#bialbano

[elsewhereuniversity]

I'm preparing for a journey and would like a safe name, if you could? Thank you!

Kalopsia

[thepaganstudygrouppage]

Hi, I was wondering If you could point me in the direction of some begginer's Alchemy resources or Alchemy oriented tumblrs. For the very begginer (I'm on Wikipedia level still).

Yay, alchemy!  We might be getting an alchemy museum and I’m screaming.

Start with our tag, which lists a few blogs and a handful of books for contemporary practice, and this post in particular.  The Idiot’s Guide to Alchemy is decent, from what I can tell, and Robert Bartlett’s Real Alchemy is useful, although you may need some familiarity with the basics and vocabulary to access it.  For a background understanding, try Distilling Knowledge.  The Alchemy Guild site produces its own periodical, although its restricted access, and may have additional resources.

- mountain hound

[asknewt]

Hello Mr. Scamander, I was wondering, did you had any part in the rescue of the real Percival Graves?

Ah, I didn’t, no- already on my way back to Britain at the time.  But, as I understand, he’s recovered and is back to work.  You could speak with him, if you’d like.  

I myself, try to stay as far away as possible, but you know, to each their own.  @mrpercivalgraves

[thegodthief]

bialbano replied: Aren't pinecones a sorte of egg? When they are closed they always reminder me If dragon eggs.

The theme of eggs do strike a chord. I’ll be on the lookout for any synchronicities that dance to that tune.

voqurnen-jovein replied: pine nuts. make magical dream pesto.

My hips, dream, physical, or extradimensional, do not need a carb dump this time of year. Even though I haven’t had a right proper pasta dish in a long while. Now I’m hungry and it’s all your fault!

[will-o-the-witch]

Ya know how medieval people always acused witches of causing infertility on lifestock or wives, etc? Does any of those infertility spells still exist? I'm not actually gonna target anyone with infertility, but I'm writing a witchy book and this came to mind.

Hmm, probably! There were plenty of charms and what not that people used as contraceptives before effective contraceptives were actually invented, many of them are hilarious. Queen Anne’s Lace and Parsley are said to have contraceptive effects when ingested, and I’ve seen at least one infertility spell that involved smashing an egg. Most of them are designed to work on the self, obviously, but I can’t imagine it’d be too difficult to tweak it. Good luck with your book! :D

[queerkitchenwitch]

Hey, can you recommend any good witchcraft podcasts / youtube channels? I have looong commutes and get sick reading in vehicles -.-

I actually haven’t ventured into the realm of podcasts (outside of Welcome to Nightvale) or youtube channels.  

Can any followers reccomend some?

[thegodthief]

Is split awareness something you can learn? Have any advice for folks that are woo-impaired to contact the invisible?

I think you can, but it would be infuriating as fuck along the way! ~laughs~ I was "granted" this skill somewhere between the incident that cracked my skull as a child and the fever that cooked my brain as a young adult. I do not advise trying to intentionally learn split awareness by means of trauma. It sucks, and the medical bills will be horrendous.

To be honest though, what I call a "split awareness" is not too far from thinking about two different things at the same time. Anyone that has taking advantage of a long drive to ruminate about other things has used this skill. The difference with me, is that I am in two worlds at once, often overlapping. I'm in the physical realm wasting time on Tumblr getting stuff done, and I'm over yonder getting into some shit other stuff done.

If I were to try and teach someone, I would start by having the poor thing "student" focus on two small objects sitting side by side in front of them. Maybe a salt shaker and a pepper shaker. Observe them as a pair. Know their every imperfection. After some time, I would move one of the objects... say the salt shaker... a few inches away. The student is allowed to turn their head between one and the other. (And by some time, it could be a few hours, or a few days, or several sessions spread out over a few weeks. However long it takes the student to grasp the lesson at hand.)

The student now remains at the initial location, observing the pepper shaker. But now I would move the salt shaker several feet away. Just enough so that it is in peripheral vision, but barely so. The student is not allowed at this point to turn their head to observe the salt shaker directly. Once the student is able to observe both without turning away from the pepper shaker, I would move the salt shaker behind the student.

Now it is physically impossible for the student to see both shakers at the same time. They would have to physically move to see one, but in the process would cease being able to see the other. (You cheaters with your electronic doodads and strategically placed mirrors, shut up and sit down!) But as long as the student knows where the salt shaker is, they should be able to "see it" in their mind's eye while still looking physically at the pepper shaker.

Now take that and increase upon it. Physically pick up the pepper shaker, but in their mind's eye have them "pick up" the salt shaker. Keep the awareness of the two objects separate. If they can manage that, even for a split second, then they can build upon it and increase it.

If you've read this far, then know this is all conjecture, "what if", and possibly complete bullshit on my part because I have never tried to teach anyone how to be as crazy as I am. ~spreads hands~ Your mileage will vary.

How to contact the invisible: Use something visible.

I do not subscribe to the notion that everyone has the potential to see visions and such. Not everyone can master tarot. Not everyone can scry incense smoke. Why some folks are limited is beyond me, but from what I've seen, that is a thing. So, if you are not able to see the invisible (and by see, I mean sense, because the visual sense is actually quite bloody blind), the look for the marks of their passing. Find what divination skill works best for you, and go play get busy.

The thing I've noticed about seeing the invisible directly, is that the skill comes with a lot of unintended consequences. There are many times when I see a thing and I have to stop and analyze it to see if I'm seeing something woo, if I'm seeing some jackass prank, or if I should go home because I just had a one hour warning of a fit coming on. I question my reality regularly. I can't turn off the sight. And the worst part is, even if I were to be given the option to do so, I still wouldn't turn it off because I don't know how to function as a mundane, non-woo-sighted person. It changes you. You really have to decide if you want that change, and if you are willing to (metaphorically) kill your self as your former life will no longer be available to you.

If divination still doesn't work out for you, then do as the ancients did. Seek out someone you trust to act as the intermediary for you. You are not less of a person because you are woo-impaired. (Hell, you just might not have found your niche yet!)