#witchychallenge2018

[seph7]

Day 4 of #omgitsjunewitches with Divination... I'm mostly a tarot diviner, though I don't use them every day. I feel overuse can lose meaning. Left to right are The Medieval Scapini Tarot, an old 1JJ Swiss deck in French from 1974, given to me by my uncle, my lovely Botticelli Tarot, and the Egyptian Tarot bought by my mother. I don't use my goddess cards much, but I do love to look at them. My runes are something I keep wanting to learn more of, but need to find the time. #witchychallenge2018 #tarot #divination #witchcraft #witchesofinstagram #witch #magic #pagan #pagansofinstagram #paganism #pagans #runes #goddess #goddesscards

[keepingtarotreal]

#witchychallenge2018 by @mydaemonisabadger day 16: Season I live in Venezuela, and therefore, in the tropics; so I live in a perennial summer/spring mix where everything is always blooming and it's always too hot and humid. I generally don't mind it, but I admit I wish I could experience seasonal change (ans I'd love to see the snow). But of all the seasons, my favorite is autumn/fall. I only got to experience autumn once, back when I went to Spain a long time ago; but I loved it. The colors, the feelings in the air: everything just felt so... serene. And I'm a huge halloween fanboy even though it isn't really celebrated here. So, as a small representation, here are a few autumn leaves (some of mom's little treasures from my dad's travels) and the Autumn Court and some of the Fairy Holiday cards from the Fairy Ring Oracle: all of these faeries are shown in the book to be emotional, passionate yet capable of great serenity, and usually have stories regarding romance, family or the mercurial, changing side of the Fair Folk: understandable, given Autumn is the season of decay, change and harvest, and associated with Water. The last three cards are the Fairy Holidays with ties to this season: Lammas/Lughnasadh (traditionally celebrated in Summer, but marking the time when people start thinking about Autumn, and the beginning of the harvest season); Herfest/Mabon (the autumnal equinox) and Samhain (the end of the harvest season, the start of darkness). #witchcraft #witch #faerie #fairies #FairyRingOracleDeck #witchblr #malewitch #witchesofinstagram #witchesoftumblr #witchtumblr #autumn #fall #autumnleaves

[keepingtarotreal]

#witchychallenge2018 by @mydaemonisabadger and #monthofmagic challenge by @veronicavarlow day 24: Talismans/Amulets and A Crystal I've shown them before and I'll show them again: my bird skull charm, my opal moon and my little ax. The bird skull was originally a choker that didn't fit around my neck (shocking, I know) so I started wearing it as a wraistband; I wear it when I want to feel a little fearsome, and I use it to carve candles with sigils and intentions. It always makes me think of the Morrighan. The moon I loved from the moment I saw it: I bought it along with the bird skull (you can buy them over at @bananaenana_ and be sure to check out their sister store @inirvaclothing as well) as a necklace and it did fit. I use it whenever I want to feel more powerful and connected to the Moon: for big rituals and moments I need a little extra push, and a little connection to Her. The little ax is the newest one: my bae made it and gave it to me as a gift (bae's very talente, you can can check out his creations and store over at @byvillalonga if you want~ and yes I'm a shameless promoter). I wear it when I want to feel a little stronger and more driven: channel my inner lumberjack if you may, or my inner berserker. I sometimes wear it to let it drag along and imagine myself in a videogame or something. #witchesofinstagram #witch #witchblr #witchesoftumblr #trinkets #witchcraft #talismans #

[keepingtarotreal]

#witchychallenge2018 by @mydaemonisabadger day 18: Tarot/Oracle/Runes I have shown them before and here I go again. First pic are my main Tarot decks (from left to right, top row first): the Cosmic Tarot, a beautiful deck that mixes oniric traditional symbolism with stellar and oniric landscapes; the visually dark and very strong Necronomicon Tarot, based on the Cthulhu Mythos as interpreted by Donald Tyson in his Necronomicon trilogy; the Wild Unknown Tarot @the_wild_unknown depicting animals and the primordial forest of the soul (and frankly a great aid for shadow working, at least for me); the Crystal Tarot, a Marseilles-inspired deck based on stained glass paintings and full of light; the Goddess Tarot, depicting different female Divinities from around the world and connected to the Divine Feminine; and the Arthurian Legend Tarot, based on the different versions of the King Arthur myth and the search of the Holy Grail and other treasures. The next pic has my first tarot deck ever: the Mythic Tarot, based on Grecorroman mythology and my introduction to the occult. I don't use it much anymore because my foster sister had hidden it in her room misplaced the High Priestess card back when we lived together (long story), and that pains me a lot. Next (pics 3 and 4) is a Major Arcana only black and white glow in the dark Rider Waite deck. Then there are my two oracle decks: the Fairy Ring Oracle, based on faerie lore (specifically from the British Isles and even some bits of norse lore), and the Forty Servants Oracle by @tommiekelly both of which are divinatory decks and tools for magick workings (the Fairy Ring giving tips on working with the Fae represented; and the Forty Servants being each a powerful Servitor based on different Archetypes and notions that one can call upon). After them, my runes, a small gift from a friend of my mother; and lastly, my trusty Pendulum, which my aunt gave me years ago. #witchesofinstagram #witchesoftumblr #witchblr #tarotreadersofinstagram #psychichreadersofinstagram #witchcraft #tarot #oracledeck #fairy #faerie #witch #malewitch #keepingtarotreal #ktr

[keepingtarotreal]

#witchychallenge2018 by @mydaemonisabadger day 17: Book of Shadows I have shown them before; I don't have a Book of Shadows in the modt traditional sense but I have these three notebooks that each reflect me, my craft and what I do. The Tinkerbell one is the one I dedicate the most to my witch work: I use it to write down inportant tidbits, info and make sigils, and essentially is a repository of my craft. I bought it from an evangelical christian bookstore a friend was working in at the time; and it just seemed so delightful as a prospect to buy something there to use in my witch work (I was wearing a Baphomet t-shirt that day, too). The other two are merely involved in my fiction and non-fiction writing. The pink one was a notebook I bought for a friend who was starting to dabble in witchcraft. He loves pink and we were very close, but there was a strong issue between us and he pretty much hates me now. I kept it in memory of our friendship and its become my "vademecum"; to write down stories and fragments, as well as article ideas. The white one was a gift from my mom when I told her my dream was to be a weiter; so I could write down all my ideas; I mostly write extended stories, ideas and "background"/worldbuilding info. Given some of my stories have elements from my craft (and at least two became hypersigils without me intending to; which was a wake up call to pay better attention at what I do and how I do it) it just seems logical to consider them Books of Shadows as well. Last but not least (and not pictured here) are my computer and my cellphone. I actually have a folder in my computer that serves as a virtual "office/workroom/altar", where I put all my work ad the three facets of me (writer, lawyer and witch), including another folder which is my virtual Book of Shadows. And in my phone I save PDFs, small scribbles and links to things that help in my witch work. So there it is; I either have no real Book of Shadows or I have too many, and I'm happy like that. #witchesofinstagram #witchesoftumblr #witch #witchblr #witchcraft #malewitch #bookofshadows

[keepingtarotreal]

#witchychallenge2018 by @mydaemonisabadger day 12: Sacred Site I usually don't venture out with my phone, as I said; and while I consider my whole city to be sacred, there's no specific place I feel attached to outside of my home to say they're sacred. However, I have an interest in some sites. I went today to a small town, Santa Rosa, along with my mom and my ex. Mom wanted to see the Divina Pastora, an aspect and apparition of the Virgin Mary that is heavily venerated here but whise effigy's guarded in Santa Rosa; there's a long story but there's this yearly pilmigrage to walk Her from Santa Rosa to the cathedral in the center of the city. The town is very much solely dedicated to this devotion, ans it can be felt everywhere there; in every face and every place. You know there are primal forces there, connecting with the people through newer faces; while the effigy came from Spain along with the reverence for Her, I'm fairly sure there are earlier forced as well intermixed. It also reminded me of when I went to Caracas a few years ago for a few days. I was actually born in Caracas and though I'm not very fond of the city, but there are some rather beautiful and interesting sacred sites which I decided to visit: The Precious Blood Church, a Synanogue (which I couldn't enter to), and a Mosque (the last of which I couldn't photograph. Not that I could photograph the Synanogue, but still); and another church where I took the photo of this display of the Virgin Mary. One can feel the awe and power running through them, both from earlier forces making themselves known and the devotions taking place there. But it didn't change my mindset. Yes, you can definitely feel something in those places, something divine. But you can feel it everywhere; I know I do. To me, every place has something sacred to treasure and bask in. It's all in just looking for the right way. #witchesofinstagram #witchesoftumblr #witchblr #pagan #christopagan #neopagan #oldgodsandthenew #witchcraft #witch #malewitch #synagogue #preciousblood #virginmary

[keepingtarotreal]

#witchychallenge2018 day 10: Symbols/Sigils While I'm not very good at drawing or writing, I've always been drawn to sigils. Back in high school I used to scribble planetary symbols and runes in the back of my notebooks, along with correspondences and names of Deities and minor attempts at writing. However, it actually took me a while to find out about sigils, and when I first did via a friend, the process seemed very complicated. But then I just read on my own and frankly, it was the easiest way to work magick, at least in my opinion: and the most effective, to me. I have since drawn quite a long, with my relatively meager abilities. I'm not very imaginative when it comes to shapes and such. I regularly use the Spare Method, or the Hand of Eris; but I hope to some day use other methods (I'm still trying to understand the Alphabet of Desire). After making the sigil, I normally carve it in a candle and light it, to charge it with the heat and release it as it gets consumed; but occasionally use other methods. And I always share my sigils on social media, so they get a little extra oomph from all the attention. Here are some examples of sigils: The first three pics depict sigils I've made, including in pic 3 one for a Servitor of mine, and from pic 4 onwards are my runes (also very useful in all sorts of witch work~), the sigils of the Forty Servants by @tommiekelly (Unifying Sigil surrounded by the sigils of each Servant), one of my favorite oracles and assets for my craft (and one I recommend a LOT to everyone, seriously, it's amazing and very effective both for divination and for magick workings), the renown Linking Sigil (no conversation about sigils would be complete without dear Ellis, after all~) and a couple of interesting ones. One's the Kotwicja, an old logo that has since morphed into a symbol against totalitarism and fascint; and the other is a sigil tied to a certain mass working going on since last year on a certain... specific figure. You may know about it. #witchesofinstagram #witchesoftumblr #witchblr #witch #malewitch #brujo #bruja #brujeria #igwitch #sigils #sigil #ellis #ls #linkingsigil #kotwicja

[keepingtarotreal]

#witchychallenge2018 by @mydaemonisabadger day 7: Ethos A lot of us make a big deal of being selfless: helping others unconditionally, trying not to be judgmental, all that. Simultaneously, a lot place materialism as vile: wealth (and fame, sometimes) tends to be seen as a gateway to evil and capitalism gets denounced as the root of all problems. Indeed, american-style capitalism IS pretty much the definition of a problem; but socialism and capitalism are just tools that can be used simultaneously for the betterment of society. Wealth is a tool and one that can be very useful to help. After all, how can you help others if you have no means to? Love of money can be the root of all evil; the problem of loving things and using people being an everpresent aspect. Yet money itself, when well used and well administrated, can lead to a lot of good. Being affluent meings not just pampering yourself, but pampering others: providing for others can only be done when you have enough to spare. I was very glad that the Ten of Pentacles came up in my daily reading today, because it reminded me of that, and that wealth isn't the only resource that can be shared. We can all help, it is an obligation we have: and the more we have, the more we can help. I know that: I come from a country that used to be very rich but is now horribly poor, with people starving in the streets and everyone struggling to get by. I see the difference just a little can do to ease off the weight in other's backs, and I actively try to do all in my power. That's what drives me forward: to succeed, and to keep on fighting day by day. Helping others by having the means to do so. Thus, that is my ethos. Paraphrasing a quote I read and resonated: "When you're succesful, prosperous, affluent, you don't build a taller fence; you build a bigger table". And it applies in all facets of my life: as a witch, as a writer, as a lawyer, and as a person. When you have a nickel, you've got plenty to share. #witchesofinstagram #witch #malewitch #witchcraft #personalopinion #ethos #tarot #runes #tarotreadersofinstagram #witchblr #witchesoftumblr #pagan #neopagan