{ two-penny magics }

Woman of the South Wind. Witch of Storm and Stars. Owner of SYZYGY (@syzygy-amb). {Cover and profile photos by the illustrious @meexart}

[twopenny-magics]

Witchy bujo 2018 has begunnnnnnn

[twopenny-magics]

People writing love letters to their favorite trees. I'm done. 😍😍😍

[twopenny-magics]

This is both awesome and fascinating.

[twopenny-magics]

I am loathe to praise Louis CK for anything right now, but I got to say, this is one of the better examples of a response to sexual misconduct allegations I've seen in my industry so far. Recognize your abuse of power, apologize genuinely, step back, and fucking LISTEN for a change.

[eilooxara]

The tooth fairy is fae propaganda

It teaches your kids that it’s ok to invite the Fae into your home and sell them parts of your body

[bighonkinqueeniesbadbadbackstory]

I feel like this post woke me up to something evil

[the-starlight-witches]

✨ Chai spells ✨

Now that it’s getting colder I feel like it’s time to post about chai spells! 

✨  Basic recipe for chai  ✨ - ¾ mug of milk (or milk alternative) - ¼ mug of water - Any tea that goes with milk (so no green or fruit teas) - Sugar or honey to taste

Heat up your milk, water and sweetener, once boiling whisk in your tea. If using black or milk oolong tea then do not exceed 45 seconds of stirring - it seems like a small amount of time but your chai will be bitter if you go over this time! Any tea other than black tea would be alright for a bit longer, but you shouldn’t need much time at all! 

Pour the chai through a strainer and serve! Drink this while hot for the best flavour (though it doesn’t taste bad if it gets cold either)

_

For the following spells, use the milk, water and sweetner and then add the tea specified! Feel free to personalise your blends!

✨  Self love chai  ✨  - Black tea - Culinary dried rose petals 

✨  Protection chai  ✨ - Black tea - Cinnamon - Ginger  - 2 peppercorns

✨  Banishing chai  ✨ - Black tea - Basil leaves (chopped) - Ginger 

✨  Sleepy time chai  ✨ - Culinary lavender - Culinary dried rose petals

✨ Happiness chai  ✨ - Black tea - Cinnamon - Orange peel

✨  Confidence chai  ✨ - Black tea - Nutmeg - Cinnamon

✨  Divination chai  ✨ - Milk oolong tea - Peppermint 

✨  Purity chai  ✨ - Milk oolong tea  - Coconut

✨  Lucky chai  ✨ - Black tea - Cardamom - Cinnamon - Clove

_

Happy brewing everyone! Enjoy many cups of magical chai  ✨

(Credit for our basic chai recipe goes to @sidewalk-crystal  - thank you lovely!)

[irisedwhisperer]

Quick idea I had and need to note down before I forget it:

a witch bottle designed not to harm the incoming energies (like most witch bottles seem to be with their nails, thorns and black pepper) or block them (like the protective witch bottles I’ve seen with rosemary and basil), but filter and transmute.

Somebody throwing bad luck at you? Great, you’re giving me energy, I’ll filter it and change it into a blessing. 

“When life gives you lemons” sort of idea, inspired by a post I’ve seen floating around about that witches shouldn’t ground bad energy, but filter it and transmute it, because earth can only take so much negative. 

[kyfriedwitchin]

one word

charcoal

seriously, charcoal filters, man

maybe also mussel shells? since they’re filter feeders? hmmmmmm…

[thistletongue]

You could crochet a net wrap around the bottle or paint a “net” around it.

[breelandwalker]

Bury it in a pot of geraniums or add persimmon seeds, for change and transformation.

[morphingcrow]

Could use coffee filters somehow too? 

Maybe even used coffee grounds (dried or not) themselves considering that they’re used to neutralize acidity in soils?  Or sniffing them sort of purifies the sense of smell.  

Hmm…. now i’m thinking because I like this idea.  

[witchy-woman]

I love this idea so much.

[libraford]

Eggshells, ash (from hardwood trees), and bone meal are good for calibrating soil Ph. 

Additionally, sunflowers are often planted in areas where the soil has been affected by radiation leaks- certain radioactive isotopes mimic nutrients that sunflowers need, so the radiation gets soaked up in the stalks.

So spell bottle, buried- plant a sunflower over the top. Once the sunflower is grown, cut it down, dispose of the stalk. 

[a-magpie-witchling]

Advice from an hereditary witch’s grandmother: things a crone has to say

My witch of a grandmother gave me her beautiful encyclopedia on healing plants to celebrate Ostara! I told her about my blog and she asked me to share some of her advice “for those lovely internet disciples of yours”. No, Yeyé, that’s not how this works…

But hey! When the crone talks, you listen!

“A jar of glass keeps away envious spirits and people who want to hurt you.”

“Everything dead deserves to be honored.”

“Strings of seeds bring prosperity.”

“A stone in the windowsill is a soldier that keeps away thieves, but make sure it’s not a pretty rock cause they might steal it!”

“When you trim a vine, keep some branches by the door so all the hard work you’ve done doesn’t disappear in a single day!”

“When you’re old and can’t move so much anymore, keep a jar of seeds by the Gods so they can pick their offerings as they please.”

“I keep lavender by the computer because it helps me remember how to open Facebook. Lavender is good for memory. Tell your friends of the internet.”

“I keep the obsidian and the agathe geodes in front of the TV so there will be no bad news.”

So there you have it.

Advice from an authentic crone with over 70 years of Craft , Old Yeyé.

She wishes you all many blessings and love and hopes you are all well guided.

Happy new season from lucky Old Yeyé!

-Semiramis the Magpie Witchling

[geministereo]

Why sun sign astrology doesn’t work

Let’s face it: a lot of the time, you won’t relate to your sun sign.

Your sun sign is who you are at your BEST. It’s who you are when you’re in your element, when you’re confident, when you’re in a comfortable situation.

Your sun sign is your identity, but also who you aspire to be. When you think of your sun sign, you think of the qualities that make you special, and make you an individual. It’s probably something you’re proud of. But also, it’s something to live up to; it’s a goal to be the best version of your sun sign that you can possibly be.

The sun sign is extremely important, because it follows you throughout your life in all ways, but it often can’t be pinpointed to specifics like the other placements can. It’s much more broad; it’s always present, but sometimes it’s just out of reach.

People will not always see your sun sign when they first meet you. But close friends will see your sun sign more than anything else, because they see the best in you.

Your RISING sign is who you are all the time, without thinking about it. It’s natural.

Any time you feel threatened, need to put up a front, want to “appear” a certain way…that is your rising sign. Many people don’t consider the rising sign as important as the sun. But in reality, it’s more important.

Some people aren’t even aware of their rising sign. Some people will be surprised when they read the description. But if you ask anyone around you, they will see it immediately. You can’t hide your rising sign, you have to just accept it.

If you meet someone for the first time, that is their rising sign.

Your moon sign won’t be seen by the world at first either, but a lot of times it can be seen more than the sun sign. Your moon sign is your instinctual reactions and ways of living.

Any time you’re upset, you’re happy, you’re jealous, you’re disappointed…these are all times that your moon sign will show. Depending on the sign, of course, it will show in different ways.

Anything to do with the emotions cannot be defined by the sun sign. That is the realm of the moon sign. People wonder why they don’t relate to their sun sign on a lot of different posts - this is why. The moon sign is far more important, because it is your immediate needs and behavior.

People who see through you see your moon sign; people who are able to connect with you emotionally. They have to look deeply enough to get through the wall put up by the rising sign, though.

Mercury is how you get your message across. When you meet someone, there’s a bit of mercury thrown in there too, since they’ll be communicating with you.

Sometimes people will not consider you to be a lot like your sun sign. That’s probably because your mercury is in a different sign than your sun. It’s a bit conflicting, because the words you say are quite different from who you actually are - you might seem more like your mercury sign in some ways.

Mercury is probably the least appreciated and noticed placement in astrology. People always seem to forget about it, but it’s absolutely vital to understanding someone’s personality.

“What is an *insert sign here* like in love?” This is the question that everyone wants to know. Unfortunately, people usually answer it with sun sign. Again.

Venus is your true “love” placement. You might get a sense of what someone is like with their sun sign, but in a relationship you might be surprised when they act so differently. Their idea of romance might be drastically different from their central identity.

Mars is where to look if you want to get an idea of the overall energy someone gives off. Rising sign has a part in this too, but mars is how someone takes action.

Mars, in a sense, is also related to love because it’s how someone does the pursuing. Mars has to do with initiative (and how much of that you take).

Next time you make an astrology post, read an astrology post, or think about astrology in any way, remember this. Most people don’t do their research, and make assumptions that all sun signs are a certain way, and all people will relate to all aspects of their sun sign. This is not the case.

Think to yourself: is this asking about me on a daily basis? My emotions? How I communicate? How I act in love? My impulses?

Chances are, it’s not your sun sign.

[queen-of-clovers-deactivated201]

This is the only post I have EVER seen that actually makes sense of my natal chart. Nothing else has come closer to getting me to believe in astrology. 

[thequeenofsunflowers-deactivate]

Be the witch you needed when you were younger

[veritysoddities]

My boyfriend is doing something awesome.

He’s making an online spell maker/ witch encyclopedia

Basically you can type in an intent or keywords and get ideas for spells

Or you can type out everything you want and it is also color coded (key words like love are red, courage is orange, etc.) and do cyber spells

It’s not done yet but once it is I’ll for sure be sharing on here!

[mysticbusiness-deactivated20161]

gotta look this up to see if they ever finished this.

[veritysoddities]

We plan on releasing it soon, the only thing is that not every ingredient has been added and after its out we may still be in the process of adding

[rebellious-wisdom]

Look forward to it! Android?

[veritysoddities]

Certainly it works on all phones since it’ll be a web app, but it can be added to your home screen for convenience :)

[the-witch-in-wonderland-blog]

I’m dying waiting for this

[veritysoddities]

It’s out !!! @the-witch-in-wonderland

[southwitchwisdom]

Can you say what the link is?!?!? Id totally buy this from the app store

[veritysoddities]

It’s free pinecone.pub

[thiscrookedcrown]

This is pretty amazing. Can’t wait to see where you take this. Check this out folks.

[caffeine-and-crystals]

This is my favourite witchy app EVER. I use it every day and highly recommend it!!

[veritysoddities]

Wow thank you!! @caffeine-and-crystals

[tea-candles-and-witchcraft]

🔮Boosting this cause it’s amazing,and everyone should know about it!🔮

[torhallatalaksdater]

I forgot I made an account.

[twopenny-magics]

NEEEEAT.

[quantum-natura]

I AM...

Every word is formed using a combination of sigils, also known as letters. Forming words is referred to as SPELL/ing for that reason. If all words are spells, than what you say after stating “I AM” is the most powerful personal spell you can speak/think.

Some powerful I AM statements in include:

I am loved

I am lovable

I am loving

I am safe

I am protected

I am strong

I am healed 

I am courageous 

I am beautiful 

I am unique

I am kind

I am smart

I am prosperous

I am abundant

I am gifted

I am thankful

I am compassionate

I am powerful

I am respected

I am visible 

I am valid

I am happy

I am joyful

I am multidimensional 

I am intelligent 

I am creative

I am blissful

I am capable 

I am whole 

I am content

I am free

The list goes on, but those are some of my favorite examples. As someone who is often plagued with intrusive thoughts and negative self-talk, reaffirming my personal power with I AM word-spells is extremely beneficial. Feel free to re-blog an add your own favorite I AM word-spells and affirmations ♡

[twopenny-magics]

Public Service Announcement

You call the shots in your witchcraft. If it's going in a certain direction and you all the sudden get uncomfortable with that, you can change it. Has it gotten too ceremonial, and you're feeling drawn to simplification? Feeling too many spirits hovering around? Too many powers that be trying to get your attention? Signs and dreams and spiritual ideologies and divinatory information overwhelming you? Put up a "Don't Disturb" sign, and re-evaluate. You can eliminate the forces that don't serve you from your paradigm. You can rebuild your witchcraft from the ground up, if you want to. You can burn, release, and blow away everything you know and start again. You can rip out the pages of the old book, put in blank pages, and start again. What you build this time will be just as real as what you worked with before, but it will be better, because it has shifted to suit who you are now. Because it is aligned with you now, it will be stronger. Don't do what other people do just because it works for them. They have different energies and inclinations. They have different goals for their work. Focus on your own, and glory in your own reasons for the work. Revel in them. Let them make you glow with a light only you could possibly possess. Sometimes, our craft needs to change because we have changed. Sometimes, we know we've crossed into something that isn't right for us, something that feels destabilizing, something that needs to be grounded. Sometimes, we get scared of the turns we're taking and need to release our fear. Sometimes, we need to tear down and build back up. Sometimes, we need to cleanse and purify and start again. And that's okay. You will be stronger for knowing that what you make, you can take away. And what you take away, you can make again...but this time, even better than it was before.

[sea-hake]

Runes tutorial  (Elder Futhark)

TUTORIAL DE RUNAS (FUTHARK ANTIGUO) 

1) Get a wooden cylinder or a thick branch, long enough to make 24 runes, preferably from a tree that bears fruit (runes don’t need to be perfect or uniform) 

-consigue un cilindro de madera, o rama gruesa, lo suficientemente larga como para hacer 24 runas, preferentemente de un arbol que dé frutos (las runas no tienen que ser perfectas, o uniformes)

2) Cut slices of the thickness you want.

-corta rodajas del grosor que desees.

3) Depending on the tool you use, the edges will be rough and harsh, to avoid that you’ll need a sandpaper.

-Dependiendo de la herramienta que uses para cortar la madera, los bordes quedarán ásperos y duros, para evitar esto, necesitarás un papel de lija. 

4) Once you get the edges soft and smooth, you’ll need a pencil to mark the symbols to guide the carving. 

-Una vez que los bordes estén lisos y suaves, requerirás un lápiz para marcar el sóimbolo y así guiar el tallado. 

5) This step is optional but recommended according to some books, bathe your runes in hot olive oil, in a pot or pan.

-Este paso es ompletamente opcional, pero recomendado en algunos libros. Baña tus runas en aceite de oliva con la ayuda de una olla o sartén. 

6) It’s time to apply the paint, Some experts say that it is advisable to mix the paint with a little part of your blood to seal the runes with your energy and give them life, in this way they won’t be loaded with other energies, from a consultant, patient, etc.

-Es hora de aplicar la pintura, algunos entendidos dicen que es recomendable mezclar la pintura con una pequeña parte de tu propia sangre y así darles vida, de esta forma, no serán cargadas con otras energías, ya sea de un paciente, consultante, etc.

paint isn’t the only way to make the symbol clearer, you can burn the symbol with a soldering iron, it’s up to you (some people sing the rune name while doing this) 

-la pintura no es la unica manera de hacer que símbolo se vea más claramente, también puedes quemar el símbolo con la ayuda de un cautín, eso depende de ti (algunas personas cantan el nombre de la runa mientras crean el símbolo) 

7) Applying varnish to the wood is another optional step, but I did it because I think it protects the wood and the paint of the symbol.

-Aplicar barniz a la madera es otro paso opcional, pero lo hice porque considero que proteje a la madera y a la pintura del símbolo.

And that’s it, now they only have to be activated :) 

-Y eso es todo, ahora solo tienen que ser activadas.

[twopenny-magics]

Additional thoughts from an amateur runologist:

– You can pick any fruit-bearing tree you like (or not – my runes are made of yew, so do what you want), but there’s a few historical mentions of apple wood being the rune of choice, for anyone who’s curious. – Danish oil makes a great finish for wooden runes.  You can find it at craft and home improvement stores the world over for cheap. – Red ochre powder makes a great base for coloring the runes, which I prefer over paint because a) it can be a symbolic stand-in for blood, if you feel squicky about putting your own blood in the mix but like the aesthetic, and b) ancient rune carvings were frequently painted red, and I like an approach to runes that follows historical usage when possible, so red pigmentation is my suggestion and personal go-to. – The final step OP mentions, “activating” the runes, can take many forms – there’s some evidence to suggest that part of activating them should include singing the names of the runes as you’re adding the pigment.  You can either create a sort of alphabet song using the runes (this was my personal approach – I keep meaning to write up the melody so others can use it!), or you can sing the name of the individual rune you’re coloring to a tune you make up as you go.

[spooky-quin]

Just a friendly reminder to my fellow witches, the moon is full tonight. Don’t let anyone tell you how to spend your full moon. If you have to get up and work or you’re a spoonie witch like me or really any other reason you could possibly imagine, you’re allowed to be asleep when she’s high in the sky. You’re still valid and your craft still matters, full moon activities or not!

[twopenny-magics]

Additional thought:  Full moons often happen in the not-nighttime (like yesterday’s, which occurred around 2 PM in the afternoon where I live).  So you won’t always get a night with a full moon in it.  Don’t sweat it.  Got some magic you wanted to do that takes advantage of the full moon?  Generally speaking, performing that magic sometime in the 13 hours leading up to the full moon is the best time to take advantage of the full moon’s power.  After that, we’re in a waning phase, and your magic will still kick off, but the effects may be different because of the shift in the lunar energy from “getting bigger” to “getting smaller.”

Just some info to play with, loves.  Have lots of happy moon fun!  <3

[wonders-of-the-cosmos]

Neptune’s unexpected bright storm

A storm complex nearly the size of Earth has been seen in a usually quiet area of Neptune. Ned Molter from the University of California, Berkeley in the US spotted the storm while performing a test run of twilight observing at the W M Keck Observatory in Hawaii.

The storm system appears as a very bright region about 9000 km in length and spans at least 30° in both latitude and longitude. “Seeing a storm this bright at such a low latitude is extremely surprising,” explains Molter. “Normally, this area is really quiet and we only see bright clouds in the mid-latitude bands, so to have such an enormous cloud sitting right at the equator is spectacular.”

Source: physicsworld.com

[twopenny-magics]

Neptune.  Planet of intuition, spirituality, enlightenment, and psychic ability.

What you stirrin’ up, witches.

[spiritvexer]

The Nature of Sacrifice

For my shamanism discord chat I wrote a post on inducing dreams and visions. As I prepared this post I realized that every technique I am familiar with to induce powerful dreams or visions involves sacrifice. As I wrote the post, I thought to myself, boy, I sure am glad this is on a private server and not Tumblr, simply for the reason that I was so glad people on that server would take me at face value about necessary sacrifice.

Many a time I have seen a good, traditional spell on Tumblr with appropriate levels of sacrifice, only to see someone reblog or reply with comments like, “replace the real money with fake so this spell doesn’t cost!” Or, “if you are a beginner, just try this person’s technique with a quarter of the effort!” I personally do not agree that magic is possible without sacrifice, and I want to explain my thoughts on that.

First I guess we should talk about what sacrifice actually is and why I think it is so necessary.

Sacrifice is dedication, commitment, and payment. Sacrifice can be represented through infinite acts. One example of sacrifice is Lent, a period of time when Catholics and Christians may choose to give up something that separates them from God, or that introduces sin in to their lives (my Anglican parent’s way of Lent; ymmv). Other examples of sacrifice are offerings to spirits, using real money in spells, and intense prayer, meditation, or fasting. When you make these actions with intent and communication with the Spirit World, powerful magic can happen.

In my opinion, however, a sacrifice is not a sacrifice unless it costs. My ancestors are loving and accept the cheapest incense in their honor. If, however, I wanted to ask my ancestors for a special gift – like a dream, vision, or ability – I would have to do better than Nag Champa. Suppose I have infinite money, and I can never spend enough to make any amount of money a true sacrifice – then I must turn to other methods. Intense prayer and meditation on your goals is an example of sacrifice that transcends physical offerings. Consider stories of mystics who stay in intense prayer for hours, days, weeks, or even months to receive visions from God.

So a sacrifice is something that costs, as payment for what you want to receive. Beyond that, it shows your seriousness and the magnitude of how far you are willing to go for what you want. If I light a cheap waxy candle and pray for forty-five seconds, I may expect a flash of intuition or if I’m lucky, a minor vision. Suppose though that I need mountains to move – is that fifty cent candle going to be enough to show the Spirits that I need this done? Or would it be better to offer the best of what I have – the best of my offerings, the best of my mind, the strongest of my intent, for as many hours and days as it takes until I see results?

I have never, ever seen personal results from magic without true sacrifice. Whether this be expending personal energy to charge candles, giving offerings, buying ingredients, petitioning Spirits, praying, treading the mill, meditation, whatever – something has to be paid in order to see results. You cannot get results from nothing. In witchcraft, consider the common admonition that for a job spell to work, you have to submit a resume. Some form of work and sacrifice must occur.

Not only is power generated upon sacrifice, but letting shit go gives room for the magic to manifest in your life. How can magic enter your life if it is full to the brim of things you are holding on to? Show the Spirit World you want change by release so that new things can enter your life. Letting go of your computer time to go submit a job resume, all the while overcoming anxieties and trials, is an example of powerful sacrifice.

I am not telling you to fast until you starve, stay awake until you hallucinate, spend your last dime, or put yourself in danger. I am just expressing my personal opinion that magic cannot occur without sacrifice, and the more magic you want, the more sacrifice needs to occur. Sacrifice can be done in a spiritually safe and personally healthy way. Set boundaries to ensure you stay safe. I do not fast as a spiritual offering because I have an eating disorder. NEVER “sacrifice” things you need such as reasonable amounts of nutrition or medications. Remember that while sacrifice may be painful, it does not need to be bad or damaging. Ending a toxic relationship as part of a love spell is a very powerful sacrifice.

[da-at-ass]

A large contingent of tumblr, and the magic community in general, LOVES the concept that magic requires sacrifice. The thing is, though, all magic does not require sacrifice.

OP goes back and forth over payment, effort, and sacrifice, but those are all different things. Sacrifice is giving up something you can’t get back. Payment is an exchange of something for another thing of equal value. Effort is just “work” and is a nebulous concept–and tumblr loves to talk about how “real” magic requires work too.

Towards the end, you talk about how change requires sacrifice, which is true to an extent. If you are doing magic to effect change, then change requires sacrificing the present for the future. You can’t get that present back. But this may not be the “cost of magic” that you pay up front. It may be the effect of magic, or one of several effects. I consider there to be a difference between “all magic requires you to make a sacrifice or it won’t work” and “this spell will cause change to happen, so be prepared for the consequences of that change, because otherwise you’re gonna be adversely affected by those consequences.”

Even then, you can have a love spell work and still be in your old abusive relationship. Your current abusive relationship may be poly and you’re about to add another person to it which probably won’t go well, but it is “finding new love.” Your current abusive relationship might not be poly and you may be about to cheat on your abusive significant other with a new love–the result of this doesn’t have to be you leaving your abusive s/o. It can go all sorts of twisty ways. Your status quo is still sacrificed for a different future, but the love spell, quite unfortunately, does not necessarily require your old abusive relationship to end or resolve peaceably. Magic doesn’t automatically add in a nice peaceful set of romance ethics unless something in the situation makes sure that happens, whether it be you or a deity.

Some magic isn’t done to effect change, it’s to preserve a situation, to freeze things in place, to keep the same momentum, to maintain and extend already-existing stability. Sacrifice exists there only on the technicality that you’re giving up “anything else happening,” but I don’t see that as much of a sacrifice in anything other than semantics, and the same goes for a lot of the results of change–usually people are looking to effect change that they want to happen, and giving something up that you don’t want in exchange for something you do isn’t in my opinion a real sacrifice. If it’s magic done to another person, then they’re experiencing the change and you’re not sacrificing anything of your own for that to happen, which again is not something I consider a real sacrifice.

There are different paradigms and schools of magic and they “pay” for their magic differently. There are spells that you just light the candle and it works. It doesn’t matter how much tumblr wants every spell to take a lot of effort and investment, what is essentially basic hoodoo candle magic works because it’s taking hold of a different paradigm than “something of value is exchanged for another thing of value.” Some spells are incredibly simple and utilize “cheap” ingredients that barely took any investment to acquire and they can actually have powerful results because their magic isn’t based on equivalent exchange. The power of that magic may be traditional, rooted in over a thousand years of practitioners doing that same spell. It may be rooted in belief or faith. It may be like a lot of solomonic ceremonial ritual magic where the power is following an exacting set of instructions to tap into certain forces. Planetary magic that taps into celestial forces often just requires the right timing so that you happen to be there when specific forces will also be there. Magic dependent on a tool that has been created for the purpose of dispensing that magic just requires having and using that tool. Magic that is the result of appealing to a deity may just take a heart’s wish and nothing more.

Should you be aware of the cost of what you’re asking for? Well, ideally. Sometimes you’ll have no idea until you do the thing what the cost really is. If you cast a spell and you get results, you don’t necessarily have to “make space” for the results because the magic will often make its own space for those results to happen in your life–making room just increases the convenience for you in some cases, but it’s not required. “Make space for change to happen” is a very Law of Attraction concept that is not universally required for change to occur. It’s more like “get out of the way so you don’t get knocked off your feet–if you even have the option of getting out of the way, which sometimes you might not.”

The old “you can’t get a job without sending in a resume” logic isn’t accurate as to how the job market works. Many, many people are hired because they know someone and many jobs never have an open application process. It’s very possible to get a job without sending in a resume. An old friend calls you up offering an opportunity that just opened up in their department. They’re the hiring manager. You get in via nepotism. It’s almost like it’s magic or something.

The monopoly money point in particular strikes me as strange considering that this post began with the topic of shamanism. I’m going to guess you’ve never heard of Hell money, which is a traditional offering to ancestors in eastern cultures and has subsequently ended up migrating into hoodoo magic as a payment to spirits for services. Just because it’s legal tender doesn’t mean it doesn’t have value. Attaching the amount of monetary value to the amount of power something has is a mistake in magic. Pennies and dimes are incredibly valuable and powerful ingredients in many spells because of certain associations they carry, and that value and power has nothing to do with how much legal tender they represent. Sometimes the price of magic is one cent.

True sacrifice (and not just moving the bars to make “sacrifice” mean “a penny I can’t get back”) can be the actual price of magic, sometimes, if what is driving that magic is something that values sacrifice. The terms of what is an acceptable sacrifice in that situation vary depending on what force is in play. But sometimes magic just requires a lit candle be burned down all the way. Sometimes magic just requires wearing a talisman that you bought with money and following the instructions. Sometimes magic takes a single drop of blood. Sometimes it requires a song. You can always sing another song, your body will generate more blood.

Magic requires something, sure. But it’s not always sacrifice, it’s not always capitalism-style payment, it’s not always what tumblr thinks of as dedication and commitment. Not all magic operates according to the same paradigms and magic isn’t here to enforce any one code of ethics or set of values. Where sacrifice is required, sacrifice will be paid, but sacrifice is not required everywhere for everything because sacrifice is not universally valued by every force that drives magic.

[twopenny-magics]

I'll admit to having just scanned this massive amount of (incredibly thoughtful and well-written, from what I can tell) text block, and I would suggest that perhaps change requires exchange. You give something to get something. It can be payment, sacrifice, effort...whatever. The whole idea is, you can't create or destroy energy, and every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Knowing this can help you push energy in the right direction, or perhaps, make room in your life for what's about to come by giving something that creates a space in your life for the new thing to rest. The Universe tends toward balance. It wants the scales to be even, and even when they're not, it will take the most energy-balanced and energy-efficient route it can. The change you want requires a shift in energy, and if you're getting something, giving something is a way to help move the net energy of your system into greater balance, which increases the likelihood of your desired outcome actually happening.

Just a disjointed thought about magic lightly tinged with Newtonian physics on a rainy Monday for y'all.