raysshadows

[raysshadows]

Re the dishwasher thing I…guess? I wouldn’t use a dishwasher for cleansing though because I figure any given preparation for a spell or ritual is also about putting you in the right state of mind, and I wouldn’t expect that setting a dishwasher to run, walking away, and grabbing my jar out of the dishwasher later would in any way whatsoever get me in the right frame of mind.

Something I actually do like hand washing with soap and water would be fine though.

I guess if I’d already done the spell and wanted to release the magical energy from the jar so that it could just be a jar, the dishwasher might be ok.

I am genuinely not attempting to shame anyone for how they do their craft, I'm just hoping someone can explain something to me.

I saw a post on pintrest (it did not link anywhere so no I can't just ask the original creator) that was a little video clip of someone explaining they always cleanse jars prior to use with all of the following, in the following order:

Candle smoke

Moon water

Sea salt

Now, like I said, not shaming anyone who does multi-step cleansing like this prior to casting.

It just seems like over kill to me. I would get it if it were like, cleanse with each of the elements in turn, or here's all these different options for cleansing. I just don't understand the purpose of doing a triple cleanse each time you prep a jar for a spell, and I'd love to learn what the purpose is from anyone who has a similar methodology.

[raysshadows]

The problem with living in a relatively small space (and being used to having a good bit of stuff), is I can’t find a decent spot for an altar now. I had one taking up half my desk and today decided it just wasn’t working, I want to be able to have actual desk space on my desk. So now it’s basically just a candle on a folded scarf in one corner. My wand, which doesn’t fit anywhere, is on top of the bookshelf.

We have a wide, flat dresser, but it’s been the default “put stuff that doesn’t have a home yet” space and I don’t think it would be possible to set up an altar on it that could have integrity of its boundaries. So it’s that or the desk or clearing off one of the shelves on the bookshelf, and none of those seem like good options. If we ever actually get a displace cabinet up in the shared spaces of the house I may be able to claim one of its shelves, but who knows when that will happen if ever. And I feel like it *should* be in my personal space. (The space I share with my partner. Close enough.) It’s not a witchy household, if I’m doing rituals here I’m doing them on my own and almost certainly in my own space. (I don’t think anyone would be weird about it, but there’s a wide space between not actively hostile and interested in participating.)

At least it’s a very nice scarf.

#in practice I’m prioritizing space for doing yoga which I think is the right choice #there is space where I can set up a temporary altar any time I want one #just permanent space is hard to come by #the desk space should be about drawing or writing or some other crafts #but really it’s about how I should be eating in bed less often #and that’s more likely to happen if I have enough space on my desk

[raysshadows]

There are basically two different approaches to witchcraft, the massive tables of correspondences gather dew soaked thyme at midnight under a full moon everything has to be done this exact way approach, and the make it up as you go along approach.

I’m firmly in the latter. And why not? “What have we got in the pantry?” works for cooking.

I‘m sure there’s some benefits to the strict recipe approach (maybe the extra planning involved helps solidify your intention or something?) but yeah can’t imagine. I do the sort of witchcraft where you write or draw something you want to manifest into your life on a piece of paper, fold it into a paper airplane, and toss it around a bit.

[raysshadows]

Ads for 'affordable magickal tools' always put me in a weird way because like... I understand the need for tools in some practices, but I've also been kind of like... you need vessel? Coffee mug.

[raysshadows]

My wand doesn’t fit anywhere.

[raysshadows]

You can tell you’re really for real going to move soon when you pack away your altar.

#First giving away my plants and now this

[raysshadows]

Re: magic intended to cause harm

Not as interesting as everyone seems to think it is, but here’s my take:

Magic is not that different from everything else we do, and you can probably go ahead and use your ethics around punching people, lying, committing fraud, etc and apply that to your magic. Of course, you might want to revisit your understanding of the ethics of mundanely harming people every so often too.

Most of doing magic well is figuring out the right intent. Stories about magic lamps or whatever are entertaining of course, but there’s also a message there: when you want something, check to see if it’s really what you want, and whether you could nominally get it but end up less happy/worse off. Love spells with a specific target: maybe that person will turn out to not be good for you after all. Harming a person who harmed you: are you sure it was really them, and that it was malicious? A specific coworker is driving you up the wall and you want them to leave? Maybe there’s a better way of dealing with that situation than trying to force them out. Etc. Often the impulse to get back at someone is at odds with living a good life, and the shortest path to happiness is letting go of grievances. And to figure out how to get what you want in a way that focuses on boundaries and what is and isn’t under your control.

Not always though. *shrug*. Life is complicated.

This is not incompatible with the Rule of 3, by the way. Mundane harmful actions, like spreading harmful rumors about someone else, also tend to affect the person doing the thing as much as the intended target, or more. You can’t punch someone without hurting your fist.

I haven’t been that engaged with online witchy spaces, but within my limited experience, mostly people looking for advice on cursing someone have a story like “yeah so this person raped me” and I gotta admit, figuring out how to make a rapist experience adverse consequences through “legitimate” means tends to be a massive exercise in futility. And statistically, rapists do typically keep on raping until it stops being worth it to them.

What I mean is: I’m not a huge fan of magic intended to harm or control, any more than I’m a fan of non-magical means of harming and controlling, but I’m also not so precious that I refuse to listen to anyone talk about the possibility of using magic to harm or bind around me.

[raysshadows]

The circle I‘ve practiced with most says purification, so that’s what I usually call it. Given how this circle is, that could be either profoundly meaningful or it could be “idk, that’s just how we usually do it.” To me personally, cleansing and purification have about the same associations, except that cleansing is also associated with “here’s a kale juice cleanse to purge toxins from your body” nonsense, so…

I tend to think of it as being conceptually associated with the act of cleaning. You shower to get off dirt and sweat, you wash dishes to not have gross leftover food encrusted on them, you wipe down counters to keep yourself from getting sick (and also so that they don’t look gross.) So, it’s a similar thing: whatever the core of you or the thing you’re purifying/cleansing is stays there, and the random extra stuff gets cleared away. For myself, in particular any stagnant emotions or distracted thoughts get cleared away.

I do have some positive associations with the idea of mental purity — in particular as someone who’s found CBT helpful for my mental health, mental purity is letting go of thoughts that do not serve me. It’s closely related to the concept of mindfulness and being present. I do have to kind of make an effort to detach it from the idea that “if you ever have an ‘impure’ or bad thought cross your mind, that means you’re tainted/corrupted” though, because I don’t think that’s helpful.

Witchblr question time.

Do you use the terms cleansing and purification?

Do you only use one of the two? Which one?

In your mind, how are the two terms different from each other?

If you do both, when and why do you do them? Do they go together, or do you do one more frequently than the other?

[raysshadows]

I am doing a spell.

Spells can look like a lot of different things. This is a simple fiber arts spell. (Fiber arts are so good for magic.) I have a bunch of embroidery floss, and I’m making a friendship bracelet using specific colors to symbolize ideas that I want to internalize more and manifest more in my life. And I’m doing it while listening to something connected to those ideas. When I’m done, I intend to wear it on my wrist as an ongoing reminder.

It’s a very simple spell. Putting intention into a thing you make is very basic magic. Using a spell to strengthen an intention is working with the very foundation of magic. It is good.

#when I knit scarves and stuff for other people #I put positive intentions for them into the knitting #magic #spell #witchy stuff #wait I was going to do this stuff on a side blog #oh well #wait I haven’t posted it yet I can do the side blog! #it is a stoicism friendship bracelet #I am tying knots in ‘study’ and ‘practice’ #and ‘your suffering arises from your perceptions’ #and ‘everyone dies sooner or later’ #and ‘courage’ and ‘cultivating virtue’ #technically it is not a friendship bracelet because it is not about friendship #but I don’t have a good alternative term