I’ve finally finished my rune set! It took me a lot longer than buying a set, but holy shit was it worth it..! 

I went to Norway back in February to visit my brother and while I was there I decided I was going to find a stick I could make my runes out of (getting it right from the mother country seemed right). I found a few that had fallen but thanks to the icy weather most of them were damp. So my brother got me a stick from a tree he’d been chopping up for kindling and voila! Not the best way to obtain rune wood (I know it’s meant to come from a tree you’ve asked and some say it must come from a particular type of tree, but this tree I think had fallen anyway). It was pussy willow too, which is good because willow is one of “my” trees. 

Anyway it took so long because – well, first of all because I just didn’t get round to it, but then because my stepdad, who makes wooden staves and tools – told me I should keep it inside for a few months to let it dry out completely. I kept it inside until the summer when I asked him to slice it into disks for me with his circular saw. Then (and here comes the gross part) had to wait until a certain time of the month to mark the symbols with my blood. I know you can use red paint but I don’t do anything by half measures (not hating, I’m just a perfectionist) and I wanted them to be as personal as possible. Then I burned the symbols/blood into the wood with a soldering iron. I also performed a consecration ritual of my own design based on research. 

The last couple of days have been pretty rough. I’m pretty sure I’m PMSing but I just felt so useless and shitty about myself and a lot of things going on (or rather, not going on) in my life. I did my first “proper” rune reading - first a simple 3 rune spread, then the World Tree spread. It was incredibly enlightening. I’m using Ralph Blum’s book about runes to learn and it’s so useful. I felt better almost immediately after using it and I think I’m about to take a wonderful nose dive into rune reading ♥

witchy wisdom #1

you are supposed to have spells that backfire, or don’t work out correctly. if you didn’t, you would never learn, you would never grow, and you would ultimately just stagnate. none of that is conductive to spiritual development. 

"I have been loved, by something strange, and it has forgotten me."

Tips for mentally ill witches!

sacredandrogyne:

So I just wanted to put together a list of some practices I’ve found to be useful as a mentally ill witch over my years of practice. I know that some might sound obvious, but for some people (like me) they aren’t. Plus, sometimes the answer you need most is the most simple. 

Just so you can better gauge how helpful this will be to you—this is coming from somebody who has Dysthymia with frequent double depression, anxiety, social anxiety, panic attacks and intrusive thoughts. Just bear this in mind if you have different mental health problems as some of these things may end up not being that helpful for you.  

1. Keep it simple.
   I will never stop giving this advice to witches, mentally ill or not. It can be tempting in witchcraft to use a ton of different correspondences and such, but if you have trouble with gathering the mental energy to do a spell to begin with, overcomplicating it is going to lead to spell failure. It’s best to find just one or two correspondences that feel really strong and meaningful to you and focus your energies on them rather than having too many and ending up with a scattered focus.
2. Don’t worry about visualising for too long. 
   Make sure you do visualise, but even if you can only hold the vision in your mind for a few seconds, that will be enough. Remember to release it, too.
3. Meditate before casting your spells.
   Okay, I might get some shit for this, but hear me out. Meditation does work as a great warm-up exercise for spellworking. The worst thing you can do is get into the mindset of it thinking it is difficult. The truth is that there is a huge variety of different techniques out there, some of which will work better for you than others, so it’s worth exploring this more deeply if you haven’t yet. You can buy CDs and download meditation apps, but there are plenty of great guided meditations on YouTube as well.
   
    As a side note, it’s also a good way to get into astral travel. Also, it’s a good idea to regularly practice grounding so all that energy doesn’t get tangled up around your crown and wind up disrupting your spellworking.
4. If you can’t meditate, try taking a power nap.
   Power naps are a great alternative for those whom meditation is not possible. It’s a fascinating subject to read up on and too involved to discuss in depth in this post, but essentially we sleep in cycles which are about 20 minutes long. If we wake up in the middle of a cycle we can end up being more tired and bad-tempered than before, but if you take a 20, 40, 60 (etc) minute nap it can help boost your concentration and focus in the same way meditation does.
5. Don’t do spells when your mood is particularly low.
   I’m not talking about curses in particular here. Everyone has a different opinion on cursing, so I’ll leave that for another post. I’m talking specifically about your state of mind before doing any spell. If you are angry or very anxious when doing a spell, it sends your energy spiralling off in all different directions. Doing spells when you are feeling low will likely make you lose confidence in your ability and the spell will automatically not work as a result. It’s basically just not worth doing a spell if you’re in an especially shitty mood and have no way to ground those emotions for the time being. If you can, try to cast your spells when you are feeling reasonably peaceful. You don’t have to be happy when doing a spell – but you do need to feel somewhat grounded.
6. Only do spells in your bedroom or a space which is solely or mostly yours.
   In the tradition I was raised with, it was seen as a big no-no to do spells (aside from those associated with Sabbat celebrations) in shared spaces anyway, but generally if you try to do a spell in a space which is used by many different people, not only is it going to be harder to find a time when you can be alone in that space, but there is going to be a lot more energy signatures and such left in that space. If you’re more sensitive than most, than this will make it particularly difficult to focus on generating the right flow of energy needed for your spell. If you have trouble focusing due to mental health issues, this is even harder. Your bedroom, even if it is shared with a partner, roommate or sibling, should be fine if you can reasonably zone out their energy. A study or office which only you use could also suffice. If all else fails, a secluded space outside (especially if it is in a place where nature is left in peace) would be fine as well.
7. Look into planetary governance of days.
   *This is a very subjective tip. For some people – such as those with obsessive compulsive disorders - it may make things more complicated and potentially worsen your symptoms. Please keep this in mind when following this particular point.
   
    A slightly odd one, but it’s something I’ve found to be very helpful. I’m very disorganised in general and I find it hard to get focused. If you’re the same, there is an old magical system which can actually help to get you more organised and avoid procrastination. As you may know, the English names for the days of the week come from the Norse gods (Friday=Freja’s day, Thursday=Thor’s day, etc). But they’re also associated with planets and the planets correspond to certain magical aims, not too dissimilar to the attributes of the Norse gods and goddesses themselves. They basically go as follows:
   
   Sunday – (Sun) – Creativity, abundance, growth, productivity, happiness, success, knowledge, fertility, beauty, hope, victory & expression.
   Monday – (Moon) – Protection, childbearing, purity, virginity, intuition, healing & wisdom.
   Tuesday - (Mars) – War, conflict, enemies, curses, protection, assertiveness, initiation & marriage.
   Wednesday – (Mercury) – Commerce, employment, business, money, debt, communication, learning, correspondence & journeys.
   Thursday – (Jupiter) – Abundance, success, luck, prosperity, loyalty & fortune.
   Friday – (Venus) – Love, friendship, sex, growth, beauty, art, pleasure, harmony & peace.
   Saturday – (Saturn) – Death, protection, creativity, banishment, binding, success, hope & fortune.
   
   So, for example in a love spell, you would cast your spell on a Friday. For a protection spell, a Tuesday, Saturday or a Monday would work well. You could go even more in depth by looking into planetary hours to get yourself even more organised.
8. Wear something simple when casting your spell.
   You don’t have to wear an elaborate robe or be naked (or skyclad, as they say) to do a spell. But the principle beneath it could work for you. Albert Einstein used to have a ‘uniform’ he wore when working. You could have your own uniform of simple, comfortable clothes in a plain block colour. I personally recommend black or another dark shade as it is an absorbent colour and this helps you to absorb the different energies you generate in your spell, while also getting you into the right frame of mind when wearing it.
9. Don’t be too strict in following correspondences.
   In contrast to some of the things I have already written, I just want to point out some things. One of the most common mistakes I see beginners making is the dogged adherence to magical correspondences and a feeling of urgency in doing things ‘by the book’. Take it from someone who’s been raised in the tradition – it is okay to bend the rules a bit here and there. It isn’t going to ruin your spell if you deviate from the tradition a bit. What will ruin your spell is a lack of careful thought and planning for what you actually need or want. For example – green is a colour associated with earth magic, employment and money spells, but if all you can associate with green is vomit or sickness, for example, then don’t use it. Use brown instead. You have to form your own relationship with your tools in order to realise your full potential, so don’t be afraid of going off the beaten track a little in your selections.
10. Preparation is key
    For those of us of poor mental health, our decisions are sometimes not always the most sound. This isn’t to say that we can’t trust ourselves at all, but I can’t stress enough how important it is for you to feel reasonably at peace (whatever that may mean to you) before carefully planning out your spell. I have seen many a witch fall victim to their own magic as a result of impulsive spell casting, both mentally ill and neurotypical. What I would suggest is to create a process of preparation that will make sure to cover all your bases. For me, this process involves divination, but you can use whatever tools you’re most comfortable with. Ask yourself key questions like, why am I really doing this spell? Is my aim just a quick fix, or do I need to think more about what is actually needed in this situation? Is this something that can be solved without magic?
    
    Practicing these steps will not only improve your spellworking, but will begin to guide you on a path to deeper philosophical understanding of what it means to be a witch, the nature of the power you possess, how best to use it, and how to become a more balanced and empathetic person overall.

I hope this helps!

raposinhachan:

weasowl:

weasowl:

weasowl:

20thcenturyvole:

probablybadrpgideas:

If Cthulhu can be summoned by humans who are so far beneath it, why can’t humans be summoned by ants?
The answer is they should be.

Well if a bunch of ants formed a circle in my house I’d certainly notice, try to figure out where they’d all come from, and possibly wreak destruction there.

That’s why knowing and correctly pronouncing the true name is so important to the ritual. Imagine how impossible it would be to not go take a look if the circle of ants started chanting your name.

And they’re like, you can’t leave because we drew a line made of tiny crystals - now you have to do us a favor.

And you’re like, let’s just see where this goes “yup, you got me… what’s the favor?”

and usually the favor is like, “kill this one ant for us” or “give me a pile of sugar” and you’re like… okay? and you do, because why not, it isn’t hard for you and boy is this going to be a fucking story to tell, these fucking ants chanting your name and wanting a spoonful of sugar or whatever.

And SOMEtimes you get asked for things you can’t really do, one of them, she’s like, “I love this ant but she won’t pay any attention to me, make me important to her” and you’re like… um? how? So you just kill every ant in the colony except the two of them, ta-da! problem solved! and the first ant is like *horrified whisper* “what have I done”

for some reason my brain won’t let go of this one, so….

Meanwhile another colony of ants invades your house, and evidently that last ant has gotten some of them to join her in a circle and taught them the ritual because you’re coming out of the bathroom one day and you hear the ants singing your name. Sure enough it’s that ant, but she’s dark and fucked up now, and she’s like, “kill the queen. I will rule this colony” and you’re like, sure, I guess I kinda owe her, and you do it. And she manages to become queen, and they worship you. Which is cool, you’re not, you know, very important in the human world, but to these ants you’re practically all-powerful. You can’t be just, doing everything a bunch of ants tell you to, though, when would you watch netflx? So you tend to only show up for super important ants; you teach them some extra words and when hear them you go see what’s up. Usually. Also just to your name, if you’re bored. And, sometimes some of the ants are like, tell us more human names, and you’re kind of jealous of the idea of some other human diluting your private godhood, so you refuse.

Your roommate Greg is like, yo, that’s fucking awesome, I want ant worshipers! But whenever he approaches any, they run away, because it turns out that the illusion of control from the named summoning is what makes them feel safe around you. That’s great, because Greg is a dick who never does the dishes, and one day you decide to teach Greg a lesson.

So you show up at the colony, and you’re like, “yo, witch queen, did you think there would be no price for all these things? Your colony must do something for me, go to the Room of the Housemate, I will meet you there.” And you go sit on the couch and play Overwatch for a while. You’re like, right there, you can clearly see the ants all marching along the wall to Greg’s room, but to them you’re not even there, you’re so far away they can’t see you. It takes them, like, an ant week to make the journey. They have to figure out ways to get over and around things. Some of them drown, or get stepped on by the dog, or whatever. You win a game, you lose a game, you look over, and they’re trying to get through some cobwebs… looks like they’re mostly going to live, you keep playing, you look over, okay they’re all in there, and you stand up and walk over and by the time they’ve chanted your name once, you’re there. “right, hold on” and you look around and you see a twelve-pack of Greg’s precious fucking soda, that he keeps in his room and refuses to ever share, even though it’s a communal food household and you share your hot chocolate with him all the time. So you gather the ants unto you, and you poke a little hole in each of the sodas and you leave the room to the sound of the ants rejoicing. Greg will suspect of course, but he’ll never be able to prove the ants didn’t chew holes in the plastic and steal his stupid drinks. 

But later, while you’re at work, Greg destroys most of the colony in a rage, and you come home to find the witch queen gasping her last “the Dew of the Mountain, which you had us steal, was cursed - and so I lay my curse on you” and then she dies.

Well first of all, you don’t really believe in curses, but last month you didn’t believe ants could know your name, so that’s unsettling. And second of all, you feel kind of bad. You know, not SUPER bad, cause she’s like, an ant. But still. And most importantly, third of all, Greg must pay.

But Greg has done more than kill a bunch of the colony. As you wait for eggs and pupae to replenish the ant population, you discover he has found some ants that didn’t go on the Mountain Dew raid, and he’s spared them, told them his name, and made himself a good sized cult in YOUR fucking ant queendom.

Greg has started locking his door. So now you NEED the ants. Once again you direct the ants loyal to you to journey to Greg’s room. You meet them at the door. A locked door means nothing to the ants, they don’t even know there is a door, and can barely perceive the difference between it being open and shut - either passing the threshold on the floor regardless, or being on its surface no matter the position. But you need them to get inside. You’re going to put itching powder in his underwear drawer and leave a raw fish under his bed. So you instruct the leading party of ants how to go into the Cave of Keyhole, and position the Magic Megaliths inside just right to enable the opening of the Great Door and allow you to pass into the Realm of Housemate.

Crouched by the door, you can hear when your ants are met by a party of Greg Cultists, who insist that if the Great Door is opened, the colony will be doomed. There is fighting. Your ants prevail, the lock tumblers are moved into place, and you swing the door open…

To find Greg! In his room all along! It’s a trap! His cultists attack you! I mean, they can’t do much real harm, but it kind of hurts and it’s super annoying. You order your ants to attack him, and they do, but he storms over and pours bleach down the colony entrance.

Now you and Greg are at war, and you both understand the unspoken rules to your fight. You can’t do things directly to each other, why, that would be assault. But anything you can get your ants to do is fine, because “she told the ants to do it to me” isn’t going to get very far with any authority figures that get involved. 

Later, nursing your anger, you confer with your few remaining ants and stare moodily at your new prize, the ant farm that came in the mail. Bullet ants don’t usually get along with sugar ants, but you’re betting they will if a god tells them to. Meanwhile, you’ve got a laptop schematic to go over with your high priestess. It’s finals week, and if you time it right, he’ll lose everything…

Feel free to add your own stories paralleling human/otherworldly with insect/human interactions!

I’m going to have this repost a few times because I want to see which of my mutuals are into this kind of thing because I’m preparing to test drive a fiction share and writing prompt project

The Idea of the old gods obeying us not because of supernatural reason, but because they think it’s funny to watch the tiny animals fight IS the answer to everything

(via plushbones)

witchy wisdom #2

spells can seem a bit like food sometimes – they ‘go off’ in the same way food will if it’s left out. if you meditate and you find that your energy field is kind of clogged with black ribbons and other ‘dirty’ things, it might be time to obliterate it with a thorough cleansing ritual. not doing so can cause stagnant spell threads to get tangled up in your energy centres and this will affect your spell working in future. always tie up those loose ends. 

Reconstruction vs Neo Paganism

ravenousnightwind:

I think there are a lot of controversies to this topic. A lot of people are under the general term of paganism, and while many of those people are respectable and knowledgeable members of the community, it can also be prone to misinformation and inaccuracy. Many within the reconstruction side of paganism see neo paganism as a bad thing for this very reason. What this post is about, is more of the differences between them and how we can best avoid conflicts.

Keep reading

bannerlaviniaromanoff85:

✨Witches assemble!✨

Okay, if any of you out there are witches (doesn’t matter if you’re just starting or if you’re practicing since a long time) could you please comment and/or reblog this post? Because if for you it’s okay, I would like to ask you about witchcraft (because I’m starting now too) and I would like to have more advices on how I can improve it

Thank you very much for your precious time spent reading this post!!✨

(Source: thesunandmoonlover, via luckylunarhalo)