#antipodean witch

[the--witches--garden]

Welcome, Welcome

Hi there, I go by Rea

or @shandalf-the-strange is my main for non-specific silly shananigans

Welcome to my witchy little side-blog!

I thought I'd pin a little introductory post as is customary ✨️🐚🌺

Note: This space is NOT for you if you perpetuate xenophobia/racism, homophobia, transphobia or bigotry. If you identify some other kind of dickhead that is not directly specified here, also Shoo! I will block before I interact with hatered. There is always room to grow and challenge our way of thinking. I wish for you healing, may your heart and mind be open. And may you also open a book.

Another note: If you are a minor, please stay out of my DM's and off my main account completely. I am an adult.

Feel free to interact with the content on this blog if it is informative or helpful, but if you do have a burning question please limit it to a comment or ask.

I do not think adults should be interacting with minors on the internet, or speaking with them in any kind of private capacity. Especially not with strangers. Please practice stranger danger kiddos. Its a hellscape out there. Stay grounded. Stay safe.

a bit about me...

I'm from the East Coast of Australia, and call Darkinung Country home. I was born in the last few years of the last millenium. I identify as simply queer; my gender and sexuality are a spectrum that shifts with time, like the rest of me. I change and grow and learn. I use they/she/them pronouns, and sometimes turn into a gremlin.

I love whimsy and procratination & find joy in creation, art, tending my garden, procuring trinkets and doo-dads, and frollicking at the beach.

My happy place is in the ocean – but I also find peace in the bush. Where you can feel the heartbeat of the land and hear spirits in rustle in the trees, unmuffled by the noise of society that can be quite distracting.

a bit about my story

TLDR; Over the last few years I've been struggling with endometriosis, and chronic pain since 2022 following a car accident, that I have struggled to get consistent treatment or investigations into.

Somewhere in the last 10 or so years I took a keen interest in herbalism and naturopathy. That developed into studying how to support the health of different yet body systems and how they interconnect– with a blended natural approach– as opposed to a solely pharamacological or western approah.

...

Last year (2025), after finishing my bachelors degree in nursing I managed to secure– and lose– employment as a new-graduate nurse.

My health declined. Badly. My body felt like it was on fire, and accomodations could or would not be made. I was stuck in a flare-up for 8 months or so, continuing for months after being let go.

The experience was kind of traumatising if I'm being honest, and I am still recovering physically and mentally. My confidence took a massive hit, and my symptoms have been in a constant state of flux for over a year now, and rather easily aggrevated.

a bit about this space...

I found myself back here on Tumblr recently during an attempt to be more intentional in the way I consume social media. I had a wonderful idea to try blog about my personal study of herbs and plant medicine 🌺 and how it influences my practice as a witch.

I hope to document on occasion what I learn about growing herbs and flowers, or foraging native spell components from the natural places of my home.

(Although so far its mostly reblogs - the vibes shall decide how this space grows )

As a non-indigenous person who calls this place home, I think it is important to honor the land and those who have called it home for more than 65,000 years.

Practitioners of witchcraft in Australia who wish to work with the land should recognise the importance of culturally informed and respectful practices. Listen to and respect Indigenous voices.

This land and its Indigenous Peoples have been deeply wounded by its its very recent colonial history. This country cannot heal while we uphold the institutions that were built on racism and injustice, and maintain it to this day.

Soveriegnty was never ceded, this always has been and always will be Aboriginal land.

Change is needed. Be the change.

a bit about my practice...

My practice is quite eclectic and mostly secular, with spirituality being the focus as opposed to religion.

Rooted in animism and veneration of the earth; it's a mish-mash of green magic, modern witchcraft, with a dash of folk-magic and druidry tied into what I know of my cultural heritage. And a sprinkle of solar/cosmic/elemental zest

Historically I have rarely worked with dieties or their aspects. There are a number of faiths or Gods I have been drawn to, and my practice is always evolving as I learn... but my concept of divinity is complicated and my own - though many share the same or similar notions.

Being a witch in Australia can sometimes feel isolating. Community spaces and anti-social media is dominated by influences from the northern hemisphere. –When solar energy is at its most powerful during the solstice, we are fed the western/european iconography and traditions of samhain and yule. The long cold nights and the rebirth of the sun.

Australia is a beautiful and vast country ranging from temperate to tropical to dessert. We have a unique ecosystem. About 85% of our native flora and fauna are endemic, meaning they are found in no other place on earth.

These native species can make for powerful allies in magic if you treat them and the spirits of the land with respect, and learn their history.

Its kinda new for me, talking so openly about my spirituality. Expect this little introduction passage to change a little as this space grows with me. My DMs are open for those who want to connect.

I hope you stay for a spell ✨️

[itstimetolearnwhoiam]

Ostara 🌷🌹

I have been very neglectful of my spiritual practice recently. I've let everything else get in the way and it was a bad idea.

I opened this month's witch box from Antipodean Witch today and my love and I did the ritual for joy today. It was lovely and it was great to be getting back into it.

It is Southern hemisphere Ostara this month, and spring flowers are blooming, it's been lovely 😊 I had to take down my alter a couple of weeks ago because of a family visit, but I am going to set it up again and set it up for spring.

[the--witches--garden]

Living in the Southern Hemisphere and with a few chronic health conditions, I tend to have a rather lax view of the wheel of the year and I don't really observe the specific traditional dates. I personally enjoy observing the shifting seasons when I am energetically drawn to - using the Wheel as a guide to be observed in essence over the several weeks between each celebration.

Just this last week or so leading up to Imbolc (August 1st-ish) I've found myself waking up absolutely exhausted - despite getting a full nights sleep most nights, then a brief spell of insomnia, and a fibro-flare up to boot.

Its okay to put off that ritual until you feel up to it, or miss the holliday or full moon because you got sick. Try not to feel bad, afterall - the land does not work on a precise calendar.

I started planting seeds two weeks ago when the weather and nights became uncharacteristically warm for a few days and my joints ached less from the cold (I know I sound like a grandma). Now I can sit back in the sun after I water them and watch them germinate as I ponder what I want to do with my time once I feel a bit better.

Your observations dont have to be grand. Sit in the sun. Write a to do list. Research the native plants coming to life in your region, are there any plants that grow nearby or in your yard you can use in your craft?

Today for the first time in over a week I felt like I had some energy. I managed to go for a short walk to sit in the sun, warm my bones and stare out to sea watching for whales. I came across a wattle bursting with golden flowers so I picked up some rubbish as an offering to the land in return for collecting some. I'm spent after, and I'm going to continue struggling with my energy for a few more days I think. What matters is that you honor your body and what it can handle.

Even if its not anything today.

[pagansquare]

This is the second of my series of posts on how I connect to the elements from a Southern Hemisphere perspective living on the western coast of Australia. Previously, I called in Air, in the East.

I now turn to the North, and call in passion, creation, desire, heat: I call to you, o Fire! Standing in the circle, we have already established a sense of presence in the breath of life, the whisper is on the winds, the intention is set, the inspiration has arrived. Fire is called next as it now has the Air to breathe, to ignite a sense of drive into what we do in this space, a flurry of sparks: let's turn that whisper into a roar.