way of creating sigils using a method writers have used in poetry- the stream of consciousness technique.

I put my pen to paper, call upon what I wish to make a sigil about, and let the pen create what I need.

These are the sigils that I use the most frequently (you may use them if you wish).

You may notice that my sigils in the form of arrows. Arrows are a symbolic representation of aiming and shooting for something, and I love the vertically long look because I like to draw these sigils on my forearms.

I created all of these with stream of consciousness drawing.

It is almost like a form of meditation for me. Allowing myself to simply create what I think “focus” or “protection” looks like visually makes the end results beautiful and meaningful for me.

I do have a few running themes. Here are a few symbols I love to throw in.

These are used a ton in my art.

So here is a step by step of what to do-

1. Clear your mind for meditation. (Tip- if you have crystals that symbolize your intent, surround yourself with them. And example would be having a rose quartz for love on you or near you.)

2. Put your writing utensil to your paper. (I recommend using paper before digital.) Have your energy flow from your body to the focus of the tip of the pen/pencil, repeating the intent you wish the sigil to have.

3. Make a first draft of your sigil by allowing your hand to simply move as you think of your intent.

4. Make as many reiterations you wish until you have something you feel satisfied with. (Editing is a big part of writing as well.)

5. After a few tries making different sigils, make a list of your own common symbols you see popping up in your sigils.

And there you have it. If you are not comfortable, try mixing this technique with others to find what works best for you, or simply only use other techniques and make sigil arrows. I think using the look of an abstract arrow helps with directing intentions.

You can also request a sigil from me if you so choose in my inbox, for I shall be making them for anyone who asks for free.

I hope you find yourself using this technique of stream of consciousness to create wonderful sigils.

savvycosmos

bbapothecary

Happy New Moon in ♌ & Lions Gate 🦁!

I created this worksheet to help you manifest everything you want for your life🧡 The new moon and peak of Lions Gate both fall on 8/8 so take this advantage of this magical day!🌌🙏🌙

teawitch

There are different types of deity work

I keep seeing debates about whether or not deity work is dangerous that approach the subject as if there is one level of deity work. Frankly, this is causing confusion and concern in classes and rituals that involve deities. There are different types and levels of deity work. I can’t hope to capture them all in a tumblr post but here’s a start.

Honoring / acknowledging a deity - this can be as simple as leaving an offering at a shrine, setting up your own small shrine or just being present when someone else calls on a deity. This often how people begin deity work. It is entirely safe for beginners and can even be politely done just to acknowledge someone else’s deity.

Deity work in ritual, either your own or a group ritual - a good example is Wiccan sabbats. Deities are typically called on during these and work down with those deities within the ritual itself. These rituals usually have a distinct beginning and ending point to say “now we’re working with the gods. and now we’ve stopped.” There should be no danger from deities in a well led ritual. There can be some leakage in a poorly run circle, but if you aren’t calling the deities yourself, that will generally dissipate once you leave.

Deities in meditation journeys - guided meditations to meet deities are popular. You may encounter deities you are unfamiliar with, don’t work with or who can even be a bit frightening. A good guided meditation will include a part to farewell and leave the deity. However, these meditations can be dangerous if this process of meditation is not healthy for you. Not because the deity is dangerous but because the person struggles with the process.

Patron deities - this is a commitment to do the work of a certain deity. It’s not dangerous as much as it can be demanding. It is generally not undertaken until you’ve spend several years doing the above working. It can involve life-altering changes.

Channeling deities - this is when a person calls a deity into themselves, usually in a ritual setting. Now this can be dangerous. it should only be done in situation where there is a priest/priestess or leader who knows how to help bring the person out of a channeling session. People who struggle with mental health issues should consider carefully and perhaps talk with a therapist before doing this. There are some traditions where this is a regular part of ceremony and others where this is seldom or never done. It is a technique to be approached carefully.

wormspeddler

this looks so good!

dovin-baan

Hey what the FUCK is this audio?

lesbianralzarek

i desperately want to believe that the person who made this thought it was good music

hickeywiththegoodhair

the ray charles replicant is undergoing a severe system malfunction because of how sexy that crêpe looks

wickedwonderlandd

For the love of God do NOT unmute

bogleech

wrong they all should

teathattast

via RiverMakes

guerrillatech

funnytwittertweets

teawiththegods

Communicating With Deities

How do I communicate with my deity?

How do I know if a deity is trying to reach me?

How can I tell if my deity accepted my offering?

How can I receive messages from my deity?

The topic of communicating with deities is the question I get asked the most so I figured it was time to give it its own post. Especially because this question doesn’t have an easy answer. It’s not as simple as learning to give an offering or how to devote yourself to a deity. There’s no step by step, made for everyone and every deity, guide to communicating. Its ultimately something you have to figure out yourself, though I can offer some help in ways to go about figuring it out. But first I want to clear some things up about communication with deities. I feel there are a lot of misconceptions that surround it and I also need to explain WHY it’s a topic I can’t give you an easy answer to. So let’s get to that!

Faith- So I’ll admit that the obsession that a lot of people have with communicating with their deities confuses me. When I started I didn’t really think much of the hows of interacting with Aphrodite because I, just like with any other religion, assumed that I had to have faith that Aphrodite was listening. I feel like a lot of people are missing that, like being a Hellenic Polytheist means you have constant, consistent, and direct messages from the gods, but that’s not the case. Faith is still an element and honestly it remains an element even when you have been devoted for years. You’re not always going to get confirmations on things you do or ask, actually most of the time you don’t. You just have to have faith they are there and listening

Tumblr - This point is directly related to the first point. I believe that a lot of the misconceptions of communicating with deities and even the obsession with it has a lot to do with our community here on tumblr. I’m not here to accuse anyone or point any blame. I’m not even saying that people are lying or exaggerating. I just think because of everyone sharing their wonderful experiences it’s creating an image of communicating being a natural part of a devotee’s everyday life with their deity. I mean maybe it is for some, but not all. Honestly, a lot of what you are looking at on tumblr are snapshots of worship. Maybe that devotee received an AMAZING sign or message from their deity but perhaps that was the first one in a few months. The truth is, just like with most aspects of our lives, we like to share the fantastic on social media, so don’t take everything you read as the “normal” or the “standard” of devotion. The truth is there really isn’t one and definitely not one for communicating with deities.

Skills - It’s important to keep in mind that communicating with deities can be seen as a skill. And just like with any skill there are those who are “naturally gifted” and others who have to practice practice practice in order to see any results. This is also a reason why you shouldn’t look to others’ experiences as the way it works for everyone. They could be one of those naturally gifted people who are just born tuned into the god frequency or they could also have been practicing and doing a lot of work to get the point where it’s easier to receive messages. So those of you starting out shouldn’t automatically think you will begin getting signs and messages right away, it most likely will be something you have to work towards.

Deities Communicate Differently - A big reason it’s nearly impossible to say how or if a deity is communicating with you is because they do it in different ways. The way Aphrodite and me communicate may not be the same way she communicates with another devotee. A lot of it depends on the devotee. We each have a way of communicating that we will be more receptive to, whether you know it or not. Your deity might know that and choose to use that form, even if you haven’t exactly figured that out yet (fun, right? lol). A deity also may choose a way to communicate depending on the message they are trying to send you. They could also pick a way simply because they find it amusing and/or ironic (i’m looking at you, Hermes). It’s really hard for someone on the outside to tell you for sure how your deity is going to interact with you specifically. I can’t speak for the gods and I can’t speak on your personal relationship with them. Again, it’s something you have to journey through and find answers to yourself.

Now that the bad news is over with, how about I give you some good news? As I said above, I can give you some advice/tips on ways you can figure out how to communicate with your deity yourself. Remember this is a process, a journey, it’s not a faucet. Doing one of these things isn’t going to automatically start the flowing of messages. Just keep that in mind! Now onto the list!

Divination - Probably the most popular form of communication with deities is using some form of divination. There’s A LOT to choose from so do your research and see what calls out to you and give it a try! Some examples are tarot, oracle, runes, pendulum, scrying, bibliomancy, shufflemancy, just to name a few.

Meditation - I strongly recommend everyone try meditation because there’s a ton of benefits to it and one of those benefits is connecting with your deities. Not only can you receive messages and signs while mediating, the act itself opens you up to be more receptive in your everyday life!

Astral Travel - This is another popular method used to communicate with deities. Many people talk about not only receiving messages from their deities, but also full on interaction with them. Make sure you do your research before attempting it! It also may help to practice meditation first.

Dreams - Okay so this is one of the easier ones on the list to do. Basically start recording your dreams and see if you notice anything either popping out at you or that’s repeating. Sometimes your deity may just simple show up like “hey, what’s going on? You dreamin?” but other times they aren’t that obvious (why would they make it easy on us?). Recording your dreams is a great way to notice patterns because sometimes it can take multiple dreams to get a message. This applies to the universe as well. Like it took me a good chunk of my life to realize that when the universe wants me to pay attention it throws an abundance of something in my dream, where I’ll be like “shit thats a lot of elephants!” and then another dream years later “What is with all these fucking spiders!?”. Keeping a dream journal makes it easier to notice things like that. You can also ask your deity to appear in your dreams if you so choose (of course whether they do or not is up to them). Also if you’re into it you can use herbs and stones to better receive messages in your dreams and to remember them when you wake up.

Journaling - Anyone who has been a follower of me for awhile can probably tell you that my answer for most things is “Keep a Journal” and they are probably eyerolling me right now, lol! But I really believe in the benefits of journaling because they are abundant! I won’t go into all of them because we are talking about communicating with deities and damn it I WILL stay on topic! Just like recording your dreams, recording your waking life can help you spot patterns and possible signs that you might miss otherwise. If you’re like me and interact a lot with your deity through emotions and feelings, journaling is truly wonderful! You can start making connections between actions and your emotions that could help you better understand your deity. I also recommend doing this even if you choose to do one of the other ideas listed above. Recording your progress and your emotions is great for looking back on and seeing how far you come especially in those moments when you feel like you haven’t done much. So yeah, everyone keep a journal!

Open Yourself - So those of you who are witches don’t really need much explanation on this and honestly you might have already started on this one, but for the sake of those who might not know let me explain. There are different ways you can better open yourself up so receiving messages can be easier. Using certain stones, burning certain herbs/incense, using oils, casting spells, doing rituals, etc. There’s a lot you can do to help open yourself up to the universe! And these aid a lot in the techniques above!

Talk To Others - I know what you’re thinking “Wait, didn’t you say that looking at what someone else does is part of the problem?” Yes, i did, but it can also be helpful as long as you find the balance! Seeing how other devotees of your deity interact with them can at least give you ideas and a direction to go in. The key is not to compare and to not see their devotion as the “one true way”. Think of it more as a brainstorming session!

I just want to add that this post is my own personal opinion and personal reasons why I feel I can’t answer questions of this topic. I hope this post was helpful to those of you who took the time to read it!

Meme credit goes to my hilarious, wonderful and talented wifey @nerdywitchmomma