Witchy Things @witch-n-a-box - Tumblr Blog

I think sometimes people forget that witchcraft isn't strictly religious. You can practice and not be wiccan, you can practice and be atheist, you can practice and be christian, witchcraft is not inherently tied tonone religion

breelandwalker

Accurate and very important!

Witchcraft isn't tied to any religion at all. It's a CRAFT. You can practice it with religious meaning or without, as much or as little as you want.

madammaddy

𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒂𝒅𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔 ✨

bewitched-moonlight

YOU ARE FOREVER MAKING HISTORY.

Never forget this. Each time that you feel tempted to romanticise the past, believing that it was a much better time, remember that we are creating the present right here, in every making moment. We design as we go. Each passing minute is just as important as the rose-coloured past. One day we will say, of today, or next month, or next year, “Well, wasn’t that a moment? Wasn’t it a shocking, unpredictable time? There was so much I didn’t know. Didn’t the time fly?”

─ Yrsa Daley-Ward

fernthewhimsical

Witch Tip:

You’re allowed to have pretty things.

No, seriously. You’re allowed to spend money on yourself and on your craft. Do you need “stuff” to do witchcraft? No, of course not. But if there is something you want or like that makes you excited, that adds a bit of joy and sparkle and shine to your life and your craft, I’m telling you: give yourself permission to get it. Save up if you need to, ask it as a gift, but pamper yourself a little and bring some joy in your life.

The tool I use most at the moment is my gorgeous silver glitter fountain pen, which I use for my witchy journaling. I’m giving myself a “love potion” mug (handmade by a local artist! yay!) for the holidays that I’m planning to use as a daily self love ritual when I drink my coffee/tea/hot chocolate out of it. Does it need to be a “love potion” mug? No, any mug would do. But it’s cute and huge and it makes me smile.

You’re allowed things that add small bits of joy to your life.

You’re allowed things that add small bits of joy to your craft.

You’re allowed to have pretty things.

ei-len

I’m convinced that at least a large chunk, if not the majority, of the backlash against “aesthetic witchcraft” is people who have internalized the idea that joy = sin from some probably-christian (puritan) source and forgot to question it when they rejected christianity. Or maybe they got it secondhand from someone who got it from christianity and then forgot to question it and passed it on, as I did as a child (I wasn’t raised christian, but my mother in particular had some VERY puritanical ideas of How Things Should Be nonetheless). Question that notion. WHY shouldn’t your craft be aesthetically pleasing to you? WHY is it somehow “better” to shun aesthetics in favor of stark practicality? Sure, it’s not NECESSARY to have the aesthetics if it’s not something that you feel adds value to your life, and you certainly shouldn’t consider yourself as less of a witch than someone else just because they can afford more Aesthetic Accoutrements than you can, but if you want it and you can reasonably afford it, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with having things that please your sense of aesthetics. There’s nothing wrong with making your magic pretty too.

therootwitch

You’re saying that actual witches are holding on to Christian morals for saying that pretty things are not at the center of witchcraft

You’re acting like you’re being bullied for liking pretty things when in fact you’re just being criticized for acting like those are super important or Central to magic

foolmarquis

So I usually try not to hop onto this kind of discourse but it’s pretty wildly missing the point, and as someone who both takes the occult and the Aesthetic very seriously it’s a bit frustrating.

The issue a lot of practitioners took with magic that heavily aesthetic is that it was purely aesthetic. It was all good vibes/positive thinking, and performative photos that focused more on crystal collections and gifs of burning sage bundles than learning any actual magic or how it works. They were angry that folk magic, with its proper methods and traditions, was being reduced to jars of rose petals and glitter. They were frustrated that the people who made those “spells” couldn’t actually explain any how it was supposed to accomplish anything, and that some would admit it was a glorified pretty placebo. If anyone was around for the infamous glitter jar snow spell, you know what I’m talking about. And if you were around for the Sephora witch kit, you’ll understand that this perception that modern witchcraft was all tarot cards and rose quartz was so pervasive on social media that massive corporations took notice and tried to make it marketable.

Many serious practitioners I know love aesthetics. We have our favourite crystals, either to use or simply to hoard like magpies. We spend way too much money on vintage brass candle holders, or finding the perfect statues for our altars. We commission our friends to make divination tools out of attractive woods set with gems. We have wishlists full of devotional jewelry and hand crafted rosaries. Many of us learn calligraphy or bookbinding to make our personal grimoires as lovely as possible. We study how the poetic word can be used in spellcrafting.

Of course you’re allowed to embrace Instagram witch aesthetics if it brings you joy. You can have all the potion bottle themed mugs or Baphomet plushes your heart desires. I know I have one. The issue was never that owning things that bring you joy is secretly cringe and that everyone should have a piece of chalk and a single rusted railroad spike if they were going to be a serious witch. The issue was when a pretty photo was more important than true belief in your own magic, to the point where people who studied grimoires or traditional practices or were initiated into culturally significant paths were told that magic was all about good vibes and that using a Lush bath bomb was the same as ritually purifying yourself.

You can have both. They are not mutually exclusive. But they are also not synonymous. We didn’t chant “live deliciously” for six months after the VVitch came out because we think you need to be joyless and practical. The desire was always just for people to see magic as more than just a quirky spin on their potpourri jars and tea brewing. Whether that’s something that should be expected of people is an entirely different discussion to have, but that is the origins of the magic vs aesthetic discourse. Not that you’re forbidden from wanting pretty things that don’t serve and obvious purpose.

oldfarmhousefallfeatures

RepostBy #foxmeetsbear @instagram

grayskymorning

tea by the lake

javasparrowjenny

Too cold😬

my hand is warmed by her.🥰

theonlymagicleftisart

Secrets of a Devon Wood Jo Brown

If you enjoyed, consider purchasing a copy of the book for yourself!

thelatestkate

You’re not struggling alone. It’s unfortunately pretty normal to be a mess right now.

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autumn-cat-witch

10 Magical Uses for Roses

Carry them in a sachet to attract love.

Add them to your bath to balance emotions and increase confidence.

Use the petals to cast your circle or sprinkle on your altar.

Use them to make magical perfumes, tinctures or rose water.

Use red roses in spells for love and passion.

Use white roses in spells for unconditional love.

Use pink roses in spells for friendship.

Use yellow roses in spells for joy and healing.

Use red roses to represent the masculine, active principle and use white roses to represent the feminine, respective principle.

Use the combination of white and red to symbolize unity.

shroomlings

The famous mushroom castle, found in October 2017, still one of my most popular series. And I loved finding it!

(Rescue post from my old blog)

thesilicontribesman

Flooded Cromlech at Parc Glynllifon, North Wales, 16.2.18.

It is uncertain whether this cromlech was displaced to suit the requirements of the nearby estate and large house. The area is littered with similar dolmens and we know only a little of the history of this particular site.