astrevskies

[astrevskies]

"SAH-WEN"??? (Samhain)

It's that time of year again! It's October, the leaves are turning colors, the pumpkin spice craze is back. Yes, Samhain!

So first... yes it's pronounced Sah-wen, but I can't help but say it in my head as Sam-hayne, sue me.

What is Samhain?

Samhain is one of four ancient Fire Festivals that many witches, druids, and pagans alike celebrate. Samhain is on October 31st and November 1st in between the fall equinox and the winter solstice. It marks the end of harvest season and the beginning of winter. This is also the ancient Celts' New Year day. It is also a time to celebrate the dead or ancestors. They believed that the veil between worlds was thinnest on this day.

Where Did Samhain Originate?

Ancient Celts were the folks who are first recorded to celebrate Samhain, hence it's name being an old Gaelic name. However, Celtic revivalists and other pagans have helped the holiday gain more popularity over the years.

What are Some Samhain Traditions?

The oldest traditions of Samhain involve putting out the hearth's fire in their homes, harvesting crops, and lighting a community bonfire. They did this by using a wheel that which would then cause friction and spark a fire. This wheel represented the sun and was used along with prayers. They would offer sacrifices of cattle and when the festival was over, take a flame form the community fire home with them to relight their own hearth.

More modern tradition include:

Bonfires

Creating Alters for the dead or for associated deities

Creating Feasts

Making Pastries

Communing with Spirits

and more!

Can I Celebrate Samhain?

Despite what some people (though very few) will tell you, anyone of any origin can celebrate Samhain! Just be sure to educate yourself and don't disrespect the ancient tradition or deities involved in this sacred holiday.

Associations:

(These are not Traditional associations, they are modern pagan associations)

Deities: The Morrigan is the main deity for this day, however, over the years as paganism has become a melting pot of pantheons, people have also considered other gods to be associated with the holiday such as: Pomona, Cernunnos, Anubis, Odin, Osiris, and Hecate to name a few.

Colors: Red, yellow, orange, most warm colors, black

Herbs: Mugwort, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Allspice, sandalwood, and dragon's blood.

Stones and Metals: Onyx, obsidian, tiger's eye, smoky quartz, ruby, copper, brass, Jet, black stones in general, darker red stones, etc.

Of course this is a list of the most common associations. If you have an item or god that you associate with the holiday you are more than welcome to celebrate with them! I am not one to gatekeep a holiday. :)

Let me know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns!

#it’s lee :)

[astrevskies]

In my defence, the moon was full and I was left unsupervised.

#its mercury rx i just cant help myself

[astrevskies]

Hope this helps :)

#WOAH THIS IS AWESOME #herbs

[astrevskies]

Sympathetic Magic: What is it, and how does it work?

Unlike a lot of witchcraft-centric terminology, you don’t particularly see “sympathetic magic” thrown around a lot. This is because sympathetic magic is an umbrella term with lots of magics under its hypothetical umbrella. That doesn’t mean it’s not important to know what sympathetic magic is, however!

WHAT IS SYMPATHETIC MAGIC?

Put simply, sympathetic magic is an old type of magic in which an object that is associated with a target is used to seek influence over said target. 

An easy example of sympathetic magic is magics that use poppets. Poppets are powerful forms of sympathetic magic as they are a physical representation of a human target of the witch’s magic. Poppets are considered to be powerful because they often contain a taglock(s).

Sympathetic isn’t limited to just people, however. It can be used to influence events (an example being that if you desire a monetary gain e.g. a raise at work, you may want to include money in your spell), or even weather.

HOW DOES SYMPATHETIC MAGIC WORK?

There are two factors that make sympathetic magic work. Some magics involve both factor, some magics only one.

“Like-attracts-like”: an example of this, may be that should you wish to bring someone happiness, you can craft a poppet in their likeness and dress it in yellow. You could leave it in the sun with the intent of channeling the connotations of happiness from the sunshine. You could anoint it with an oil made to promote happiness, or you could tie a yellow ribbon around its head or heart.  The idea of “like-attracts-like” is pretty self-explanatory  —the method of the magic reflects your desired outcome, or to use the words of Sir James George Frazer: ‘that an effect resembles its cause’.

Items once in contact, retain a bond despite distance: this factor is one that states that once someone or something has been in contact with someone or something, the essence of the object/person will forever be bound to the object/person that touched it. This is why things like hair and nail clippings can be used as taglocks  —it doesn’t matter where or when the hair fell out or the nail was clipped. It carries the essence of its former owner, and always will.  This can work when influencing events too. For example, if you wish to bring about a storm and can find a tree that is scarred from lightning, you’ve hit the jackpot. A bit of charred bark would be the perfect proxy object for a spell to bring about a storm. 

Sympathetic magic can be subtle, or it can be a grandiose display of awesomeness, but that’s entirely your prerogative. I quite like the idea of standing on a heath in a cloak, waving a lightning-charged branch in the air to summon a storm, but I know that my limits are closer to changing my thinking by writing down my negative thoughts and literally eating my words (on sugar paper with edible pens! Be safe!).

[astrevskies]

Tips for shopping safely as a pagan

Buying things for our religious praxis is a joy. I love receiving something for my gods and my devotion to them. Yet, there is always a danger when searching for new items. In paganism, bigots are everywhere, and that is atrocious. As I’ve collected shops for my Masterpost, I’ve learned a couple of ways to make sure that you do not support these bigots.

1 • Know dogwhistles

An excellent way to avoid bigots and hate groups in general is knowing dogwhistles. Products, websites, etc may all contain these. By knowing dogwhistles you will be able to avoid buying from awful people.

2 • Know hate symbols

An excellent way to avoid horrible shops is knowing hate symbols. Make sure to check each shop to see if they sell them. For example, an effortless way to check is to search up the well-known n*zi symbol, the “black sun”. If a shop sells black sun imagery, report, spread the word, and do not buy from them. There’s plenty of other cases — but generally, please look through the shop’s collection to see if they contain these. It’s an easy way to avoid bigoted sellers.

3 • Know which pagans are bigots

I mention this because some still buy from shops run by known neo-n*zis. Plenty of pagans have been shown to hold bigoted and dangerous beliefs. Therefore, know them and their shops so you do not buy from them.

4 • Check reviews and callouts

Generally, it would help if you are looking at shop reviews. Reviewing will help you and your overall shopping experience. In this case, look at reviews for certain items. If they mention instances of bigotry — or if you see bigots buying items with imagery such as the “black sun”, you want to avoid. Secondly, look for call outs. If a shop itself seems to be okay but the owner has been proven to be a terrible person, don’t buy from them.

5 • Avoid genuine cultural appropriation

In paganism, I have seen pagans run around claim to be “mystical shamans” who burn white sage, claim to have opened their “third eyes”, have extra powers from crystals, and aligned their chakras. Naturally, some of these pagans will own stores. Do not buy from pagans that exploit and harm other cultures/peoples.

This requires you to know what genuine, actual cultural appropriation is, and that is on you. Research is your friend and so is following people from these cultures & practices. Some are willing to answer questions about what is and is not an appropriation of their practice. The resources are there, and you just have to take them.

6 • Do not buy from folkists

Folkism is a special kind of bigotry/hate group within paganism. Do not buy from them — if you do not know what a folkist is, please learn. They are dangerous.

There are likely more tips for shopping safely as a pagan. These are just the ones that I have collected over time. Please remember to be safe and do not put money in the hands of those who harm others. Bigotry hurts people, and supporting these bigots is even worse.

Tldr; My tips for shopping safely as a pagan are: know dogwhistles, know hate symbols, know which pagans are bigots, check reviews and callouts, avoid genuine cultural appropriation, and do not buy from folkists. Avoiding buying from bigots is necessary.

[astrevskies]

Days of the Week and Their Spiritual Meaning

༻✦༺ 　༻✧༺ 　༻✦༺ 　༻✧༺ 　༻✦༺ 　༻✧༺ 　༻✦༺ 　༻✧༺

When someone told me the days of the week had actual correspondences, I was blown away. I love when the mundane becomes magickal, and this is the perfect example of such a thing. The correspondences can become important if you are practicing a particular spell that needs a lot of energy or focus.

If you like astrology, this one is perfect for you, as every day is ruled by a planet.

༻✦༺ 　༻✧༺ 　༻✦༺ 　༻✧༺ 　༻✦༺ 　༻✧༺ 　༻✦༺ 　༻✧༺

❧ Monday

Monday is known as the day of the moon, which is a great day to get in touch with our intuition, our spiritual side, and our emotions. (Moon is ruled by Cancer, a water sign, water is based on emotions, wild how this all connects). Monday sets the mood for the week, and having a good Monday can set us up for having positive energy during the week.

❧ Tuesday

Tuesday and Mars are connected, making Tuesday a great day to take action. Monday's emotional preparation gets you ready to take action on Tuesday. Tuesday is also a great day in regards to careers and projects, the energy from the day as a whole will move you forward in one way or another.

❧ Wednesday

Ruled by Mercury, Wednesday is perfect for communication and expressing yourself. Call your friend you've been meaning to talk to and express your love to them, express gratitude towards the cashier at the corner-store you stop at every day, tell your family you're happy they're your family, etc. Wednesday is also a great day for brainstorming, as Mercury calls for thinking with a higher part of your mind. Today is also a day to reflect on how you have been expending your energy. Have you been doing things that are aligned with what you truly want? How does the universe feel?

❧ Thursday

Thursday is ruled by Jupiter, making it a great day to learn and expand on things in your life. Thursday allows us to be productive and to work on things we may have put off for a few days. Feel gratitude from the start of your day, and positivity as much as possible, and this will help propel you through the day and the rest of the week.

❧ Friday

Associated with Venus, the planet of love and creativity, it is no surprise that Friday is all about the love bug and relaxing with people you care about. Friday is great to help further build relationships into intimate ones, or keeping your current ones strong. Expanding on any creative project is great for Friday's energy. This is also a day to wrap up loose ends from earlier on in the week that you may have missed, but don't overload yourself. Friday is supposed to be about relaxing a bit.

❧ Saturday

Saturn rules Saturday. Anything you have missed from earlier this week should be completed on Saturday. A lot of people I know spend Saturday cleaning, doing work they've missed, and spending time at home to get their lives back in order for the new week. This day is all about getting organized and being responsible. If you see any issues that may come up in the future, this day is a great day to take care of it so you won't have to worry about it.

❧ Sunday

The Sun rules Sunday, making it a perfect day to unwind and relax. It is a day for inner happiness and centering yourself, so reach to your inner light for guidance and see what may grow. Social gatherings work out best on a Sunday, as the Sun promotes harmonious interactions with one another. Save the stress for Tuesday.

༻✦༺ 　༻✧༺ 　༻✦༺ 　༻✧༺ 　༻✦༺ 　༻✧༺ 　༻✦༺ 　༻✧༺

Whenever someone says the mundane can't be magickal, I think of things like this. The mundane is magickal, you just need to look beyond the surface to see it.

༻✦༺ 　༻✧༺ 　༻✦༺ 　༻✧༺ 　༻✦༺ 　༻✧༺ 　༻✦༺ 　༻✧༺

Thank you for reading! If you like what you read, be sure to support me and my other work!

༻✦༺ 　༻✧༺ 　༻✦༺ 　༻✧༺ 　༻✦༺ 　༻✧༺ 　

beacons.page/notrixxtarot

tiktok: notrixx_tarot

Shop: etsy.com/shop/notrixxtarot

[astrevskies]

hey hey hey it’s lee :DD 

i haven’t been on the blog much but i want to start!! so here’s an introduction:))

my main is @!leejordan, i’m a minor, and i use she/her pronouns. um more coming soon!

#lee stfu

[astrevskies]

health spell for my friend!

just a couple of my notes <3

~

day of the week:

saturday: healing

sunday: rest

~

herbs:

lavender: rest, healing, peace

rosemary: healing, protection, health

thyme: healing, clarity

oregano: because i said so

cinnamon: health, happiness, protection

~

crystals:

clear quartz: amplifyyyyy

rose quartz: love from me

agate: magenta for speed, agate for healing and protection

flourite: anti-depression

obsidian: protection

tigers eye: grounding

~

other:

sealed with white wax because i can do whatever i want

health sigil below

"he is protected and healthy"

#finished #health #health spell #health sigil #sigil maker #spell #spells to make #jar spell

[astrevskies]

☆~Witchcraft 101: Taglocks~☆

If you’ve been doing some reading on witchcraft and spellcraft, it is likely that you’ve seen the word ‘taglock‘ crop up a few times.

If you haven’t, worry not.

A taglock is something that has been used in witchcraft for a very, very long time and all it is, is an object or substance that forges a strong link between your target and your magick.

Traditionally, taglocks are things such as blood, spit, hair or nail clippings, – direct DNA. The use of DNA creates a stronger magickal bond. Nowadays, however, snagging someone’s blood in their sleep is generally frowned upon and quite difficult, so suitable replacements include cigarette butts, used tissues, used plastic cutlery and easily obtained things of that ilk.

You will notice that taglocks are often used in curses and hexes as it binds the target to the spell and therefore amplifies the magick and ensures that it affects the intended person. They are used in binding spells for the same reason; to tie the person to the magick.

However, bear in mind that taglocks are not malevolent in themselves. They are simply a means of forming a bond and can thus be used in protection, healing and positivity magick!

#tag lock #tag magic #info

[astrevskies]

"I think this spirit is trying to reach out to me..."

"Do you think this deity wants to work with me..."

"How do I know if they want xyz..."

Listen, first and foremost: Have you tried directly reaching out and asking the spirit or deity? For confirmation or just general information?

I know not everyone has the same practice or the same beliefs, but I'm personally fully in support of the idea that any relationship with a spirit or a deity is just that: a relationship.

Sometimes basic communication is the best way to sort things out, and even with people who've been on their path for ages sometimes forget that they could just... talk things through. Assuming what the other party is doing will only get us so far.

(While I'm at it: You should not be asking other people to do your discernment for you. It's one thing for opinions or maybe clarification, but asking someone to act as a telephone to your entity is a whole other story)

#i go o the temple #and then pray to the specific deity i'd like to work with #then i ask them to show me an orange car by the end of the day/week/month #and if they do then i know i can start researching how to work with them #just pick a color car you're unlikely to see where you live and use end of the day or week if you pick a color like pink #because if you do anything longer then that you're probably just going to run into it naturally

[astrevskies]

In Light Of Getting So Many New Followers Who Are Minors...

Learn about stranger danger.

If you've never been told about it, please learn about it. It's easy to trust everyone online - trust me, I've been there myself. Don't make the same mistakes I did.

Mentors will not want to teach you because we can get in big legal trouble for teaching minors.

Witchcraft is protected (in the US) under the same laws that protect religions, which means it's illegal for us to teach it to minors in one-on-one lessons without the express written permission of your parent or guardian.

Don't trust everything you read.

It's easy to assume when you pick up some "books for beginners" that every witch is Wiccan and everything can be done without care as long as you throw a circle of salt down.

Make sure you use your critical thinking (I know it's hard to develop that, but you'll get there sooner or later) and research the author(s) ahead of time.

Listen to people about their own cultures.

Listen to Indigenous people about smudging before you listen to a white person who's just capitalizing on search trends. Listen to black practitioners about hoodoo, voodoo, and so forth. Listen to Jewish people about Lilith and appropriated symbols in occult works before listening to Aleister fucking Crowley.

Please don't specify your age online.

It makes you a much easier target for people preying on minors. If you must, put something like "18+ porn blogs DNI" and avoid adult spaces.

Also, respect "minors DNI" descriptions and posts. People who create adult content of any sort can also get in trouble if you interact with their content with your age publicly displayed.

Don't burn things that smoke around children, pets, or family members with asthma.

Many animals, from dogs to cats to snakes to beyond, have weaker lungs than humans do. Children have weaker lungs than adults. People with asthma and similar breathing problems have weaker lungs than people that don't have those problems.

Alternatives include sound cleansing (using bells, pots and pans, and so forth) or just using Febreeze.

Above all, remember to be safe!

[astrevskies]

other witches: manifesting a new job

me: manifesting my parents buying me a giant squishmallow

#wish i was lying #manifestations #witchcore #witchy friends

[astrevskies]

my friend has been having a lot of trouble with nightmares so im just dropping the spell jar i made for them as well as some alternatives of what to use!

Day of the week:

monday: dreams, peace, sleep

saturday: protection, banishing

Moon phase:

new moon: banishing

Herbs:

sage: protection

chamomile: peace, resting

thyme: nightmare protection

lavender: peace, calm, peaceful sleep

basil: protection, tranquility

dill: protection, defense

parsley: protection, purification

Crystals:

rose quartz: love, protection

amethyst: peace, anxiety relief

peridot: protection in dreams, repelling nightmares

clear quartz: amplification

obsidian: protection

flourite: peace, protects against stress & negativity, stabilizes emotions

Salts:

pink salt: protection

black salt: negativity repellant

sea salt: cleansing negativity

Colors:

tie threads of this color around the jar or add beads/charms in this color inside the jar

pink: for love from you

white: for protection and purity

blue: calm and peace

Misc:

sugar: to sweeten dreams

sand: sleep, protection

seashells: protection

tag lock: a piece of hair for the person its made for if you'd like

bay leaf: draw on protection sigil and crush in

seal with: black (best), red, blue or white wax.

a reminder that this is not a fail-proof substitution for medical help!

spells i took inspiration from and other nightmare spells!

x x x x

#nightmare #nightmare jar #nightmare jars #nightmare spell jar #wicca #spell jars #herbs #herb jar #spell jar #spells #new moon #new moon spells #personally the moon was in a waning gibbous for me which i used as letting go of no longer served me/my friend emotionally

[astrevskies]

having witch friends irl honestly sounds like a blessing.

Imagine doing all that weird occultish stuff with your friends that you always thought about doing.

*insert chef's kiss* the flavor be immaculate

#wow this is really smart! #attracting witches #witchy friends #witch #spells #spells i can do

[astrevskies]

History of Magic and Witchcraft, Part Two - My Digital Grimoire Series

*these are my pages, please do not repost as your own!*

#history of magic #mayan magic #chinese magic #salem witch trials #pages

[astrevskies]

Hey! Do you have any tips on how to contact, summon, worship, talk to, or work with a deity? I want to work with Hestia, but I don't really know how.

okay so actually working with a deity is something that needs at least 2-3 years of witchy practice first, talking with deities is something that is extremly controversial for baby witches since it can lead to really bad side effects

if hestia is a deity that has always called to you (i know goddess durga has for me) then i would encourage you to meditate and work on personal protection first if not waiting at least a yera before starting research

again i have only been practicing for around a year and have never actually worked with deities out of respect for those who do but its totally never to early to at least start learning

#but yeah i would say probably dont try to work with them #deities arent human and you need to know proper etiqutte #but totally research and tell me more #deities #witchy.wicca

[astrevskies]

I will receive 3 pieces of great news THIS WEEK. I claim it, manifest it & believe it