#magic studies

[blackforestbride]

We should just start writing fake academic papers about magic and then start sourcing each other's work in new papers

fake peer review your mutual's thesis on the diet of manticores and how it affects their fur to chitin ratio

Get into heated debates about the legality of unicorn blood that is freely given

Become a lawyer for fairies

[soritadeste]

Full Moon: Goddess Meditation

This is from a book I wrote more than a decade ago, TOWARDS THE WICCAN CIRCLE.  Published by Avalonia www.avaloniabooks.com.  I hope you find it helpful! 

Moon Goddess Meditation

Sit comfortably and relax, closing your eyes. In your mind’s eye fix the image of yourself sitting as you are in the room. Hold this image, and then see a white mist filling the room, obscuring the walls, the floor, the ceiling, everything, until all around you is white mist. As the mist disperses you find yourself in a silver chariot pulled through the night sky by four silver horses.

Standing next to you in the chariot is a beautiful young woman with long silver hair and grey eyes in a flowing silver dress. A simple silver band holds her hair back off her face, and a necklace of moonstones hangs around her neck. As you glance at the necklace you realise the moonstones each show differing amounts of black and the luminescence of the stone, like the Moon herself in her phases. As silver light radiates from her face you realise that this is Selene, the moon goddess, travelling her course through the night sky. Her light dims a little, and as you look forward you see one of the front horses turns black.

You keep looking around, at the stars above, and the dimly lit landscape below, and as you do so her light dims again, and the other front horse turns black. You realise the phases of the moon are reflected through her light and the colour of her horses.

“Understanding the nature of cycles will help you move forward on your path,” Selene tells you, “the ebbs and flows of your own nature and how they respond to your environment.”

As she speaks her light dims further, and you know a third horse has turned black.  She smiles, and her light fades completely, enabling you to look at her beauty easily. You glance forward and see the chariot is now pulled by four black horses.

Though it is darker now, it is easier for you to see the ground below and the stars above. You realise that the dreamlike quality of this journey is a reflection of the power of the moon, and see a silver light emanating from Selene again, and one of the horses turn silver.

“One of the greatest gifts I give is intuition, trust yours, for it is always there,” Selene informs you.

She leans forward and whispers into your ear, giving you advice on your next steps on the path. You thank her and watch enraptured as she becomes brighter and brighter again, regaining her former radiance. As she does so all the horses turn silver one by one. You know this is an endless cycle, and as you watch her, the white mist appears, filling the chariot around you, until once again you are surrounded by white mist.

Again the mist disperses, and as it fades away you find yourself once more sitting in your room. Take some time to write up your experience and contemplate what you have learned.

[demonicintegrity]

So this post came across my dash a lil while ago started by @normal-horoscopes so naturally I started thinking on it. I started jotting down notes and ideas in my grimore and even made a quick sketch on an index card trying to process all this information. (Forgive mobile formatting this might be a long post)

First is how cities could be built upon such a weirdly shaped hole in the ground. Slopes would be enemy here, but I figured Hell is probably quite large which makes steep slopes not everywhere. More manageable slopes and ledges would be great for building structures on. Steep slopes could be used as buildings and structures can be carved into the hellside, but I can’t see it being avoided unless necessary. While writing I saw images of stairways and ramps carved into the hellside as a means of getting from place to place. I thought of the sides and ground being like a really red earthy clay, kinda tying into Normal’s idea of blood and soul infused ground and plants. These slopes could also explain the capture of these bodies of water like substance. Whether it be like a underground resivoire of water or a stream coming in from somewhere, it’d have plenty of places to collect. (Side note, at least one of these bodies is probably used as a hot springs and you can’t change my mind on that)

Also note how a top-down view gives the impression of multiple circles of demonic cities. It ties into the circles of hell idea pretty well.

Next came the prompted question of the purpose of the Counts and Marquises that were mentioned. I figure the dividening up of land is more for political management purposes, like states or provinces. Just easier to narrow down areas for mantence and simplicity’s sake. As for the Marquises, their lands are the top of that bell as it that’s where Hell ends. I figure the territory outside of that boundary might house other entities both in the physical and metaphysical plane Hell borders. This would give the Marquis an additional duty of knowing and managing who comes in and out and all that jazz.

As for the demonic cities present, I couldn’t tell you what the architecture would look like. I would assume it would be mostly made out of clay and stone like materials. The cities would literally be on and in the hellside, and I can see it be lit up by fire and maybe a magma like substance. I can assume and say in good confidence that these cities likely are probably by some sort of road or tunnel for ease of going around. Despite me thinking the hellside wouldn’t be great for carving out for large buildings, it’d probably be great for manageable tunnels and caverns to get around.

These cities are most for the residents of Hell. Demons staying and making home there, but I also subscribe to the theory that sinners are prisoners in Hell. It’s likely that they’re not closed to the larger living areas of town, but put elsewhere. They’re tortured by demons who are comfortable doing that but also give space for the demons that are simply there to chill for a bit without the whole damnation thing going on. Hell is also a home for these demons so I don’t think everywhere is going to be the screams of the damned scenario.

Finally, the biodiversity proposed. Ngl it stumped me for a bit. I never considered much biodiversity in hell, I just considered it a hot pit in the ground with the occasional fire and magma, making it too dim for most plants. But then I realize that on Earth there’s a plethora of plant life adapted to certain tough areas so it’s likely true for metaphysical areas as well. Plus, Normal mentioned the concept of them being based in/fueled by blood and souls which is a viable asset to fuel this odd life. So I looked into the real life plants in harsh environments to find parallels that I could use in Hell.

The soil it’s built on has traces of the damned souls, withering away from their torture. Leafy plants are by the top of Hell, collecting energy of whatever light and other energies are dappling in through the top. Shade loving plants under that fuel off the blood in the land and only need the minimal light provided by the hellfire and glowing cracks of demon magic in the walls. Large plants grow around the water like bodies. Mushroom like fungus grow out of the sides, nourishing off the damned souls and demonic energies building in the area. Perhaps some grow huge and demons can built on top of them. In short, biodiversity seems more plausible now that I’ve thought about it some more. Definitely makes me think of Hell in a new light, ought to draw it sometime.

Anyway, that’s my thoughts and studies on Hell. Seems cool.

[goldenart004]

So I’ve started a series that deals with magic in RWBY and it doing so I ended up looking at different kinds of magic and what the different color do and I thought I’d share cause why not.

—

All the magic can be used in more basic defense and attack moves, such as shields and bolts of magic. It is in the different colors that these different types vary.

There are two sections of magic, four that encompass many different abilities but are very difficult to master and six that are easier to master, more common, and are a bit for focused. This is based on when Salem did the magic swirly thing in The Lost Fable and the four big magic balls and the six tiny ones, all being different colors.

The four larger ones are such:

Darkness: The Purple/Black one, magic similar to the God of Darkness’s power ie. destruction, death, darkness. One is the hardest two to master, full mastery gives you power close to the god himself.

Light: The Pale Yellow one, like darkness light too has a magic, similar on terms of being like the God of Light’s power. Also very hard to master. Powers are light, creation, life.

Nature/Earth: The Green one, centers around nature themed powers. Is less difficult then Darkness or Light, but still hard due to having many different aspects. Include shapeshifting (animals), growing/nurturing plants, elemental control (fire, water/ice, wind). [This is the kind that Ozma, and therefore his reincarnation, had because of the general green, the bird powers to the twins, and the maiden powers]

Celestial/Sky: The Yellow/Gold one. Much as green in for nature and the Earth, this magic deals wit the sky. It includes magic relating to the Sun (fire, solid flare like attacks, brightness), the Moon (reflecting back powers/attacks, light and darkness bringing), and the Stars. Same level of difficulty as Earth.

Each of those four relate to a relic in some way, Darkness for Destruction, Light for Creation, Nature for Knowledge (it makes sense if you look at Ozma and the whole reincarnation thing), and Celestial for Choice (it was kinda the only one left).

The six smaller ones:

Destruction: Red, destroying things. I don’t know if I have to explain this that much

Temperature: Yellow, don’t know if that’s the best name but basically making things really hot or cold, like to point where you could light something on fire. (This is actually important okay)

Growing: Green, plant stuff. And I guess earth stuff too.

People: Teal, emotion reading, good with people, that kind of stuff (not Fae glamour though, that’s too far)

Healing: Blue, healing people or animals (not plants). That’s about it.

Creating: Magenta, being able to create things out for magic.

Magic is not hereditary. Everyone is born with the magic gene (for lack of a better term) or the ability to do magic. If a child is around magic while still young, then that will activate the gene even if the parents are not magical. Likewise even if a magic user has a child if they don’t use that magic around the child then the child won’t be magic.

Silver Eyes: Where do those fall here?

Silver eyes seem to be fully genetic, unlike magic. They could relate to magic (ie. coming from a magic source but growing into its own thing over time), or could not and simply be a genetic deviation. It is very unclear where they come from.

If silver eyes do I need come from magic, then it is most likely from a mixture of Darkness and Light, with the destruction and bright light bringing it. It could also be based in Celestial and moon magic.

[thedeepestofdesire]

New Witches;

Karma is not just a phrase for what happens when someone does you wrong. It is a force, an energy. Karma is an unseen element that surrounds everything we do, including all of our magic.

The energies that you put into the world are the energies that you receive in return

So when I see posts giving instructions on performing hexes and curses (especially using blood), without this type of warning or sentiment, I worry for young witches. I was raised by a witch, whose mother was a witch; I am a generational witch, and although I am young, my teachings have been taught at least 18 years.

Magic is different and there is no one way to use it. However, karma is, as I said, an element that is the same no matter who is using it. Please be weary of the magic you use and the energies you put into motion. Hexes are separate from curses, but magic that uses blood is a very intentional force that you should always be mindful of!

[poisonerspath]

Haslam's Bookstore has a small section on magic and witchcraft, I happened to find this copy of Witchcraft Today: Witchcraft and Shamanism. I was surprised to find a more obscure book like this amongst the 101's.

[linettefox]

If I become a witch I want my stuff to all be Mahoutsukai Precure themed. I do not care if it is improper or what not, I wanna dress up as Riko run away into my back yard on a Wednesday afternoon and do a fortune reading with Mofurun Tarot Cards and my cat supervising,

Also for the record I'm having fun studying demons and old beliefs on magic. I don't think any of it is real but I'm pretending it is because it's just fun. The only experiments I wanna try are all harmless fun anyways. Please someone talk to me about the Key of Solomon, the Greek Magical Papyri, Book of the Dead and all this stuff I'm going to explode holding it in.

[goldenart004]

Magic Studies: Introduction

A short introduction to a series I’m starting about magic and specifically how it transfers down generations set in Remnent.

AO3

—————

Magic. Something most would say lost many years ago. But there are still cases in which it will appear today. This of course causes questions. How did this child get and learn magic? Was it from a parent? Or perhaps it was given to them.

As it turns out magic can be transferred down to the next generation, given that a child grows up around it. It seems that magic tends to be more nurture then nature and simply by being near magic at a young age can cause a child to get magic of their own.

This allows children to grow and learn magic of any kind, not just the one of whoever activated the magic.

- Kyanos Gnoseis