Spirits - Blog Posts
This is Maggie. She’s my healer and protection spirit. As a Wiccan that preforms many rituals and such, I suggest always having someone like her around. I’ve befriended her over the years for having her and found out what her life was like before she inhabited the doll. It’s very interesting talking to her. If your scared that it may be an unwelcome entity or harmful spirit, a simple ouija bored session will do. Ask them questions, but don’t annoy them. Spirits are lovely companions to have by your side, and they can help protect you from things you cannot see with your bare eyes.
Devotional Acts to Death/Chthonic Deities
These are just suggestions. Adapt to your own personal needs.
Have a saving account!
Clean up graves
Read the history of your culture
Volunteer at hospices and end of life planning
Sign up for organ donation
Write a will/last testament
Create a memento mori
Trace ancestry (if possible)
Ancestor altars
Legacy Projects
Visiting Memoirs
Reading/writing poetry about death
Read books/articles on death and funeral traditions: - What happens to the body after death? By Maria Cohurt - Forensic Entomology: The Use of Insects in Death Investigations by Dr. Gail Anderson - ‘Death: a graveside companion’ by Joanna Ebenstein and Will Self - ‘Western attitudes to death from the Middle Ages to the present’ by Philippe Ariès - ‘A social history of dying’ by Allan Kellehear - ‘Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory’ by Caitlin Doughty - 'From Here to Eternity: Travelling the World to Find the Good Death’ by Caitlin Doughty - 'Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers’ by Mary Roach - 'Past Mortems: Life and Death Behind Mortuary’ by Carla Valentine - 'All That Remains: A Life in Death’ by Sue Black - 'Written In Bone: Hidden Stories in What We Leave Behind’ by Sue Black - 'Holding Space: On Loving, Dying, and Letting Go’ by Amy Wright Glenn - 'Being Mortal: Illness, Medicine and What Matters in the End’ by Atul Gawande - 'Traditions of Death and Burial’ by Dr Helen Frisby - 'The Adult Orphan Club: How I Learned to Grieve the Loss of My Parents’ by Flora Baker - 'Caring for the Dying: The Doula Approach to a Meaningful Death’ by Henry Fersko-Weiss
Video research: Demystifying Medical Aid in the Dying: Family Voices (part 1) Demystifying Medical Aid in the Dying: Family Voices (part 2) Why You Need to Plan Ahead for Death, with Alua Arthur
Forest Witch
Water spirits of the drowned living in a haunted lake. Trapped underwater forever.
Spoken like a true hero (and ally.) 😌 Point made, loud and strong.
As someone who works a lot with Infernals and some other more “taboo” deities and subjects, I am SO glad to see this. I think we can all learn a thing or two from keeping an open mind.
can ppl stop shitting on demons please
Hell is, like, really, really big. And diverse. There are as many kinds of demons as there are spirits in general.
Not all of them are evil. They don’t all want your soul, or to tempt you, or to deceive you.
JUST LEAVE MY FRIENDS ALONE OKAY
Ghost... I have a question, do spirits never sleep in their life? They are constantly on the move I know I do not know what they eat and drink? They are even sensitive to water... whether ghosts love music :D
and maybe this was your first question?
no. to answer this question. i never sleep so other ghosts never sleep too (my thought). this is the reason why i feel always tired~ it is a circle of endless tiredness.
i am not conctantly on the move just only if i have to~ and ghosts never eat or drink only if they possesses a human body. because a human body needs food and water to live.
yes. spirits hates water and they never near to water.
hm whether ghosts love listening to music remains unclear
/ᐠ.ꞈ.ᐟ\
It's me again sorry.. will u tell me about evil spirits :D they are invisible they are even transparent and like to enter human bodies... Do they like to scare people do they have the ability to speak when the spirit enters the person does he speak with his voice?
ok. ok anon. because you have the sameopinion as me and apparently think that I’m a ghost~ i will answeryour questions.
and sorry that i do not answer your firstquestion, i was really busy.
ofcourse all spirtits are invisible, it does not matter whether they aregood or evil. I think that spirit just ‘enter’ human bodies if theyhave a use of it. Maybe to talk with living family members or theymiss to be alive… and they always speak with their own voice.
I amone of those ghost who likes to scare people but just for fun. Not tohurt or kill them. Mythought is that the other spirits do not want to scare people. Theyjust want to be noticed.
/ᐠ.ꞈ.ᐟ\
Good night everybody! #fantasy #creature #creatures #digitalart #digital #digitalpainting #conceptart #beats #monster #spirits #art #artstation#characterdesign #character #characterart #characterartist #conceptart #illustration #иллюстрация #рисунок #графика #painting #существо #darkart #art #illustration #darkness #fantasyart #beats #зверь #vm_artist #darkart #artwork https://www.instagram.com/p/BXzXMQrANRC/?igshid=17siofcj5x2qw
An original Jack O Lantern made from a turnip.
Halloween, or All Hallow’s Eve, is said to have been influenced by ancient Christian, pagan, and Irish traditions. In Christianity, Halloween in the first day of AllHallowTide, a festival consisting of All Hallow’s Eve, All Hallow’s Day, and All Soul’s day. The celebration was meant to remember the dead. In pagan tradition, the holiday was influenced by the ancient gealic festival of Samhain, which marks the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter. During the festival, large bonfires were lit and the bones of animals kept for slaughter were thrown in as a sacrifice. According to gaelic mythology, during this time, the boundary between the living world and the spirit world is at its thinnest, allowing spirits to cross into our world. According to legend, the spirit of a man named stingy Jack was cursed to wonder the earth for an eternity after his death, with nothing but a hollowed out turnip containing a lit coal to guide his way. He was dubbed Jack of the Lantern or Jack O’ Lantern. The Irish people would carve out gourds, such as turnips, to ward off malicious spirits. Irish immigrants in North America began to use pumpkins because they were easier to carve. The children of the poor would wear costumes and go from door to door of the wealthy receiving small gifts of special cakes called soul cakes in exchange for a song or a prayer for the dead. Eventually children took up this practice by going from door to door asking for small gifts of food or money. Eventually All these traditions evolved into the Halloween that we all know and love.
SPRING VIBES 🙏🏻 Everything is in you ✨ We have to be braves, defeat what made us weaks, we must shine between the darkness let our spirit speak from us. We are love, we must show compassion and kindness 💚💕 - - - #spiritual #spirits #freedom#freespirit #freemind #freeminds #healthymind #healthylife #healing #kindness #beautiful#meditation #meditate #buddhism #middleway #buddhist
Babe, there's something tragic about you, something so magic about you...
Spirits?
I'm beginning with witchcraft and one thing that I've been noticing are the entities.
I remember that back in 2012, right after my grandmother passed away, the whole energy in my house was sad, my mum was depressed and my dad started going to another city for long periods of time.
I remember once I was doing my homework on the dinning room, it was already dark outside, and neither my mom nor I had turned on the lights of the rooms in the first floor. So the only lights on were in the dinning room and in the living room, were my mom was watching TV.
I went to my room to get my charger and a book I left there. As the lights were off, the moon light was perfectly reflected on my mom's room.
I checked it and for a few seconds I saw my grandma, sitting in a corner, brushing her hair, smiling to me in the same sweet way as always.I tried to see her again, but there was only a shadow left. I almost cryed and I couldn't end my homework that night.
I forgot that expirience. Now that I remember it, I think I might cry. Maybe it was just my imagination, or she was really there, checking for her daughter.
Sorry for the grammar mistakes, I'm not a native English teacher
This drawing of Sonny is dope af I didn't realize I hadn't reblogged it 😭😭😭
I've always really loved your unique lineart and shading style!
Got myself a second hand tablet to give digital art another go even though it drives me bonko. I don't know how y'all do this 💀
Anyways, this is my gal Sonny. She hunts monsters :) here she is fishing for a ghost
Cryptoclub is the official Discord server for the YouTube channel Cryptocast and the Tumblr account Cryptids-Of-The-World. Here we discuss our love of cryptids and and everything spooky. It's a great group with great people and we hope to see you in the server! 🙂
Do you like ghosts and the paranormal? Here at Ghost Hunters, we love it! We have chats ranging from haunted dolls to discussing the ghosts of animals. If that interests you, please consider coming in and checking us out! 🙂
Building 17, Part 2
"You need my WHAT?" I had to take a step back. What would you do, Readers, if your principal asked for your blood?
Said principal casually drew a knife from his belt. "Your blood. The creature in there wants an offering."
"I would hope you knew better than to call a spirit a creature, Mr. Lee Anders." Prudence took the knife away from him. "That looked really threatening...."
"I'm a principal."
"Did you say a spirit?" I interjected. "Spirits haven't been seen in centuries..."
"Just because they aren't seen doesn't mean they aren't there. You're made of cells, no? Atoms? Quarks and gluons?"
"I-I guess....but--"
"Besides, magic can't hurt them."
"Nor should it." Prudence gave the principal a look. "The spirit should be appeased, not attacked. Which is why we need your blood."
"Why my blood?" I pulled my sweater sleeves down a bit. "Doesn't all blood work in spellwork?"
"This isn't spellwork, it's an offering. And your blood is....special."
".....No?"
"Yes. Your blood is....unchanged. It's what we call 'Unmisted'."
"....I've never heard of that."
"Its a local phenomena. But it just means that, for now, your blood is special. And sadly, that means you're a....delicacy."
I shuddered at the thought. "I--"
Principal Lee Anders stopped me. "This is our only option son. We need your blood."
I resisted for a bit, but eventually I gave in. None of Principal Lee Anders' spells worked, and Prudence's meditations gave her the same answer. My blood was the only way this would end.
Prudence carefully pushed my sleeve up and drew her knife. I clenched my eyes shut and turned away, and winced. Luckily she made the....incision on my arm instead of my palm. Principal Lee Anders quickly bandaged the wound while Prudence smeared my blood on her hands. I felt woozy; it was too much for me. The cut, the...ritual....
I tried not to throw up.
Prudence reached for the vines with both hands, and before she even touched them the vines fell away. Prudence glanced back at Principal Lee Anders, then tried to enter Building 17. However, she stopped short. "Ail'sur'ia..." She cursed. Prudence then gave me an apologetic look. "It wants you to come with."
Dear Readers, at that moment I spoke my mind.
"Are you guys going to feed me to a spirit?"
"Wha--no!" Prudence rushed to deny.
"No harm will come to you, Mr. Page." Principal Lee Anders came up and put a hand on my shoulder, and a chill went down my spine. "I swear it."
Our magician of a principal wrapped a silver thread around my wrist and Prudence's, then used golden confetti mixed with sand to draw a circle that hovered in the air around him. "Stay behind me at all times."
When we entered Building 17, the vines came up again, trapping us inside. The interior was destroyed; the walls were split by tree roots, and flowers grew at random intervals. Moss covered everything, and small glowing motes were the only source of light. It was warm, and the air felt wet.
I looked ahead at Principal Lee Anders, and he was smiling. "Let's do this."
[End of Part 2]
THE BURNING GIRLS by C. J. TUDOR (REVIEW)
quickly: a woman of the cloth relocates to small-town England and uncovers a long-kept community secret. (single mom with a repressed past and a rebellious teen daughter / creepy blair witch stick dolls / ghostly apparitions / family secrets turning into community secrets / rich men controlling local government / a random spree killer).
quaint, quiet English towns are some of the most dangerous places on Earth. this is what The Burning Girls confirms in a story that feels like the UK version of a Fear Street novel. the chapters are short and quick, often ending with a cliffhanger. ‘good vs. evil’ and ‘nature vs. nurture’ are major motifs in this story, sometimes stereotypically so, sometimes uninspired. i wish there was more thrill and horror… with the lore behind what a ‘burning girl’ represents, there was the potential to go so much further. while i love the author’s tone and style, the substance lacked.
★ ★ ★
more thoughts: SPOILERS!
Some personal context… I picked this book out based on a search I did for ’theological horror’. I was trying to decide whether or not I was going to read the non-fiction book “Heathen: Religion and Race in American History”. As I’m already reading a non-fiction book on Indigenous American history, ”Indigenous Continent: The Epic Contest for North America”, and I just completed the lengthy “The Books of Jacob”, I was hesitant to read another lengthy non-fiction book.
My thought process was… I can soothe my horror itch and my religious history itch by reading a book that combined both. If the book was intriguing enough, then I’d move on to Heathen by Kathyrn. I found several books that fell into the theological horror genre, and ‘Burning Girl’s’ was a newer one, so I picked it. Sadly, it did not inspire me to reach for non-fiction theological history. While not bad, it didn’t capture what was interesting about the religious lore of Sussex England that the title and cover art so openly refer to.
The title is what truly caught my eye: THE BURNING GIRLS. That, paired with the promise of uncovering church mysteries, pulled me in.
The story opens with Reverend Jack, short for Jacqueline, who is being informed that she is being relocated to a distant Sussex community after an unfortunate occurrence at her church in Nottingham. Essentially, she wasn’t able to save an abused child from their parents and was partially blamed when the parents murdered the child.
She moves to Chapel Croft with her 15-year-old daughter, a small village where everyone knows everyone, and her arrival is big news. Immediately, both mother and daughter have separate encounters with appearances of ‘burning girls’, ghostly apparitions who appear to be on fire, and missing bodily limbs. Reverend Jack is coincidentally informed that the creepy stick dolls everywhere are to commemorate the girls and families burned during religious wars back in Olde England. She’s also informed that seeing a ghost of a burning girl is a warning of impending danger.
As the story goes on, Revered Jack’s back story is unfurled. She comes from an abusive home with a psychotic spree-killing brother who is responsible for the death of her husband (who was also a pastor). Just before her move, she was informed that her brother was released from prison. While she thinks she is evading him by moving to Chapel Croft, unbeknownst to her, he is ruthlessly and methodically making his way to her and leaving a trail of bodies in his wake.
All the characters are dealing with some form of ‘good vs. evil’ struggle, most evident in Reverend Jack’s brother, who seems to have a voice within that he compels him to do evil deeds. There are also several references to the great question of whether or not people can be born bad, and what it means to be bad vs. being a good person doing a bad thing. To be honest, the word count could’ve been better spent exploring the wild history of the burning girls.
Anyways, fast forward past two girls who went missing long ago being discovered in a well, the dead body of a missing priest being found buried under the church, a devious teenage boy found living with the dead body of his mother, and that same boy plotting the killing of Revered Jack’s daughter simply to please his equally devious killer girlfriend. Oh yeah, I forgot, did I mention that randomly, in the background of the main events, Reverend Jack’s brother has been traveling the countryside on foot and killing anyone who crosses his path?
The story ends in the loud gory cacophony of noise and violence that most B-level thrillers tend to end in. The psycho-killer teens confront Revered Jack and her daughter in the church for the big climax, which results in Jack killing the teens, and the church being set on fire in the process. At the last moment, just before Reverend Jack is engulfed by the flames, her psycho-killer brother rescues her. The people he killed to get to her kind of fade into the background as if his character’s sole purpose was to represent the bad person who does a good thing (in contrast to Reverend Jack being the good person who does a bad thing).
The miasma of “Good and Evil” that this story exists in is muddier than it is inspiring. Too many angels and devils in this garden if you ask me. And again, the gem, the burning girls, barely get any page time! Three stars. Not horrible, but not anything I am compelled to recommend. That said, I’d still love to try THE CHALK MAN, by this author, and give her another chance.
HIDDEN PICTURES by JASON REKULAK (REVIEW)
quickly: a recovering addict gets a new job babysitting a haunted five-year-old. (a young woman trying to live a sober life / a child with a questionable existence / homes that come with guest houses and hidden gardens / disturbed suburbian parents / physical and spiritual battles with sobriety / weird and quirky superstitious neighbors / wickedly beautiful artwork from the spiritual realm / gardeners who make you want to break rules)
not too shabby. not too complex either, honestly. the tone sits firmly in the mystery genre, for me. the ghosts in this story don’t scare or thrill me, but they don’t bore me either. stephen king is quoted on the back cover as saying “the language is straightforward”, and that is absolutely correct. not much poetry or soul to the writing, but it was a full story! it was compelling enough to pull me to the end, but not my favorite ending. it has the kind of ending that you find in most “B” level thrillers (which is no shade, i love b-movies). the ending is a resolution, but it doesn’t take my breath away.
★ ★ ★
more thoughts: SPOILERS!
Some personal context… after a reading sprint that began sometime in March, I spent the past few weeks with THE BOOKS OF JACOB. It is a tome of a book, 900+ pages, and the most time I’ve spent with a book in years. It was an interesting and detailed world to be in, but I couldn’t wait to get back to the thriller/mystery/horror genre, and HIDDEN PICTURES is my return. I read it in less than 24 hours.
The artwork really pulled me in, and wasn’t as gimmicky as it could have been.
The story opens up with Mallory reflecting on a paid health study she participated in which involved her being blindfolded in front of a group of men. She was instructed to raise her hand if she felt eyes on her, testing her ability to sense the male gaze. She was insanely accurate, telling the instructor that she felt a buzz in her mind whenever she sensed looks. The instructor offers to do more research with her, but Mallory trades her phone for Oxy and the lady is unable to reach her.
After this, we are immediately thrown into the present where Mallory is now sober and has been for 18 months. She is preparing to interview for a babysitting job with The Maxwells, youngish parents living in an affluent suburban enclave. After an awkward and stressful interview that involves her pulling out a piss test to prove her commitment to sobriety, she is hired. Caroline, the Mom, says they believe in giving people second chances, but you learn fast that you can’t believe anything they say.
Soon enough, five-year-old Teddy has formed a close bond with Mallory. The creepy pictures he draws always seem to show an entity hanging around him that no one else can see (but Mallory can sense). Teddy’s mom brushes the pictures off and tells Mallory not to encourage him. After the quirky next-door neighbor tells Mallory about the ghost stories surrounding the guest house where she lives, she eventually convinces herself that her guest house is haunted and the ghost is speaking through Teddy. Half right.
Of course, her pursuit of this tightens the underwear of The Maxwells, and so she begins to investigate under the radar. She enlists the help of The Maxwells’ gardener whom she’s told that she was a local student (and not a recovering person being given a second chance to get her life on track). Fast forwarding past the awkwardness of living with a married couple whose marriage is a thin facade of happiness, the “hauntings”, the creepy photos with the Samura-like girl in them, Mallory trying to confront the super rationalist parents about the supernatural realm, and Mallory trying to make contact to the ghost by ouija board… eventually the ghost jumps into Mallory’s body while she is napping and causes her to draw all over the walls of The Maxwell’s pristine white walls.
The rest is a loud and gory climax with a small scoop of falling action on the side. The parents fire Mallory because of the “artwork”, attributing it to some sort of mental break caused by recovery, and they give her 48 hours to get out. Alex, the gardener, is told about her true background as a recovering addict (but still wants to help her). She miraculously solves the mystery at the last minute and proceeds to do the dumbest thing that characters can do in a mystery/thriller… confront the bad guys with no backup, collateral, witness, or weaponry. The Maxwells reveal their devilry… they are kidnappers who stole a little girl and made her disguise herself as a boy. The child’s real mother, whom Caroline Maxwell killed, is who has been haunting little Teddy.
Caroline Maxwell plans to kill Mallory by drug overdose, but she’s saved by Ted Maxwell who secretly hates his kidnapping murderess wife (but has done nothing but enable her). A delusional Ted is killed by Caroline, in the midst of some pipe dream of him running away to some foreign land with Mallory. A chase ensues, with Mallory running into the woods with Teddy and hiding in a tree. Just as Caroline has hunted them down, the spirit of Teddy’s dead mother possesses her, getting Teddy to kill Caroline with an arrowhead conveniently found earlier in the story.
That’s how most elements of this story felt. Convenient. The end, while loud and gory, seemed staged. Like I could see the beginning from the end. All the little easter eggs stood out like they had billboards above them pointing out “CLUE HERE”, or “FORESHADOWING”. Yet, I still enjoyed it. Like I would an R.L. Fear Street book. Three stars, but a high three.
ADDENDUM: seeing from other reviewers how this author's work includes, deceptively, various ideologies used to other and vilify trans children and their parents (which makes me think back to that errant Harry Potter reference). Unfortunate and gross. Knowing makes the work even cheaper than it already was. Keeping my same rating, which was written and determined before I found out. I will definitely be more critical in the future.
anybody able to connect me with some witchy people or just folks that are into/sensitive to all that stuff?
i’m not sure the right terms and everything to use as you can probably tell, i’ve just been very interested in it lately and would love to know good resourses or books to start me softly on the right path. the most i’ve done is sage my room due to some strange vibes and sounds and such, and it did work, so now i’m interested in more stuff like that.
i would just rather talk with some actual experienced people rather than googling shit cause i’m not down for accidentally summoning something or getting it attached to me
even if there is just something i can do to be able to tell if i’m sensitive enough to this stuff it would be greatly helpful 🧡
Graveyard etiquette from a cranky traditional witch:
-Leave shit at the gate (coins, cigarettes, eggs, flowers)
-If alone go in silence, if with others speak in a hushed tone
-Wear a hat or head covering to prevent possession or bringing home unwanted spirits.
-Bring bells and/or rattles to wake the dead if desired
-Smoking in the graveyard or carrying a flame is an easy way to get the attention of the dead at night.
-Bring a knife or object made of iron should things get hairy (always bring a knife). Canes are also excellent tools for working with the dead
-have a way of gathering occult materia without being noticed by people or spirits (invisibility charms work best)
-If you're bringing spirits home with you (intentionally), don't turn around until you're across the threshold of your home
-Upon leaving the cemetery, say a prayer for the dead and wild things that inhabitant there
-When home, spread white powder (flower, salt, ect...) at the door to keep unwanted spirits out. A colander over a key hole works too.
tips for adhd witches!
[[before you expand: LONG text post!!]]
I got diagnosed only a couple months ago, but I have been practicing witchcraft for a little bit now. So in retrospect, here is stuff that I realized I have been doing to cope the whole time, and some new things I'm tinkering with :) Please feel free to leave your own tips or thoughts!
At all costs, avoid promising gods and spirits that YOU WILL uphold a rigid routine.
Just do not promise to give daily offerings! JUST DON'T DO IT. If you struggle with upholding a regular routine, do not promise gods or spirits you will uphold a routine for them. You should only promise things you are confident you can deliver. ((If you identify as a beginner witch it's my personal belief that you should not be promising anyone anything.))
Delete from your mindset that all witches are supposed to uphold rigid routines.
Give yourself breathing room: if you want to give scheduled offerings, maybe do one on the full moon. Or, plan it to coincide with other activities that interest you, and that you're likely to show up for.
Unless you have a few hours a week to devote to your practice, you should probably not be dedicating yourself to doing daily anything.
Rigid routine is not the only way to get regular experience with magic, build relationships with gods or spirits, or improve in your craft! You simply do not have to promise yourself or anyone else that you will do X actions at Y times.
Instead of having "do X for Y minutes on Z days" routines, try developing a streamlined ritual you can fit in anywhere for the really important stuff.
Maybe there are some really important things in your practice that you want to do on a regular basis. Maybe these are things like:
Quick personal shielding
Acknowledging and honoring spirits
General offering
Prayer for guidance
Instead of saying "I'll do shielding for 5 minutes every day after breakfast, then of course my offering ritual-", you can put a streamlined (short, easy) ritual together where you do all four of these things at once.
Deep breaths, acknowledge and honor the spirits, ask for assistance in raising a shield, offering excess raised energy to them, and praying for guidance in the upcoming task.
It should take maybe like, 2 minutes tops.
Then, slot this streamlined ritual in before most practice activities. Like:
Before other energy work
Before divination
Before spellwork
Or, use it as a sort of 'generic' access point of connection and perform this ritual:
When you shower, to calm down from the day
When you're on transit to prepare for the upcoming day
When you're feeling grateful and want to share the moment with the spirits
When you're feeling sad and need support
Instead of forcing important actions into routines that may be hard to follow, find a way to carry these actions around with you in an accessible ritual, like carrying snacks around in a bag. This way you can use other exciting activities, or other life events, as a reminder to practice your ritual of important things :)
Build a clear system of omens for yourself. Omens can intrude on your daily life and get your attention.
Maybe you have alarm blindness, forget to do divination, forget to check in with spells - so asking for omens can be a huge help. They are spontaneous messages that catch your eye. Helpful!
Research cultural omens
Research omens in your magical tradition
Journal and brainstorm personal omens
Write out, for yourself, a short list of personal omens.
Solid black pigeons mean a spirit wants attention. Seeing your favorite tree species means a spell was successful. Three gray dots means a spell failed. The scent of cinnamon buns means fortune is headed your way.
Perform a ritual announcing your chosen omens to the Powers That Be. Invite those Powers, Yourself, Life, the Universe, and Everything to send you true, accurate, and helpful messages through these omens.
Working with omens in this way is a skill that evolves over time. Your personal omen system will evolve over time if you use it. Think of it as another form of divination!
(Tip: Combine symbols with colors for an advanced system that's easy to remember. Oak trees are prosperity, but black means slow movement, red means powerful, and white means failure. After a spell you see a plumbing truck with a red oak tree logo; powerful prosperity. Etc.)
Build all your spells, rituals, and everything with the foresight that you are probably going to forget about it or not return to it for a long time.
Employ foresight and:
Encode retirement/shutdown functions into your spells!! Do you want the spell to burn out completely and leave the vessel hollow so you don't have to deal with the vessel later on? Specify that! Do you want the spell to go to 'power saver mode' and hibernate so you can save the vessel and recharge it later? Specify!
ENCODE OMENS INTO SPELLS TO REMIND YOU TO TAKE ACTIONS! "This spell brings me financial benefit, and when it runs low, I will see my omen of slow growth - a solid black tree."
Assume that you are going to completely forget that you're able to take care of this problem, so encode the spells assuming you will never remember to deal with this again:
Spell for people that will remember they want to deal with Monica (they will also be working with wards, divination, and subtle cunning): "Stop Monica at the front desk from assaulting me with her dark energies, or else limit how much of her energy can reach me."
Spell for people that are going to completely forget this is an issue they can take care of and won't do another spell on it for maybe 18 months: "Stop Monica from assaulting me with her dark energies, or reveal to everyone in the office her dark nature, but if neither of these things is possible, change something in the office so that we never interact again."
Assume you will forget about individual spells, that you will accumulate way to many spells than you can individually attend to, and that you may never take final steps like cleansing and deconstructing old spell vessels.
Build a spellcasting altar, or a spell recharging altar, where you store up all your vessels. Recharge them all at once, as often as you remember to.
Poor plan: "And when this vessel runs down I will recharge it with the waxing moon as I stand under the orange tree-" More tenable plan: "And when this vessel runs down let it drink energy from my altar; let it take up any energy that suits it; let it feed on what is available to it, according to its needs."
Focus on learning how to tie spells to external energy sources so they will stay charged for way longer.
For easy deconstruction, set blanket conditions for every vessel that it be undone and the magic erased if you take a simple action. This is called a kill code. You bake it into spells and it makes deconstruction way easier.
Try developing a barbarous word of undoing and using it every time you want to undo a vessel or a spell; this word will gain power and can become very helpful in other ways.
Once again, plan spells with the foresight that it will be difficult/unlikely for you to re-engage for formal deconstruction procedures. So, anticipate your future needs during spellcasting: "And if I ever open this jar and take out the things inside it, let this spell be released and return to the earth, let it fade away without trouble and nourish anything around it as fallen logs nourish the forest floor." This way, you know that if you accidentally forget about a spell or just take it apart, the magic already has instructions to safely dissipate and you don't have to worry.
Develop a visual language to remind you of what collected objects and spell vessels are.
This folds in real nice with a personal omen system!!
Use a combination of colors, established symbols (planetary, alchemical), and personal symbols to develop a visual conlang that helps you keep track of what things are.
If applicable, decorate or modify spell vessels so you can tell at a glance what the spell is for (violet symbol of Venus next to a paw: a spell to improve relationships with the spirits that help you with psychism)
Build a system that makes intuitive sense to you, perhaps folding in with your color correspondence associations, magical headcannon, or any other mnemonic device:
All the spells in jars are protective
Everything that's tied into a witch's ladder is about prosperity
If it has a red X on it, that's a hex
If it has a 7-pointed star, it involves your dragon guide
If you store it in a bag that has blue on it (blue print, blue button, blue tie-string) then that object is related to cleansing
Your personal visual language will gain its own power over time if used regularly, in the way that egrigores or sigils can gain power if used consistently over time :) It can become a real magical tool, not just a mnemonic device!
During spirit work, just clearly communicate that your sporadic presence has nothing to do with your dedication 🤷
When you conjure/talk to/pray to gods, spirits, or anything, address the fact that your communication/rituals/etc ARE going to be sporadic. Explain yourself and ask the spirits to extend understanding.
Some spirits/gods/etc are going to demand regular routine. AND IF THEY EXPECT THAT, then you guys need to get on the same page ASAP as to whether or not that's possible.
Spirits can be incredibly forgiving and understanding, but unless you tell them why you are sometimes around and sometimes not, they do not necessarily know what's going on.
Your spirit guide may have not read the DSM-5. Obelon the Fox-Man might not be up-to-date with the 2025 diagnosis criteria for ADHD, and Obelon might not recognize that you are struggling with a disorder that can mimic inattentiveness. Obelon might be asking why you appear to be so enthusiastic, and yet only call for him once every 5 weeks.
Just explain!! Explain what you are comfortable explaining. Give them reassurances and ask them to not misinterpret your ability to be present.
At all costs, avoid making your path a carrot that you dangle in front of yourself to try and force yourself to fix your brain through sheer force of will.
If the way you talk to yourself about your path sounds like someone struggling with unhealthy dieting, maybe it's time to readjust.
"I just need to do my daily offerings, on schedule, for two weeks. Then I will have earned researching tarot spells."
Maybe it's not a good idea to intentionally include witchcraft in a cycle of reward and denial that will ultimately drain joy from the process until your passion is a withered husk.
Witchcraft isn't going to force your brain to change any more than Stardew Valley was going to force your brain to change. Or that time you got super into succulents. If your time spent studying wool quality in heritage European sheep breeds didn't cure your disorder, witchcraft won't either.
Witchcraft, I think, deserves to be something that is a part of your joy - not a part of a system of stressful attempts at making yourself into someone you're not because "real witches" all do such-and-such routine (I assure you, they do not) so you must force yourself to do it too.
(Incidentally, if you have a 'streamlined ritual for the important stuff' and it becomes a barrier that prevents you from practicing, then maybe that's not a good idea for you - or maybe it's not as simple and streamlined as you need it to be)
STOP trying to build a static path. Lean into temporary hyperfixations.
There is SO MUCH to learn in witchcraft. It's never-ending. The more you learn, the more doorways open for you with more things to learn behind them.
This is not college, you do not have to declare your major. You don't have to wait to decide on your 'magic specialization' before you start learning.
This is not college, you don't have to take semesters of boring general ed classes before you're allowed to start studying what interests you.
Unless you are getting into very serious initiations, learning stuff, advancing your skills, and building your path is not going to shut doors and prevent you from getting into something else.
If something excites your interests, GET INTO IT! Don't force yourself to ignore what you're passionate about because you think serious, responsible witchcraft is supposed to be rigid, boring, and tedious. (It isn't!)
Avoid declaring your major. As in, maybe the idea of energy glamours is super exciting, so on day 1 you create a lesson plan that will realistically take you 70 weeks to complete. Based on your history, is it reasonable that you will maintain this specific interest in glamours for over a year?
Avoid making lesson plans that intentionally slow you down and make shit boring for no good reason. If energy glamours interest you, are you (*scrolls up*) using energy glamours as a carrot to force yourself to engage in a tedious magical workout routine? Is the reason the lesson plan takes 70 weeks because you decided to spend weeks slowly moving through each phase so you have time to spam energy work exercises?
You know yourself better than I know you. Maybe wanting to slow down and engage in your focuses in a new way is the goal. Of course, listen to yourself first!
But if you have a temporary burst of energy and focus to learn a new skill, and learning that skill won't require you to make unhealthy personal or financial decisions, why not just lean into it and explore it moment by moment, wherever your interests take you?
I think you'd probably learn a lot more doing and undoing 20 glamours in a week, because you're freaking out about how fucking cool it is, than if you practice 1 basic glamor exercise once a day because that's what real disciplined witches do, and then 11 days later you forget it once and never do it again and now your interest has faded because glamouring is just another boring chore.
Invest some time and energy into figuring out exactly what your bare minimum of responsibility and upkeep actually is.
How often do you need to recharge your wards to keep them functioning normally?
Once you've explained your own needs and limits, how often do your spirits actually request offerings?
Are you 100% sure the spirits you're working with expect offerings in the first place?
Are those offerings expected to be physical, or do thoughts and prayers suffice?
How often should you perform a personal cleansing to keep yourself feeling magically refreshed?
Feeling anxious or guilty over whether or not you're supposed to be taking certain actions is NO FUN.
It is much less fun if you don't actually know how often you need to do these things. Then it's just all guessing, all the time, and nothing is ever good enough.
If at all possible, avoid putting yourself into a situation where you feel that you are supposed to be doing something responsible in your practice, but you're never sure exactly what it is.
Spend some practice time, learn some skills, and make notes, to discover whether or not you do have any minimum engagement requirements in the style of practice you want. And most importantly, having clear 'deadlines' so you don't have to keep guessing at what you're forgetting about this time.
i just KNOW there were some spirits in the spirit world that were mad af whenever zuko just survived instances that would've killed every other normal person while he would just walk away like it's nothing lmao like they were probably like "this damn cockroach why won't he die this stopped being funny after the 14th time we'll get u some day just u wait u little shit"
like imagine you're some guy who died bc u slipped on a wet piece of salad on the floor and broke ur neck and now you're watching this other guy get blown up on a ship and swim through arctic water and underground water tunnels and get hit by lightning twice and go through several assassination attempts and oh yeah he got half his face burned off when he was a child too AND WHY TF IS THIS FUCKER NOT DYING AFTER ALL THIS WHEN I FOUND MY END THROUGH A PIECE OF SALAD ON THE FLOOR