spellscript

[spellscript]

Day 1

What lead you to start practicing witchcraft?

[ original post | reblogged post for posterity ]

When I was little I’d “read” the light reflected on the bottom of pools and tell people the answer to their questions about the future. I’d sit in the grass and talk to bugs. Anything was an excuse to talk about fairies, draw fairies, dress up how I thought fairies dressed, look for fairies in the garden. The fairies stopped one day, and I don’t remember when or why.

Magic kept coming back to my mind, though. For a short time when I was 8 or so, I had a friend who grew up in a pagan household and spoke of tarot and astrology. I found Wicca a little later but quickly found out it wasn’t for me. In my teens, I lost my religion but found I had my dad’s knack for the “serendipitous.” He always told me that you simply had to say what you need, to put the idea of what you want out there, to the universe, and in one way or another you would get what you asked for. (I found out later he’s essentially been casting spells for ages.)

I suppose the catalyst was, in college, I found that a friend of a friend who was (and still is) openly a witch. I live in a conservative, religious part of the country, so this appeared to me as a precious rarity. Over time, I gained a little insight into how she practiced and what living magic was like. I started reading, searching, and evaluating. When I was finally brave enough to talk about it other people, I discovered I had other friends who were witches. I read more, searched more, evaluated more, and ultimately decided it was a good fit.

And now we’re here.

#31 Days of Secular Witchcraft

[spellscript]

a few small haunted houses.

#this is adorable and sweet #illustrations

[spellscript]

Intent and Tech Magic

Alright, I’m gonna ramble for a little bit about techno witchcraft again. Let’s talk about intent and programmed spells.

We say that a person can charge singular items, such as such as amulets, crystals, sigils, with intent. These things can be made of various materials, from paper to quartz, and they often have their own energies to contribute. Outside of the physical realm, one can charge words, dancing, art, song, and any number of representative actions with intent, and shielding can be seen as general energy being charged with a purpose.

Here’s my argument: computers are already by definition energetic systems. They’re complex machines run by electricity and logic. If one can call upon the wild energies of a thunderstorm, why couldn't one harness the controlled energies of a computer or smart phone (and if you really get into it, you can literally control the controlled energies of machines)?*

Furthermore, specific to programming: by planning and creating a program, you are investing your own energy in it -- you are investing a great deal of very focused energy into it, often for hours at a time.** Your intent is by nature crammed into that program already.

As for automation, long-lasting magic is something that exists already. If you weave a wreath that you hang over your door to protect your house from negative energy, how do you keep it there, a day, a week, a season? When was the last time you gave that old spell jar a shake? How long do your protective amulets last? What about that sigil you drew under your desk to reduce work anxiety? Often you can answer that with the question, how long did you mean for it to work?

Why can’t a spell you throw up in the cloud last for a while? If it didn’t, why couldn’t you check its magical pulse, so to speak, and charge it again? Or, why not make it a part of the spell to harness the energy generated by the server it’s on (remember, "The Cloud" is actually just tons of servers in a warehouse holding data)?

I’m still experimenting with all this myself (currently and always running tests on this to see what I can do), and these are just my thoughts based on my experience thus far. There’s certainly a lot more topics you can tackle branching from this: what implications do bugs and errors have on spells, which logical structures are best suited for which types of spells, is a spell best charged on completion or just before runtime***...the list goes on, all the more to explore!

--

* I’ve already said my piece on the natural vs unnatural argument. They're not the same, of course, but they're both certainly valid in their own applications.

** Granted, inevitable things like troubleshooting divert your attention for some amount of that time, so I generally charge it afterwards to pull the focus back together -- kind of like centering, but for the spell itself.

*** I'll go ahead and say just before runtime so you don't send out your intent with buggy code and cause yourself trouble and frustration of either the magical or non-magical variety. Testing is your friend.

#techno witch #tech witch #techno witchcraft #techno pagan #techno paganism #technowitch #techwitch #technowitchcraft #technopagan #technopaganism #urban witchcraft #modern witchcraft

[spellscript]

31 Days of Secular Witchcraft

Made for deuognatos but anyone is free to use it :)

________________________________________

Day 1: What lead you to start practicing witchcraft?

Day 2: Where do you draw inspiration for your practices?

Day 3: What do you call your “witchcraft”?

Day 4: Do you call yourself a witch? Why or why not?

Day 5: How do you see/define magic? Do you use magic?

Day 6: Do you practice divination? If so, what techniques? If not, why?

Day 7: Do you have any ethnics or moral codes that you follow? And to a lesser extent, your view on cursing/hexing?

Day 8: Does your family and/or friends know you practice witchcraft? 

Day 9: Do/Will you teach and practice witchcraft to your children? To others?

Day 10: Have you ever faced discrimination for your views on witchcraft or how you practice?

Day 11: Do you work with Sun/Moon/Rising signs? Why or why not?

Day 12: Do you work with seasons? Why or why not?

Day 13: Do you work with lunar cycles? Why or why not? Day 14: Do you use any items or tools that can be found around the household?

Day 15: Do you use any items of tools that aren’t normally found in households, and what are they?

Day 16: Do you use an altar or a special location for your practice?

Day 17: Have you used any “unconventional” items for your practice? 

Day 18: What has been the most resourceful place to look for improving your witchcraft?

Day 19: What has been the worst resource?

Day 20: Are you religious or spiritual? How has that influenced your practice?

Day 21: Have you used or considered using pop-culture in your practice?

Day 22: Have there been types of witchcraft you’ve explored but in the end rejected?

Day 23: What are your thoughts towards media’s portray of witchcraft? (ie: Harry Potter.) 

Day 24: Is there a popular witchcraft practice or belief that really irks you?

Day 25: Do you write your own spells?  

Day 26: First spell you did and why.

Day 27: Last spell you did and why.

Day 28: Favorite spell you found/wrote/used.

Day 29: Describe a time when a spell failed.

Day 30: Describe a time when a spell went better than expected.

Day 31: Piece of advice for anyone starting out?

#31 Days of Secular Witchcraft #will keep using that tag for reference

[spellscript]

I think Run > Python Shell opens a new window with the python shell without running the program. Give Run > Run Module (F5) a try.

@spellscript When I have any program open in IDLE and go Run> Python Shell nothing happens in the shell as a result.

It just suddenly started doing this, and I know that prior to this my programs ran fine and showed up in the shell (and I did not change anything in the code at all that might’ve broke the programs themselves).

I run on windows 7 if that’s relevant info at all.

#replies #digiwix

[spellscript]

on a light note, I’ve gone this long without having an altar but I think it’s about time to design one. it seems useful and lovely to have all your supplies in one place (originally my kitchen counter but I’m running out of space to put...my cooking stuff...). I’ll be creating my own altar cloth at some point (either painting it by hand or digitally creating and ordering off spoonflower), but for now I have some nice fabric I’ve picked up from a local store that’ll do just fine.

it’s really hard not to be really ambitious about this and try to apply every project idea I have at once, haha. the key for now is just to finish at small scale and then gadget-it-up incrementally.

I’ll post pictures/ideas as I go.

#now I just have to clean up my wreck of an apartment and put it...somewhere...... #blog thoughts and updates

[spellscript]

hello! I am looking for more tech witches to follow!

so if you post tech witchcraft, please reblog! :)

#reblog-follow post

[spellscript]

I’m very glad to hear from both of you! 

madstardust, I’ve seen a few people here and there who know how to code and I’ve spotted a code spell or two, just in my (limited) experience they’re pretty few and far between, so it’s encouraging to hear that you know/follow other coding witches. If any of them have witchcraft blogs (and are comfortable with them being shared), I’d love to follow them also.

tunturi-loitsija, that’s a really wonderful story, happy you shared. Your reasons were a little similar to mine, though I didn’t make the association with real magic until recently. It’s the same reasons why storytelling attracted me. The agency these practices can afford you is really empowering, in both a figurative and literal sense.

It’s comforting to know that even if this is a new-ish area I might not be practicing in a vacuum. Gonna see what I can contribute moving forward.

I’ve been kind of discouraged from the start by the weird disconnect between people using technology in the craft and people who have real knowledge of how the technology they’re using works. There’s next to no resources that bridge technology and the craft the way I’d expect, and I keep seeing people assigning these magical attributes to technology without understanding what the technology does.

I don’t want to discourage people from using technology and tech components as symbols in their craft – absolutely the opposite. I love that people are making electronic book of shadows, digital altars, online sigils that get passed around, all that, and I want to see more people learning and sharing.

But when I first saw “tech witch” I expected there to be more of a presence of mechanical engineers and programmers, or at least more people who had an interest in exploring the craft beyond cell phone sigils and saving charms in a text file and keeping it on a thumb drive. Those things are great and valid (and I’ve seen some really neat, simple ideas) but I was also hoping for some resources that are a little more advanced. Like programming wards into arduinos, running a tiny spell server over a raspberry pi, automated casting, that kind of thing.

Maybe I’m not looking in the right places? Does anyone out there know where this kind of stuff might be?

#replies #madstardust #tunturi-loitsija #really glad I posted because some neat people are replying #long post

[spellscript]

That’s a really fair point, I very likely expected too much from this community given the average age and experience (not to be rude, but it is what it is, and learning and gathering experience and exploring take time).

But I’ve been looking outside of tumblr as well and haven’t found any quality books or websites about it yet either. The ones I have found mention technology at only surface level as in...they have a website and they put things on it, or they use instant messaging to collaborate, or last Thursday they put a spell on their angry blender to make it work like it’s supposed to (again, useful and great, but not necessarily what I’m looking for). Or it’s left at “I can see how it could be done!” Or it’s used as an eye-catching one-off article about programming from an outsider’s perspective to both worlds, “coding = witchcraft because it’s something people don’t understand! you know, like that one quote by that Clarke guy.” Wide range of ages, plenty of adulting, not a lot of results.

You might be right about the “yet” part. Maybe it’s too new a concept. Technology is only very recently as accessible as it is (past few decades of people having personal computers and the internet vs the many centuries of magic in cultures around the world). Or maybe interests don’t cross over. What attracts people to witchcraft -- at least of the traditional variety -- doesn’t necessarily attract people to study tech, vice versa.

I dunno, I could speculate all day. Just gonna keep looking and see if I can piece anything together over time. 

(Best of luck to you in your studies!)

I’ve been kind of discouraged from the start by the weird disconnect between people using technology in the craft and people who have real knowledge of how the technology they’re using works. There’s next to no resources that bridge technology and the craft the way I’d expect, and I keep seeing people assigning these magical attributes to technology without understanding what the technology does.

I don’t want to discourage people from using technology and tech components as symbols in their craft – absolutely the opposite. I love that people are making electronic book of shadows, digital altars, online sigils that get passed around, all that, and I want to see more people learning and sharing.

But when I first saw “tech witch” I expected there to be more of a presence of mechanical engineers and programmers, or at least more people who had an interest in exploring the craft beyond cell phone sigils and saving charms in a text file and keeping it on a thumb drive. Those things are great and valid (and I’ve seen some really neat, simple ideas) but I was also hoping for some resources that are a little more advanced. Like programming wards into arduinos, running a tiny spell server over a raspberry pi, automated casting, that kind of thing.

Maybe I’m not looking in the right places? Does anyone out there know where this kind of stuff might be?

#actually jk about the blender thing if anybody has a regular spell on how to make a garbage disposal do its job I'm all ears #but yeah I definitely expected a minority inside a minority #which might be foolish but one can dream

[spellscript]

torimor answered your question: I’ve been kind of discouraged from the start by...

i feel the same way honestly?? let me know if you figure that out because im really not into online sigils or usb drive charms like….the raspberry pi server sounds rly cool though

I’ll definitely let you know if I find any resources. I’m going to compile as much as I possibly can on this blog. There’ll still be pretty basic things posted here as well as non-magic tech tutorials I find that have potential, but if I do find existing advanced resources that blend magic and tech, I will sound the alarm as loudly as I can.

--

thetrashiestoftrash replied to your post: I’ve been kind of discouraged from the start by...

I used to know a guy, but he’s kind of disappeared. I think the overlap between programmers and witches is very slim. Tbh it’s what I’m looking for in techno witchcraft because I don’t have the technical knowledge to know where to start.

If you’ve got something technical in particular you’re interested in I can find some existing (albeit non-magic) tutorials that can help you build a foundation if you’d like, and if you’ve ever got programming questions, give me a shout. I have the tech experience, I just don’t have the magic experience to call myself an expert.

#replies #torimor #thetrashiestoftrash

[spellscript]

I’ve been kind of discouraged from the start by the weird disconnect between people using technology in the craft and people who have real knowledge of how the technology they’re using works. There’s next to no resources that bridge technology and the craft the way I’d expect, and I keep seeing people assigning these magical attributes to technology without understanding what the technology does.

I don’t want to discourage people from using technology and tech components as symbols in their craft -- absolutely the opposite. I love that people are making electronic book of shadows, digital altars, online sigils that get passed around, all that, and I want to see more people learning and sharing.

But when I first saw “tech witch” I expected there to be more of a presence of mechanical engineers and programmers, or at least more people who had an interest in exploring the craft beyond cell phone sigils and saving charms in a text file and keeping it on a thumb drive. Those things are great and valid (and I’ve seen some really neat, simple ideas) but I was also hoping for some resources that are a little more advanced. Like programming wards into arduinos, running a tiny spell server over a raspberry pi, automated casting, that kind of thing.

Maybe I’m not looking in the right places? Does anyone out there know where this kind of stuff might be?

#tech witchcraft #techno witchcraft #tech witch #techwitch #techno witch #technowitch #technowitchcraft #modern witchcraft #urban witchcraft

[spellscript]

Reblog if you are a techno witch and want to be listed on Witch Connect.

Not a techno witch and still want to be listed? Send me a message. 

#reblog-follow post #tech witch here!

[spellscript]

New project, Witch and Witchcraft inspired patterns! I had a lot of fun drawing out each little item and making them all into a repeating half drop pattern. (The Death’s Head Moth is my favorite.) Next up are ones for a Green Witch, City Witch, and Kitchen Witch.

Pictured above are the zippered pouch and mini journal, both of which have been hand screenprinted with a metallic teal ink. There’s a purple option too, over on my Etsy shop!

#ah!! this is adorable #witchy shops #reblog

[spellscript]

Watch: This guy built Thor’s hammer IRL, that only he can lift.

#imagine a magnetic ward with a thumbprint scanner #project ideas #reblog

[spellscript]

Hey all, it’s been a while. Long story short, life and work got very very busy and I’ve barely had time for myself for a good while. This week I’ve finally had some time off though, and moving forward it looks like I’ll have some breathing room.

As far as spellcasting and general witchery it’s been pretty rough. I’ve had to stick with keeping up my basic-basic-basic energy work during my work breaks just to keep the ball rolling, and I’m reasonably sure stress has been making what few spells I’ve squeezed in the middle fizzle. Gonna try to build myself back up over the next few weeks with some research (recreational reading, how I’ve missed you) and simple spells -- gotta reduce the variables to get a baseline.

I’ve still got a truckload of asks from before all this, and I’m truly sorry for the delay! I’m going to hold onto them until I’m back on my feet.

That said...back to posting!

#blog thoughts and updates

[spellscript]

magical girl month - week 2

lantern magic!

join us next week! https://streak.club/s/414/magical-girl-streak

#reblog #illustrations

[spellscript]

Do you set up altars for spells only or have it all the time?

i usually have a permanent altar in my bedroom, and then put together temporary altars for spells, rituals, and holidays as well.

here is the altar in my bedroom right now:

here are some past altars i’ve had in my room:

and here are some holiday/spell altars that were temporary:

also you can see more of my temporary altars here, here, and here.

#altars and displays #reblog