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@teaandtarot
Combine your chinese zodiac and astrology sign to make your true fursona
i still hate this post so much. i’m an ox and a taurus. i’m a bull bull. i’m so fucking annoyed oh m y go d
SCORPION TIGER I WIN MUTHAFUCKAS PINCH PINCH STAB STAB
I am the Virgin Monkey apparently.
Oof.
I'm a crab dragon. There's a carcinization meme in there somewhere.
Here, uh.... have a thing?
#also a suggestion for a sequel ->#the burning times: i put cinnamon oil in my bath spell#(DO NOT DO THIS.)
Yeah, this version is funnier.
Can someone explain why cinnamon oil in a bath spell is bad?
It causes burning times.
I Made Red Pepper Banishment Oil Then Touched My Eyes
To be fair, red pepper oil will banish your eyesight, at least temporarily. Technically counts as a success.
Red Flag Checklist
Okay witches, let's have a round table.
When you're reading or contemplating the purchase of a book on modern witchcraft or paganism, what are some red and green flags that you look for?
I'll start.
Red Flags:
Disreputable Author - If the author is either a known source of bad information or bad behavior, or one of those "house names" that certain companies use, that's a no for me.
"New Age White Witch" Syndrome - If a text has a more-than-incidental or very deliberate focus on culturally appropriative practices ("Use this exotic voodoo doll ritual to hex your ex"), outdated terminology ("black magic," that G slur we don't use, etc), antisemitic bullshit (Lilith is not a pagan goddess), or anti-science rhetoric ("Essential oils are better than pills!") And yes this means the ever-expanding list of racist dogwhistles too.
Poor Understanding or Misrepresentation of History - If someone's repeating Murrayisms or insisting things are ancient that definitely aren't (POTATO GODDESS), that says to me that either the author didn't bother to do their research or they don't know what they're talking about.
Insistence on One Correct Way - If I encounter anything resembling "this is the only TRUE way," the book's going out the window. The more so if the author is citing their personal opinions or UPGs as fact.
Insistence on Gendering Everything - If a book insists on assigning a binary gender to everything (outside of citing a historical context), or is boomboxing ~*SACRED WOMYN'S WOMB MAGYCK*~ throughout, or even if it's just overly preoccupied with fertility and childbearing as part of the "natural" life cycle, I'm immediately putting it down. (This is more of a personal one, in a way? But it's a red flag for TERFy things too.)
Lack of Sources - If there's no bibliography, no works cited, no recommended reading, or just a really flimsy list that's rife with internet links or problematic titles, that's not a good sign.
Green Flags:
Inclusive Language - If the author refers to the reader or an unidentified person as "they" or "them," that's a good sign. Double points if it's in a context that you'd normally expect to see gendered elsewhere. There's always room for gendered language when it's appropriate, but to me, it's refreshing when an author doesn't assume the female identifies as female.
Health and Safety Warnings - If there are notes for safe handling or harvesting of potentially harmful herbs, or warnings about health hazards (i.e. keep this away from persons who are pregnant or nursing), or reminders to be careful with fire and glass and the like, this is a good sign. To me, it means the author has a practical mindset and is at least keeping real-world limitations in mind.
Lots of Sources...and GOOD Sources - If the book has a nice fat bibliography, especially if there are mundane sources as well as magical ones, and if those sources are solid? A+. Double points if there's an index or footnotes and citations throughout the text.
Lack of "Guru" Mindset - If the author encourages the reader to take what they've learned and continue to do research on their own, that's a good sign. Encouragement of critical thinking is excellent, and also the admission that there is more than one way of Doing The Magical Thing. (Hi Lee)
Good Formatting - A book should be visually appealing, but it should also be easy to read and formatted properly, in a way that makes sense. I like to see clean margins, good spacing, and clear text. Page decorations and pictures and fancy title fonts are fine, so long as they don't make the book difficult to decipher.
(Okay, your turn!)
So this is petty and more of a yellow flag, but if the author chooses a ridiculous pen name. Anything in the Silver Ravenwolf tradition of pen names.
A major red flag is Dianic Wiccans. I don't want to paint an entire community with a broad brush, but Dianic Wiccans tend to be TERFs. They will advertise their covens as being for "women born women". Gross.
Another red flag is the author claiming to be "eclectic" but they really just take from other practices without giving credit or understanding the culture they're stealing from.
I try not to judge authors by their publisher, people have to make money.
Also, authors are people, and no one is perfect. No text exists that is 100% unproblematic. With critical thinking, we can engage with content and recognize its flaws as well as come away with useful (or at least interesting) information.
this might be such a dumb question , but what do you guys say when you give offerings ?
i’m really unsure as to what to say because anything i think of feels so stiff and formal . i feel like i need some ideas to branch off of .
To you/this is for you, beloved *insert what I personally call the divine being here*, I love you! *blows a kiss*
"Have a sip, babe." or "Hey Lady! This is for you!" or "Hey, you want this?" or sometimes "YO [J]! COME GET YOUR SHIT."
The vibes I strive for.
as a city witch, I can tell you that throwing something in a gas station trash receptacle works the same as burying at a crossroads. don’t stress over shit.
Personally, I think gas stations and rest stops count as crossroads and liminal spaces, and can be used the same way for spellwork in an urban environment.
Worked at a gas station and can confirm that, as an overnighter, it is very much a liminal space. time has no literal meaning and everyone who stepped in there, I never saw again. -that is to say anyone I saw past midnight, I would never see again. it's weird. those that came in before midnight, I would always see again. but those 2 amers? the person who wanders in at 3? never again. -
I have been saying this for years! Also, a gas station trash can is meant for trash, the side of a road is not.
do you have any minor curses for people who spread rumors? Or even just hex of some kind?
Minor and curses don’t seem to fit together very well and curses shouldn’t be taken lightly. That being said when it comes to curses I usually turn to the pros. The pros in the curse field being Oldmotherredcap. Here is her Trenchmouth curse, which I have used before. For stopping someone’s tongue I would recommend doing some variant of the above curse - build a poppet mouth (Don’t use any personal material like clothing of yours or lipstick you use) and fill it with rotten things and sew it up well. She has another curse involving cow’s tongue, but that doesn’t seem like anything you’d want for your situation. If I was doing something quick with things I had on hand? I’d probably bake something using lots of rosemary to open the mind and make them think and draw a sigil into it that they couldn’t see. As for hexes here’s a really easy jar that draws judgmental eyes to the person you direct it towards. Or there’s always a picture, a black candle, black thread and some scissors to help you in a quick and easy way.
Hope any of those options help out! If not let me know and we’ll brainstorm. Of course there’s always face-to-face confrontation, which I recommend. Often faster and more direct than witchcraft.
These are all great suggestions, but I have 2 more to add. A freezer spell is a classic. Choose a container, tag lock (their name on a piece of paper works), and a liquid. The simplest version is plastic tupperware, with the tag lock and water. Put it in the freezer, and when necessary, dispose of it. You can also leave it in there indefinitely. There are many variations on this method, and since it's basic sympathetic magic, you can customize it to your situation.
One simple spell I've always had luck with is writing the target's name on toilet paper and then flushing it. Essentially, flushing them out of your life.
And I agree with @notyourmothersspellbook that sometimes direct communication and/or confrontation with the person is best.
at this point the real danger of accidentally burning your house down is that you are going to be an immortal i-told-you-so cautionary tale on witchblr who will be used as a parable to teach beginner witches about fire safety until tumblr is shut down in 2055 and your actual life will become an in-joke in books for the next 150 years.
My aunt lit her oven on fire making garlic bread and we now call that recipe "burn your house down garlic bread". It can happen to anyone.
I routinely have prophetic dreams, but really shitty ones. Last night, in my dream, through a series of events I went to hell. I met the devil and it was John Stewart. I asked " John Stewart, you're Jewish and Jews don't believe in hell or the devil, why are you here?"
He replied "yeah, it's pretty fucked up. You know what else is fucked up, you're going to wake up and be so sweaty. Your entire body will be drenched, your vagina will sweat so much you'll wake up thinking you pissed yourself. Also your back will hurt and you'll probably have to poop."
This was all true.
I love you witchblr but some of y’all are actually truly batshit. Like you tripped over the thought that “hey maybe there’s a sort of spiritual energy in the universe and maybe we call that magic” and stumbled headlong into “literally every minor occurrence is A Sign From The Gods and also science is fake and also if I get dizzy it’s a spirit trying to contact me and not even remotely related to my health”.
Hot Take: Most things that happen are ordinary. If you find yourself not even considering a mundane explanation for something that’s happening or something you’re feeling, you maybe need to recognize that you’re getting overexcited about the idea of something Special taking place.
unfriendly reminder: this is a sex worker positive space. I will not tolerate the disrespect of sex workers here, and if you cant agree with that without a doubt then you're not welcome here.
sure would be nice if people other than porn blogs and sex workers reblogged this
dirt
mmmm… tasty..
the d in dirt stands for do not eat this please
Eating dirt is how I got worms.
When I was a kid we had a stick that predicted the weather. My wife informs me this is not normal.
I was curious about your understanding on hoodoo. Is it cultural appropriation? As a Christian witch, hoodoo is starting to regularly come up in my research. As promising as that direction is, I wanted to have anothers advice on if it is one I'm allowed to go. Thank you!
GOOD QUESTION. I've gotten some conflicting answers on that in my research, so I'm going to defer to the wise and wonderful Lady Speech Sankofa, who has marvelously informative channels on YouTube and TikTok and has discussed hoodoo, voodoo, and African Spirituality on a number of occasions. I highly recommend checking out all of her videos, she's an excellent resource.
In my understanding, hoodoo as a whole is not TECHNICALLY a closed practice, but you do need to be very careful how you go about it because of how closely some branches of it connect to African spirituality or African and Caribbean Islander diaspora folk traditions. But don't take my word for it.
I'm still in the process of learning about Appalachian granny magic (something that's interested me for a long time) and finding out where that comes from, so I'm hardly an authority on the subject. You're going to want to check with people who actually practice hoodoo or have proper knowledge of that school of magic.
@witches-ofcolor I thought this would be good for you to add onto!
Thank you for the tag! Hoodoo is closed, as the majority of hoodoo is derived from a combination of practices brought to the south by African slaves. At its core hoodoo is a legacy left for us by our ancestors, and thus should only be practiced by people who have an ancestral connection.
The driving spiritual force behind hoodoo is a connection to your ancestors who were taken as slaves, and thus is an imperative part of hoodoo. Furthermore, hoodoo’s uses were often a way to fight back against white supremacy and to heal the community.
If you want more information @crawlswithwings my inbox is always open! But hoodoo is not open. Someone who practices may invite you to partake in a ritual, but it’s not an open practice. It is a practice that requires blood ties.
This is why we say, "Go to the source." I think I may have been thinking of rootwork in my previous post. I get the two mixed up sometimes........because I haven't really studied them extensively.
Thank you for the additional information!
Hey, I often seen applaichian magic and southern conjure together with hoodoo. I don't want to ask minorities to speak on their experiences for the benefit of white people, but can we get a distinction for this?
“We chose the term “asexual” to describe ourselves because both “celibate” and “anti-sexual” have connotations we wished to avoid: the first implies that one has sacrificed sexuality for some higher good, the second that sexuality is degrading or somehow inherently bad. “Asexual”, as we use it, does not mean “without sex” but “relating sexually to no one”. This does not, of course, exclude masturbation but implies that if one has sexual feelings they do not require another person for their expression. Asexuality is, simply, self-contained sexuality.”
— The Asexual Manifesto, Lisa Orlando and Barbara Getz, 1972
Note the date, people:
That’s 1972
29 years before AVEN was started online,
and 47 years before the present.
And that’s only the date that Manifesto was written, so asexuals as members of a community must have existed at least some time before that.
So, no: we are not just Tumblr trenders. Get out of here with that.
supporting my asexual friends and foes by rebbloging this
Tip for Older / More Experienced Witches and Magical Folx: Have a will and plan of action for your magical items for after you cross over and pass on. Your magical and energy filled items are ALIVE. When you cross over, they remain alive for a very very very long time. How many "cursed" items in the world are just magical tools that haven't been fostered out properly after their creators are gone? Remember your magical friends may not be able to "handle" your stuff. Perhaps that haunted (insert item here) is simply mourning the loss of the one that created it or encouraged it to grow. The tools and items need to know that they won't be left alone or misused for eternity.
I just want to say in general, make advanced directives for everything.
Your trauma from Christianity isn’t an excuse to be antisemitic, you just suck. Judaism and Christianity are nothing alike. Just because you’re pagan now doesn’t mean you get to be a bigot.
and please for the love of God stop acting like you know anything about Jewish tradition just because you grew up Christian.
Does anyone have any tips for meditation for beginners?
...specifically, for beginners who have trouble focusing? I have ADHD and it's really difficult for me to just...let go of my thoughts....
Speaking as a witch who also struggles with ADHD and meditation...FIDGET!!!!!
Seriously, give your hands something to do. Something repetitive or mindless so that you can distract your brain just enough to slip into that zoned-out feeling. I find crocheting or sewing or sorting things or doing simple handicrafts is very helpful. Try meditating for short periods too, if that's easier.
Also, try guided meditation as opposed to freeform. Instead of sitting quietly or just listening to white noise or calm music, try something with a little bit of direction to it. This can be hit-or-miss if you can't find a narrator you like, but there are plenty out there to choose from.
If you happen to find particular songs or sound files that help with your meditation, make a playlist so you can use them again in the future. I literally have a playlist titled "Drift" that I use for meditation or to put myself to sleep when nothing else works.
Cirque du Soleil has some great pieces on their show soundtracks that work well for meditation. There are vocals, but the language is mostly their made-up words, so it's not distracting. (Try Aureus, Rubeus, Rain One, and Funambul from Varekai to start. They all fit together. Miracula Aeternitatis from Dralion is also amazing.)
Hope this helps!
To expand on the not sitting still, why not ditch sitting in general?
There are a bunch of different meditative or ecstatic movement techniques from all across the globe that you could learn about and implement if sitting isn’t for you. Tai Chi and Turkish Dervishism, for instance, are forms of meditation and prayer that rely on the associated movement to reach a mediative, ecstatic, state.
Try walking on a treadmill, or in laps around your room or backyard, try spinning or dancing. The point is to get so focused on the rhythms of your body and your movement that you block everything else out.
Thank you so much! This is incredibly helpful! I will look into the practices you mentioned! I'll also try dancing or spinning...find out what works best for me.
Thank you again!!!
Wow! I'm getting so much feedback on this post! Thank you all so much for being so helpful!
Having something your hands helps, too. Rosaries, mala beads, prayer beads exist in many practices.
