khalheyokha:

A Disclaimer: I am one person and my opinions (which I have in abundance) may not reflect the opinions of other witches, in general, or other people who call themselves hearth witches. In fact, they probably won’t, because I’m an asshole. I have a bizarre sense of humor that doesn’t convey well in text and I rant about shit I don’t like. A lot. If you don’t think you can handle that, maybe don’t read anything I write. Ever.

Charms, Enchantments, and So On

At the risk of sounding like a broken record—you can add a charm or enchantment to anything. I’ve said that before, but I don’t think I’ve ever actually talked about how. So…by request, I’ll doing that in this post. 

[Note: My inbox is always open for requests. Notes, too, though it’s not likely I’ll be able to find them again. If there’s something you want me to write about, feel free to ask. The worst I can do is say no. Or forget.]

Step One: Choosing Your Mundane Object

Like I said, you can put a charm on anything. And I pretty much mean anything. You may want to suit your object to your needs. For example, if you’re wanting to create a charm to help you stay grounded during meditation, you might use a small stone, a ring, or a figurine of an ‘earthy’ feeling animal. If you’re making a charm to help a friend through a tough time, you may want to use a friendship bracelet. Gamblers may want to use a pokerchip or a rabbits foot. To attract a love, you could charm a tube of lipstick. And so on. 

For the examples in this post, we’re going to imagine using a thimble 1) because that was the most mundane thing I could think of, and 2) because a lot of my witchcraft involves sewing in one way or another. 

Step Two: Cleansing the Object

This may not be a necessity in every case. A brand new tube of lipstick, for example, may not need much cleansing. And an heirloom locket may already have the right energy for a protection charm. 

But let’s say our thimble is an antique and you’re not really sure about its history. So it would be much better to clear out the old energy before you tried to charm it. There are numerous ways to go about this. To name a few—however, please note that the ones marked with an * require some research as they aren’t safe for all stones or surfaces: 

• Water (or Salt Water)* - Submerging the item in water or a salt water mix to cleanse it. 
• Moon/Sunlight* - Letting the item sit in light for a period of time to clear out negative energy.
• Smoke cleansing - Swinging the item through smoke to cleanse it. 
• Dirt Cleansing - Sounds counterproductive, but many people believe that burying an item in a new pot or a marked space in the garden for several (usually three) day will rid it of negativity. 
• Visualization - Most commonly, writers instruct to do this by seeing a white light coming over the object and clearing the negativity away—but you can visualized whatever you want. 

Step Three: Actualizing Your Charm

Step three is the ‘ritual’ (in quotation marks, because I never consider anything I do a ritual, but you can make it a part of one) that adds the charm to your item. Typically, I start a project like this in my kitchen just because it can get messy. If you want to make it into a big event, it’s not hard to set up a temporary altar on a kitchen table. 

Once you’ve got everything ready and have creating the environment you want to work in, you can get down to your actual ritual. Again, there are so many methods for that, I could never give you an all-inclusive list. But I can give you some easy ones:

• A Spoken Charm - For this, write out a reading that states the intent of your charm. If you like, this can call on a outside party (like a deity or spirit) for help, but it doesn’t have to. (For example, if my thimble charm was meant to protect me during astral travel, I might write something like ‘Brother Coyote, I bless this charm to keep me safe from astral harm.’) It doesn’t have to rhyme as long as it works. 
• A Written Charm - Almost the same as a spoken charm, but I would write out my intent, stick in in an envelope with the object, and leave it for a certain number of days. Alternatively, you could also write out your intent and burn it. Actually, there’s lots you could do with a charm on paper. 
• A Box Charm - Take the item and put it in a box with other items that you think represent the energy you want your charm to have. Tuck it away somewhere and leave your item to collect the energy. You may want to verbally list each item along with the traits it adds to your charm as part of your ritual. 
• A Jar/Pot Charm - Fill a small jar or pot with herbs that fit your intent. Stick the item inside the jar, seal it up and leave the herbs to energize it. You may want to verbally list each herb and what you want it to add to your charm as part of your ritual. 
• A Tarot Charm - Select a few Tarot cards that represent your intent and tuck them away with your item. (Alternatively, an envelope of Tarot cards COULD BE your item.) You may want to name each Tarot card and your interpretation as a part of your ritual. 

Afterthought: Removing a Charm

If you find you need to remove a charm, you can do so using the cleansing methods I’ve already provided. However, some witches do believe that you must give up a small item (lock of hair, food, necklace, etc) in exchange for removing magic. 

(Source: khal-winchester, via kittenwicked)

4:02 pm  •  1 May 2013  •  356 notes

khalheyokha:

Note: I’ve written before about how I can’t actually teach you how to go into trance. I can’t because I learned through ritual abuse, so I can usually go into trance almost at will. But, it’s a little hard to tell a beginner, “Well, I just take one step forward and leave my body behind.” So, I’m going to try my very, very best to break down some of the methods I use (generally without much thought) when I can’t just walk out of my body.

****Be careful. I’ve been asked to provide you information, but I am not able to take responsibility for every person who reads this. I’ll answer questions as well as I can; but I can’t be with you to help or guide you. Use your own judgement and be safe.

Turning Off

Turning Off is probably what I would recommend for beginners. It may not get you out of your body on the first try, but it’s a nice, gradual shift out of physical awareness. Like I said, this is a gradual step out. It’s gentle, but it also takes a while.

1. Get in a comfortable position. If you’re not afraid of falling asleep, lying down is good. If you think you might fall asleep (though, actually, I also use this to put myself to sleep when my insomnia gets really bad), sitting up might be better.
2. Clear your mind and relax. 
3. Starting with your toes, focus on ‘turning off’ each individual part of your body. When you first start, this may take several minutes for each section. Focus first on totally relaxing that body part, releasing any tension. Then pull your substance/spirit/other self/whatever upward, out of that body part. 
4. As you turn off each body work, you may experience a loss of sensation or movement. That’s totally, totally normal.
5. Keep moving up, toward your head. Go slowly. Don’t rush it. As you turn off your feet, legs, middle, and so on, shift your substance/spirit/other self/whatever upward. This will result in your slowly leaving your body. Some people experience this as coming from their heart. Others from the top of their head. Everyone is different. 
6. Once you get to the head and turn that off, you may find you’ve completely left the body. Then again, it may take practice. If you have trouble breaking/stretching your connection to your body normally, this is a good exercise to start. 
7. To return and come out of trance, do the opposite of what you did to leave. Starting at the head, bring your feeling and tension back into your body, pulling your substance/spirit/other self/whatever slowly down as go from the top of your head to the sole of your foot.

Again, this can take a long time at first. Don’t rush it. You don’t need to go all the way to your head every time. You can start my just turning on body part of and on and working up to fulling leaving. Go at your own pace and don’t push yourself too hard.

(Source: khal-winchester)

8:01 am  •  1 May 2013  •  155 notes

breelandwalker:

ceryneian-hind:

pagan101:

Got the idea to do this because of a few things I have seen in pagan tags and the “celtic” tag. I think it’d be useful to talk about a bit, so that everyone has the vocabulary to distinguish between gods who might be calling them, different things that interest them, etc.

What is Celtic?

Celtic is an umbrella term that covers a wide variety of cultures. The most important thing to learn about the word “Celtic” is that it does not, on its own, describe anything. It is only an umbrella term. Think of it as an adjective without a noun. There are many Celtic cultures, many of which (but not all!) speak Celtic languages. The term “Celtic” usually refers to language groups above all things. While there are many awesome and fascinating modern Celtic cultures, since this is a pagan blog, we’re going to talk about ancient polytheistic Celtic cultures. What is important to note here is that Celtic cultures are not interchangeable with each other. Each has a unique culture, unique deities, unique religious practices, and was culturally distinct from its neighbors, both Celtic and non-Celtic. This is the most important part. I often see people asking about “The Celtic Pantheon,” and I usually can’t help them very well because there was no such thing… There are, however, many individual pantheons that a person might be interested in:

Ireland

Language: Irish

Deities and heroes you may know: The Morrigan, the Daghda, Aoife, Fionn MacCumhaill, Dierdre, Lugh, Cuchulainn (more complete list of Irish mythological figures)

Scotland

Language: Scottish Gaelic

Deities and heroes you may known: Shared with Ireland, but with local alterations to folklore and especially folk practice (Scottish Mythology on Wikipedia)

Wales

Language: Welsh

Deities and heroes you may know: Arianrhod, Rhiannon, Pwyll, Arawn, Gwyn ap Nudd, Mabon, Lleu Llaw Gyffes, and many early versions of Arthurian figures (Welsh Mythology on Wikipedia)

Iron-Age Britain

Language: Brittonic or Gallo-Brittonic

Deities and heroes you may know: Nodens, Andraste, Brigantia, Toutatis, Sulis (British Iron Age on Wikipedia)

Gaul

Language: Gaulish

Deities and heroes you may know: Cernunnos, Toutatis, Taranis, Esus, Lugus, Matrona, Rosmerta (Wikipedia unfortunately has no article on Gaulish religion but does have one on Gaul and a hub for Gaulish and Brittonic Deities; note that there is a small degree of crossover but also a high degree of native deities on both sides of the channel)

Celtic Iberia and Lusitania

Language: Celtiberian, Lusitanian

Deities you may have heard of: Bandua, Endouellicus, Ataegina (Lusitanian Mythology on Wikipedia)

And all the rest:

I have barely scratched the surface here with this overview, but I hope that it was helpful and informative! With any luck, it will give those interested some useful jumping off points to begin research and learning.

- dewognatos

Delicious facts upon my dash.

Thank you for this. T_T *weeps with happy*

(via exploringpaganism)

4:02 pm  •  6 April 2013  •  246 notes

brynja-storm:

Ingredients:

• ·         Bowl
• ·         Water
• ·         Salt
• ·         A hand held mirror or other reflective surface

Set salt a pan with water and allow it to boil. While the water is heating, put into it all of the emotion that is inhibiting your judgment: all of the doubts, fears, second guessing, any extreme emotions. The goal is to be completely serene. Once the water has boiled, set it aside to cool. Set a mirror or reflective surface in a sink or a tub. Allow the water to flow over the surface, washing away your fears and emotions. The answer you seek will remain when the water is gone.

8:01 am  •  6 April 2013  •  149 notes

I really would like to be able to try new things, openly practice; but I’m living with my parents and I know they would criticise me and mock me. I’m not ready for that, it opens up all these old wounds.

Eurgh.

5:01 pm  •  5 April 2013

pagan101:

Any info on kitchen witchery?

—Anonymous

Though I do cook every day, I don’t practice this form of witchcraft myself. Essentially, kitchen witchery is the practice of infusing your hearth and food with magic. A basic introduction with some book resources can be found at Sarah Lawless’ website. Here are a few other sites that I think might help:

• Kitchen Witch Corner
• Kitchen Witchcraft
• Cucina Aurora

—chasingafterjackals

(via littlefaerylizzy-deactivated201)

4:11 pm  •  5 April 2013  •  40 notes

thiscrookedcrown:

This isn’t a summoning. This is more of a… open door policy for them to come on it. Like a spare room used by a common house guest. It’s literally how to make a common object into a spirit vessel.

That aside, the best way to communicate with a spirit on the regular is to leave something empty, capable of possession. A doll, statue, puppet, etc is best for this purpose due to the regular humanoid shape. Although, if you’ve got some fears of a real-life version of Chucky you may want to pick an object without arms or legs. For the purposes of this post, we’re going to pick one of those thick plastic skyballs (the super duper high bouncing balls that fit nicely in both hands but are smaller than, say, a kickball). I like these balls for spirit vessels because a) you can throw them when you’re pissed b) you can see inside of it to see any slight color changes c) it’s innocuous enough to be kept by anyone.

Cleanse the ball. DON’T put any energy in the ball. Matter of fact, pull out any energy that happens to enter the ball.

Prepare an offering (honey, milk, nom nom foods, alcohol, smoke, blood, whatever) and when you next feel a spirit or demon about you put the ball next to the offering and invite the being to use the ball as a vessel. In exchange, you’ll  give offerings whenever you feel the presence in the ball. Or maybe you’ll carry the ball with you and show the demon or spirit parts of the world it couldn’t see before due to shielding or whatever. Or maybe it’ll just be a place for the spirit to hang and what you do witchy shit. Whatever.

You can also use this vessel to trap a demon or spirit if it gets out of hang. Then chuck it out the damn window and maybe release it out there. Or not. Whatever. (Although, if the vessels becomes destroyed and you’ve trapped something in there, needless to say the demon or spirit will be pissed.)

Have fun putzing with your spirit vessels! Let me know if you attempt to try this out! I want to know how creative you all get.

(via dradonadividora)

4:02 pm  •  5 April 2013  •  150 notes

diaphanee:

Danu is the Mother goddess in Irish religion of the Tuatha Dé Danann pantheon. As the mother of the gods, Danu has strong parallels with the Welsh literary figure (or goddess) Dôn, who is the mother figure of the medieval tales in the Mabinogion. Danu was considered as the mythic mother goddess of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the Celtic tribes that first invaded Ireland. It is also thought that she may also be a goddess of war.

(via pagangirl)

8:01 am  •  5 April 2013  •  39 notes

After much thinking and meditating, I’ve decided I am an Atheist Pagan.

TA-DAHHHH.

7:05 pm  •  4 April 2013

hellboundwitch:

This happens to me sometimes, and I know I’m not alone in it. I sometimes fall out of love with my practice. I get disenchanted, or lose my passion, fall into a slump, feel bored, get stuck…call it what you will. And it can happen in like, any and every area of my life, from my witchcraft or spirituality, with my writing, and even with tarot cards.

(Yes, I’ve gotten bored of tarot cards before!)

Dry spells suck. I start feeling mad at myself and questioning my competence at life and everything. And even when it doesn’t get that bad, it’s not fun to be unable to enjoy the things you used to love.

So, here are some things that can help!

• Take an honest look at why you feel disconnected.

I’m putting this one first, because it’s the least fun, but possibly the most important.

Are you unable to enjoy something because it just doesn’t work for you anymore? Maybe you’ve changed. Maybe you’ve outgrown it. Sometimes you reach a point where you honestly need to leave something behind. And it doesn’t mean that you’ve wasted your time up until now, or that what you did was useless. It just means that it’s time to let it go.

Another thing to consider is depression. If you think that depression may be the cause of your problems, then this list is probably not going to be enough to help. You need to deal with the depression itself and not just the symptoms it causes.

Consider your cycles. Some people naturally are just into things more at some periods than others. Maybe you feel more connected to certain deities in the winter, and during the summer they’re just not there. When you’re busy with school, you might not have the energy to devote to your usual rituals. I don’t write as much when I’m happy. I think certain things on this list can still help, but understanding where you’re coming from will make it easier for you to see how to fix it.

• Get back to basics.

This doesn’t have to mean “go back to the beginning” although it can. I like to go back to my old favourite books — the ones I started on, the ones that hold some kind of magic for me. I reread the books that made me want to be a writer or that gave me good advice in the past. I use a familiar tarot deck. I revisit guided meditations and exercises from the past (lots of energy balls being formed and stuff like that).

My altar gets down to bare necessities. I pick up lapsed practices like regular prayers or doing a daily draw with my cards. I do all of the exercises in a book. I write stream of conscious journal entries every morning.

I suppose that it’s like rebuilding your foundation. And listen, if you’re re-reading your old favourite book and you realize you don’t like it anymore, don’t be discouraged! Take note of your growth and progress!

• Try something different.

If you do guided meditations and you aren’t feeling it anymore, try a different script. If you memorize them, try following along with a recording (youtube is good for this!). Maybe try a different method — focus on your breath for counts of ten?

When I felt lazy in both my tarot reading and my writing, I started doing tarot stories. It made me excited about both of them again, and I got better at both too.

Try different ingredients in your spells, or switch up the time or place that you work them. Rearrange your altar. Switch from your favourite tarot deck to one you don’t use as much, or try a different style (from Thoth to Marseilles, for example). Many of the items on my 19 Ways to Connect With Your Deck could be helpful here.

• Try something new.

So, similar idea to the last one, but a bit more extreme. If you really aren’t feeling it with your tarot decks, switch to an oracle deck for awhile. Hey, take it even further and try a new system of divination completely, like a pendulum or dice. Maybe you could create your own system!

I spent most of the 7th grade writing poetry and fanfiction, because I just wasn’t happy writing novels. (It wasn’t necessarily good poetry or fic, but I enjoyed writing again, at least!)

Branch out, basically. Try some kitchen witchery if you normally stick to candles and incense at your altar. Try going out and exploring urban witchcraft or sea magic or whatever, if you prefer to normally stay at home.

If you can’t get your deity connection to work for you, then maybe you could work more with your ancestors. Switch genres for awhile.

• Teach someone else.

You don’t have to be a master at something to pass along the knowledge you have. Just be upfront about your experience and your skill level.

Tumblr is a great place to put this one into practice, especially there isn’t any one person in particular for you to help. Write a post on the way you conduct a reading or construct a spell. Post a video explaining a ritual or create a step-by-step guide on how to create a magical ink. (And then submit the link to supwitches so I can reblog it!)

In my experience, teaching can offer a buff to your own skills. There are lots of things I didn’t actually understand until I explained it to someone else. And often I will think of a way to get an idea across to someone unfamiliar with the work, and actually make it more understandable to myself in the process.

• Create something.

So I mentioned the idea of creating your own divination system and the last point was about creating something out of your knowledge to give back. Those are both helpful and fall under this as well, but there’s more.

Make your own tarot deck. Create ritual jewelry. Bake a cake. Print your poems and handbind them into a book. Weave an altar mat. Draw your main character. Cosplay your main character! Maybe you are a master at what you do and you can write a whole book on it.

Make something new and try to enjoy the process. And this isn’t about it actually being useful or anything — although those are benefits that can help! It’s about being able to appreciate something in a different way and having fun with it.

• Find an idol.

Do you have someone to look up to? Someone who inspires you and serves as living proof that It Can Be Done? I have a lot of them. 

Ms. Graveyard Dirt was my witchy idol when I decided to put my own practice together (which I’ve mentioned before on my tumblr). It isn’t that we do the same things — we really don’t — but I was fascinated and inspired by her anyhow.

Holly Lisle is my writing idol. I don’t necessarily want to write in her style, but I love her books and I’ve learned a lot from her. She has a way of saying things that I just get, like she’s talking just for me.

Jonathan Hardesty and his amazing progress in skill has been the ultimate inspiration in art and just general wanting to improve at anything for me. And again — I don’t want to create exactly what he creates (although I certainly wouldn’t complain…)

It isn’t about copying anyone, trying to steal their work and pass it off as your own. I’m not trying to say that at all. Rather, it’s about being inspired and touched by what someone else does, in a way that makes you want to do better for yourself.

• Find a community.

One person may not be enough, especially if you don’t actually know them. A group of people that you can relate to, get ideas from, and communicate with (if you’ve got the nerve for it — I often tend not to) can help.

There is a huge difference between struggling with something that you love alone, and struggling with other people, who have been there and gotten through it. Or might even be there now, as well!

You can reach out to people offline or online, and you can join mailing lists, facebook groups, and forums for just about anything. I prefer tumblr, because I have more control over who and what I allow onto my radar. Between blocking tags and words I don’t want to see and following only quality people, I’m usually pretty happy with my dashboard.

But there are drawbacks to this one, you guys. Other people can be pretty terrible. Communities have drama. And cliques. Bad, Wrong ideas will perpetuate because all the cool kids keep echoing/reblogging each other, and all the people who want to be the cool kids will jump on the bandwagon. And when the circle jerks start happening, you can feel even more isolated than you were before. (And woe betide you if you get on the wrong side of the wrong person…)

When it works, it works. And when it doesn’t, learn when you need to step back from it.

• Take a break.

Speaking of! Maybe you just need to cool it for a bit. I’m really bad about burning out on something and needing to have a rest for awhile. 

I like to take a pre-planned break. Like, “Okay, I’m not going to touch my tarot cards for two weeks.” or “I’ll leave this deity alone until the Summer.” You can do what feels right for you though, of course. For me, being open ended about something means that I’ll just get comfortable not doing it and never go back, haha.

Seriously, ask dumbledoreisdead, she’ll tell you all about Absence and the Heart.

• Plan something big.

This is usually my follow up to the last one. Before I take my break, I’ll arrange to have some big deal to come back to, because it works for me. But you can set yours up however you like.

It can be a ritual or a giant meal. Maybe you may plan to offer tarot readings to the public, when you’ve never done that before. I used Nanowrimo for this once. Anything you can make a big deal out of and go a bit over the top with what you normally do!

• Make it complicated.

This is basically the opposite of the first suggestion. I like the book end feel of it! 

If you’re in a situation where you’re really comfortable and familiar with your surroundings, then make yourself uncomfortable. Stretch a little. Move into something more advanced.

Read some heavy books. Take a difficult class. Find some way to challenge yourself.

Maybe it’s time to forge a deeper connection than the one you had before. And I can’t tell you how to do that, it’s going to look different for everybody. At the very least, it would be its own post!

SO YEAH. 10 or 11 (depending on if you count the first piece of advice or not) ways to deal. There are more out there, but these are some that I have personal experience with so I vouch for them. If you’re interested in more, try looking for methods to recover/rediscover lost passion. It’s something that happens to everyone and there’s definitely more out there written about it! Hopefully at least some of this will help.

(via kittenwicked)

4:02 pm  •  15 March 2013  •  280 notes