IT Poster In Stranger Things Style

To Witches Who Are Going Back to School

For those in the broom closet, or for those who are open, for baby witches and for the experienced, here are some back to school witch tips to help your school year be magical and spectacular <3

Draw sigils on assignments for good grades/to have your teacher appreciate your work, scratch them out really hard/fast or erase them to charge.

Charm your lip balm to be persuasive, or to be heard!

Draw a tarot card in the morning to see what you should be aware of for the day, or what you need to work on for the day.

Stir your morning tea or coffee counter-clockwise to rid bad energy, and stir clockwise to bring in good energy, luck, and any other sort of positive intention.

If you have a binder that acts as a book of shadows, place sigils on them to keep wandering eyes away.

Glamours, glamOURS, GLAMOURS!!!!! They work so well if you’re running late. I like to mumble them to myself and mediate on Rose Quartz when I’m in a rush.

Eat small snacks to keep yourself grounded, and don’t forget to breathe after each class. Trust me, I know it can get frustrating with obnoxious people.

Charm talismans/amulets/bracelets to help you be on time/remember your homework.

Put satchets in your lockers/decorate your locker to make it a little safe space or school-friendly altar.

Keep the list going! I started school Monday and I’m eager to see what else witches can do for school!

one day, you will be able to say ‘i made it.’ and until then, i really want you to hold on to whatever it is that you dream of.

*enters my own password* i’m in

Any advice for parents wanting to home school? I'm scared people are going to advise me of being a brain washing cultist.

I’ve been SOOO excited to answer this ask because I have so many good things to say about homeschooling! Actually, if I’m honest, I have absolutely nothing bad I can possibly think of. I was homeschooled all the way through 12th grade and there is nothing I would change. I will ALWAYS be grateful to my parents for devoting themselves to me in that way, and especially my mom for sticking with it - from the rocky years of highschool, to back when I was an elementary brat. Looking back, we agree it was worth any struggles tenfold.

The first thing you need to know is this: you will be ridiculed. At some point, somewhere, someone is going to criticize you. Whether it be your teaching, your abilities, your discipline, or your morals, the world is going to try and push you down. Therefore, you need to be confident, you need to know your motivation as to why you are doing this, and know that, as the parent, only you know what is best for your child.

A good way to kindly explain that to someone is to know the benefits of homeschooling. And the list is long!

— Homeschooling gives you the freedom to specifically tailor the curriculum to your child’s needs. Whether going slower or faster, you can go at a pace that is comfortable to you and your child. For example, division was a nightmare for me as a child, but I was reading at a 12th grade level by early grade school. Therefore my algebra was slow moving and required a lot of repetition, but I blew through English.

— Homeschool students as a whole score significantly higher on standardized testing, with the low range being 15-30% improvement, and typically score above the average collage admission test. All of this is regardless of the education level of the parents and any degree of formal they may have. You don’t need to be a certified teacher or have lofty degrees to teach your children effectively.

— Building off both the other points, I would argue that homeschooling leaves you over prepared for college. I briefly mentioned math is not my strongest suit. I thought, in going to college, that I would be behind, but I actually placed significantly higher than I thought I would. Socially, homeschoolers are generally more prepared as well, for as where public schoolers function primarily with their same age group, homeschoolers tend to be more accustomed to a variety of ages - from toddlers to senior citizens - and that can allow one to adapt well into different class, work, and social settings.

— For those with illnesses, physical or mental limitations, homeschooling’ flexibility is a definite asset, as it allows you to modify your schedule as needed, even on a day-by-day basis, and you don’t have the stress and pressure of missing school days - you can do the work when it is convenient for you.

— Homeschooling encourages enjoyable learning and self-motivation. I going to the aquarium and watching the school kids have to breeze through it in two or three hours. But for us homeschoolers, we could spend all day there, and we did! Why? Because I found it fascinating! I would read every brochure on the tropical fish, ask questions of the staff as I pet sharks and sting rays. Homeschooling doesn’t limit learning, it encourages exploration and deep thinking. You don’t have to rush through.

— Homeschooling encourages family bonding. Most the time, we all did school in the same room, either at the kitchen counter or consuming the kitchen table in books and papers. We would take a break from math and mom would read to us everything from history to science to fiction. Reading was a huge part of my homeschool life, and even now that I’ve long since graduated, my family still likes to read aloud together.

— It saves time. Where my public school friends were in school for eight hours a day and then spent several hours on homework, I got my school done in an average of four hours max. I would be done by noon, and the out climbing trees with my brother for the rest of the day. Learn about the world and then go live in it! I would have missed out on so much if I hadn’t been homeschooled.

— This next point is very important when you’re talking about “brain washing”. Public schools are growing increasingly more aggressive toward adverse opinions, any mention of God, and in many cases are implementing revisionist history. Not even biology is taught correctly anymore with this distorted view of sexuality. Homeschooling allows multiple view points to be explored and allows for deep research into why such a point is incorrect, what actually happened historically, ect. Public schools expect things to be taken at face value too much of the time. Homeschooling promotes critical thinking and exploration. You don’t just slam the door on counter views, you talk about them and discuss it. Additionally, homeschooling is not just for the religious. There are many people, including atheists, that homeschool simply because they recognize the benefits to their lifestyle and, most importantly, their child.

— Homeschooling protects your child. We have all heard people talk about how “sheltered” homeschoolers are. The only thing I was ever sheltered from was bullying, profanity, sexual jokes and harassment, violence, and peer pressure. I had many social circles and events (the joke among homeschoolers is often that they’re never home), but it was always in a positive environment. I would have been so much more insecure if I had had to face the things all my public school friends did, but instead I grew up knowing I could be confident in who I was. On the same note, it is important to make sure your child has a healthy amount of social interaction. Awana, youth group, various clubs, sports, are just a few ways you can make sure your child is active.

— Homeschooling saves money. Both within your home, and in regard to tax dollars spent toward public schools. There are great monetary and economical benefits to homeschooling.

— Public schools are a fairly modern development. For thousands of years the bulk of one’s early learning was done at home or in a relatively small school where you still received that one-on-one instruction - very similar to homeschooling. The norm was not 30-40 kids with one teacher. It wasn’t the massed produced learning you see today.

Now a few more things before we go…

There is a HUGE array of curriculum out there, you can pick and choose from a virtually endless myriad of resources. Find what works for your child. Know that often what works for child #1 does not work for child #2. I went through three math books until I found what really worked for me. Don’t be afraid to try different things. (And also look for homeschool book sales to buy at! You can save lots by buying used)

FIND A SUPPORT GROUP. This is HUGE for you as a parent because when challenges arise, and I PROMISE you they will, you are going to want someplace to look for solid advice. A network of good friends, co-ops, homeschool church groups, homeschool academies - whatever it is, find a group of homeschoolers near you where you can ask questions, present your challenges, and get positive feedback. More so than that though, you need encouragement. The best people to give that to you are people who have been in the same spot.

Know your legal rights as a homeschooler. I would highly advice checking out the Homeschool Legal Defense Association (HSLDA). They have fantastic resources on a general basis, but it is really important to know your rights as a homeschooling parent. At the very minimum, check out the state requirements and know what you’re obligated to do. When I was homeschooled, I didn’t need to take hardly any standardized tests, but there were a lot of people saying I needed to. So even small things like that are really important to know (it saved me a lot of anxiety).

Homeschooling isn’t always easy, but I promise you that the rewards far outweigh the cost. It is worth every moment. There are few ways better than this to show your child just how very much you love them.

Last thing! I came across this nifty page with all sorts of facts and statistics on homeschooling that is an easy and enlightening read [x] and a quick shout out to my many friends that brainstormed with me on this (readers, I hope you know you’re getting the best advice out there thanks to them! ^^ )

🌱The Basics of Witchcraft🌱

This is a small excerpt from my coven’s lessons. I’ll continue to post these so witchlings, or witches, can have this information! I hope it helps.

Witchcraft is, in my opinion, the practice of manipulating energy forces into your intent. This can also be simplified as the practice of magick. You can aid it by tools and materials, but no matter what, you are manipulating energy. That is why energy work can be very important.

The Craft started wayy back, from the start of human civilization. Before we started to get scientifically advanced and didn’t know that much, we would believe in the supernatural, that a god or spirit did this and that. Witches were the mediators between humans and the higher powers. Religion and Witchcraft may have gone hand to hand back then, but it isn’t always the case. You can practice witchcraft without believing in a higher power or deity. Here are just some things to know before stepping into the Craft:

Witchcraft ≠ Religion

It isn’t a game(To specify, don’t half-ass a spell. It either might not work, or worse, create chaos. We can learn about this next lesson when we learn about Energy work).

Witchcraft can be used for anything and everything you want it to be, It’s really flexible.

There are morals and ethics to learn about in the craft you should pay attention to

It is an enhancement, not a replacement to your life.

To elaborate on the last point, here is a document by Brian Windvexer that should be looked at:

Don’t Let Witchcraft Erase Who You Are:

Don’t become dependent on Tarot readings to make decisions

Don’t feel like the day is ruined if you left the house without drawing your card for the day

Don’t feel helpless if you can’t figure out a spell to help

Don’t rely on witchcraft alone to improve your relationships

Don’t forget how to speak out because you can hex at home

Don’t forget how to be confident without a candle spell

Don’t forget to discover for yourself because there are so many free resources online

Don’t get panicky if you can’t explain it with your new beliefs

Don’t lose your friends because they don’t understand the new you

Don’t avoid going out with friends so you can buy more herbs and candles instead

Don’t give up your other hobbies to practice endless energy work or Divination

Don’t neglect your job or studies to read witchcraft books instead

Don’t ask yourself ‘what would a witch do’. Ask yourself, ‘What would I do.’

Witchcraft is an enhancement to life, not a replacement for life.

There are different types of witchcraft and I’d say they are all valid. But with every practice, there are certain basics to them.

They are:

Protection

Grounding

Centering

Meditation

Visualization

Protection - To guard and prevent harmful energies to an area/being, especially in Magick practice.

There are 3 types:

Wards: protection of an area (ie. House or room)

Shields: protection of a being (ie. You, someone else, maybe a pet)

Circles: Temporary protection ground for rituals

Here’s the best part of protection, you can think of protection in so many ways, may it be a ring of fire, a giant bubble, a castle wall, whatever your heart desires! You can even more than But, I suggest putting up protection that is similar to a membrane, so things still flow freely, letting the good things in and the bad things out.

There are plenty of techniques to set up protection, starting with visualization. Imagination is a powerful tool, and is very important in practicing energy work and the craft. Some added protection is made by adding protection-associated materials, like Salt for example.

Grounding - To stabilize your energies and stay down to earth

Grounding is a great recommendation to keeping your energies in control and staying connected to the earth. It can help recharge you with energies.

One technique to help ground yourself is to visualize a root shooting from the bottom of your spine and digging into the earth like a Tree. Gather the energies from the earth, and give off all of the negative energies you feel. Cycle the energies until you feel refreshed. You can make 2 roots and have one give the good energy and the other giving to the earth the negative energies.

It can also be as simple as shaking off and stretching!

Centering - Getting your shit together (shit as in energy).

Centering is great as it can help make a state of mindfulness and gets you to stay present in the present. It’s great mentally. It helps get scattered energy into one. Literally, getting your shit together. Centering can help as well in controlling your energies and gathering yourself up so you stay together. How energy works is that you tend to throw bits and pieces of your energy all around different areas(sometimes you may not even know it), and sometimes you just need to recharge. Most of the time you should ground after a centering.

Here’s one technique to practice centering: visualize scattered energy, making you less bright and more dull, very dim as a person. Then, imagine the pieces of energy flying back at you, morphing around you into one bubble, like a puzzle piece. You start to glow brightly again.

Meditation - Being one with the thoughts/self, calming yourself down and staying mindful and aware.

Meditation can do soooo much. It helps you mentally, physically, and spiritually. It can help your energies stay in check, and It can do so much more than that. Before you astral travel, you must fall into a state of meditation. There are two types of meditation, Concentrated and Mindful. Concentrated is when you focus on one object, sound, or mantra. Mindful doesn’t focus on anything specific, just being aware of everything that passes by in your mind. In witchcraft, if it used to help discover who you are, as well as communicate to others(spirits/deities/etc).

Now, the number one thing to focus on when meditating is to breathe. Long, regular breaths help calm down. Get into a quiet area. Now get into a comfortable position, either cross-legged or laying down. Breathe. 4 counts in, 4 counts out. Clear your mind. Now, be aware of your mind.

Disclaimer: Now not everyone has to follow these things, It’s just a suggestion. Experiences vastly differ from mine.

Getting Stuff Done: How to Deal With Lack of Motivation

“How can I stay disciplined?”

“How can I get things done if I don’t feel like doing them?”

“How can I overcome my lack of motivation?”

As a college student who has had their fair share of being absolutely unmotivated to do anything, I know it can be hard to get things done if you don’t feel like doing them. Luckily, there are some things you can do to become more motivated to finish your homework, write your paper, study for your exam, or whatever tasks you have on your plate.

Part 1: Increasing motivation

Break up your tasks

Just thinking about one huge task is going to intimidate you so much that you’d rather leave it till later, when the urgency of time pushes you to complete it, than start now.

Breaking up your big tasks into smaller ones will make your tasks seem less daunting. Since you won’t be as intimidated by the amount of effort it might take to complete these tasks, you’ll be more likely to start doing them.

For studying, this can be something like ‘make flashcards for units 1-3’ or ‘practice past exam papers: 2015 + 2016’. For writing papers, this could be writing an outline, doing research for each point of your outline, writing the first 3 paragraphs, etc.

Working on small tasks at a time will also make you less prone to distractions since you only need to focus for a short length of time.

Make small goals and reward yourself

These goals could be accomplishing one of the smaller subtasks above, or achieving a certain grade on a practice test, or finishing a section of your study plan - as long as you’re working towards something.

The rewards? Maybe going out to eat, watching something, or even just time off. Hopefully these rewards will motivate you to complete your task.

I know some people are more inclined to do their work if they’re punished for not doing it, rather than rewarded for doing it, so if you wanna take the ‘punishment’ approach, you could do something like not allowing yourself to use social media until you finish a set of tasks - this is essentially the same thing, just thought about in a different manner. However, you should always be careful with these punishments/restrictions, because sometimes they can end up harming your health and productivity (e.g. ‘I can’t take a break until I finish all of my homework’).

Part 2: Not relying on motivation

Of course, you can’t always expect yourself to be motivated all the time. In fact, it’s very ineffective to rely on motivation to get things done; motivation is fleeting. Here’s an alternative: self-discipline. But how does it work?

Establish a study routine

Humans are creatures of habit. Even if you’re a P-type (like me), habits are hard to break. So making a habit of accomplishing your tasks/studying at a set time every day will help you, well, accomplish them. For example, it’s a lot easier to get your homework done every day if you do it at the same time - e.g. once you come home from school - rather than doing it ‘whenever you have time’.

Having a study routine will also make you less likely to be distracted since you know that that period of time had a purpose. If you’re trying this out for the first time, you might wanna completely get rid of distractions so that you can focus (e.g. putting your phone in your bag, on silent). However, with practice, I found that my phone or any other sources of distraction don’t really bother me anymore since I’ve had tons of practice resisting the urge to pick up my phone whenever there’s a notification, for example.

Schedule in time for breaks

This ties in well with the point about rewards: the break might be the reward for your studying. However, this doesn’t always have to be the case. You shouldn’t always think of relaxing as merely a reward for studying or accomplishing your tasks, but rather a necessity for the well-being of your mind. This sort of approach to breaks ensures that you actually let your brain rest once in a while.

After taking a break, your mind will be refreshed and revitalized, and you should have more than enough energy to continue with your other tasks.

Some of you asked - with regards to my previous post on The Mandatory Midday Break - how I can limit myself to exactly an hour, and to be honest, the answer is habit. It’s like having a habit of showering at the same time every day and not extend the length of time you spend in the bathroom (except in certain circumstances, like during a day off, I guess).

This is why it’s important to schedule your breaks and establish a study routine or habit - not only does it ensure you get enough rest, but it also prevents you from extending your break so that you don’t become unproductive and leave a ton of tasks unfinished.

It can be hard to motivate yourself to accomplish all your tasks, but there are things you can do to increase your motivation. However, you can’t expect to be motivated all the time, and you shouldn’t rely on motivation to get things done. Discipline and habit are the most important tools you can use to be efficient and productive without having to be motivated.

Hope this post has been helpful, and, as always, feel free to drop me an ask if you have an ask. Have an awesome week :)

Palmistry

Palmistry placements may indicate certain natural traits or abilities related to the person.

The fingers

Long: Very sensitive.

Short: Sharp inteligence, intuitive.

Fat: Sensual.

Thin: Analitycal, curious.

Smoth: Inspirational, artistical.

Knotty: Love of detail and analysis.

Conical: Poetic, imaginative.

Pointed: Subtle.

Square: Decisive, serious, positive.

Spatula: Realistic, positive outlook.

Round: Gifted, intuitive.

Large palm+ short fingers: Materialism predominates.

Short palm + large fingers: Cerebral activitie predominates.

Marks

Can appear in all the palm

Star shape: favorable.

Triangle shape: know-how.

Cross hatch: obstacle.

Rectangle: protection.

Cross: deception.

Circle: lack of success.

Chain lines: fatigue.

Island shape: weakness.

Aspects

Broken lines indicares change of destiny.

Parallel lines indicates a certain duality.

If some line is missing can mean that line corresponding caracteristic doesn't apply to you.

Fine lines represents sensibility and intelectual qualities.

If they are deep and red, you have more volatile nature.

If they are pink, detonates sentimentalism and reserve.

If they are pink, detonates sentimentalism and reserve.

If pale and superficial, you lack resistence.

If darke yellow or brown, they reveal resistence and firmness.

Lines

Life line: the longer your life line, the longer you will live.

Head line: if the head line starts with the life line it means you have good control. If the head line drops sharply down, it indicates that you have little power of resistance. Long, strong head line means you are inteligent.

Heart line: a strong line means you have a warm personality. A weak line means you are rather cold. Each small line attached means a moment of attraction towards someone, a flirtatious momento or an affair.

Marriage line: the number of lines means several romances. The closest to the base of the finger, the later in life those marriages will take place. A fork at the end towards the palm means separation. A fork at the begining will mean a long engagement. Little lines, don't crossing the line means children into the marriage.

Neptune line: a neptune line means you have imagination. If it starts in the life line, means a tendency of drugs and alcohol. A broken neptune line means criminal tendencies.

Shape of palms

Conical hand: a long palm with fingers that form a point. Associated with the element fire, this hand type is drawn to beauty and is imaginative by nature. This hand can also suggest a desire to be a succes. (Bottom and edges are all relatively flat, with rounded fingertips)

Oval hand: a broad palm with saucer-like fingertips. People with this hand shape are often thoughtful and introverted, with logical and analitycal nature. They have a tendecy of being loners (palm and fingertips are round)

Square hand: a square palm with blunt, broad fingertips. People with this hand shape tend to be practical, organized and persistent. Can be cynical or sceptical, and to value material goods. (Square hands tend to have very straight edges)

Pointed hand: a long, delicate hand with pointed fingers. People with this hand type tend to be dreamers and idealists, who hold strong beliefs and views. They have a tendency to be nervous or over emotional. (psychic hands are bony and delicate)

Spatulate hands: this hand is often flabby or soft, widest at the bade of the palm with broad, straight fingers. It can indicate and energetic and enthusiastic nature, always searching for answers and new stimull. (Spatulate hands tend to be very flabby and look clumpsy)

🌙

This tower, patched unevenly with black ivy, arose like a mutilated finger from among the fists of knuckled masonry and pointed blasphemously at heaven. At night the owls made of it an echoing throat; by day it stood voiceless and cast its long shadow.

Mervyn Peake

Things that have helped me (coding related)

jsfiddle - Helps you test out your code instead of using tumbr’s shitty customization page

cssportal - offers a variety of services,including: testing out your css code (gives you a live demo), generators (box-shadow etc) and others

dirtymarkup - Cleans up your code. Basically makes it legible

patternify - creates small patterns (it’s what I use to create my icons). This is honestly my favorite tool.

w3schools, codeacademy, learn-shayhowe, learnlayout - all of these websites help you learn the fundamentals of html/css and more

google - it is literally your best friend. It’ll answer any question you have no matter how vague

stackoverflow- very helpful website. Helps you answer any questions you may have (code related). BUT PLEASE, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE SEARCHED YOUR QUESTIONS BEFORE ASKING. These are actual people who are taking their time to answer your questions, and they will take your “question asking” privilege away from you if you abuse it

tutorialzine  codrops- tutorials to help you with coding. It can go from very simple, to “that’s way too much time investment for me”

css-tricks - it’s like a combination of helping you code, to asking questions, to tutorials (this is my favorite website)

behance, dribbble, awwwards - great place to find inspiration

 validator - checks the validity of your code

iconfinder - holy grail of icons. Some are free some aren’t

fount - it can identify any font that a webpage is using

colourcode - just check it out. 

colorlovers- color palette galore 

caniuse- says in the name

Now if you’re trying to see how your code/theme etc looks on different screen resolutions this is how you do.

Google chrome

right click on page then click on inspect or (Ctrl + Shift + I) look for this (it’s the two ipad looking icons)

All you have to do now is input in whatever specs you want If you don’t want it anymore, just click it again and it’s gone.

Firefox

click on the menu icon (the 3 lines in the right hand corner)

click developer then responsive design view or (Ctrl + Shift + M)

I hope you found this helpful. Enjoy your day