In A World Of My Own

(she/hers) 28 personal, working on posting for outlet rather than consuming exclusively

[lesbianralzarek]

it's so funny how half of us are like "food is sacred and the kitchen is holy ground. to break bread with others is inherently sacrament" and the other half of us are like "my villain origin story is someone looked at me when i was in the kitchen"

[livefromtheloam]

If I love you, I will cook for you. If you want me to continue to love and cook for you, stay out of my kitchen.

[cumaeansibyl]

the kitchen is holy ground and only I, its hierophant, may enter

[alkiores]

[eclectic-nb]

I need an alternative for sage and palo santo cause I don’t want to use either. Any suggestions?

[breelandwalker]

-cracks knuckles- I got you, friend.

Green Sage - (Garden Sage, Common Sage) Dried Green Sage performs admirably for smoke cleansing. It is easy to include in burning bowls or in herb bundles. It dries well and burns easily, producing a fair amount of pungent herbaceous-smelling smoke. The scent is very similar to White Sage smoke, and Green Sage bundles burn the same way. In addition, fresh stalks of Green Sage may be available in supermarket produce sections (varies by region). These can be purchased for a few dollars and hung up to dry at home. The dried herb is suitable for loose incense, smokesticks, and jarring for other uses.

Basil - (Sweet Basil, Citrus Basil, Thai Basil) Dried Basil is every bit as good as Green Sage for smoke cleaning. It produces copious amounts of highly-scented, slightly sweet smoke. Basil dried easily and is best suited for use in bundles. It can work in loose incense, but I would suggest including other herbs in the mix, as the thin leaves burn out quickly by themselves. Sweet Basil in particular, with its' broad leaves, is great for making a smooth outside layer for smokesticks. This is another herb that may be purchased fresh from the produce section in some areas, often in plastic sleeves containing a medium-sized plant with a root ball. If you're lucky, you may even be able to pot the Basil plant and keep it growing for future use. Basil also grows very well from seed in a home garden environment.

Rosemary - (Common Rosemary) Rosemary works well in a magical sense for smoke cleansing, but the practical performance is a little less than ideal. Rosemary smokesticks tend to smolder for a few seconds and then extinguish themselves unless you burn a good amount of the stick at the same time. Also, as the needles burn, small bits can drop off, which may constitute a fire hazard. If you're going to use Rosemary in a smokestick, you may need to re-light it periodically, and you should hold it over or place it in a fire-safe dish for the duration of the burn. I would also suggest including better-burning herbs such as Green Sage. Rosemary is best suited for loose incense mixes in conjunction with other herbs, and I suggest the use of warmers or charcoal disks. Rosemary smoke smells similar to Green Sage smoke, with a slight piney tang. Fresh Rosemary may also be available in market produce sections. It takes a longer time to dry than other herbs, due to the high sap content, so give it a few extra days.

Bay - (Bay Leaf, Bay Laurel) Bay leaves perform best in loose incense blends, as the large stiffened whole leaves are difficult to work into smokesticks, and twigs and bundles of Bay can be difficult to come by. It is difficult to keep them smoldering, and I highly recommend blending them with incense powder or more flammable herbs for an even burn.

Lavender - (True Lavender, French Lavender, English Lavender) Lavender smells terrific on it's own, and it makes an excellent additive to smokesticks and loose incense blends. The flowers work best for loose incense (particularly when set over a warmer), and the leafy stems and denuded flower stalks may be used as filler for smokestick bundles with other herbs. The smoke is highly scented and does carry a hint of the Lavender smell with it.

Cedar - (Cedar Twigs, Cedar Chips) Cedar is an excellent additive for any loose incense mix. Cedar chips readily available from pet supply stores, and it provides good kindling for a burning bowl. Cedar twigs are a common ingredient in commercially-available smokesticks, often paired with Sage, Sweetgrass, or Lavender, and they perform admirably. The twigs smolder very well and produce a thick pungent smoke that lingers in the air. Like Rosemary, Cedar smokesticks may "shed" during burning, so holding the bundle over a dish during use is recommended. (Note: Twigs and chips of other woods such as Willow and Oak also work well as burning bowl kindling for protection incense blends, but perform poorly in smokesticks.)

Peppermint - (Common Peppermint) Peppermint burns very well and releases and highly-scented, very pungent smoke. It smells very similar to marijuana and can be irritating. (Personally, I don't much like the smell, and if you have issues with menthol, you should not use it for smoke cleansing.) Peppermint works better as an additive to smokesticks and loose incense blends than a standalone herb. Fresh Peppermint MAY be available at some markets, but it is easier to find in garden shops during the spring and summer. You can either purchase the plant and trim it down for drying, or you can plant it and harvest periodically for more material, depending on your needs. (Note: Spearmint smells similar, but in my experience, it does not work as well for magical cleansing.)

Marjoram - (Sweet Marjoram) Marjoram is slightly minty and tends to be made up of thin stems and small leaves. It can be used for interior filler in smokesticks if desired, but it functions better in loose incense, particularly if the whole dried plant bundle is used as a kindling nest for the base of a burning bowl. The scent is hard to catch, as the scarcity of the burning material tends to produce very little smoke. This is another plant which is easily obtained from garden shops. It also grows very well from seed in windowsill pots. (Note: Oregano and Thyme share many of these characteristics, though Oregano leaves are slightly larger. Both grows well from seed and dry easily. Oregano smoke is pungent and herbaceous; Thyme smoke may carry a hint of citrus.)

Dill - (Sweet Dill, Common Dill, Mammoth Dill) Dill carries a pleasant lemony-buttery scent when fresh, and it dries easily when laid out or hung up. The stalks and feathery leaves tend to perform poorly on their own in smokesticks, but make excellent filler when used with other herbs, and are also good kindling for burning bowls. (Note: Fennel also shares many of these characteristics for smoke cleansing, but the scent is closer to anise or licorice. Both of these plants may be available in some produce sections, and are easily obtained as seeds or sprouts from garden stores.)

Pine - (Various, Long-Needled) Pine, similar to Rosemary, burns all right and produces pleasant-smelling smoke, but it tends to burn out fairly quickly and "sheds" when used in smokesticks. It makes good filler for the interior of layered smokesticks with other large-leaf herbs on top, and it performs very well in loose incense mixes. In warmers, it produces a strong evergreen scent that lingers for a long time. Freshly-fallen Pine twigs may be found in parks or anywhere that Pine trees grow naturally or for decorative purposes. Exercise caution and hold a catch dish under Pine smokesticks during use, or restrict the use of Pine needles to loose incense. Pine bundles takes weeks to dry out completely and should be tightly bound and hung needles-down to avoid dripping sap all over anything below. Dried Pine chips or twigs make excellent kindling for burning bowls.

PLEASE NOTE - The smoke of some herbs can smell similar to marijuana. Be sure to ventilate the area properly (open windows, turn on fans, or just be outdoors) and be mindful of any allergies you or others present may have before lighting the plant material. Practice fire safety AT ALL TIMES.

[breelandwalker]

More tips and advice for building your practice here:

A brief masterpost of some of my advice posts for beginner witches and the episodes of my podcast dealing with the same. (There is UPG here,

[breelandwalker]

Witchcraft Exercises

Just a quick compilation of the posts I've made about exercises to help improve your craft. These can be used as journaling prompts, inspiration for activities, or as methods for pulling yourself out of a slump and recharging your witchy inspiration.

Witchcraft Exercise - Quantifying Your Craft

Witchcraft Exercise - Dig Through The Ditches

Witchcraft Exercise - The Book of Lessons

Witchcraft Exercise - Home Brews

Witchcraft Exercise - Witchy Inspo Journal

Witchcraft Exercise - Spring Cleaning

Witchcraft Exercise - Creating Correspondences

Witchcraft Exercise - Creating Your Own Runes

Witchcraft Exercise - Shakespearean Witchcraft

Witchcraft Exercise - Music To Witch By

Related Prompt - Music to Witch By

Most of these are also available in the May 2021 bonus episode of Hex Positive (check your favorite podcatcher).

Happy Witching!

(If you’re enjoying my content, please feel free to drop a little something in the tip jar or check out my published works on Amazon or in the Willow Wings Witch Shop. 😊)

[writing-prompt-s]

Why did you give the last of your food to that poorly disguised mimic? You were finally at peace with letting go, but now this odd thing won’t leave you alone and is even turning itself into various items in an attempt to aid you.

[flower-in-a-horror-novel]

The mimic is a young one, and you knew that from the moment you laid eyes on it. It was disguised as a crate, but the angles weren’t quite right. The corners were a little lopsided, and if you looked hard enough you could make out the creature’s mouth.

A sigh escapes you as you toss over the last of your rations, not even bothering to stand up as you do so. What’s the point? You think. I’ve been trapped in this cave for days, nobody is looking for me, and the monsters are closing in. Why should I bother even trying? I could just fall asleep now, and let this little mimic eat me too.

The thing is… it doesn’t. It eats your rations, but when you lay down and try to sleep, it doesn’t attack. You do hear it move closer, but you don’t open your eyes until you feel something nudge your hand. As you barely open your eyes, you can see that the mimic has morphed itself into a crude sword. You can’t help but chuckle.

“You’re cute, but I don’t have anything left to give you.” You don’t have anything left to give for yourself either, but you don’t say so.

The mimic doesn’t seem to take no for an answer. It becomes a dagger, then an axe, then a staff, as though it’s trying to determine what your preffered weapon is.

“Listen, I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but it’s not working. I’m not going to pick you up and take you into some other part of this stupid cave system. Nice try, though.”

You turn away from it and attempt to sleep again. As you do so, you find yourself shivering. You really wish, as you doze off, that you had a blanket.

When you wake, much later, you’re surprised to find yourself covered with the warmest blanket you’ve ever had. You quickly sit up, eagerly hoping that someone had cone for you, but the cave is empty. When you look at the blanket, you notice the imperfect edges and the janky seam across the middle.

“…why haven’t you eaten me yet?” You ask the little mimic that’s now laying on top of you. “What’s wrong with you?”

The mimic, still in the form of the blanket, slithers off of you, but it does not respond. Instead, it begins taking the form of weapons again. When it turns into a crooked staff, you reach out, despite yourself. Your fingers wrap around it and you use it to haul your aching, injured body to your feet. “I guess there are probably nicer places to die.”

You know you won’t get far. And you don’t. Especially not without light. The mimic doesn’t seem too bothered, though. When you collapse again, it scuttles off. Perhaps this was simply where it wanted you to take it. Perhaps now you can finally succumb to your exhaustion.

Then, a few minutes later, a misshapen clay cup bumps against your hand. It’s full of water, and there’s a crack in the middle like a jagged mouth. You pick up the cup and you drink, telling yourself it’s only out of desperation. When you set the cup down, that little cracked mouth seems to smile.

This goes on for what feels like days. The mimic helps you limp along through the tunnels, transforming into whatever you may need at any given time. Every time you fall asleep, you expect not to wake up. Yet, you do, usually with a mimic blanket wrapped around you. It brings you food and water when you can.

The biggest surprise comes when one morning, you find you’re pleased to have survived another night. You’re happy to have the mimic keeping you warm. It’s a new feeling, and a confusing one, but it’s not unpleasant.

The other monsters that you know are down here seem to leave you alone for the most part. You aren’t sure why. It crosses your mind that maybe it has something to do with the mimic. Then again, maybe they’re just waiting for you to die. Death is gradually beginning to sound less and less appealing.

The day you catch a glimpse of sunlight down a long and narrow tunnel is the first day you finally feel like your old self again. Your pace quickens, and you don’t need to lean on the mimic’s staff form quite so much. The illusion shatters when you reach the light’s source. A small gap, high above. You curl up on the floor and cry. When you finally have the strength to look up again, your mimic has become a ladder.

Getting up is hard, in your state. Climbing, even more so. But the ladder is the biggest and best transformation the mimic has done so far, and if it wants you to get out, then you can’t let it down.

You feel it push up under you when you reach the gap. It helps you squeeze through, and then… freedom. Fresh air, and sunlight. You lay on your back on the stone, and you pass out.

You wake up at sunset, with a blanket draoed over you. A blanket with a jagged seam down the middle.

[damazcuz]

*explaining kitchen appliances to my pet medieval knights* The microwave, or Micheal the Wavious, and metal fork, or Sir Silver Prong, are sworn enemies and can never cross paths lest their meeting spell destruction for all.

[tears-of-amber-deactivated20260]

Hearth & Home Witchcraft That I've Learned

One of the biggest things that stands out to me when reading about hearth & home witchery is that everyday items are considered magical. Everyday moments, tasks, and chores as well. Its a beautiful way to live, if you really think about it. Big rituals are great, but as someone who is disabled, they rarely are doable. Here is a list of Hearth & Home Witchcraft Tips that i actually practice.

-Enchant a blanket by embroidering a sigil in the corner and using its color correspondences for your needs. It also helps me feel shielded from negative energy during meditation.

-Play music that makes you feel safe and AT HOME. This is almost like grounding, but also can be cleansing to the environment and especially the listeners. For me, its smooth jazz. The chill sound of the standup bass and the wandering piano notes that always seem to find their way to a comfortable key... its soothing to my soul.

-Talk to and about your home (kindly). So often its easy to complain about your living space. How you wish it looked or functioned differently. The house (in my belief) hears you. Treat it with kindness and gratitude for the shelter it provides. I say thank you to the house spirits and my home every morning.

-Find a convenient home protection ritual to do each month. I say convenient because if you overcomplicate things you'll feel less enthusiastic and less motivated to do it, and might even skip several months.

-Make a home cleansing spray using essential oils mixed with an appropriate amount of moon water. I like using a few drops of lemon, rosemary, lavender, and cinnamon. DO NOT spray this in the vicinity of your pets. I only use this spray in rooms where there arent any animals, to avoid complications with their health.

-Wash your bedding as often as you can and say a short incantation before you put it in the wash. It could go something like this. "I cleanse this bedding of all negative energy, from bad dreams, and from and all stress." Sleep is so important to your sense of safety and wellbeing at home.

-Open the damn windows when you can! Stagnant energy is known for dragging down people's moods. And there's nothing quite as uplifting as fresh air. This provides a healthy flow to your house's energy.

-Don't bring things in your home unless you want to incorporate their energy into your environment. This is something that's often overlooked. I especially advise heavy consideration when it comes to thrifting items and bringing them home. Try practicing sensing the energy of items so you can easily tell whats good to bring home and whats not. Thrifting is great! Im not discouraging it btw.

-Fresh flowers work miracles. Not only do they aesthetically brighten the room, but their correspondences and magical properties apply to the room that they're in. Sunflowers are a great example of a flower that encourages positivity, and are extremely affordable to get lots of them. Roses are a bit more expensive usually, but they invite that loving vibe. And African irises are great for psychic enhancement.

Thats all for this post! Reblog it if you found it helpful, or have any of your own cool practices for hearth & home witchcraft to share!

[thespectralcottage]

Getting Back Into Your Practice

Sometimes life is shitty and your spiritual practice doesn't take priority. Thats okay. Here are some tips for how to get back into your practice once you're feeling up for it.

Cleanse and Clean Your Space This is defiantly the first think you should focus your energy on. This can take as long as needed and as intensive as you want or feel is needed. Spiritual and physically cleanse your space. Pick up items, open windows and start your cleansing method of choice.

Redo Wards and Protections Once you've cleansed its important to redo your protection. Cleanse to get rid of, protect to keep it away. Even if nothing has *hit* your protections and wards, its important to keep up to date on them being energized.

Keep Actives Low on Spoons Now that you've done the basics, stick to low spoon actives and slowly build from there. Even if you feel super energized and ready to get into it- you want to take things slow. This'll help you from losing steam..

Slowly Add Back In Your Daily Practice This is totally unique person to person, but dont expect to be back into your multi step daily routine right away. Add in each step one at a time, or slowly so you wont feel overwhelmed.

Come Up with a Ritual Youre EXCITED About You want to focus on the parts of witchcraft you love. Do something you've always wanted to try, something you always love doing, or anything that will make you excited for the working.

Pick a New Topic, Not an Older One Getting into your practice and going to an older topic might feel disheartening. Pick a new topic like astrology, plants, or an aspect of witchcraft you havent gotten too into before. Then go back to the older topic you left on.

Do Some Divination on What You Need Right Now Spend time with your spirit team, deities or ancestors and figure out what you should be focusing in on right now. Maybe you need more rest, maybe theres a ritual they want you to work on.

Remember You Dont Have To Do Magic Daily Dont put too much stress into doing something every single day. Take breaks. Youre still a witch.

I hope these helped. Remember to take things slow and dont let the pressure of getting back into it weigh you down. Magic is suppose to help not hinder.

[bubbelpop2]

IF YOU STRUGGLE WITH HYGIENE OR VALUE DISABLED/HOMELESS PEOPLE, REBLOG THIS AS MUCH AS YOU CAN.

Okay so

Dry shampoo. You can get body powder or dry shampoo from dollar stores. It'll absorb the grease, and prevent moistness from causing infection. It comes in a powder, which you can vigorously fluff through your hair, making it look and feel clean. This is a valid form of hygiene. You do not need water to be hygenic and have human grooming behaviors.

You can brush your teeth with soap. Or salt. Or baking soda. Or hydrogen peroxide. Or with JUST WATER. But you NEED. TO BRUSH. YOUR TEETH. especially if you're poor and you can't afford a dentist. Tooth infections kill people.

Buy deodorant. The spray kind smells good, but it doesn't help with comfort. Carrying stick antiperspirant (not JUST de-odor ant, ANTI PERSPIRANT which means anti-sweat) and applying it every time you start to feel uncomfortably sweaty or like other people will judge you for how you smell, it will help. It will quickly become a habit if you pay attention to your body becoming uncomfortable because of sweat or smell.

Every once and awhile, when you notice a buildup of any sort of gunk, take a washcloth and vigorously scrub the area in question.

You do not need to shower every single day. That can quickly add up to lost energy and lost money. But you DO need to make sure that you're psychically comfortable and you smell nice, because it's been proven that humans need any sort of self grooming behavior to keep themselves happy and healthy.

And anyone who looks at this: do NOT make fun of how people smell. Do NOT make fun of people for not showering every day. Some people are literally incapable, physically or mentally.

[hagoftheholler]

i understand historically why it happens (colonization and wars and genocides and such) and im not here to argue that but hot take, i honestly wish Greek/Roman gods and goddesses weren't so popular and weren't so talked about. i think Percy Jackson and Marvel has made it so much worse but i get tired of running into polytheist/deity worship blogs that all honor the same like 5 gods. not intending to be mean but i get so bored reading 34758695 posts about how Aphrodite's light and love will cure self esteem and self love or whatever and lists of correspondences to rocks you need on your altar to honor loki

Valid. It does feel like there is clique-y behavior in witchcraft and pagan communities online where the same 5 deities are talked about constantly.

I also feel this popularity makes it hard for those interested in paganism to branch out and find what deities catch their interest. There are hundreds of deities. But I can only think of... less than 10 that get talked about consistently online.

[khaire-traveler]

No shame to people who do follow "popular gods" (I am one so like lol), but for sure, it does get frustrating how deities (specifically in helpol, with my perspective) such as Demeter, Hephaestus, and Poseidon aren't talked about pretty much ever, despite being literal Olympians themselves. Don't even get me started on deities such as Nike, Eros, and Thanatos - they've basically been erased entirely.

You obviously do not have to worship and/or talk about every deity on the face of the earth, but it certainly wouldn't do any harm to look into them, research them, and just see what's out there.

[sag-dab-sar]

I think one of the reasons Greek & Roman deities are so common is because of the absolute boat loads of ancient literature we have on them and the very large academic field about them. Compared to Celtic, Germanic, or Slavic deities— especially since a lot of info comes from Roman, Greek, or Christian sources. And even more so how all Celtic Gods are lumped together despite there being multiple independent Celtic cultures & languages. Its just harder. And the information on Greek & Roman deities is so readily available you can easily debunk bullshit occult, neo-pagan, or pop culture fabrications about these gods. Not so easy with say Tiāmat in a video game or dumb "dragon magick" book. Try to find literature/information on Ĝeštinana that isn't a singular page from Oracc or behind a pay wall .... now try it with Apollo .... oh wait, Apollo has multiple Theoi Project pages full of ancient literature quotes, references, and images.

I don't know if I've mentioned it on this blog or just my old one but research is hard. Finding & vetting sources is hard. And in the US imo, high school is MUCH more focused on making sure you can write dumb pointless essays tailored specifically to the SATs than they are actual source driven research. I didn't get a good education in that until undergrad when I didn't have to focus on bullshit tailored writing; you'd think it would be better at the advanced level in HS, but nope then you're just learning to pass the AP standardized test again not source driven research papers. I don't think enough pagans/polytheists recognize or admit that research is hard. It just is. Finding sources is a skill, vetting sources is a skill, reading sources (especially dense academic ones) is a skill, synthesizing the various sources you've read into a cohesive understanding is a skill. A lot of new pagans/polytheists are in high school or may not have university education for whatever reason; I'm not saying these people are dumb I'm saying that these are skills that need to be taught and learned. Yet many of us, including myself sometimes, just kind of forget that when we answer an ask or reblog with "just do research! find out about lesser known Gods!" The person on the other end might think "okay.... but how", then do a google search and land on triplegoddessblog.net or whatever and be taught Inana is a triple moon sky Goddess and Lilith is the strong anti-patriarchal bestest edge Goddess, when both are bullshit. Not to mention all the pagan sites that list deities like correspondences with absolutely no cultural or historical information. Everything surrounding finding, reading, and understanding academic & historical sources is a skill. And frankly academics can be fucking difficult even when you have those skills. We need to stop treating research like its a power you suddenly gain when you become a pagan/polytheist. Being a pagan/polytheist will eventually necessitate research but that doesn't mean a person magically gains the ability.

[slavery]

How does anyone hate kids they are so funny I sold tickets to incredibles to this little girl and her mom and she’s like mom are we sitting next to each other and the moms like ya and the kid screamed YES so loud it broke my ears

[pkslider]

The other day I was bringing an older gentleman up the hill in a golf cart and we drove past this huge YMCA group of kids like 100 kids and driving past the first chunk like 10 of them yelled out “let me on” in unison and then since I’m driving so slowly to be safe, halfway in some kid leaned up and said “do you play fortnite” and I told him I played a little and he just pointed and shouted “THIS GUY PLAYS FORTNITE” and then like 20 kids started talking to me all at once about fortnite

[low-budget-mulan]

A kid asked me if I lived in the ambulance. I said yes.

[patron-saint-of-smart-asses-dea]

The hero we deserve

[treerot]

When I was on register at Kohl’s a little girl came through with her grandma and she was so very excited to tell me the meaning of her name (I think it was like warrior of god) and she begged her grandma for her phone so she could google to find out what my name means too

[newterjuice]

i wear two spinner rings on one finger and one time at my last job a young girl (probably 6-8) said “your ring is very pretty” and when i showed her it was two rings she GASPED and said “does that mean you’re marrying two people?!”

[siren-singing]

I have this necklace with a mermaid on it that I wear to work a lot and I got asked by a kid if it gave me magic powers. I leaned in real close and told her in a low voice it gave me magical girl powers but it was a secret. She got this real serious look on her face and said to her mom “that lady has superpowers, don’t tell anyone or the government will take her away”.

[business-pug]

The other day i had to give a speech at my school despite my horrific fear of public speaking and afterwards i had kid come up to me and say well done to me. It was so cute.

[mcr-minivan-deactivated20200108]

god I love tiny kids

[uberfluss]

there was a kid in one of our science camps and he spent the whole week in a lab coat and goggles screaming “CHEMICALS” at the top of his lungs. he wouldn’t even tell us his name for the first two days just screamed CHEMICALS instead.

[moth-doe]

I was watching these kids at church today and one of them screamed and threw a toy car into the wall and it broke and the other one looked over calmly and said “does your insurance cover that?”

[armandyke]

I was taking the drink order for a family at work and I asked their kid what he wanted to drink and he just looked at me with a completely deadpan expression and said “vodka” and me and the parents just fucking lost it

[bemusedlybespectacled]

kid I used to babysit asked why my lips were different (she was two), and when I told her that it was because I was wearing lipstick, she yelled, “MAYA, I WANT LIPITZ.”

[itsmydrink]

I work in a school and every time I draw anything on the board (I am a terrible artist and usually resort to stick men), the kids will all go ‘I love your picture, that’s a great drawing Miss’. So blindly supportive.

[the-stray-liger]

One time my younger brother ordered a “non-alcoholic fanta” at a hotel bar and the bartender lost his shit and I was never the same man

[swankivy]

When I was student teaching, I was taking my fourth graders back from lunch and noticed one little girl looking longingly at the playground, where the younger kids were having recess. She heaved a big sigh and said, “I used to be that free.”

[ibibibi]

oh my god little kids in the library are the BEST one time i was looking for a book and a little girl tried to help me cause we always help HER find the books she wants. sometimes when i’m helping them check out they’ll tell me about the books they’re getting. i know so much about dog man.

[ibibibi]

oh man! another hilarious thing kids in the library do! they will straight up TELL ON THEIR PARENTS!

mom: the book was like that when we checked it out

child, innocently confused: i thought (little brother) did that though?

dad: yes that’s our correct address and phone number

child, barely paying attention: we MOOOOVED!! :D

parent: we never checked that book out

child, trying to be helpful: yes we did, that’s the one we lost at grandma’s house, remember?

me, fighting laughter and trying to decide whether or not the enter the child’s testimony as official evidence or not

[beingatoaster]

I know I’ve told this story on Tumblr before, but one of my favorite retail experiences was when I was stocking shelves once and dropped a couple of small plastic toys, and a little girl ZOOMED up, grabbed them, held them up to me, and when I thanked her, said “I’m closer to the floor, so it’s TEAMWORK! :D” and zoomed off back to her mom

[solarishashernoseinabook]

I was telling a kindergarten class (4/5 year olds) that we’re hosting a book fair next week and they would need to ask their parents for money. One girl very excitedly told me she has “one money” in her piggy bank. Her classmate, vibrating with excitement, said, “I have TOO MUCH money! I have ten dollars!”

[marzipanandminutiae]

a little boy, maybe around 7, looked at our piano at the museum and asked me very politely, “why doesn’t it have all 88 keys?”

I googled it for him after the tour, because even I didn’t know how many keys a piano was meant to have, or why this one had fewer (earlier pianos were just Like That, seems to be the answer)

we love baby nerds in this house

[koshercosplay]

a marathon route ran past my apartment this morning and from my window I heard a small child yell at the top of her lungs, utterly bewildered, “WHERE ARE THEY ALL GOING???”

[katedrawscomics]

we have two niblings, and they like to draw with me when they visit. they’re recently getting into Star Wars and wanted to draw some characters from that.

me: okay, who will we draw?

older nibling, as expected: luke! BB-8!

me: alright, cool-

younger nibling, loudly and with conviction: COUNT DOOKU!!!!!!

[sksninja]

Back when I worked at the aquarium we had coloring sheets for the kids as a wrap-up for some of the little education classes and this kid really really wanted to color a clownfish, but we didn’t have a coloring sheet with any clownfish on them so I grabbed a sharpie and a blank piece of paper and whipped out a little- 

AND MY GOD it was as if I had crafted a masterpiece of stardust and DREAMS right in front of them. I spent the rest of the time drawing like 14 more simplistic clownfish for them all to color. I was a god that day.

[breelandwalker]

2023 Witch's Calendar

For all my witches out there, here's a handy list of the 2023 dates for the major holidays, full and new moons, and special events. I've listed my sources at the bottom. Dates and times for all events are calculated for Eastern Standard Time, USA, Northern Hemisphere. Adjust for your location as needed. Enjoy!

WOTY Holidays and Solstices

February 1-2 - Imbolc

March 20 - Spring Equinox / Ostara

May 1 - Beltane

June 21 - Summer Solstice / Midsummer

August 1 - Lughnasadh

September 23- Autumn Equinox / Mabon

October 31 - Samhain

December 21 - Winter Solstice / Yule

Full Moons

January 6 - Wolf Moon ♑

February 5 - Snow Moon ♒

March 7 - Worm Moon ♓

April 6 - Pink Moon ♈

May 5 - Flower Moon ♉

June 4 - Strawberry Moon ♊

July 3 - Thunder Moon (aka Buck Moon) ♋

August 1 - Sturgeon Moon ♌

August 31 - Blue Moon ♍

September 29- Harvest Moon ♎

October 28 - Hunter's Moon (aka Blood Moon) ♏

November 27 - Frost Moon ♐

December 26 - Cold Moon ♑

Fun Fact: The title of Harvest Moon is given to either the September or October full moon, whichever falls closest to the autumn equinox. In 2023, as in 2022, that month will be September.

New Moons

January 21 ♒

February 20 ♓

March 21 ♈

April 20 ♈

May 19 ♉

June 18 ♊

July 17 ♋

August 16 ♌

September 14 ♍

October 14 ♎

November 13 ♏

December 12 ♐

Special Events

May 5 - Penumbral Lunar Eclipse

August 30 - Blue Moon

September 29 - Penumbral Lunar Eclipse

Mercury Retrogrades (in case you need them)

Dec 29, 2022 - Jan 18, 2023

April 21 - May 14

August 23 - September 15

Dec 13, 2023 - January 1, 2024

SOURCES:

Moon Info - Full Moon 2023

Calendar-12.com - Moon Phases 2023

Full Moonology - Full Moon Calendar 2023

Yearly Horoscope - Mercury Retrograde 2023 Dates and Times

Your Zodiac Sign - 2023 Astrology Calendar

The Pagan Grimoire - The Wheel of the Year: The 8 Festivals in the Wiccan Calendar

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[deactivated-blog]

Hello! Welcome to a new bunch of book recommendations. 

This one focuses on witches and divination in history! 

Some of the books on this list also appear elsewhere in my annobib posts, but that’s mostly because they tend to address multiple topics.

I decided to go ahead and post this tonight because I saw some folks in the tags asking for witch history-related reading material! I decided to include Tarot/etc history books here, too, since they’re related.

You can find more book recommendations via the #annobib tag on my blog, all organized into lists by topic! There’s also an index, here!

Encyclopedia of Witchcraft, by Judika Illes. Even better than the Weiser Field Guide to Witches - this book is huge and chock-full of information. It’ll explain in easy-to-understand language how the concept has developed throughout time, why witches do what they do, and different types of witches.

The Weiser Field Guide to Witches, by Judika Illes. This gives an excellent look at the historical lore concerning witches, from the perspective of a witch herself. It’s kind of tongue-in-cheek, but it does have some information that won’t be found elsewhere.

Triumph of the Moon, by Ronald Hutton. An inside no-holds-barred look at the history of Wicca and Modern paganism. Highly recommended. This is sort of the book that fluffbunnies don’t want you to read.

Stations of the Sun, by Ronald Hutton. Curious about what ancient pagan practices actually looked like? This book mostly focuses on festivals in ancient times and their relationship to the cycle of the year, but it’s a neat look into ancient lore.

Book of Lies: The Disinformation Guide to Magick and the Occult, by Richard Metzger. Lots of facts and history of magick in the context of Postmodernity. This is different from the Crowley text of the same name, which I wouldn’t recommend unless you want to focus on his tradition.

The Place of Enchantment, by Alex Owen. This is a purely historical text that documents the occult revival within the context of Modernity. I remember it being very good, but please realize I haven’t really picked it up much since graduating, and it might just have served my mindset at the time.

Witches, Werewolves and Fairies, by Claude Lecouteux. Mostly focused on the history of what we now call hedgecraft. Details many accounts of astral journeying experienced by both pagans and Christians in earlier times, and gives a good description of the concept of the astral double, the architecture of the soul, and other topics throughout history.

Demons and Spirits of the Land, by Claude Lecouteux. Great, detailed information about spiritwork practices throughout time, in both pagan and later Christian contexts. Lecouteux is a favorite of mine, in case that wasn’t clear!

Modern Wicca: A History From Gerald Gardner to the Present, by Michael Howard. Wicca is not my purview, but this was an interesting book covering the latter half of the 20th century’s occult milieu, by a Gardnerian initiate. 

Perdurabo: The Life of Aleister Crowley, by Richard Kaczynski. If you’re interested in the history of ceremonial magic and how it influenced witchcraft, this is one to check out. It’s a biography of the notorious Aleister Crowley, and gives a good picture of the Golden Dawn’s history, as well.

Secrets of the Waite-Smith Tarot, by Marcus Katz and Tali Goodwin. This book focuses just on the history, symbolism, and creative process of the Waite-Smith deck. It gives you an inside line on just what Pixie Smith was thinking when painting specific scenes, and is a great look at her life’s work, as well.

Mystical Origins of the Tarot, by Paul Huson. While this book contains the normal “Tarot beginner” info, it also features a vast history section tracing the Tarot throughout time. Worth a read, but very dense and a bit obtuse at times.

Tarot Time Traveler, by Marcus Katz. An unusually-organized, highly personal look at Tarot history and the people who shaped it. Also features historically-inspired Tarot spreads and other cartomantic exercises.

The Tarot: History, Symbolism, and Divination, by Robert M. Place. This book will not teach you to read Tarot, but does give an actual, accurate portrait of the history of the phenomena, which is incredibly important and useful. Know your history.

Dark Star Rising, by Gary Lachman. Well, uh, this is more current events than history, but this is an attempt to trace how various occult movements influenced the election of Donald Trump, modern populism, and the rise of the so-called alt right.

[stardewspellshed]

Villager Associations and Spell Suggestions

(Note: these are my personal correspondences and based off my experiences and personal feelings. Feel free to use, but be aware they may not work for you without some tweaking. Also, this list doesn't contain any 1.5 content, or villagers who can't be given gifts like Marlon.)

I've called this an association list and not a correspondence list because I'm doing this a bit differently. Instead of giving a detailed list of stuff, I'm giving my primary correspondence, an in-game item I associate with the character with, and some magical (or magic-adjacent) things you can do to connect with the character.

Pierre- I associate Pierre with ambition and use a Treasure Chest as his symbol. Suggested activities include magic to help get/ace job interviews, performance assessments, or other things that can help you further your goals and/or career.

Caroline- I associate Caroline with gardening and use a Green Tea Leaf as her symbol. Suggested activities include green magic, specifically gardening spells.

Abigail- I associate Abigail with exploration and use an Ancient Sword as her symbol. Suggested activities include protection magic, spells for courage, death magic, or spells to try and get a smothering parent to back off.

Jodi- I associate Jodi with love of all kinds and use an Ornamental Fan as her symbol. Suggested activities include spells to help strengthen a relationship (with the other person's consent!), spells to help forgive, and hearth magic of all kinds.

Kent- I associate Kent with trauma and use a daffodil for his symbol. Suggested activities include spells for things like anxiety and shadow work. (But don't stop your mental health regimen if you have one without talking to a professional about it, whether that's therapy, medication, etc)

Sam- I associate Sam with music and use an Ancient Drum as his symbol. Suggested activities include experimenting with the effects of music on your spellcasting, writing a chant, or crafting a spell based off of a song you like.

Vincent- I associate Vincent with energy and movement and use Cranberry Candy as his symbol. Suggested activities include energy work and looking into mindful walking or other forms of meditation that don't involve sitting perfectly still.

Emily- I associate Emily with textiles and use a bolt of Cloth as her symbol. Suggested activities include knot and thread magic, embroidering sigils on your stuff, learning how to sew poppets, or astral travel.

Haley- I associate Haley with seeing the true nature of things and use a Pink Cake as her symbol. Suggested activities include revealing spells, happiness spells, and baking bread/sweets and enchanting them for health, happiness, etc.

George- I associate George with the passage of time and use an Ancient Fruit as his symbol. Suggested activities include ancestor veneration (whether that's your actual ancestors or ancestors of choice) or trying something like Write Your Witchcraft once a year to see what's changed in your practice.

Evelyn- I associate Evelyn with flowers, and use a Tulip as her symbol. Suggested activities include planting a garden (either for real or in-game) based on magical correspondences, exploring stuff like flower crown magic, or just learning how to take better care of your plants.

Alex- I associate Alex with effort and practice, and use a Large Egg of either color as his symbol. Suggested activities include practicing areas of your craft you feel need improvement and spells related to athletics.

Pam- I associate Pam with travel and use a Model Ship decoration as her symbol. Suggested activities include making travel altars or shrines, blessing spells for safe travel, and spells to get your bags to the same place you're going.

Penny- I associate Penny with dreams and use a Poppy as her symbol. Suggested activities include astral travel, keeping a dream journal, and dream magic as a whole.

Robin- I associate Robin with building and crafts, and use a piece of Wood or Hardwood as her symbol. Suggested activities include picking up new crafts and seeing how to work them into your practice or doing something like this exercise to get a detailed idea of how your practice has been built.

Demetrius- I associate Demetrius with the mind and use a Purple Mushroom as his symbol. Suggested activities include things like keeping a journal of spells where you record successes/failures/unplanned effects and working on or dusting off your critical thinking/discernment skills.

Sebastian- I associate Sebastian with solitude and use a Yeti's Tear as his symbol. Suggested activities include hexing, banishing, and techno magic.

Maru- I associate Maru with innovation and use a Battery as her symbol. Suggested activities include spellcrafting, cosmic magic, techno magic, and astrology.

Marnie- I associate Marnie with animals and use Apples as her symbol. Suggested activities include things like pet blessings, connecting with your familiar, or communication with an animal guide.

Shane- I associate Shane with recovery and use the Chicken Statue as his symbol. Suggested activities include self love spells and shadow work.

Jas- I associate Jas with imagination and use a Fairy Rose for her symbol. Suggested activities include visualization exercises and exploring how to safely create servitors.

Elliott- I associate Elliott with literature and writing, and use a Duck Feather as his symbol (since I can't give him a feather pen haha). Suggested activities include reading magical/witchy books with a critical eye, creating spells inspired by your favorite books/stories/folktales, updating your grimoire or book of shadows, or writing letters to entities you work with.

Leah- I associate Leah with the fine arts, and use landscape paintings as her symbol. Suggested activities include incorporating color symbolism into your spells, sigilcraft, and art magic at large.

Harvey- I associate Harvey with healing and use a Dandelion as his symbol. Suggested activities include healing spells (along with seeking physical or mental health care if necessary, because magic is not a substitute for science or help from a professional) and energy work.

Linus- I associate Linus with freedom and use seasonal foraging items as his symbol. Suggested activities include cursebreaking, cord cutting rituals, and learning the magical correspondences of your local plants and flowers.

Clint- I associate Clint with fire and the forge, and use an Iron Bar as his symbol. Suggested activities include candle magic, flame divination, smoke cleansing, enchanting your jewelry, researching the magical uses of various metals, and including the metals in your practice.

Gus- I associate Gus with kitchen magic and use cooked food dishes as his symbol. Suggested activities include practicing kitchen witchcraft, researching/crafting potions that are safe to consume, and making sure you have something to eat or drink on hand after casting a spell.

Lewis- I associate Lewis with power and use the Solid Gold Lewis Statue as his symbol. Suggested activities include volunteering to lead a group ritual or casting political resistance magic.

Krobus- I associate Krobus with the moon and use a Void Essence as his symbol. Suggested activities include using moon phases in your craft, concealment spells, glamours, and spells to help you sleep.

Sandy- I associate Sandy with the sun and use a Solar Essence as her symbol. Suggested activities include spells for happiness, luck, or prosperity and exploring the use of solar energy in your craft.

Willy- I associate Willy with water and I use a Crab as his symbol. Suggested activities include sea magic, mermaid magic, bath/shower spells, and water magic at large.

Rasmodius, the Wizard- I associate the Wizard with magic itself and use a piece of Iridium Ore as his symbol. Suggested activities include scrying, divination, spirit work, or studying an area of magical theory you're curious about.

The Dwarf- I associate the Dwarf with the earth and use an Omni Geode as his symbol. Suggested activities include grounding and rock/fossil/crystal work.

[upthewitchypunx]

So many posts in witch groups on Facebook start with "how do I clean my rock/room/overpriced item I just bought?"

No one really wants my answer, they just want to wave some flaming twigs around it and feel good about themselves.

My answer starts with:

CLEAN YOUR FUCKING ROOM!

Clean your house, set up a warding system, claim your items as yours when they enter your space.

That, or build a decontamination box to put things in before giving the a job.

Or

Ask if if it would please get rid of stuff not useful for the task at hand.

I think it's funny that all these people don't want to follow rules and don't want to join an existing magical tradition, but are somehow still very concerned with doing to "right" thing.

Friend, if you aren't following and existing practice you are building your own practice so build a practice that reflects you.

I don't know, spit Faygo on your moonstone and carry it in your bra to get attuned to you or whatever.

[deactivated-blog]

Here we are, with another installment of my book recommendations series! 

You can see previous book lists here, covering a lot of different esoteric topics. More will be posted later on, so stay tuned. 

I’ve devoted much of the past few months to the study of Western astrology. Though I’ve previous familiarity with plenty of astrological concepts, I still consider myself pretty new and unskilled.

I’ve made some pretty hilarious gaffes, too, like mixing up the declarations for Pisces and Aquarius.

Still, I’d like to share some books that have, thus far, helped me on my astrology journey. These are all, in my opinion, appropriate for beginners, absolute or otherwise.

Yesterday’s Sky, by Steven Forrest. Focuses specifically on teasing out the karmic/past life strands of the natal chart, with emphasis on the nodes of the moon. Read this if you’re otherkin?

Practical Astrology for Witches and Pagans, by Ivo Dominguez, Jr. This book, unlike most astrology texts, won’t tell you much about interpreting a chart - instead, it’s an entire book on timing your magick with the stars!

Planetary Magick, by Melita Denning and Osborne Phillips. If you want to work with the planets at all, particularly in a highly ritualized context, I recommend this book. It’s large, comprehensive and gives a good foundation beyond what you find in general astrology books.

Practical Planetary Magick, by Sorita d’Este and David Rankine. Shorter than I would have liked, but a useful reference to have on your shelf, with excellent tables and appendices in the back. The meditations are also quite useful.

The Inner Sky, by Steven Forrest. This book is a bit dated, at least in terms of its pop culture references! The astrology information, though, is sound and easy to understand. The author is very poetic and avoids dry keyword-based interpretations. I just finished reading this, but am still referring back to it.

Essential Astrology, by Amy Herring. Very comprehensive. It doesn’t go into too much detail about some things, but gives a broad swathe of knowledge for the beginner. Worth picking up for her analysis of comedian Steve Martin’s chart alone!

Astrology of the Moon, by Amy Herring. You may already know that the Moon is a luminary, and, along with the Sun, has a prominent role in any astrological chart. Here is a book solely focused on the Moon and how it interacts with the rest of a chart. It’s a little more complex than Essential Astrology, but still easy for a beginner to understand.

The Weiser Concise Guide to Practical Astrology, by Priscilla Costello. If your background is more ritual magick than witchcraft, this book is a good way to jump into astrology. It is best for those with a working knowledge of Hermetic and especially Thelemic spiritual systems, though.

The Only Astrology Book You’ll Ever Need, by Joanna Martine Woolfolk. This was my first astrology book. While it doesn’t cover everything, and you’re surely going to want to find other sources afterwards, it is a good overview of modern astrology in plain, understandable language.

Llewellyn’s Complete Book of Astrology, by Kris Brandt Riske. This one is more of a handbook. It’s organized to allow you to quickly reference keywords for different scenarios, such as Mars in a certain sign or house. I recommend reading it alongside something more detailed, like Amy Herring’s Essential Astrology.

The Luminaries, by Liz Greene and Howard Sasportas. Based on a series of lectures given by the authors, this book focuses on the Sun and Moon, and branches out from astrology into mythology, magick, history, and more. Accessible to the beginner, but weighty enough for more intermediate readers.

Moon Magic, by Diane Ahlquist. This one is less about chart interpretation and more about working and communing with the Moon as a force of nature. Excellent for those courting Lunar spirits or seeking a closer relationship with all that the moon represents.

Astrology for Writers, by Corrine Kenner. Exactly what it says on the cover! This book will help you deepen your plotting and characterization when writing fiction, using the archetypes of astrology. You can make a natal chart for your protagonist!

I hope you find something in these books to help your journey into astrology! 

Expect to feel like a beginner for a long time, though - the learning curve can seem quite steep. Thus far, it has been worth the effort for me!

You can see the other installments in my book recommendations series here. 

And, if you decide to purchase one of these books, it would be great if you did it through the links above - when you do, I get a bit of pocket money from Amazon. This I will no doubt spend on instant coffee and twizzlers, but can you blame me?

[devoted-to-the-gods]

♡ Cleansing Spray ♡

While not everyone can smoke cleanse with sage or cedar, you can create a cleansing spray which allows you to cleanse your space, while not having to set anything on fire. Cleansing allows for your space to purified from all the negative energies and entities which may be residing within the space, as well as should be done before any spells, and doing any wards. There are other methods of cleansing which do not require the use of fire, this is a great method to use. 

Best Day and Time to Make: (this isn’t a necessity, however many witches like to follow the days and times connected to what magick is best for those times.) Saturday and during dawn or noon

Items You Will Need:

A spray bottle (glass recommended, but plastic is okay)

8 oz purified water (more or less depending on the size of the spray bottle and if you are using rainwater as you do half purified water and half rainwater)

2 teaspoons thyme or sage

5-10 drops lavender essential oil

¼ sea salt 

3 bay leaves (optional: shredded)

1 teaspoon lemon juice 

Rainwater (optional: when collected on a Saturday it can be used for purification, and when collected on a Sunday it can be used for protection)

A pot

A stove

A spoon

How to Make the Spray:

Prepare the herbs by cleaning it with water and pressing dry, make sure you have everything you need so you don’t need to rush around grabbing things. Make sure this is not stressful for you. 

Put the purified water in the pot which is on the heated stove, use as much as you need along with the rainwater if you are using it. Along with the bay leaves, sea salt, lavender essential oil, lemon juice, and thyme or sage. 

Allow for water to boil with each item, charging the water with your energy and the intent as it boils. Stirring counter-clockwise with a spoon to banish any negative energy. After allowing the water to boil with the items for a few minutes.  

Move pot away from the heated section of the stove, and allow for it to cool as you put the spray bottle in a bowl in case any of the water does not make it into the spray bottle. You may strain so the spray is only the water, however, I allowed for some of my bay leaves to remain in the spray bottle to provide a more impactful effect. 

Pour the water into the spray bottle, and then you’re done. If you like sigil magick, I marked a sigil on the spray bottle for the space to be cleansed and safe, it is also important to remember to charge this sigil if you do mark the spray bottle with one. 

Shake before use gently. To use, spray the area that needs cleansing, make sure to get those corners which harbor all the negative energy, an altar if you have one, and any entry points such as a window, mirror, door, etc. 

♡ Happy cleansing! ♡