#he of the queue

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Witch Tip #13

Witchcraft isn't a replacement for medical attention. If you want to use spells, sigils, etc. to augment your healing process, that's perfectly fine; but if you are ill (physically or mentally) please see a doctor.

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I love Albert Camus. Existential ideas and human nature.

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Grimoires and their Materials

Grimoires are essential books in many forms of paganism, witchcraft, and other religions. They are thought not only to describe magickal spells and rituals but to be imbued with magical properties themselves. Early grimoires in the post-scroll writing era were written on parchment - that is, dried animal skins. It was believed that the make-up of a grimoire was intrinsically tied to its power and effectiveness.

For some time, parchments were made very specifically - some believed that ‘virgin parchment’ was essential; the parchment created from infant animals. Other crafts, such as those arising from Jewish mysticism, required ‘kosher’ parchment so to speak; parchment created from the skin of animals that were specified to be ritually clean as specified by books like the Torah. Inks used in the creation of grimoires were often mixed with herbs or blood in order to promote certain properties, and often the author of the grimoire was responsible for the creation of all parts of the book: from the parchment to the spells and rituals that were written inside.

With the rise of the printing press, parchment fell out of favour. Some were worried that grimoires would lose their magickal properties, and to this day there are those that still bind and create their own grimoires from scratch. (Davies, 2010).

But magick, like humanity, evolves - nowadays, grimoires come in all shapes and forms. From storebought notebooks to online collections and everything in between, here are some ways to infuse your grimoire with magickal properties.

Dedicate a page to your spirits. If you’re religious, it’s a good idea to have spaces devoted to your deity/deities, and if you’re not, set aside a page to fill with inspiration and associations. It can be colours, pictures associated with your craft, special numbers or symbols, or whatever it is that replenishes you, inspires you, or empowers you. 

Add to your format. If your grimoire is online, take the time to code something special for your book. For physical grimoires, add ribbons or new covers, touches of personalisation that make your storebought or online grimoire more you.

Use mixed or coloured ink.  Particularly for physical grimoires, you can mix herbs or make your own ink - the Druid’s Garden has a guide on mixing plants to produce colours here. Different herbs can imbue your ink with various properties, and you can add a half a drop of essential oils if you wish to modify the properties of the used plants.

Charge/bless your grimoire. Using crystal grids, incense, meditation, or sunlight/moonlight as you see fit, you can charge or bless your grimoire in order to bond deeper with it. Some information on crystal grids can be found on a post by the Hood Witch here, but even some mindful meditation with the intent of charging and bonding with your grimoire can be good for the both of you.

Remember that you are not lesser for not being able to make or afford a fancy, handmade grimoire; the magic of your book is tied to you, and speaking as someone who uses an average school-style notebook as his grimoire, your means do not make your magic. 

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AU where McHanzo is these two dogs someone pls make it happen

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Central Alberta Gothic

Grids divide the landscape. Indifferent slabs of grey cut through the gravel paths, larger roads still quiet and lonely. You think maybe there is only one road - but avoid it. With a name like 'highway of death', you're not sure you want to risk the faster travel.

There are trucks. Trucks arriving in plumes of thick, black smoke, their drivers laughing like madpeople. They rev and roar like beasts, towering over pedestrians and other, mechanical cars. Shadows follow them, some ancient and rusted with the tales of decades worn into them, others fresh and clean. It's unclear who manufactures these still - they have caused so much destruction that the thought of them multiplying is harrowing.

Rodeo is coming. Dust clouds do nothing to blot out the sun. Blood and leather sting your nose. The heat beats through your denim pants, heavy enough to keep the sandpaper touch of the monster below you from bleeding you like a stuck pig. The bloody beast has claimed so many lives. But you pray it will not claim yours.

"I LOVE ALBERTA BEEF" claim the bumper stickers. The fields are full of cows. The people do not know. They do not know where the cows come from. They can never know - never know the cries in the night and the howling beasts that haunt the ranches. Barbed wire fences keep them at bay, but there is only so much one can do to contain the horrors.

Teenagers gather around roaring bonfires in nondescript fields. The law enforcement have tried to curb their rituals, but the howls and screeches will not cease. They croon under the moonless night, smelling of oil and meat. 'Shoot first' is the only advice given. The teens will not cease to revel in the wake of their victories and defeats. Fear the bush parties.

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Self Improvement Spell (typed out below)

Materials

- Red Candle

- Paper

- A natural bag (cotton, paper, etc.)

- Myrrh (can substitute sage)

For this spell, you’re going to be visualising the banishment of your bad habits (procrastination, chewing on nails, etc.) and representing them on the paper. 

Firstly, ground yourself and focus on the habits/traits you’re banishing. Light the myrrh and red candle, and write the undesirable habits on the paper. Fold it, light the corner, and let burn to ash (preferably in a cauldron but an ashtray or otherwise fireproof container will work). Gather the ash in the bag, and bury near your home.

May the path you tread bring you prosperity, y’all. 

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Witch tip #9: Talk out loud, if you can; speak as though someone was listening. If not to simply be at peace with yourself, then because you never know whether or not someone is. 

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Okanagan Gothic

“They’re coming,” the old man whispers, sitting with his wife and staring out at the early morning sun peering from atop the mountain. The cloudy darkness of winter is over, the temperature is rising. He is right. There is movement in the distance, specks of light glinting off the mountains. They’re coming. The tourists.

The lake is 348 km of water, with depths up to 232 km. The First Nations tell tales of a lake spirit, snatching unsuspecting children and weak swimmers. You’re not sure you believe in Ogopogo; but there are a lot of shadows in those endless waters. You wonder what hides in them.

There are hiking trails everywhere. They are in the mountains, in the forests - no one knows where they come from, or who maintains them. Footprints disappear moments after appearing. Stones move in odd patterns. You hurry by the trail markers and pretend you cannot hear the phantom footsteps.