SABBAT FIRES

Traditional witch of the herb sniffing, carcass fondelling, root twisting, devil lusting variety. Used to be "midnight offerings" but, in truth, i forgot my password. loving partner to neusietpoet and avid tea drinkiner, tobacco burner, earth lover and folk heathen. please say hi! 

[phantomleaves]

“The Witch is the sacred Yew Tree, never dying, always shedding her skin like the serpent so she may ever live on in one form or another. There is no unbroken lineage, no unbroken witchcraft tradition in history. There is only Witchcraft itself, a wild thing that can never be caught and contained but insists on its wildness and on constant transformation, constant death and rebirth (as with all things in nature). Witchcraft is a survivor. Witchcraft mocks our definitions, divisions, tidy boxes, and white-washing, leaving a trail of feathers and bones through forest and city alike.”

— Sarah A. Lawless, Breaking Tradition  (via winged-serpent)

[walkingthehedge]

More photos from WS 2014. The folks chose next year’s theme: The Fetch & Shapeshifting. Our herb for 2015: osha root (aka bear root). And the stang is to be made of alder.

[serpentandstang-deactivated2021]

Various Wands Mal Corvus Witchcraft & Folklore artefact collection West Country, England (Cornwall)

[theoddcollection]

Mole’s foot amulet. Believed to protect the carrier from toothache. (Norfolk, 1890)

[twistedroot]

Widdershins

by Doreen Valiente 

I curse you against the sun,

I curse you against the moon.

So may the spell be done,

And fall upon you soon.

Back on your evil head

Fall the lies you have spoken.

The arrow you have sped

Shall fall back broken

Into your own false heart

The splintered shaft shall lodge,

Although you play your part

With shift and cunning dodge.

By night when owls cry

Under the waning moon,

Her sickle in the sky

is sharp for you soon.

The fool who calls on fate

Shall deathly echoes hear,

Unloosing from her gate

The hounds of fear.

Undying as the wind

And swift as thought,

You leave them not behind,

They cannot be bought.

In all the earth is not room

To lose their footsteps fell.

They hunt you to your doom,

The red eared hounds of hell.

Of your own poisons die,

corrupt and rotten.

Your grave unhonoured lie,

Your name forgotten.

[lilithlunarhiannon]

“вє whσ чσu wєrє вσrn tσ вє, fσllσw thє cαll σf чσur drєαms, sєє whαt чσu wєrє вσrn tσ sєє, чσur mαgíc ís mσrє thαn ít sєєms.“

[twistedroot]

Try Daily Pagan Devotions

I know a lot of witches, especially at the start of their path, struggle to ‘feel witchy’ or ‘stay witchy’. This problem often leaves people feeling embarrassed and really disheartened. There is nothing to be upset about. No matter how devout we are, we live in a modern world with real distractions.

The answer may be daily devotion. it doesn’t have to be fancy, it doesn’t have to be long, just make it daily and make it useful.

Devotion, in it’s essence, is showing love and loyalty to ancestors, teaching spirits, deities or what/who ever else your path has led you to.

 If you have a daily practice, even if it is just a few minuets long, you will be able to survive those revision days, double shifts and  stress marathons with your pagan fire well in tact.

[twistedroot]

My birth place, the forest of dean in all its green glory!

I’m biased, but, most magical place on EARTH!

images from http://www.wyedeantourism.co.uk/

[tompuschautz]

Finally done

[therootwitch]

Uhhh okay every time I try to reach out to my ancestors they either ignore me or are just straightup mean/negative

[therootwitch]

“Don’t make my ghost coffee! I’m a good Christian, leave me alone!”

And when I go back more than 3 generations on the white side of my bloodline, they’re all racists. Kay.

I need to stop casting such a wide net, and contact individuals who are actually interested in hanging around

[ofwoodandbone]

I hope you don’t mind me adding onto this post, but it poses a really great point.  This is really common and something that a lot of people don’t warn about when suggesting that people try ancestor work.  Ancestors can be downright malevolent. Not everyone had great families.  Even more than communication, they can cause ill intentioned supernatural events when contacted.  It’s always a good suggestion to start with specific family members and work your way forward (or back). Use the connection from one family member to another to gain trust. 

[ioqayin]

Agreed. Best to start with ancestors you knew and had a good connection with while alive.

I once kept a crucifix for one of my grandmums, but she didn’t like it for some reason. I thought she had been Catholic (my grandfather is, so I just assumed). I asked my dad about it: Protestant.

I find, the more we talk with our ancestors, the more they understand. They still want that connection to their family, and once they realize that you are that connection, they chat with you more.

As for racists and abusers and that jazz, I go through a process of “washing the dead” to cleanse them of these sins. It’s hard work, and we have to bring that work into our everyday lives. We can’t just leave them to continue influencing our descendants with racist rhetoric floating around in the spirit world.

On the other hand, don’t call up your abusive mother, for example, if you aren’t ready to deal with any demons you had with her. That, too, is part of our underworld work. They live in the blood.

[therootwitch]

The idea of washing the dead is really interesting! I might have to look into that.

[aqono-luna]

I once tried doing a spread to speak with my ancestors. For me, being entirely white in my lineage, I ended up contacting ancestors who were super mean, bitter, and racist.

It was a very eye-opening experience, knowing that my major takeaway from contacting my ancestors is that I want to be nothing like them.

My husband on the other hand did the very same spread. Being half white, half Mediterranean, he ended up contacting someone who was very nice and supportive and told him to keep going in life.

It’s such an interesting dicotamy between who my ancestors were and who his were.

Maybe next time I’ll try contact ancestors specifically who were good people. If I have any.

The idea of “cleansing the dead” is certainly interesting… and may be the only situation where I will ever be able to fully make peace in regard to my mother. I mean, my mother isn’t dead so it’s not something I can do yet, but…

I like this post.

[twistedroot]

i LOVE this whole thing!!

my little input. Remember that you’re ancestors are not just those with whom you share physical blood, but those who share the “witch blood” too.

Just as people carry the genetics of their family, we also carry with us the fire ignited by the first of our kind. When we take our deities as parent figures we take the witches of our past as our family. 

When tapping the bone for some ancestral knowledge i first call the ancestors i have the blessings of and then i re-word my work so that instead of “those who came before me” i call up “those who trod this path before me”. After all, they are the ones who’s opinion i care about! 

As all witches know too well, nothing says true family like shared beliefs, shared dreams and of course shared suffering.

[twistedroot]

Wild Service Tree

This is the wild service tree (Sorbus Torminalis) and, despite being indigenous to the UK, Europe and Asia, there is very little folk lore about it!

This beauty would have stood in the landscape with so many of our pagan ancestors but it has almost disappeared from spiritual recordings.

I LOVE how different each witch is and i want to encourage everyone to approach all things with their unique and personal eyes. If you are a witch of dirt and bone with shamanic leanings like me, go find this tree and have a chat. If you are a book witch, have a flick through your archives and see what you can dig up. How ever the power manifests in you, let it flow and let it remind you that THIS is what makes you magic. 

[twistedroot]

When people are at war with people, they make solders. When nature is at war with people, she makes witches

given to me in trance 

[morggo]

Aza'zel (commission)

[ofmothandmoon-blog]

Bone Divination (Osteomancy) is an ancient practice of fortune telling used throughout many cultures. It’s important to find personal pieces that you deeply connect with.

List of objects commonly used in Bone Divination sets: - Old Coins - Crystals and Stones - Dice - Seashells - Animal Claws - Small animal Jaw bone - Animal feet - Nuts - Seed Pods - Skeleton Keys - Beads made of glass, wood, animal horn or bone - Metal Charms - Personal Jewelry such as rings or pendants - Any items that hold a personal meaning for you

Taking care of your divination set: - Regularly cleanse your pieces with White Sage - Keep them with you during the day to form a deep bond with the pieces - If unable to keep them near during the day, keep close to you at night - I find that most pieces like to rest on natural surfaces- wood, moss, etc - Charge them under the Full Moon when possible, especially crystals or stones - Meditate with the pieces and listen to what they have to say - Occasionally bury the bones lightly in an indoor flowerpot for a short time (or outside in the garden if not raining). Bones tend to like being in the ground. It allows them to rest.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/alunadear

[serpentandstang-deactivated2021]

“Song of the Mark” by Andrew Chumbley (Frater ADK),

The Psalter of Cain, p. 34; Xoanon Publishing, 2012.

[twistedroot]

Matter is spirit at it's lowest level.  Spirit is matter at it's highest level.

H.P Blavatsky

[spiritscraft-deactivated2025031]

[twistedroot]

crying