#personal practice post

[bytheforgeflame]

Deities of the Spiral Castle Tradition

In an effort to share more about my Tradition and our practices, here is a short write-up about the deities found within our Craft. Note that this is by no means all-encompassing, and these beings hold many more Mysteries than I can describe in a Tumblr post.

The Goddess(es):

Our Goddess is seen as both One being, and Two. She is Her own Mother and Daughter. The different sides of Her are honored at different times of the year. As one Goddess, She is seen as the First Magician, Queen of Witches, and the Devil's Wife. Each holds within Herself the core of the other. Within the darkness of the night, the light of the moon and stars reaches us. Within the brightness of the day, shadows lurk and provide respite. Here, I will break down Her two sides:

Dark Goddess Kolyo:

Kolyo is the Queen of the Dark Half of the Year, ruling over the time between the Autumnal and Spring Equinox. Known as The Covered or The Hidden One, She is the Great Mother of All, the Spinning Goddess of Fate, the source of our magic, and older than time itself. She is often associated with The Morrigan, Diana, the Norns, and 1734 from the 1734 Tradition. She is the vastness of space, twinkling with the Star-Fire far beyond our reach and comprehension. She inhabits the cloak of night and the shadows of the day.

Light Goddess Goda:

Also known as Godiva, Goda is the Daughter-Self of Kolyo, being Her and also being birthed by Her simultaneously. Our Lore states that Kolyo and Qayin came together to birth the Light Goddess Goda. She rules over the Light Half of the Year, from Spring to Autumnal Equinox. She is the Queen of Faeries, the Great Herbalist, Goddess of the Grain, Lady of the Burial Mound, and Keeper of the Divine Springs. She is often associated with Aradia, Frau Holle, Epona, and Brigid. She is the sun rays of the morning, and the moonlight of the midnight sky.

Red God Tubal Cain:

Also known as Tubal Qayin, Qayin, or Tubelo, Cain is the Tradition's Witch Father. He is the Great Initiator, the Gatekeeper of Kolyo's magic that which we wield, the keeper of the original Black Book, and the King of Familiar Spirits. He is often associated with the Devil at the Crossroads, the Sabbatic Goat, Lucifer, and Azazel. He connects us to Divine Creation (as First Blacksmith) and Divine Destruction (as First Murderer). He is a transgressive god, liberating us from our chains and empowering us with His magical knowledge.

Personal Notes:

The common belief within the Spiral Castle is that these deities can take on the names and faces of others in an effort to connect with members of the Tradition in a way that will be meaningful to us, and that these names listed above are the True identities of these deities. I have mixed feelings on this personally. I do believe that they can present themselves as a different entity in order to connect with us more easily, but I don't believe that this is unique to this particular set of deities. My ultimate belief on deities in general is that each deity is unique, and are representatives of different concepts from different cultures and traditions. Ultimately, I believe that we create the Divine as much as they create us; they are either egregores that have been created by group faith, or that they are spirits that we have lifted to the status of Divine.

That said, there are certain times that I syncretize them with entities of other pantheons, such as associating Qayin with Lucifer, Goda with Aradia, and Kolyo with Diana. In these instances, I'm using these beings' names more as titles than the beings themselves (Lucifer-Qayin as the Light Bringer, Aradia-Godiva as Teacher of Witchcraft, Diana-Kolyo as First Magician, etc.)

That's all I have for now. Thank you to anyone who has read this far! I'm excited to continue posting about these beings as they become a more integrated part of my practice! ❤️️

[bytheforgeflame]

By the Star-fire above, and the Forge-flame below

A #pathandpractice Intro! I don't think I've ever done a real intro for this blog anyways, so now's as good of a time as any!

Hello and welcome! You can call me Sol. I am 26 and I'm from Central Texas. I use he/they pronouns and am a transmasc genderqueer. Some of my hobbies outside of my practice include hiking, camping, fibercrafts, gaming, and LARP.

I've been practicing magic for about 12 years now. My path has gone through a lot of changes in that time, but I have been focused on traditional and folkloric witchcraft for a little over a year. I primarily use spirit work, divination, and spirit flight when working my magic. I've recently become a dedicate of a formal Tradition that bases its teachings on Cochrane's Traditional Witchcraft and Clan of Tubal Cain, so you will see a lot of discussions regarding various entities from those Traditions, as well as rituals and customs. There is also a large focus on local spirits and folklore within my Tradition, so I hope to post about those things as well.

I hope to connect with others about their practices through this community, and continue to learn from others' experiences.

[bytheforgeflame]

🌙 10 Days of Reflection: Defining Magic & Witchcraft

Day Two: What does witchcraft mean to you? Ex: is it a craft, a calling, a way of life, a skill?

I would consider witchcraft to be a craft and way of life. Witchcraft can, and often does, embed itself into all areas of your life. It changes you in ways that few other things can. I would also consider it a devotional act to my deities. Within my praxis, the powers of witchcraft are gifted to you by a Witchfather, who in my tradition is Tubal Cain. He acts as Gatekeeper to the magical currents created by a Witchmother, who we know as Kolyo. By dedicating yourself to Him and becoming an initiate of the tradition, you're gifted with The Witch Blood, which connects us to Him and His knowledge of the craft. By practicing witchcraft, I embody Him and bring His influence into the physical. By working magic, I connect to Her Mysteries and bring Her secrets into the light. These acts bring me closer to Them, and deepens my understanding off all things metaphysical.

See you tomorrow for Day Three!

[bytheforgeflame]

For my big witchblr ask game-

3, 8, and 17.

Have a great day!

Heyyy, hope you're doing well!

3. What mundane tasks feels closest to magic to you?

Definitely any kind of fibercrafts. One of the primary deities of my tradition, Kolyo, has The Spinning Goddess as one of Her titles, so I always feel deeply connected to Her when sewing or luceting.

8. What's one form of magic you feel the most confident or skilled in?

I've always had a very easy time with spirit work and communication. Besides divination, it was one of the first skills I learned when I first started out, so after twelve years I've become very comfortable and confident working with spirits of all sorts.

17. How do you handle magical burnout?

I tend to have regular ebbs and flows when it comes to how deep into my practice I am at the moment, and when I'm just not up for it, I just don't do anything magical! I do other hobbies and try to not think about it until I feel like coming back to it. I will still maintain my contracts and give any regular offerings I have, but that's about it!

Thank you for the ask!! <3

[bytheforgeflame]

I have a few questions for you in return ✨

1.) what’s something you used to believe about magic that you no longer do?

2.) what season feels the most magical to you?

Heyyy, thank you so much!

What's something you used to believe about magic that you no longer do?

Very early on in my practice, I used to be very rigid about how I thought magic worked and if something someone else was doing didn't fit into it, I would just... not believe that they were actually practicing magic. I definitely don't think that way anymore! Nowadays, what happens is I'll think "Well, I believe that this thing exists and works for them, it's just not how I personally choose to operate", if that makes sense. There are very few things that I just straight up do not believe are true when it comes to magic and spirituality. I believe that magic, for the most part, will behave in agreement with the system that you choose to work within.

What season feels the most magical to you?

I'd say the late autumn into winter time feels the most magical to me! I really feel like the slumber of the Earth at this time of year helps me to connect deeper to my practice and to the spirits. Maybe it's because of the heat here, but I often feel like I have the reverse of your standard Seasonal Depressive Disorder. I'm often cooped up indoors for most of the summer due to the heat and tend to have more depressive episodes during that period. So, once it starts to cool down in the autumn, I tend to get out more and feel more alive!

Thank you again for the ask!

[bytheforgeflame]

🌙 10 Days of Reflection: Defining Magic & Witchcraft

By @pathandpractice ! Thanks for writing these up! I'm excited to be answering these over the next ten days!

Day One: How do you define magic? Is it energy, intention, relationship, will, or something else?

To me, magic is very similar to an element like oxygen. It is a material that exists around us, even though we can't see it most of the time. It can be manipulated to produce various results, whether they be physical or metaphysical. It behaves like matter in that it cannot be created nor destroyed, but simply harnessed and formed to fit the needs of the user. Magic is a building block that's as old as time, and it can be carved into many, many forms to serve a purpose.

Thanks for reading! See you (hopefully) tomorrow!