Lemon Syrup

Galactic Ghouls and Stellar Screams

A quiet, starry night sky might not seem like a very eerie spectacle, but space can be a creepy place! Monsters lurk in the shadowy depths of the universe, sometimes hidden in plain sight. Many of them are invisible to our eyes, so we have to use special telescopes to see them. Read on to discover some of these strange cosmic beasts, but beware — sometimes fact is scarier than fiction.

Monster Black Holes ⚫

You know those nightmares where no matter how fast you try to run you never seem to get anywhere? Black holes are a sinister possible version of that dream — especially because they’re real! If you get too close to a black hole, there is no possibility of escape.

Just last year our Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope traced an otherworldly ghost particle back to one of these monster black holes, providing additional insight into the many signals we’re picking up from some of the most feared creatures in the cosmic deep.

But it gets worse. Our Hubble Space Telescope revealed that these things are hidden in the hearts of nearly every galaxy in the universe. That means supermassive black holes lurk in the shadows of the night sky in every direction you look!

A Hazy Specter 👻

This fiendish specter lives in the center of the Milky Way, haunting our galaxy’s supermassive black hole. But it’s not as scary as it looks! Our SOFIA observatory captured streamlines tracing a magnetic field that appears to be luring most of the material quietly into orbit around the black hole. In other galaxies, magnetic fields seem to be feeding material into hungry black holes — beware! Magnetic fields might be the answer to why some black holes are starving while others are feasting.

Bats in the Belfry 🦇

The universe has bats in the attic! Hubble spotted the shadow of a giant cosmic bat in the Serpens Nebula. Newborn stars like the one at the center of the bat, called HBC 672, are surrounded by disks of material, which are hard to study directly. The shadows they cast, like the bat, can clue scientists in on things like the disk’s size and density. Our solar system formed from the same type of disk of material, but we can only see the end result of planet building here — we want to learn more about the process!

Jack-o-lantern Sun 🎃

A jack-o-lantern in space?! Our Solar Dynamics Observatory watches the Sun at all times, keeping a close eye on space weather. In October 2014, the observatory captured a chilling image of the Sun with a Halloweenish face!

Skull Comet 💀

On Halloween a few years ago, an eerie-looking object known as 2015 TB145 sped across the night sky. Scientists observing it with our Infrared Telescope Facility determined that it was most likely a dead comet. It’s important to study objects like comets and asteroids because they’re dangerous if they cross Earth’s path — just ask the dinosaurs!

Halloween Treat 🍬

Trick-or-treat! Add a piece of glowing cosmic candy to your Halloween haul, courtesy of Hubble! This image shows the Saturn Nebula, formed from the outer layers ejected by a dying star, destined to be recycled into later generations of stars and planets. Our Sun will experience a similar fate in around five billion years.

Witch’s Broom Nebula 🧹

Massive stars are in for a more fiery fate, as the Witch’s Broom Nebula shows. Hubble’s close-up look reveals wisps of gas — shrapnel leftover from a supernova explosion. Astronomers believe that a couple of supernovae occur each century in galaxies like our own Milky Way.

Zombie Stars 🧟

Supernovae usually herald the death of a star, but on a few occasions astronomers have found “zombie stars” left behind after unusually weak supernovae. Our Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) has even spotted a mysterious glow of high-energy X-rays that could be the “howls” of dead stars as they feed on their neighbors.

Intergalactic Ghost Towns 🏚️

The universe is brimming with galaxies, but it’s also speckled with some enormous empty pockets of space, too. These giant ghost towns, called voids, may be some of the largest things in the cosmos, and since the universe is expanding, galaxies are racing even farther away from each other all the time! Be grateful for your place in space — the shadowy patches of the universe are dreadful lonely scenes.

Mysterious Invisible Force 🕵️‍♀️

Some forces are a lot creepier than floorboards creaking or a door slamming shut unexpectedly when you’re home alone. Dark energy is a mysterious antigravity pressure that our Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) is going to help us understand. All we know so far is that it’s present everywhere in the cosmos (even in the room with you as you read this) and it controls the fate of the universe, but WFIRST will study hundreds of millions of galaxies to figure out just what dark energy is up to.

Want to learn some fun ways to celebrate Halloween in (NASA) style? Check out this link!

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com

☀️ Sunburst Oil Recipe ☀️

Essential oil free!

sun·burst-

1. A sudden burst of sunlight, as through broken clouds

I just made my batch for this winter and I thought I'd share this recipe with you!

Good for: Physical Healing, Protection, Divination, Happiness, Love, Creativity, Prophesy, Truth, Solar Deities

Medically: cools and softens skin, helps heal small cuts, burns, irritations, SAD, breaking fever, purifying, anti bacterial, helps relieve anxiety and depression

Ingredients:

Grapeseed or sunflower oil

Dried hibiscus

Dried juniper berries

Dried Bay leaves

Dried citrus peel

Dried dandelion root

Rosemary

A cinnamon stick

If you want to add essential oils you can, I didnt for this batch but In the past I've used frankincense, lemon, orange, cinnamon, vetiver, black pepper, sandalwood, and juniper

Best to grind the ingredients before adding them to the oil (except the cinnamon stick)

Makes a great offering for any solar deity like apollo, sol, helios, sekhmet

Let infuse in the sunshine for a few weeks-months depending on how much oil you're making, or if you want it faster & stronger you can heat it up until it turns red from the hibiscus

It smells so good so it's an excellent natural perfume, and it's great for your skin!

I tend to go heavy on the hibiscus and juniper in this but the amounts used are up to you.

Crystal infusions: citrine, garnet, carnelian

✨☀️Sun Sigils ☀️✨

Happy Imbolc everyone!

In honor of the sun, I have done a few new sigils 

Top: “Blessed by the Sun”

Middle: “Adoration of the Sun” 

Bottom: “The Sunlight shines down upon me with favor” 

Please feel free to like and reblog but please do not repost!

🍓❤☀️Summer of Love Strawberry spell☀️❤🍓

A tasty snack, and spell, to bring you love this summer.

What you need:

🍓Strawberries- love (all types), happiness, summer magic (this spell also works with strawberry ice cream)

💎Sugar-love, sweetness, attraction

🍂Cinnamon- love, warmth, sun magic

☀️A sunny spot, especially outside

What to do:

🍓Get as many strawberries as you’d like

🍓Mix the sugar with a dash or 2 of cinnamon

🍓go sit in your sunny spot and feel the suns warmth

🍓say “this summer, is the summer of love”

🍓dip the strawberries in the cinnamon sugar. And as you do, focus on intent and the type of love you want in you life. Feel the sunshine manifesting the energy with you as you eat.

🍓when you finish eating the spell is done! Enjoy!

☀️ Sunburst Oil Recipe ☀️

Essential oil free!

sun·burst-

1. A sudden burst of sunlight, as through broken clouds

I just made my batch for this winter and I thought I'd share this recipe with you!

Good for: Physical Healing, Protection, Divination, Happiness, Love, Creativity, Prophesy, Truth, Solar Deities

Medically: cools and softens skin, helps heal small cuts, burns, irritations, SAD, breaking fever, purifying, anti bacterial, helps relieve anxiety and depression

Ingredients:

Grapeseed or sunflower oil

Dried hibiscus

Dried juniper berries

Dried Bay leaves

Dried citrus peel

Dried dandelion root

Rosemary

A cinnamon stick

If you want to add essential oils you can, I didnt for this batch but In the past I've used frankincense, lemon, orange, cinnamon, vetiver, black pepper, sandalwood, and juniper

Best to grind the ingredients before adding them to the oil (except the cinnamon stick)

Makes a great offering for any solar deity like apollo, sol, helios, sekhmet

Let infuse in the sunshine for a few weeks-months depending on how much oil you're making, or if you want it faster & stronger you can heat it up until it turns red from the hibiscus

It smells so good so it's an excellent natural perfume, and it's great for your skin!

I tend to go heavy on the hibiscus and juniper in this but the amounts used are up to you.

Crystal infusions: citrine, garnet, carnelian

☀️Sun water☀️

🌞Used for:

Protection, healing (especially physical), happiness, truth, clairvoyance, courage, strength, prosperity, luck, self-love, cleansing, confidence, leadership, justice, gardening, growth, warmth, comfort, fertility, and creativity

🌞How to make it:

Leave the water on a sunny windowsill or outside, preferably in direct sunlight. Sunrise, 9 am, 12 pm, and 3 pm are perfect times for this, or you can leave it from sunrise to sunset. You can also add herbs and flowers to it as well (lemon peels, orange peels, marigolds, chamomile, cinnamon, sunflower, etc.) Or charge it with some stones (like sunstone, orange calcite, citrine, tigers eye, goldstone or carnelian), but please don’t put these stones in the water. You can also make a sun tea with sun water for a very potent solar spell.

It’s an old memory.

☀️Frankincense is literally sunshine as a scent☀️

💫🌟Star Magick Guide🌟💫

When the day’s light has vanished 

   I am a solar witch by nature, and I feel like a lot of people don’t understand the protection the sun gives us. The sun is the most dynamic and powerful energy source known to us, hands down. All cosmic light comes from her. Yes, even the moon gets its light from the sun, though most people, myself included, consider the moon a separate entity. I’ve never been attacked or had any negative energy dare come near me in full sunlight. She is powerful and she does not leave. 

    So, instead of disappearing at night, she simply goes into another form. This is the time solar energy transforms from the singular yellow sun to the more cosmic power of the stars. This is the time when the colder fire of the universe is visible. Starlight is the most mysterious part of solar magick, one that’s softer and comforting, yet incomprehensible. 

Tips! 

⭐️ The more stars you can see, the more powerful your spells! 

⭐️ If it’s the time of year a certain constellation is visible, you can focus on spells regarding that zodiac or deity 

⭐️ August is one of the best months for meteor showers 

⭐️ Star water is a thing! It can be affected by whatever constellation you set it under as well

⭐️ Individual stars can also have different spells attached to them (i.e. the morning star, the north star, etc) 

⭐️ All crystals are safe to charge under starlight 

Spells!

⭐️ Secret magick

⭐️ Cerebral magick

⭐️ Questions about other beings or entities 

⭐️ Divination 

⭐️ Spells about our purpose as a being on this plane of existence

⭐️ Spells about our purpose as a being on the next plane of existence

⭐️ Spells for a peaceful sleep or recovery  

⭐️ Spells to recharge your astral power or energy sink

⭐️ Spells about dreams or spells trying to induce lucid dreaming

⭐️ Spells for contacting those who are no longer with us 

Other witches feel free to reblog with any other tips or spells! My other solar spell guides and general magick guides are here and here! 

- ☀️Solarian☀️ 

Pathworking and Astral Travel

In spirit work, we often connect with the spirits that have crossed over and are present in the physical world. However, there are also ways to cross over into the spirit world and connect with spirits in their home environment.

Pathworking

As I mentioned in a previous post, a pathworking is a specific type of meditation where you go on a psychic journey, but are still anchored to your physical body. It’s sort of like dipping your toes into the spirit world.

There are two important elements to a pathworking: a clear entrance/exit point and a way to retrace your steps. Pathworking journeys are typically cyclical — there is both a journey out and a return where you go back the way you came. This makes it easier to fully return your consciousness to your body, and failing to do so can cause you to feel disoriented upon the return.

Your entry/exit point can be absolutely anything, but common examples include a door, a gateway, a tree (or sometimes The World Tree), a cave/tunnel, or a natural landmark like a beach or mountaintop. What’s important is that it’s recognizable and easy to find your way back to.

If you want to try pathworking, make a rough “road map” of your journey beforehand. This doesn’t have to be super specific, but it should contain the following: a goal for the pathworking (such as to connect with a certain spirit), an entry/exit point, and a general idea for the route you’re going to take. If you’re worried about getting lost, author Thea Sabin recommends using “the Theseus trick.” Like in the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur, you can tie a golden thread or rope to your entry point and the other end to your astral body. If you get lost, you can follow the thread back.

Pathworking is fairly beginner friendly, and I highly, highly, highly recommend starting with pathworking and becoming comfortable with this method before trying astral travel. Even for more advanced witches, pathworking is often a better option than astral travel because it’s less involved and requires a little bit less effort. I personally prefer pathworking for most situations.

Performing a Pathworking

Before you begin, establish a clear goal for your pathworking and write out a rough “road map.” At the very least, you should know what your purpose is, where your entry point is, and how to find your way back.

Begin in a dark, quiet room. Cleanse the room by burning incense, diffusing or spraying essential oils, or using a ritual broom to sweep out old energy.

Find a comfortable place to sit or lie down and begin meditating. You may want to play meditation music, practice breathing techniques, or use some other method to help you reach a meditative state.

Once you reach a meditative state (you should know what this feels like if you have experience with meditation), see yourself standing at your entry point. This is your entrance to the astral realm.

Set out on your pathworking.

When you are ready to leave the astral realm, you will need to find your way back to your entry point. Once you reach your entry point, it should be fairly easy to return to your body.

Once you’re fully present in your physical body, use your favorite method to ground yourself.

Write down everything you experienced during your pathworking in a journal.

Astral Travel

If pathworking is dipping your toes into the spirit world, astral travel is diving in the deep end. Also called spirit flight and hedge riding, astral travel includes actually sending your soul/consciousness out of your body and into the spirit world. As you might guess, this is more complicated and requires more effort than pathworking. For this reason, astral travel is not beginner-friendly. If you are completely new to meditation, witchcraft, and spirit work, it’s best to learn to pathwork before you attempt astral travel.

A word of warning: you may want to avoid astral travel at times when you’re in a very vulnerable or volatile emotional state. Some days you just aren’t up for it, and that’s okay. On those days, a pathworking or another form of spirit work may be a better option.

Triggering Spirit Flight

In astral travel, a trigger of some kind is used to help disconnect the soul from the physical body. Common triggers include drumming, special music, shaking a rattle, chanting, and dancing.

You can find shamanic drumming tracks on YouTube that can help you achieve astral travel. If you find that repetitive motion helps you trance out, you may look into getting a small drum or rattle to play.

Animal Guides

In many cultures, those who travel into the spirit world do so with the guidance and protection of an animal spirit. From the Norse fylgja, to the shamanic power animal, to the witch’s familiar, history is full of examples of these types of guides.

Before you begin astral travel, do a pathworking to meet your animal guide. It’s important to note that you aren’t choosing an animal guide — only meeting one that has always been with you. Your guide may be an animal that you like or identify with, or it may not. When I first began experimenting with astral travel, my guide was a coyote — an animal I had never identified with before, but who I learned was deeply connected to my inner self.

It’s important to always have your animal guide with you when going on astral journeys, as they are an important source of protection and power. They may also literally guide you to the things you need to see and the spirits you need to meet.

Flying Ointments

Historical accounts describe witches using “flying ointment” to help them achieve spirit flight. These traditional flying ointments contained toxic and/or hallucinogenic plants like belladonna, datura, henbane, mandrake, and opium poppies. For obvious reasons, most modern witches do not use these herbs.

Please do not try to create your own flying ointment with poisonous plants. If you’re a true traditionalist and feel like you just have to try a historically accurate flying ointment, Bane Folk Apothecary sells several. Bane Folk is run by Sarah Anne Lawless, a kickass witch who knows her stuff and produces safe, medicinal products inspired by traditional flying ointment formulas. I am usually very pro-DIY, especially when it comes to witchcraft, but this is one case where it really is best to defer to a professional.

To create a modern, non-toxic flying ointment: heat eight ounces (or one cup) of poppy seed oil over low heat on the stove. Once the oil is warm, add 2 ounces (or ¼ cup) of beeswax into the oil. (Use carnauba wax for a vegan alternative.) Take the mixture off the heat, and allow it to cool off a bit. Once it has cooled (but before it’s begun to solidify), add nine drops each of mugwort essential oil, star anise essential oil, and peppermint essential oil. Pour the mixture into a mason jar and seal tightly. To extend your ointment’s shelf life, add a few drops of Vitamin E oil and store in the refrigerator. If you don’t have access to essential oils or prefer a more traditional method, you can buy dry herbs and infuse them into your oil instead — to do this, crush up 2.5 ounces (or 1/3 cup) each of dried mugwort, star anise, and peppermint and add them to a mason jar; add enough oil to the jar to cover the herbs completely, with about an inch of oil above them; seal the jar and place it in a sunny window for 2-3 weeks to infuse; and finally, strain the herbs out of the oil with a mesh sieve or a cheesecloth. You can then add your Vitamin E oil and beeswax to create an ointment.

This modern recipe does not contain hallucinogens, but it does contain plants that are commonly used in magic to increase psychic abilities and aid in astral travel. You can say an incantation over this ointment while making it to add some extra magical potency. Applying the flying ointment can also become a sort of ritual that prepares you for spirit flight by helping you slip into a more spiritual head space.

Performing Astral Travel/Spirit Flight

Before you begin, know why you are journeying to the spirit world. You should always have a clear goal for your astral journeys.

Begin in a dark, quiet room. Cleanse the room by burning incense (mugwort incense aids in astral travel), diffusing or spraying essential oils, or using a ritual broom to sweep out old energy.

Use your favorite method to ground yourself.

If you are choosing to use a flying ointment, rub it on your skin now.

Hold a protective item in one of your hands. I like physical items for protection during spirit flight, because they can ground you and help you find your way back to your body. Examples of protective items include a sprig of rue, a piece of iron, or a protective crystal like black tourmaline. If you ever feel scared or uncomfortable during your journey, you can bring this object into the astral realm to protect you. It will also keep your body safe while your consciousness is occupied.

Start up your trigger, whether this is drumming, rattling, dancing, etc.

Allow yourself to drift into a trance state, and then to disconnect from your body.

Call your animal guide to you.

Set out on your journey in the spirit world.

When you are ready, feel yourself returning to your physical body. Allow yourself to come back slowly — don’t rush it.

Ground yourself. One good way to ground after astral travel is by eating a snack.

Write down your experiences in a journal.

Resources:

Wicca for Beginners by Thea Sabin

Southern Cunning: Folkloric Witchcraft in the American South by Aaron Oberon

Hedge Riding by Harmonia Saille

“How to Make Herb-Infused Oils for Culinary & Body Care Use” and “How to Make Herbal Salves” from the Mountain Rose Herbs blog