1- Hecate

Things I’ve Learned

As both a witch and someone who makes more mistakes than there are cells in my body

just do what works

like i’m serious if screaming at the moon works then do it

listen to your gut. it knows

work with what you have and don’t be afraid to cheat the system a little

eat after you preform magickal works, drink water

succulents are friends

spider plants can live just about anywhere but actual pots are best

rosemary doesn’t like water and will die very quickly if you over water it

aloe vera is a beast and flat out refuses to die

be like aloe vera

eggshells don’t decompose like other things they just kinda dissolve eventually

freezing eggshells keeps them fresh but they’re difficult to pry apart 

don’t use salt on plants they will die 

enchanting your makeup is a good idea

put sigils everywhere

don’t be afraid to do magick for practical/”mundane” things

always look at the mundane causes for things first

showers are a great time to self-cleanse and ward

screaming and throwing your grimoire at spiders is probably going to happen eventually

you should probably set up a schedule or an alarm to water your plants

store your seeds away from water 

dandelions are friends

don’t pick the first dandelions of spring! bees need those to get started

sometimes just asking for something to lend it’s energy is enough

sometimes doing spells is the equivalent of kicking the universe in the knees until it does the thing

cursing bad people with lots of supporters is very difficult, but worth it 

be very careful with your wording and intent

your spells probably aren’t going to work out the way you thought

@terrasunshine and I wrote a collaborative devotional together! This was 100% her lovely idea, and I’m so happy we got to do this together. Here it is!! (You all should go and give Terra love for this, because she’s so talented.)

O, Hephaestus, You borne in the flame of a forge, did you gift an artist their hands?

Hands that are so gentle, so soft, that a touch is as light as air?

Splattered in a thousand colors, nimble, an artist’s hands are their tools.

With these most precious tools, they create beauty which brings mortals to tears.

A gift from You, dear Hephaestus, built from bone and iron, to gift their creations to You, in Your glorious name.

With You as Teacher and Guide, they find their hands in motion, constantly moving and creating.

Through this motion they find peace; through the peace they find beauty. And they gift it all to You.

Dipped and dyed, poked and callused, each piece a prayer of praise.

Even mistakes hold beauty, for each ink spill or dropped stitch brings understanding and character to the artist’s creation.

Even unfinished works hold devotion, for even in abandonment can beauty be found.

O, Hephaestus, we as artists thank You for this divine and heavenly gift.

Each work we make will sing Your praise forever.

To Tell an Omen

Witches and Magick-Makers have been reading into omens since the dawn of time. Omens have changed the course of history quite few times, or perhaps even foretold of a grisly ending of rulers and monarchs.

The omen is considered by many to be a divine message from the Gods. Perhaps it’s the universe trying to tell you something? Maybe it’s the Spirits you’ve come to know on your path? Or maybe it is the Gods.

No matter the messenger, an omen is still a signal coming through in order to make someone aware of something. It could be just a warning, or perhaps even a grand prophecy. The possibilities are great.

However, many Witches, especially new and bright eyed ones, sometimes have a habit of believing everything they see is an omen, and in that, possibly missing the real ones. This isn’t a bad thing and most of the time they’ll grow out of it and start realizing what actually is and isn’t an omen.

For example, when I first became a Witch, I saw a murder of crows in my yard. I instantly flipped because I thought the Morrigan was calling to me. I studied up on Her and tried to approach Her, without success. I was so confused. Why would She call to me and then not come when I respond? Well, she never did call, that’s why.

During that, I had completely disregarded the plethora of signs I had been receiving from Hekate. Keys appearing and disappearing, endless dogs howling and barking around me no matter where I was (even in the grocery store. How could I not think that was weird at the time?), frogs appearing in the dead of winter, and my really strange dreams. It wasn’t until I actually stopped and looked for consistencies that I realized Hekate was calling me. And when I called to Her, She answered. Loudly.

That’s an example of when I didn’t know how to read omens. Now here’s one from this week (which inspired this post):

Last week, I started having really strange dreams about babies. Number one, I hate children. Number two, I can’t get pregnant. I’m a man.

So, the setting in the dream was in places I knew to be familiar to my family. My cousins house, in fact. Well, a couple months ago, she was told by her doctor that she would never be able to conceive due to an illness she has. So, I wrote off the possibility of pregnancy.

Well later, I was hanging out with her when she told me that her and husband had been looking to adopt and were looking around for different adoption agencies, but had stopped due to my cousin suddenly losing hope in having children all together.

The dreams continued. Always in her house.

Well, yesterday, I went and saw her and I noticed she had been crying. I continued to ask what was wrong and she kept saying nothing. Well, since I try to be a comforter at times, I pressed on. She finally told me that it was nothing bad and was actually quite good. Then it clicked. She was finally pregnant. I asked and she began to cry with joy and told me this is what she’s always wanted.

Omens are strange things, and can be frustratingly subtle sometimes. But with discernment, you can get an idea on how to read them. I’ve learned a few ways over the years to determine if an omen is actually an omen. And thus, here we are.

How to tell if an omen is actually an omen:

1.) Look for consistency. Randomness is a very real thing and should be accounted for, especially for understanding omens. If a repeated theme is constantly popping up around you, check into it. It could be an omen.

2.) Look for something strange. Omens aren’t always shockingly weird, but they often seem to come out of the sphere of the ordinary. They often won’t reflect your normal day to day existence. Example: I hate kids, I try not be around them, and yet I couldn’t stop dreaming about them.

3.) Look for normalcy in places it normally wouldn’t be. That moment of regularity amidst the chaos could be a sign from the Spirit Realm. Don’t overlook it.

4.) Divine on it. If you think you’re being sent a sign, consult some divination techniques. Tarot is wonderful, as is throwing some bones.

In conclusion, don’t read too far into things that don’t matter, and pay attention to the real stuff. Use your mind and focus when reading omens.

"I shouldn't lose myself again." she said. "Just to be loved by someone else."

Where's your identity? // ma.c.a

🎃 Samhain 🎃

Hi loves, hope you all are doing well!

Today we are going to be learning about Samhain, since we are now officially in the spooky scary time of the month!

What is Samhain?

Samhain is a festival of Celtic origin (Ireland, England, Wales, Scotland and France) and is also known as Celtic New Year's Day.

It marks the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter, also called the 'darker half' of the year.

Traditionally, it is celebrated on October 31st at sunset and ends on November 1st sunset.

Samhain was the time when the doorways to the Otherworld opened (the veil between worlds becomes the thinnest), and this allowed supernatural beings and souls of the dead to come into our world.

Due to this, Samhain is known as a festival for the dead.

What are its correspondents?

Colour

Black, Orange, Purple, White, Gold, Silver

Animals

Black cats, Bats, Owls, Ravens

Foods

Apples, Pumpkins, Butternut squash, Sweet potatoes, Turnips, Apple Cider, Root Vegetables, Tea Brack, Hazelnuts, Pomegranate

Crystals

Obsidian, Jet, Onyx, Bloodstone, Smokey quartz, Aquamarine, Carnelian

Incense

Sandalwood, Sage, Patchouli, Sweetgrass

Herbs

Allspice, Rosemary, Sage, Nutmeg, Mint

Deities

Bast, Ishtar, Anubis, Cernunnos, Herne, The Horned God, Loki, Odin, Osiris

Simple Ways to Celebrate

Carving pumpkins!

Recreating old family recipes

Hazelnut and Blackberry picking

Decorate your altar (If you have or use one!)

Bake some Samhain inspired recipes such as brack!

Search for fossils!

Decorate your home!

If you have cats at home spend some or more time with them!

See you later loves! I will try to update some more spells and maby recipes later on!

Centering, Grounding, and Shielding

- From my Grimoire

A Preface

Something that I don’t think enough people cover when it comes to The Craft, is how to keep yourself protected when doing spells and rituals, or communicating with spirits. This is a very basic aspect of witchcraft, so I’d like to take a moment to go in depth on the topic to make sure that as many people as possible, can find something that will work for them! Of course though, there will be some methods that I either don’t have experience with or may have simply forgot to mention. Find what works best for you and your practice, and look at some other articles or books as well!

Centering

First off, what is centering? This is basically you preparing yourself and getting in the mindset of doing a spell/ritual. This is taking a moment to yourself to make sure you’re intentions are in the right place, and everything is set up and ready to go. Centering isn’t too difficult to do, so there’s honestly not too much to say on the topic.

Method I like to begin centering with meditation. Relax yourself and get into the “witch headspace”, if you will. Cleanse yourself, and maybe even take a shower or a bath. Next thing is to gather your thoughts, write some questions down on a piece of paper or on your computer and answer them. Things like “What is my motivation?” “What outcome do I want” “How do I want to do this?” If you really take a moment to understand what you’re doing and where your heart lies, your spell will be at it’s most effective.

Grounding

Grounding is an important thing to do after any spell you perform. While it doesn’t necessarily hurt to do before a spell, it can limit your meta-physical performance. Grounding is connecting you back to the earth and bringing you back to your physical body, getting your head out of the clouds if you will, and sometimes when performing a spell that’s where you want your head to be. If you’re working with any earth based magick though, this can greatly help, so just figure out what works best for the kind of spell you’re doing.

Methods

Roots - This is my covens favorite method to ground. This is basically where you have a meditative moment, plant your feet on the ground, and “sink your roots in”. First thing you wanna do is get in some kind of contact with the ground or floor, just anything that is a solid foundation. Plant your hands or feet flat and start by breathing deeply. You wanna really take in the energy from the earth, pay attention to all of your surroundings and take in the moment. Next close your eyes and start focusing your energy at your hands or feet. (You may feel your hands start to tingle or even go mildly numb) Lastly, release that energy and push it into the earth. Let it soak in deep, and if visualization helps, imagine your roots growing down.

Going outside is another very good method to reconnect with the Earth. If at all possible, I like to go outside barefoot and feel the grass on my feet. Really connect to the earth, take in your surroundings and walk around as much as you feel comfortable.

A Dump Stone - Just about any stone will work, but generally stone that come from bodies of water, have holes, or are green or black tend to work the best. Basically just hold the stone in your hand and let any and all negative energy flow out from you into the stone. Stones can handle quite a bit of negative energy so don’t be afraid to let it all come out. After you’re done though, you’re immediately going to want to cleanse your crystal with whichever method works best for you. I prefer to let mine sit in salt overnight, or until the feel done.

Drinking a cold glass of water, splashing cold water on your face, or even taking a really quick cold shower is also a really good way to ground yourself. It’s all about being present in your body, and nothing can bring you back into the now like some cold water can.

Shielding and Wards

Shielding yourself is important when it comes to any kind of magick, because there truly are negative entities and energies out there that like to take advantage of people. It’s a sad truth, but this is why we learn to protect ourselves spiritually. Putting up a shield or ward isn’t difficult, and sometimes you do it without even realizing!

Shielding Methods

Visualization - This is my favorite method to teach beginners because it doesn’t require any tools just you, and yourself. The begin, start by getting into a calm relaxed state, maybe even meditate before hand. Next, imagine a ring of light around yourself starting at your feet. This light can look like anything, be any color, and be any shape so the only limit is your imagination. Once you have the ring of light, imagine it slowly coming up around your body, let it fill your heart with warmth and let it remind you that you are safe spiritually and no negative entity can harm you. Once it has made a complete bubble around yourself, say some affirmations and remind yourself that you’re strong and can handle anything. The more you believe in yourself, then the stronger this shield will become. 

Smoky Quartz or any other black stone, when kept on the person or placed at the feet can create a ward as well. For those less imaginative, this is a very good alternative because you have the crystal to support you as well. 

Magick Circle - There are many ways to open a magick circle, but heres a really simple method. Hold one of your hands out, palm up and focus your energy in your hand. (You may get that warm, tingly, or numb feeling, if not though thats okay!) Really let it bubble up into your fingertips, and once there, point a finger out and draw a circle around yourself and say some simple affirmations of safety and peace. Just like the visualization method, this works best the more you have faith and believe in yourself. 

Simply stating that you are, or feel safe is another way to shield yourself spiritually. You remember how when you were little and alone in your room at night and you thought you heard something scary? You covered your head up with a blanket right? Do you remember how safe you felt after doing that, like how nothing could get you? That was quite literally you putting up a shield. Remember your intentions and feelings are the most important thing in magick, always keep that in mind!

Warding Methods Wards are another variation of shields, but these are things you put on the physical plane rather than a spiritual one. 

Runes/Sigils - A really good way to set up a ward is to carve or draw some runes either into the side of a doorframe, a candle, or even on a piece of paper to burn later! If you’re going to carve them into wood or draw them, charge the tool you’re going to be doing it with. If your going to use a candle, burn the candle whenever you feel like you need it most! And as for burning paper, keep the ashed around and maybe even sprinkle them into every corner of the room.

Salt - Put lines of salt on the top of your door and window frames, and sprinkle some in every corner of the room.

Stones - Certain stones are said to be warning stones and will break if danger is near by. Malachite is one of these stones, and is fairly easy to get your hands on. Place this stone above door and window frames as well. 

Holy/Blessed Water - A drop placed in every corner of the room creates a barrier around the room.

Brooms/Staffs - Place in the corners of rooms, and said to fall over if danger is near by.

Black Candles - Burning a black candle is said to bring protection and keep a room hidden from spirits. 

Are you drawn to playing intense characters?

20% is better than 0%.

Brushing your teeth at least once every day is better than none at all.

A few hours of sleep is better than none.

A few minutes outside for fresh air is better than none.

Writing a few paragraphs of the essay today is better than procrastinating till later.

Doing something is better than nothing (of course there is exception for some cases).

Do things at a pace which makes you comfortable whilst allowing you to make progress.

You can do this!

Weird how opening spotify in a web browser with a decent ad blocker allows you to skip ads just like would happen if you had premium. Sure hope no one takes advantage of that.