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[charcoalrunes]

For my fellow fibre arts witches, if you're starting to get the Annual Cold Weather Fidget, that driving urge to reach for hooks and needles and that big bin of spools and fabric lurking in your closet....

If you feel like Doing A Witchcraft, you can work some witchy into whatever you're making. Weaving, crocheting, knitting, nalbinding, stitching, embroidery, and knotwork can all carry magic and serve as a vehicle for creating spells, sigils, talismans, or enchanted wearables.

Am I saying you can put a spell into that pair of socks you're knitting? That scarf you've been working on? That pile of granny squares waiting to become a blanket? That cross-stitch piece you've been meaning to finish?

ABSOLUTELY.

There are even books on knot magic, witchy crochet and knitting patterns, and beautifully spooky cross-stitch and embroidery pieces. (And lots more downloadable patterns exist on etsy and fibre arts forums!) Perfect for chilling with your favorite hot beverage and current binge-watch while you keep your hands from getting bored.

Go forth and have fun with it!

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This is probably the witch advice you didn’t ask for, but I’ve found it’s much easier to remember to do general periodic maintenance that’s otherwise easily forgotten or put off when tied to milestones such as solstices, equinox, new, or full moons. 

For example: Stow your winter blankets or clothes on the Vernal Equinox and take them out again on the Autumnal Equinox. Replace your air and water filters on solstices and equinoxes (every 90 days). Begin new 30-day challenges or do reset/cleaning of your living space on the new moon (every month). 

Living cyclically breaks life down into manageable little blocks of time and helps us live in the moment by paying attention to the ebb and flow of the Earth.

Khaire 💫💀🖤

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#At this point #my decks are snarky coworkers

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there is no cleansing in cleansing

complete UPG ahead;

cleansing is a convenient way to describe a wide variety of magical actions and interactions which all pretty much amount to "I don't like what is here and I want to get rid of it."

almost any power or correspondence can be cleansing, if it is in opposition to what you want to get rid of.

red pepper is entirely cleansing if what you seek to get rid of is a troublesome spirit.

correspondences commonly associated with cleansing have gained that association because they're what we might call broad spectrum - they are very powerful, and therefore very effective at getting rid of many things we don't like.

not only this, but they're easy to access, and you don't really have to put in a lot of effort in relationship-building to get them to work on your behalf.

the elements are cleansing because they are very powerful and are very close to "this world." they are present, active gods who physically appear in our daily lives. they are cleansing not because they possess a magic wand of cleansing, but because when the power of Fire Itself is called into the room and directed by a witch to cleanse;

the world responds.

this response is due to the activation and evocation of a primordial force that, by virtue of existing, reduces everything around it to carbon.

the witch has a huge amount of say in which aspects of fire are called on, to what purposes they are directed, and so forth. the virtue of Cleansing Fire would likely never exist in that space unless the witch stopped and used Sorcery to make it appear.

through the growth in their path and practice, the witch can learn better ways to call Fire, learn the mysteries of Fire, learn how to finely attune to and hone their work with this element, and begin to produce more and more miraculous results. This is the power of sorcerous spirit working.

a very large part of the growth and path of the witch is developing deep relationships with the spirits and forces around them, and being allowed to evoke powers in a way that might not work for others.

let's take a random correspondence. Say... Willow tree. Will the willow tree show up on correspondence lists for exorcism and banishing? No (**I think. I do not look at correspondence lists. Maybe willow does do that. Bear with me).

But, if you spend a year working with Willow and you begin to learn its secrets, and you must deal with a spirit haunting, might Willow give you special knowledge or teach you how to access special Willow power to solve this problem?

Yes, that could happen.

So, why is Willow not listed under "exorcisms" in every correspondence list?

For the same reason that I have friends who can trauma dump on me and cry on my shoulder, but I do not extend that to every stranger I meet on the internet.

Correspondences are considered "cleansing" because they are powerful, easy to work with, and are good at dealing with common problems. That does not mean they will necessarily share that aspect of themselves with everyone who asks. And that doesn't mean that correspondences not considered to be cleansing can't cleanse.

There is a huge amount of nuance and many variables that go into who can access which aspects of what powers. but it is the spiritual authority of the witch, and their actual skill in sorcery, which largely determine how certain powers blossom within situations, and the desired outcomes of those evocations.

so, this is all to say: power presses all around. take care what holes you poke in the membrane of reality; everything is on the other side. speak clearly what you want to let through, and even then, perhaps only a little at a time.

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Save The Date : 2023

Full Moon Dates.

🌕 Full Moon : Jan 6th

🌕 Full Moon : Feb 5th

🌕 Full Moon : Mar 7th

🌕 Full Moon : Apr 6th

🌕 Full Moon : May 5th

🌕 Full Moon : Jun 3rd

🌕 Full Moon : Jul 3rd

🌕 Full Moon : Aug 1st

🌕 Full Moon : Aug 30th

🌕 Full Moon : Sep 29th

🌕 Full Moon : Oct 28th

🌕 Full Moon : Nov 27th

🌕 Full Moon : Dec 26th

Northern Hemisphere Sabbats.

🕯️ Imbolc - Candlemas : Feb 1st

🌸 Ostara - Vernal Equinox : Mar 19th

🔥 Beltane - Mid Spring : May 1st

☀️ Litha - Summer Solstice : Jun 19th

🌾 Lammas - Harvest Festival : Aug 1st

🍁 Mabon - Autumnal Equinox : Sep 20th

🎃 Samhain - All Hallows’ Eve : Oct 31st

❄️ Yule - Winter Solstice : Dec 21st

Southern Hemisphere Sabbats.

🌾 Lammas - Harvest Festival : Feb 1st

🍁 Mabon - Autumnal Equinox : Mar 19th

🎃 Samhain - Witches’ New Year : May 1st

❄️ Yule - Winter Solstice : Jun 19th

🕯️ Imbolc - Candlemas : Aug 1st

🌸 Oatara - Vernal Equinox : Sep 20th

🔥 Beltane - Mid Spring : Oct 31st

☀️ Litha - Summer Solstice : Dec 21st

Celestial Signs.

♑️ Capricorn: Dec, 22nd - Jan, 19th

♒️ Aquarius : Jan, 20th - Feb, 18th

♓️ Pisces: Feb, 19th - Mar, 20th

♈️ Aries : Mar, 21st - Apr, 19th

♉️ Taurus : Apr, 20th - May, 20th

♊️ Gemini: May, 21st - Jun, 20th

♋️ Cancer: Jun, 21st - Jul, 22nd

♌️ Leo : Jul, 23rd - Aug, 22nd

♍️ Virgo : Aug, 23rd - Sept, 22nd

♎️ Libra: Sept, 23rd - Oct, 22nd

♏️ Scorpio : Oct, 23rd - Nov, 21st

♐️ Sagittarius: Nov, 22nd - Dec, 21st

[charcoalrunes]

Just a reminder: Heathenry does have a term for smoke-cleansing. Recaning. To recan. (Or reocan, in Old West Saxon.) This is cleansing via smoke, whether through incense or a bundle of herbs put together for a particular type of cleansing. Juniper and mugwort are both favorites for this. In case you’re wondering how to pronounce it, it sounds like reekening. The word “reeks” is actually derived from it, signifying a potent smell. For Old Norse fans, this seems to be related to the work reykr. In case you were wondering, Reykjavik in Iceland translates to “Smoky Bay”.

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Re: Potato Goddess - In the book Witta: An Irish Pagan Tradition, Edain McCoy made the claim that potatoes were sacred to an ancient Great Goddess worshipped in pre-Christian Ireland. This seems all well and good until one realizes that potatoes are not native to Europe and did not appear anywhere on the continent until they were imported from Peru during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, over a thousand years AFTER the Christianization of Ireland.

The book is rife with other glaring inaccuracies ("witta" isn't even a real word), but the Ancient Irish Potato Goddess is one that we like to point to in order to demonstrate just how ridiculous some modern pagan literature can be as a result of poor research or poor understanding of subject matter, or when authors just straight-up pull material from between their buttcheeks and slap it on a page

When the phrase Ancient Irish Potato Goddess is used in reference to a particular title other than McCoy's, it's shorthand for, "This author doesn't know shit about history and it shows."

Hope this helps!

That helps immensely, thank you!

#ask #breelandwalker #Potato goddess #The more you know #Oh my gods it is so much more ridiculous than I thought it would be #and I thought it was going to be INCREDIBLY ridiculous

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Red Flag Checklist

Okay witches, let's have a round table.

When you're reading or contemplating the purchase of a book on modern witchcraft or paganism, what are some red and green flags that you look for?

I'll start.

Red Flags:

Disreputable Author - If the author is either a known source of bad information or bad behavior, or one of those "house names" that certain companies use, that's a no for me.

"New Age White Witch" Syndrome - If a text has a more-than-incidental or very deliberate focus on culturally appropriative practices ("Use this exotic voodoo doll ritual to hex your ex"), outdated terminology ("black magic," that G slur we don't use, etc), antisemitic bullshit (Lilith is not a pagan goddess), or anti-science rhetoric ("Essential oils are better than pills!") And yes this means the ever-expanding list of racist dogwhistles too.

Poor Understanding or Misrepresentation of History - If someone's repeating Murrayisms or insisting things are ancient that definitely aren't (POTATO GODDESS), that says to me that either the author didn't bother to do their research or they don't know what they're talking about.

Insistence on One Correct Way - If I encounter anything resembling "this is the only TRUE way," the book's going out the window. The more so if the author is citing their personal opinions or UPGs as fact.

Insistence on Gendering Everything - If a book insists on assigning a binary gender to everything (outside of citing a historical context), or is boomboxing ~*SACRED WOMYN'S WOMB MAGYCK*~ throughout, or even if it's just overly preoccupied with fertility and childbearing as part of the "natural" life cycle, I'm immediately putting it down. (This is more of a personal one, in a way? But it's a red flag for TERFy things too.)

Lack of Sources - If there's no bibliography, no works cited, no recommended reading, or just a really flimsy list that's rife with internet links or problematic titles, that's not a good sign.

Green Flags:

Inclusive Language - If the author refers to the reader or an unidentified person as "they" or "them," that's a good sign. Double points if it's in a context that you'd normally expect to see gendered elsewhere. There's always room for gendered language when it's appropriate, but to me, it's refreshing when an author doesn't assume the female identifies as female.

Health and Safety Warnings - If there are notes for safe handling or harvesting of potentially harmful herbs, or warnings about health hazards (i.e. keep this away from persons who are pregnant or nursing), or reminders to be careful with fire and glass and the like, this is a good sign. To me, it means the author has a practical mindset and is at least keeping real-world limitations in mind.

Lots of Sources...and GOOD Sources - If the book has a nice fat bibliography, especially if there are mundane sources as well as magical ones, and if those sources are solid? A+. Double points if there's an index or footnotes and citations throughout the text.

Lack of "Guru" Mindset - If the author encourages the reader to take what they've learned and continue to do research on their own, that's a good sign. Encouragement of critical thinking is excellent, and also the admission that there is more than one way of Doing The Magical Thing. (Hi Lee)

Good Formatting - A book should be visually appealing, but it should also be easy to read and formatted properly, in a way that makes sense. I like to see clean margins, good spacing, and clear text. Page decorations and pictures and fancy title fonts are fine, so long as they don't make the book difficult to decipher.

(Okay, your turn!)

#I feel like I missed a memo about Potato Goddess #but I'm also not sure I want to ask

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I'm saying this from a place of genuine care: if you are seeing ghosts or shadows or having nightmares... and sageing, eggshells, Crystal's, and psychics arent cutting it..

Please.. please... check for things like gas leaks, water damage, vermin. I'm not saying your house isnt haunted, I'm just saying that carbon monoxide poisoning looks a LOT like being haunted.

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✷CATACOMBS END TAROT DECK✷

Now LIVE on KS!

An exploration of personal insights, meanings & omens through the lens of a winding catacomb. Wander your way through the dark halls of our ever-evolving subconscious with these 78 uniquely illustrated cards.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/13crownsstudio/catacombs-end-tarot?ref=project_build

#sales #tarot #tarot deck

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Ah, the “what’s the difference between prayer and witchcraft” question. It become one of philosophy and debate. But there is a place to start from (it then becomes complicate when you really try to look at it.)

It also helps frame “how can we say the ancient Greeks disapproved of witchcraft and sorcery when they did all this stuff?” (Gestures vaguely at rituals for protection, etc.)

In a lot of cultures (including Christian) it comes down to a question of theurgy vs individual will.

Simply put (probably too simply) - theurgy is the practice of asking for divine aid in accomplishing something. Which (opinion here) leaves the petitioner and little bit of an out when it comes to the result.

Take the old Curse tablets.

If someone has sold me very bad copper and I gather my supplies and curse him for his action, after sending him a strongly worded tablet, that’s my action based on my judgement. Most societies have an overall aversion to this sort of thing.

But if I go to the temple of Zeus with a curse tablet asking Zeus to make the false copper sellers name so ignominious that 2000 years from now people will know about his bad copper, well, anything that happens does so because of Zeus’ judgement, not mine.

Now, in Christianity there is the added layer of - if it’s not God’s work, it’s the devil’s work. Which leads into a whole high magic vs low magic debate that’s been going on for centuries. And why you find grimoires written by popes - they saw themselves as doing high magic or god focused magic.

Note: this isn’t a difference between good and bad intentions. It was (and is) fully believed that the devil would do “helpful” things to lure people away from god and to him. So even doing “good” wasn’t necessarily protection against a charge of witchcraft.

Anyway, this is going on too long.

Terms for research - theurgy, thaumaturgy, high magic vs low magic

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A spell of personal reflection

You will need: a room and yourself.

Directions:

Go sit in a corner

Think about what you’ve done. 

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Save The Date : 2023

Full Moon Dates.

🌕 Full Moon : Jan 6th

🌕 Full Moon : Feb 5th

🌕 Full Moon : Mar 7th

🌕 Full Moon : Apr 6th

🌕 Full Moon : May 5th

🌕 Full Moon : Jun 3rd

🌕 Full Moon : Jul 3rd

🌕 Full Moon : Aug 1st

🌕 Full Moon : Aug 30th

🌕 Full Moon : Sep 29th

🌕 Full Moon : Oct 28th

🌕 Full Moon : Nov 27th

🌕 Full Moon : Dec 26th

Northern Hemisphere Sabbats.

🕯️ Imbolc - Candlemas : Feb 1st

🌸 Ostara - Vernal Equinox : Mar 19th

🔥 Beltane - Mid Spring : May 1st

☀️ Litha - Summer Solstice : Jun 19th

🌾 Lammas - Harvest Festival : Aug 1st

🍁 Mabon - Autumnal Equinox : Sep 20th

🎃 Samhain - All Hallows’ Eve : Oct 31st

❄️ Yule - Winter Solstice : Dec 21st

Southern Hemisphere Sabbats.

🌾 Lammas - Harvest Festival : Feb 1st

🍁 Mabon - Autumnal Equinox : Mar 19th

🎃 Samhain - Witches’ New Year : May 1st

❄️ Yule - Winter Solstice : Jun 19th

🕯️ Imbolc - Candlemas : Aug 1st

🌸 Oatara - Vernal Equinox : Sep 20th

🔥 Beltane - Mid Spring : Oct 31st

☀️ Litha - Summer Solstice : Dec 21st

Celestial Signs.

♑️ Capricorn: Dec, 22nd - Jan, 19th

♒️ Aquarius : Jan, 20th - Feb, 18th

♓️ Pisces: Feb, 19th - Mar, 20th

♈️ Aries : Mar, 21st - Apr, 19th

♉️ Taurus : Apr, 20th - May, 20th

♊️ Gemini: May, 21st - Jun, 20th

♋️ Cancer: Jun, 21st - Jul, 22nd

♌️ Leo : Jul, 23rd - Aug, 22nd

♍️ Virgo : Aug, 23rd - Sept, 22nd

♎️ Libra: Sept, 23rd - Oct, 22nd

♏️ Scorpio : Oct, 23rd - Nov, 21st

♐️ Sagittarius: Nov, 22nd - Dec, 21st

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Your deities love you.

Haven’t tidied their altars in forever? They understand.

Don’t have the motivation to give them offerings? They get it.

You haven’t left bed for a long time? They still care about you.

Aren’t devoting time to them lately? They don’t mind

Forgot an offering? That’s alright. They forgive you.

Fucked something up? They’re not going to ditch you for your mistakes.

Decide to take a break from deity work? Totally cool, they’ll still be here for you.

Your deities understand your struggles. Even your mental health related issues. They get it, and they love you regardless. Just do your best for them, and they’ll appreciate it. 

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Another unpopular opinion:

Apollo should be a common choice to do shadow work, because the purpose of it is to "know yourself"... like the Delphic Maxim.

#Shadow work

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I’m both pro herbal medicine and pro vaccination because you can treat burns with aloe vera juice and sore throats with lavender infused honey but you can’t rid a country of polio with plants. 

[charcoalrunes]

Altars - a brief overview

Altars are one aspect of witchcraft that new witches have lots of questions on. Now most explanation come with a “how to set up your altar” diagram and a list of tools. But they don’t really say why. So, here it is. An altar is a designed to be a place where you do the work of your craft. The layout of altar is meant to connect with and enhance the work you are doing. So, your altar can (and often should change) if the type of work changes. 

Some Examples:

“As Above, So Below” or a Wiccan-style altar. The basic concept is to reflect the “above” in the layout of the altar therefore connecting the work done on it with the cosmos. Layout will vary by tradition and how that tradition views the pattern of the cosmos.  There are lots of tools. For this one, I’m facing north. The god is on my right, the goddess my left.  Here I’ve used crystals to represent them rather than deity statues to emphasis (for this post) the concept of divine feminine and divine masculine that runs through Wicca. The tools are by element, but perhaps not in the layout in most 101 books

. Upper World, Lower World, Middle World (my freestyle altar)This is currently set up for the harvest season with Demeter taking center place. (This also works as a shrine to honor deities, ancestors, etc.) I’ve place Dionysus below and to the left, which brings this to a more middle -world/under world focus. Also everything is in threes, it doesn’t lend itself to the four element placement. The focus here being more deity specific than duality focuses. (If you don’t like the duality idea, there are deities like Loki, Athena, Dionysus and others who can work outside that focus.)

Altar for specific work, I’m currently involved in a three-year long set of classes which focus on a specific type of work. The altar I use for that class looks nothing like the usually Wiccan-inspired set up you see in books. But everything on the altar has a reason for being there. (There are no deities represented.) When setting up an altar, you want to consider its purpose as well as the cosmology or reality concept you are working with. For some types of work, one specific deity might be the focus. (I often have Hekate alone on the altar.) You can do the work without deities, though you might want some representation of the upper world/cosmos if you want an “as above so below” type of energy. It can be singular and generic (see the top of the middle altar).

  There is a lot of theory behind the altars for certain traditions (see Donald Michael Kraig’s “Modern Magick” if you want to get really into Ceremonial Altars and trips to Home Depot.) Also - when you can, get out to open rituals hosted by other witches and see what they do. Something either aren’t in books or take a lot of time to discover if you rely on books.

#altars