Hi, friends! I'm back with another witchy FAQ from the past couple weeks. This time from the world of tech magic!
Here are some quick TL;DR technomancy tips for those who may not want to read the long FAQs post beneath the cut:
1. Chest spells (like a jar spell but with a chest filled with in game items that match the intent)
2. Poppet spells using the game characters by giving them items or altering their names/appearances
3. Similar to a chest spell but not necessarily magic per se - using chests or sheds with in-game items as altars and/or offerings
4. Build a shrine / altar / temple with offerings, or leave an item such as a torch in the game world as an offering
5. Burn/bury/destroy ingredients to activate a spell with the desired effect
6. Write an affirmation or a spell on a sign or other in-game item and destroy it to activate as a sigil
7. Build a golem or animal pen or something as a servitor for protection
8. Use some form of sympathetic magic connecting in-game items to IRL items
9. Light sticks, flashlights, plastic lightsabers, and toy sonic screwdrivers make *awesome* wands, especially if they light up and make noise.
10. The possibilities are limited to your imagination!!
(I am choosing Wittgenstein from The Brave Little Toaster movies as my mascot for tech magic, simply because I like him and because I can. Image credit - Fandom Wiki.)
What is technomancy?: Technomancy, techno magic, and tech magic are all terms for a form of magic that utilizes common modern technology, such as smartphones and video games. Technically, “technomancy” could refer specifically to divination with technology; however, in my experience, the term usually has a broader meaning in common usage. I personally tend to use these terms interchangeably, with perhaps a slight preference for technomancy, since I learned that name first.
What are some forms of technomancy?: Common forms of technomancy include digital sigils, emoji spells, shufflemancy, video game spells, and video game altars.
How do I create a digital sigil?: The ways are about as unlimited as creating a physical sigil on paper. You can use a drawing app on a smartphone or tablet, find a digital sigil generator online, use a photo editor on a picture, or even add a string of charged letters to an email signature (just make sure they blend in!).
OK, and what's the deal with emoji spells?: Yes, this is an actual thing (though not a thing that I'm particularly experienced with). They're pretty straightforward. They can be done like a sigil - string emojis together and charge them. Or like an actual spell - put them together and send to cast, or like to charge and send/reblog to cast.
What kind of games can you use for technomancy?: Any of them. Minecraft is a very popular one. So is Stardew Valley. Skyrim and other RPGs are other common choices. As with other forms of magic, the only real limit is your imagination.
What kind of spells can you cast in a game?:
Chest spells - like digital jar spells - are very common.
Poppet spells are another common choice. In games that allow you to create a character, or in games where you can give items to an NPC, you can turn the character into a poppet of someone and give them an item to cast the spell. For example, if I wanted emotional strength, I could create a Skyrim character as a poppet for myself, and have the character drink a strength potion to cast a spell of strength for myself in the real world.
Burying or burning items in games like Minecraft can be done to cast spells that are similar to physical spells that require burning a paper, bay leaf, or other ingredient.
Enchanting! Use the enchanting function in a video game like Skyrim or Minecraft to enchant a physical object. For example, you might choose to connect a physical scarf to a shield in Skyrim, and when you enchant the in-game shield with a damage resistance effect, voila! You now have a fancy enchanted scarf to protect yourself from spiritual attacks.
Customize your avatar to your advantage! In games such as Sky: Children Of The Light, where you can accessorize your character, you can equip different items to cast a different spell on yourself. For example, you might use the Saluting Captain's staff as a cosmetic to cast a spell of protection on yourself, or you could use a particular cape as a spiritual veil.
For deity work & spirit work, consider creating a space in your game (e.g. a chest, shed, home, biome, character, etc.) dedicated to the entities you work with. For example, temples and altars in Minecraft are common. Devotional sheds and chests are popular in Stardew Valley. I’ve named some appropriate Pokemon after an entity or dedicated the critter to them. You can even place a torch or candle in the game world as an offering.
There are lots more out there, too! This list is a starting point, not a limitation. Use your imagination and swap ideas with others, too!
How exactly does all of this work?? How is it possible?!: OK, so the principle behind tech magic is that you're harnessing the energy of multiple sources.
First, the device itself (and if you're using something like a Switch, the cartridge or other physical media). Each of these items has its own materials - electricity, glass and metal, etc. And each of those materials has a magical property that you can use... Glass and metal come from the Earth and have their own correspondences, while electricity is pure energy in itself.
Second, you have the energy of symbolism, or as I like to think of it with a butchered sociology term, symbolic interactionism - i.e., the idea that we create our own reality (or our *perception* of reality) via symbols. In other words, the power of correspondences! A candle is still a candle whether it's physical or digital. Lapis lazuli has the same qualities in this world that it does in a pixelated version. And so forth. So when you use the correspondences in digital spell work, provided that you raise the energy, it can and does have real world consequences. Similar to doing magic in the astral as opposed to the physical world... you are making a conscious decision to connect a digital item to an effect either in the astral and/or physical worlds.
Finally, you're also harnessing the power of belief and the energy of attention, which is where the chaos magic concepts start to come in. The digital worlds are real because you believe they are and you pour parts of your energy and personality into them - and so do *millions* of other people, in many cases. All of that energy is sort of like a reservoir in these games and it's just waiting to be harvested for spell work!
So… This is another subset of chaos magic, then.: Pretty much, yes. I haven't seen it categorized as anything else yet, except for in those cases where technomancy is given its own category.
And what did you mean by “energy of symbolism” again?: Correspondences. Both traditional ones and your own. For example, obsidian corresponds with protection IRL. So if you were making a chest spell in Minecraft for protection, you'd want to consider adding an obsidian block to your spell. Some of this is also stuff that you can brainstorm on your own and explore! Like for example, in the Elder Scrolls series, there are several plants and items that don't exist IRL, such as the corkbulb root - but in the game, that item can be used to make a potion of healing, so for me, it has a healing correspondence. Also, if the game you’re playing has spells already, you can consider how to adapt those spells to affect the real world in a logical, realistic way! Many pop culture magicians have done a great job of turning Pokemon moves into real spells, for example. So feel free to play around (pun intended) and see what works best for you!
How come you only mentioned shufflemancy once in this whole entire post??: That, my friend, needs to be a post for a later date. I assure you, I absolutely can (and probably already have, and probably eventually will) write an entire post about shufflemancy.
How come your formatting is crap?: Because I wrote all of this on a smartphone and pieced it into a post with the mobile app. Bear with me. XD
Where do I learn more and fact check you, smarty-pants?: Tumblr. The answer is usually Tumblr for this kind of thing. Or sometimes Discord. Like pop culture magic, techno magic is simply very new. Some tags to search include tech magic, techno magic, technomancy, video game magic, etc.
Hi Witchy! Have any of your stories been particularly therapeutic, relaxing, or calming for you to write? To further explain, have any of your stories come to you with ease and been fun in a therapeutic way to write? If so, which stories? :)
Oh, hello my dear @saturnsilence. This is such an interesting question to be asked - thank you ❤️!
Writing isn't very relaxing for me, haha. It's like...hm. It's like getting out of my head by getting really deep in my head. It's the good kind of stress, when it works out well. The bad kind when I don't write at all.
It comes more down to ease of writing: What You're Falling On is still, to this day, the easiest fic I've ever written. Second would be Oh, But You're Good to Me.
We Should Kiss qualifies too, I think, in a different way. It was painfully therapeutic, but both the easiest and the most difficult story I've ever written. That includes Deductions.
I joke with my IRL friends that I've adopted "method writing." I didn't always. Maybe it's just the evolution of how I write. But certain stories get so deeply within me that they consume me. This makes writing more therapeutic for me (it gets it out, out, out, out of me, finally), but hinders writing other fics that aren't my new focus.
This is such a delight to answer. I hope you're doing amazing, my dear.
Some of my acquaintances apparently get themselves into trouble, so it's time to get witchy on main with another FAQ, this time in a favorite topic:
Curse-Breaking!!
Curse-breaking has 3 main parts: preparation, the actual breaking, and healing. It's a lot like treating a wound. First you wash the wound, then you apply medicine, and then you bandage it so no bacteria can infect it. Curse-breaking works the same way.
So, for example, a typical curse-breaker spell might start with cleansing the room with a selenite wand or incense, and then leaving out a bowl of salt to capture residual energy. You can do this by using elemental energy to burn out astral parasites, too. Then, you'll cast your spell. You can use the Sphere of Protection and change the wording to ask the elements to clear out and banish curses and negative energy, for example, or you can invoke an entity's help and protection. Then finally, the "bandaging" part. Do something that "proves" that you can't be harmed. Set up a ward or cast a protection spell, cleanse yourself, or carry a protective stone like celestite or obsidian.
The most critical part of curse-breaking though is to understand that a big component of a curse is *psychological.* A curse, hex, whatever *cannot* affect you unless there is already a weakness there to exploit. In other words, a curse can't affect you without your say-so, consciously or otherwise (almost always otherwise). So simply put, you need to start and finish by taking your permission away. Start by *knowing* that any curses against you are no longer effective, and end by *knowing* that all curses against you have been lifted. In some cases, just knowing that a curse is there and saying "This curse is not effective against me" can be enough to break it.
Of course, truthfully, the best way to break a curse is really, y'know, to avoid getting cursed in the first place. That said - curses come in many different forms, and many of them are actually not cast on purpose. Curses can be caused by someone wishing ill on you - literally or metaphorically - or by someone thinking badly of you very hard. Fortunately, those curses tend to be weak and mostly harmless, and will often clear up on their own after a time. However, just like with a physical cut, you can speed the healing process by taking care of yourself and following some magical first-aid... And you can also prevent anything worse happening.
I am a huge fan and I love that you're doing an AMA!! You write some of the best smut not only in the fandom, but that I've ever read in fanfic. Not only are they hot as hell, but your smut scenes are all unique to each other too which is amazing. How do you do it???? Can you share your smut writing tips please?
Aww, thank you nonnie! You're a gem ❤️
OH GOD. THE SMUT TALK. I knew this day would come. I have dreaded it, and waited for it, in equal measure. None of this is going to be comfortable. Buckle up and read under the cut because I get a little ~descriptive~.
Smut Writing Tips, a la Witchy:
Lean Into the Awkward. Look, my friend. It's going to be rocky. You're going to make so many faces at your laptop or phone screen. You're going to cringe a lot. You are going to write one word over and over that makes you want to die a little inside. That's okay. And it's normal! Lean into the feeling, and embrace it. Go out of that comfort zone and get those private parts smushing.
Don't You Dare Edit. Not off the bat, okay? Hear me out. This is already a little, you know, strange. How good does that D feel? Oh, wait, her voice is hitching now? Wait, crap, wait, is she WEARING UNDERWEAR STILL? Look, my friend. Just write it out. Edit it after. If you're unsure about things, make an assumption and keep going. Edit it only when you're done, and then edit it again. Find those mistakes and clothing errors and too many hands. Editing while you write is going to kill any attempt at zoning you can get. Don't do it.
Be, uh, Excited? This is going to be controversial and maybe TMI. Whatever. I did say AMA. It's simple: if you're raring to go, things will just be sexy. They will be. Your brain is trying to take you...in that upwards direction. You want the sexy, because you need the sexy. You know. To get there (edit: obviously not while you are writing, guys, omg). I'm not saying you have to, but I have found it a bajillion times easier to write. Obviously this is not necessary. It's not necessary to write good smut, great smut, or any kind of smut at all. But it's, you know, a benefit I have found useful in my endeavours to provide the smut. BONUS FACT: when you finish the scene, you can, uh, go where you'd like to go to finish too. And if you have a partner, they can get a bonus as well, if you're so kindly inclined.
Experience, and Lack Thereof. All writing - not just smut - is about trying to transport a reader somewhere. Need to write a massive starship colony but have no idea what it would look like? Why not your high school? Switch some rooms around, the decor, etc., but you know that place. You know it. Use it. This recommendation applies to smut, too. Again, I'm not saying you have to do the horizontal tango to write the horizontal tango. But if you have the experience, utilize it. Maybe you're taking care of yourself. You still had sensations and feelings, yes? Use it. Not into sexual intimacy at all? Not a problem. You don't need that experience, because you have others - other fics, other stories from blogs, online research - all of that to rely on! If you have the experience, great. USE IT. If you lack the experience, don't sweat it. Research, read, explore. Trust me, despite my intense knowledge of what different types of bullets feel like going through your body, I have not, in fact, been shot.
Practice Makes Perfect. Just write the damn smut, darling. Write it. You're going to hate it. You're going to want to scream from the cringe. I do, every time. But you gotta write it, and then you gotta keep doing it. Because just like real life smut, practice makes perfect.
Hi Witchy!! What are your writing habits? Thank you!
Mostly trash, lol, but let me try to give you something more concrete, huh?
I write daily, and try for a minimum of 444 words. Sprints really help me (timed writing periods where my total word count is calculated start to finish), as well as gamification like 4 The Words. I highly recommend checking it out! You can do it free for a month (no credit card number to 'secure' your account required) and it's not that expensive if you choose to stay. During November - Black Friday and Nanowrimo! - they do massive discounts!
I switch the story I'm writing...almost daily. I usually don't write the same fic for more than two days straight. This keeps me more dedicated to completing scenes (do it while I can!) while also spreading myself over the...many WIPs I have going.
Write midday if possible. This is generally not an option, because of work. But if I can take a 15 minute break, and do a small sprint in that time, I end up feeling really productive and then amped to get back to it once my work day is done! I'm working remotely, so I know this isn't useful for everyone.
I know the first draft isn't great, but that's a-okay. It's better to finish, than to give up trying to fix the same trash section over and over. Write the story, fix it later. I find that the answer usually comes before you're done.
What story of yours would you recommend a first-time reader pick up to really get a sense of who you are as a writer?
So you’re not going to read one story to really get that sense. I am a self-proclaimed disaster. I write first POV, second POV or third POV, present tense or past tense. Always AU, which means I have more leeway on a character’s personality than canon or canon-divergent stories. Sometimes I world-build with intense dedication (does anyone want to know the likelihood % of half-breeds surviving in utero in Deductions with medical reasoning as to why?) and sometimes I talk about Inuyasha hiding in a Corner of Sad because it be like that sometimes.
Look, if I had to pick one fic? Leverage. It kind of has a bit of everything but the back-and-forth present/past is a uncommon device for me and likely to never be used again.
My romcoms are styled pretty similar, genre-wise, so if you read Slipped, you get a general sense for what Got No Idea, Tell Me I’m Crazy or Pennies & Dimes will be like.
Why not just give up completely, I ask myself realizing this simple question has become an essay response, and I’ll suggest you read the fic of mine that matches what you’re feeling up for: Mystery? Deductions. Modern day Inuyasha retelling(ish)? That Flesh of Mine. Horny af? Breathless. Fantastical? Nepenthe. Want kid fic, family feels and my messiest writing because it’s just feelings? Oh, But You’re Good to Me. Crack-to-the-max? Winging It. Intense second POV feelings? Immutable.
Newer fics = better, but to my absolute horror people still read my old stuff and haven’t burned me at the stake. So. Godspeed, dear anon. Sorry I am...this.
Hi! Please help! So I’ve been super into reading fan fic recently and it’s actually inspired me to write my own! I have a story idea and a plan but I’m not sure how to get started. Do I just start writing and break it up after? Do I make an outline? Do I just go day by day and hope I don’t lose steam? Please help!
Oh my darling, well I’m SO EXCITED that you’ve been inspired to write your own stories. That’s AMAZING. I LOVE THIS.
Look, I’m going to be real with you: what works for some does not work for others. I, myself, operate in two different modes: RomCom Mode and Psycho Plot Mode, which you can read about here.
Sometimes plotting too much makes you too worried to actually write. Sometimes writing without plotting will get you stuck later on. My best advice is to be a Plantser. Do both. WRITE. WRITE WRITE WRITE WRITE. Just do it. WRITE IT. But because you must already have ideas/scenes/pieces of dialogue, jot those down. Get a notebook, or put it in Excel (like my crazy ass does) or a word doc or whatever. Jot the ideas down. Does one idea connect to the other? How? Maybe Person A needs to be betrayed by Person B, but have no idea how they’ll be betrayed? NO PROBLEM. The characters, I find, have a life of their own. Jot down what you know and keep chugging away. Move towards the plot points or scenes you’ve already envisioned. You have a direction, and as your characters develop and you add actions and dialogue, this very loose outline you’ve made starts to fill itself in. Your loose outline becomes a serious outline, and maybe one day you figure out the ending. HUZZAH. Jot it down and don’t you dare stop, you beautiful gem, you.
I have no idea if this is...remotely helpful. I hope it is. It’s going to take time to find the groove that works best for you but please, write. Don’t overwhelm yourself and sweat the details. Jot down what you know and push forward. That’s the only way a story gets written, anyhow :)
I am SO EXCITED for the 12 days. I can't believe it's here!! Can you share a little bit about your writing process? Thank you!
As I drink wine, I think to myself “how can I sound really smart in this answer?”
And the true answer is that I basically either plot it to death, or I pants it like a motherfucker. Anything that requires a real plot, I essentially go through 3 stages:
(1) Idea, followed by a Lack of Sleep - in which I lie awake at night and think about this one idea and how it can work, how can it expand, how can I do what I want to do?? I write this down bleary-eyed and barely conscious in a journal. I keep this up, all the way until I give in and actually decide to plot it.
(2) Notebook of Doom - write it all down. Make little cloud graphs, or write down song lyrics or make a timeline. This is basically what Deductions looks like:
(3) Write. WRITE. Just write. If I re-write something a hundred times, go for it. I usually also have an Excel sheet where I keep all my main character, minor character, chapter details and everything like... together. It’s intense but this is me at my plotting finest.
If it’s a romcom (think Tell Me I’m Crazy or Slipped):
(1) Write and pray you don’t make a mistake that you miss in editing. I literally just go for it. If I add something in that I need to correct in earlier sections, I try to do it right away. Ideas still go into the notebook though.
I hope you found this helpful?
ALSO. I’m glad you’re excited! I am terrified, but I usually am.
