firewindearthsea

[firewindearthsea]

The symbolism of flowers

Flowers have a long history of symbolism that you can incorporate into your writing to give subtext.

Symbolism varies between cultures and customs, and these particular examples come from Victorian Era Britain. You'll find examples of this symbolism in many well-known novels of the era!

Amaryllis: Pride

Black-eyed Susan: Justice

Bluebell: Humility

Calla Lily: Beauty

Pink Camellia: Longing

Carnations: Female love

Yellow Carnation: Rejection

Clematis: Mental beauty

Columbine: Foolishness

Cyclamen: Resignation

Daffodil: Unrivalled love

Daisy: Innocence, loyalty

Forget-me-not: True love

Gardenia: Secret love

Geranium: Folly, stupidity

Gladiolus: Integrity, strength

Hibiscus: Delicate beauty

Honeysuckle: Bonds of love

Blue Hyacinth: Constancy

Hydrangea: Frigid, heartless

Iris: Faith, trust, wisdom

White Jasmine: Amiability

Lavender: Distrust

Lilac: Joy of youth

White Lily: Purity

Orange Lily: Hatred

Tiger Lily: Wealth, pride

Lily-of-the-valley: Sweetness, humility

Lotus: Enlightenment, rebirth

Magnolia: Nobility

Marigold: Grief, jealousy

Morning Glory: Affection

Nasturtium: Patriotism, conquest

Pansy: Thoughtfulness

Peony: Bashfulness, shame

Poppy: Consolation

Red Rose: Love

Yellow Rose: Jealously, infidelity

Snapdragon: Deception, grace

Sunflower: Adoration

Sweet Willian: Gallantry

Red Tulip: Passion

Violet: Watchfulness, modesty

Yarrow: Everlasting love

Zinnia: Absent, affection

[firewindearthsea]

Last year this was just a dirt area with a bunch of trash stacked along the fence. I cleaned the area, prepped the soil and I sprinkled drought tolerant pollinator seeds.

This is what it looks like today after the rain 💚👍🏾

#you took an empty space and filled it with love and beauty

[firewindearthsea]

If there's a ghost in your house and it's someone who died before electricity and running water were a thing, of course they're going to flip light switches, turn on faucets, flush the toilets, unscrew light bulbs. None of this had existed when they were alive. All of this is magical to them!

[firewindearthsea]

[firewindearthsea]

The knowledge of some common plants

Since many people don't know most of the plants around them, this is information on some plants that are commonly seen in many places throughout the world

This is Lamium purpureum, also called Purple Deadnettle.

It's called deadnettle because it looks like a nettle but it doesn't sting you

This plant is a winter annual—it grows its leaves in the fall, lasts through the winter, and blooms and dies in the spring

Its pollen is reddish orange. If you see bees with their heads stained reddish orange, it is likely because they have visited Purple Deadnettle

This is Trifolium repens, white clover

It is a legume (belongs to the bean family) and fixes nitrogen using symbiosis with bacteria that live in little nodules on its roots, fertilizing the soil

It is a good companion plant for the other members of a lawn or garden since it is tough, adaptable, and improves soil quality. According to my professor it used to be in lawn mixes, until chemical companies wanted to sell a new herbicide that would kill broadleaved plants and spare grass, and it was slandered as a weed :(

It is native only to Europe and Central Asia, but in the lawns they are doing more good than harm most places

Honeybees love to visit clover

Four-leaf clovers are said to be lucky

This is Achillea millefolium, Common Yarrow

It has had a relationship with humans since Neanderthals were around, at least 60,000 years, since Neanderthals have been found buried with Yarrow

Its leaves have been used to stop bleeding throughout history, and its scientific name comes from how Achilles was said to have used Yarrow to stop the blood from the wounds of his soldiers. A leaf rolled into a ball has been used to stop nosebleeds

It is a native species all throughout Eurasia and North America

This is Cichorium intybus, known as Chicory

The leaves look a lot like dandelion leaves, until in mid-spring when it begins growing a woody green stem straight up into the air

Like many other weeds, it has a symbiotic relationship with humans, existing in a mix of domesticated or partially domesticated and wild populations

It is native to Eurasia, but widespread in North America on roadsides and disturbed places, where it descended from cultivated plants

Its root contains large amounts of inulin, which is used as a sweetener and fiber supplement (if you look at the ingredients on the granola bars that have extra fiber, they usually are partly made of chicory root) and has also been used as a coffee substitute

A large variety of bees like to feed upon it

This is Phytolacca americana, known as Pokeweed

It is easily identified by its huge leaves and its waxy, bright magenta stem

It can grow more than nine feet tall from a sprout in a single summer!

If you squish the berries, the juice inside is a shocking magenta that is so bright it almost burns your eyes. For this reason many Native American people used it for pink and purple dye.

It is a heavy metal hyperaccumulator, particularly good for removing cadmium from the soil

All parts of the plant are poisonous and will make you very sick if you eat them, however if the leaves are picked when very young and boiled 3 times, changing out the water each time, they can be eaten, and this is a traditional food in the rural American Southeast, but I don't want to chance it

British people have introduced it as a pretty, exotic ornamental plant. I think that is very funny considering that here it is a weed associated with places where poor people live, but maybe they're right and I need to look closer to see the beauty.

If you see magenta stains in bird poop it is because they ate pokeweed berries- birds can safely eat the berries whereas humans cannot

This is Plantago lanceolata, Ribwort Plantain

It grows in heavily disturbed soils, in fact it is considered an indicator of agricultural activity. It is successful in the poorest, heaviest and most compacted soil.

The leaves, seeds, and flower heads are said to be edible but the leaves are really stringy unless they are very young. Of course, it is important to be careful when eating wild plants, and make sure you have identified the plant correctly and the soil is not contaminated

I have also heard the strings in the leaves can be extracted and used for textile purposes

and that's some common plants you might often see throughout the world

[firewindearthsea]

🌿How to harvest & dry herbs🌿

⚠️This is just my personal approach based on research, mentors and my own experience, please do your own research too ⚠️

Some general guidelines:

These are all recommended for both uses, magical and medicinal, but particularly for plant material you’ll want to give medicinal use.

Always harvest ~10 meters away from contamination sources (roads and cars, railroads, constructions, factories, etc. Even more serious stuff like landfills and heavy metals) Plants can absorb toxic chemical compounds from any these sources, so if you plan to ingest them or apply on your skin etc, avoid contamination sources. Examine your area to find where it’s safest to harvest plant material from.

Only take up to 30% of plant material, preferably less (leaves, flowers, berries, roots) this is to allow for healthy regrow.

Don’t take material with visible harm, illness or bugs, such as yellowed or bug bitten / holey leaves, etc. Educate yourself to recognize different possible bugs or parasites or plant illnesses that may affect your local flora to avoid these.

Sometimes you’ll have better results with fresh materials, you don’t always need to dry them. Know when to use what, depending on your goal and what compounds you want to extract, and how it’s best to extract them.

If you prefer fresh, you can keep fresh herbs in a vase with water for up to a week, more or less.

Clean the branches & leaves by soaking them or washing them in saltwater to scare away little critters, and dry them stem-up, making small bundles with stems fairly separated so everything is well aireated, and always away from sunlight. Do not clean with alcohol, detergent, or any other substances. Just water or salty water will do.

Roots, flowers, berries and bark can be dried in drying racks or basquets. Separate them from each other, specially flower petals, to dry them thoroughly and keep in a dark place until they’re fully dried (you’ll know if they crack when handling them and don’t feel soft anywhere anymore). For roots, bark and berries, move and rotate every so often to make sure they dry evenly, or just dry them in the oven if you’re brave! (be careful not to burn them)

Aromatic herbs should be harvested before they bloom, when you see the fully formed buds and their smell (and taste!) is strongest. 

When cutting the stems, cut at an angle to allow for healthy regrow.

Always make sure you’re harvesting what you think you’re harvesting. Learn to identify plant species properly, and always, always research about lookalikes it may have, as they could be toxic or poisonous or harmful in some way. This is necessary for safety reasons.

Store everything in glass jars or paper bags, away from humidity, to prevent mold. I don’t recommend plastic bags or containers as they can more easily retain humidity but that’s me. Check on your stuff often too!! Different things will last more or less time on the shelf.

⚠️Extra reminder to always check which part of the plant is medicinal, check if any other parts could be toxic or harmful, check for dosages, contraindications, possible allergies, and possible interactions with anything else you’re taking!!!!!!!!

For specific plant parts:

Flowers: Harvest as soon as they’ve fully bloomed, during the full moon.

Berries and fruits: Harvest right after the first frost, generally in autumn. Look for deep color and tight, glowy skin. I like to harvest these under a waning moon.

Seeds and pods: Collect these when all flowers are gone, usually in late summer, under a waning moon.

Leaves: Ideally, collect these from bright green and flexible limbs, the first warm days of spring when there’s new sap and no flowers yet, but for many species you can take some leaves all year round. Under a waxing or full moon does it for me.

Bark: Harvest during the first warm days of spring, when the sap rises. You’ll find newly formed bark easier to peel off. Rather than peeling the trunk directly, cut off a branch or limb and peel it off completely, it’ll cause less harm to the tree or bush. Under a waxing moon it is.

Roots, rhizomes, tubers: Harvest after all the leaves are gone, around late autumn, but before all the good stuff stored in them is used during the winter. Under a waning or new moon.

Some superstitions:

These are more specifically for the magical properties of the plant. 

Some folks say you shouldn’t harvest plant material with iron scissors or other iron tools, as iron scares away the spirit of the plant, and thus, the potency of whatever your working on will be less.

For some plants, you’ll find specific prayers, chants or charms, more or less complicated rituals, to harvest specific parts at specific dates. This is, again, for the spiritual properties rather than medicinal. I am the type to believe proper harvest makes both the work and the medicine stronger, but it’s up to you to decide how to go about harvesting certain plants considered “sacred”, and even what plants are considered “sacred” will also change depending on your own practice, culture, tradition, region and more, so do your research!

It’s common belief to not speak while you’re going to harvest the herb, and neither when coming back, as to not alert the spirit your intentions and out of respect for what it gave you or what it’s doing for you.

But while you’re there, after harvesting, let the plant spirit know why you’re in need of it’s aid and leave some kind of offering in return (again, do your own research on specific plants and their folklore, but some general things such as water, sugar or eggshells, and more traditional things like a certain number of coins, will likely work just fine)

With some plant species, particularly the poisonous kind, or some associated with the devil in folklore, you’ll likely find ways to protect yourself from the spirit’s anger upon being unearthed or cut. These range from giving praise to the spirit in the form of poems, songs, or offerings before getting to harvesting, to drawing circles in the dirt around it with holy water, a knife, or your own hand, and may even be having to cut the branches or unearth the plant in a specific manner (some say backwards, some say away from you) to prevent it from harming you. Sometimes simply carrying protective charms will do. Learn the folklore of each species you work with!

[firewindearthsea]

Tag yourself!

{made with the Ancestors and Great Spirits of the African Diaspora in mind, here's what I associate with each day of the week and the children of the diaspora born therein:

Monday's child is fair of face

Tuesday's child is full of grace

Wednesday's child is full of woe

Thursday's child has far to go

Friday's child is loving and giving

Saturday's child works hard for a living

And the child born on the Sabbath day

Is bonny and blithe, good and gay.

Monday: masters of finding new roads and moving forwards, tearing down blockages, trailblazers and warriors. Artists of all kinds, writers, poets, singers.

Tuesday: embodiment of thunderstorms, winds, omens, they're powerful conjurers with hot hands, always busy, always moving. Often times scholars, historians.

Wednesday: defenders, protectors, of humanity and nature as a whole. Warrior spirits at their core, but also great diviners and mediums.

Thursday: eloquent muses of the arts of love and war alike, great beauties who lead armies with equal charm and force. Sweetening, love and luck workings come easy to them.

Friday: personification of abundance and status. A commanding presence. Building legacy, great manifestors and conjurers, specially for work and finances.

Saturday: guardians of waters and the beyond. Community leaders, gifted healers, divine messengers. Carrying all the wisdom of the Elders and Ancestors.

Sunday: priests and priestesses that defy status quo, very old Ancestors coming back to reshape and rebirth reality. They will enter your life and purge every aspect of it.}

[firewindearthsea]

How to Determine Locations with Tarot

Ask any question and perform any spread. Then let the cards’ meanings, helped by your intuition, pinpoint the location.

WHERE WILL I MEET MY SOULMATE?

Cards: Eight of Wands (quick incoming messages) + Page of Swords (social media stalking)

Answer: You will meet your soulmate online.

WHERE ARE MY SUNGLASSES?

Cards: The Chariot (vehicle, carriage seat) + Four of Pentacles (embracing, tightness)

Answer: In your car, stuck between the seats.

WHERE SHOULD I SPEND SUMMER?

Cards: The Empress (mother) + Six of Cups (childhood)

Answer: Go home to visit your parents.

WHERE WILL I FIND FULFILMENT?

Cards: Eight of Pentacles (work) + Nine of Cups (banquet)

Answer: Give catering a try.

WHERE WILL I SEE MY EX AGAIN?

Cards: Three of Wands (ships coming in) + Six of Swords (travel by water)

Answer: On a cruise.

As you can see, tarot can be used to answer a range of questions from the most sacred to the most mundane; from the most complex to the simplest. How? Here are countless tips.

[firewindearthsea]

2024 Witch's Calendar

January

11th: New Moon

25th: Full Moon (Cold Moon)

February

2nd: Imbolc

9th: New Moon

24th: Full Moon (Quickening Moon)

March

10th: New Moon

19th: Ostara / Spring Equinox

25th: Full Moon (Storm Moon) / Lunar Eclipse

April

1st: Mercury Retrograde

8th: New Moon / Solar Eclipse

22nd: Earth Day

23rd: Full Moon (Wind Moon)

25th: Mercury Direct

May

1st: Beltane/May Day

7th: New Moon

23rd: Full Moon (Flower Moon)

June

6th: New Moon

20th: Litha / Summer Solstice

21st: Full Moon (Strong Sun Moon)

July

2nd: New Moon

21st: Full Moon (Blessing Moon)

August

1st: Lammas/Lughnasadh

4th: New Moon

5th: Mercury Retrograde

19th: Full Moon (Corn Moon)

28th: Mercury Direct

September

2nd: New Moon

17th: Full Moon (Harvest Moon) / Lunar Eclipse

22nd: Mabon / Fall Equinox

October

2nd: New Moon / Solar Eclipse

17th: Full Moon (Blood Moon)

31st: Samhain

November

1st: New Moon

15th: Full Moon (Mourning Moon)

25th: Mercury Retrograde

December

1st: New Moon

15th: Full Moon (Long Nights Moon) / Mercury Direct

21st: Yule / Winter Solstice

30th: New Moon

[firewindearthsea]

[firewindearthsea]

Crystal Clear

(c) gif by riverwindphotography

[firewindearthsea]

Have y'all tried embroidery?

It's very therapeutic, and you get...

A Butterfly!

A Small Tortoiseshell to brighten the day.

[firewindearthsea]

Cooking is alchemy. Singing and dancing are prayers. Speaking is casting spells. Silence is the sound of listening. Going to sleep is going to awake. Taking a shower is a ritual of cleansing. Drawing is animating imagination. Completing tasks is completing quests. All is divine.

@ akashicel

[firewindearthsea]

I don’t veil any more but I’m happy to talk about it or point you to resources if you’d like? There’s an active Facebook group if that’s a site you use.

Is there anyone who wears a face veil and is a pagan, witch, occultist, etc etc? I would loveee to chat!! I use veil back when I was Christian a few years ago and I’m interested in doing it again but now as a Pagan.

#veiled pagans

[firewindearthsea]

Safety in Witchcraft

What’s not talked about enough in the spiritual community is mundane safety along with spiritual. Critical thinking is vital. I wanted to share a lot of my personal rules for myself that I have adapted into my craft.

Fire safety, never leave an open flame unattended. Ever. Always burn in an open enough area with a fire safe dish or on ceramic tile away from animals and children. If you leave the room extinguish the flame. Do not sleep with fire going. I know we want to keep that spell going even during a nap but sometimes we don’t wake up in time for danger. This is absolutely vital to keep you safe. It won’t ruin a spell I promise or anger anything. Please do not add those herbs to that candle. I know it’s nice and pretty but that is a fire hazard. Stay safe.

On that note always have an open window or a well ventilated area when burning items. That goes for herbs, incense, or candle. Smoke inhalation can ruin your lungs.

Rodents, reptiles, birds, any animal is sensitive to scents and have small respiratory systems. Be careful using anything around them. Research what can be used around them. I mean research! Cross reference. Use veterinarian hospital guides, not pro essential oil blogs. Please don’t put any essential oils on your pets. They can be seriously harmed.

Moon water actually molds, very easily. So can herbal blends if not stored correctly. Check frequently and use before end of date. Distilled water is your friend to prolongs shelf-life along is storing in a cold dark place.

Witchcraft and magic is not a replacement for medical treatment and medically prescribed medication. It absolutely can aid your treatment but it is never a replacement.

Do not ingest any herbal remedies without consultation with your doctor and/or Herbalist. Especially if you have pre-existing conditions and need to take medications for it. Things can conflict and are deadly.

Also forage responsibly. Unless you are 100% certain what you have foraged is the correct plant. Don’t even chance it. It’s not worth sickness or in worst cases death.

Do NOT ingest essential oils. I don’t care what you have heard from pro essential oil pages. The distillery methods are not safe for ingestion. It can tear up your stomach lining and throat. Cause extreme nausea and vomiting. Seizures and in worst cases death.

Some covens and practitioners are not your friends. Be cautious and use stranger danger. Be cautious and never give out all of your personal information online. There are predatory people everywhere, including in this community. Please be safe. Always use your gut instinct.

Please feel free in the comments and tags to add important safety pointers you have.

[firewindearthsea]

if you are a witch or a pagan or both we should totally be mutuals idk just saying...

[firewindearthsea]

Cozy Witchcraft: Spells + Witch Tips For Your Bed

Spray your bed with a spellcrafted sleep spray, chamomile spray or lavender spray.

Enchant your blankets

Place sleep wards nearby for protective your during sleep

Keep charm bags near by for restful sleep

Wash your bedding with Florida Water

Put holly under your bed for vivid dreams

Place howlite on your nightstand for deep sleep