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tenleaguesbeneath · 11 months

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Random thoughts toward a D&D-alike attribute generation system:

Things I like from 3d6-in-order:

You don’t meet your character until you generate them. Rather than coming up with a character concept and fitting it into the rules (or bringing in a preexisting character and importing them), you learn about your character through the process of generating them.

Characters have unexpected strengths; a character is not entirely predictable from their class.

Things I don’t like:

Tends to generate mediocre and boring characters. Very high odds of getting all/almost all stats in the 9-12 range, which is boring.

Can generate unbalanced parties

Basically everything else

A thing I’m neutral on:

Not knowing your character class until you roll

So!

I’m thinking about something using card draws. You get a certain number of draws, and every draw adds a minor positive feature to your character, or possibly negates a negative one.

I think I’d line the suits up with classes. Going with the classic four, Diamonds-Thieves and Hearts-Clerics are the obvious pairings; the tarot suit equivalents suggest Spades-Fighters (Swords) and Clubs-Mages (Wands). Arguably, the tarot suits could be used all around; coins for thieves and cups for clerics, but that leaves a question of what to do with the major arcana (tbh, probably best left out).

Then each card in each suit needs to be assigned an ability. Probably I would use enough draws in character creation that abilities don’t have to be exactly balanced (it’ll average out over enough draws) but none of them can be too powerful for a first-level character to have.

How many draws? Five is probably too few, thirteen (a full bridge hand) is probably too many.

For abilities, I’m thinking:

Spades:

Always-on bonus to melee damage (replaces the bonus from a high strength score)

Always-on to-hit bonuses

Extra HP (replaces the bonus from a high constitution score)

Better starting equipment (yeah, this one gets obsoleted pretty fast, but it helps you survive long enough to obsolete it)

Weapon specialization?

Hearts:

Auspicious divine influence?

AD&D’s only bonus spells were a cleric-only thing for high wisdom. I could see having it give spell slots that, for non-clerics, can only be used for certain spells. especially for healing spells.

I’d put any destiny stuff here, too. If your character is prophesied for something or cursed in some way, that’s a hearts thing.

Really though anything to do with clerics depends pretty deeply on how clerics work and I’m not happy with that.

Diamonds:

Stealth bonus (importantly, this applies whether or not you’re a thief)

Bonus vs surprise attacks?

Criminal contacts?

Clubs:

Otherworldly contacts

Chance to understand strange languages

Improved chances to identify magic/if you’re using classic-style chance to learn spell rolls, improved chances there (D&D3 equivalent would be a spellcraft skill bonus)

If I’m doing the AD&D2 thing where specialist wizards are rare, some might be empty prerequisites (drawing the 4 of clubs during character creation means you can specialize in evocation but if you don’t play a wizard it doesn’t do anything else)

I might also consider penalties (analogous to low-stat penalties) for short suits. If you have no clubs in your chargen hand, you’re illiterate, for instance, With a lot of draws, I might include penalties for singletons as well, not just voids.

I might also consider some chance for bonuses for pairs, threes, and four of a kinds, but probably only for face cards. Any bonuses that exist for those are things that only some characters are getting without other characters getting an equivalent, with the only “cost” being that you have to be spread a little thin to have them (not counting the luck needed to draw them)

If I go the tarot route, I’d have major arcana add significant benefits, but at a tradeoff. Some of them might just straight-up have “get this, lose this,” while others would have something like “pick another card you’ve drawn from this character to lose and get this, or lose this card,” but what they offer I’d make pretty wild.

#tenleagues musings

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khaire-traveler · 1 year

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General Witchcraft Masterpost

Info & Tips

"Easy Kitchen Replacements" tip

"Broke Witch Tips - Magic On A Budget" tip

"Alternative Uses For Tarot Cards" info

"Substitutions, Reworking, & Personalizing Spells" info

"Plant Magic: Sigil Charging" info

"Five Tips For A Poor Witch!" tip

"Closeted Craft Tips" tip

"New Age Manifesting vs. Spellcraft Manifesting" info

"Intention Is Not All That Matters" info

"Losing Faith" answered ask

"Magic Takes Actual Energy" reminder

"Knot Magic" info

"Who Tells You Not To Practice Witchcraft" info

Spell Creation

"How Can We Create Our Own Spells" info

"A Guide To Spell Writing" info

"Creating You Own Spell" info

"Candle Color Meanings" info - UPG

"Song Lyrics" tip

"7 Day Spell Crafting Practice" tip

Casting Advice

"Before You Cast - Some Things To Think About" info

"When To Cast A Spell - By Time Of Day" info - UPG

"When To Cast A Spell - By Weekdays" info - UPG

"Sunrise Magic" info - UPG

Spell Ingredients

"Common Spell Ingredients" info

"Unconventional & Affordable Ingredients For Spells" info

"List Of Poisonous Herbs" info

"Top 10 Herbs For Lazy Witches" info

"Herbs For Magical Teas" info

"Resources For Herbs & Safety" info

"83 Herbs & Their Magical Properties" info

"Types Of Water & Their Uses" info

#witchcraft #witchblr #witch tips #spellwork #witch blog #witches of tumblr

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fernthewhimsical · 1 year

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Witchcraft "Lesson Plan" Part 3

More info on this plan and how to use it here Part 1 Part 2

Below the cut you will find: XII Ritual Tools XIII Basic Ritual Magic XIV Types of Magic: attracting and repelling magic XV Types of Magic: Ceremonial magic and Talisman magic XVI Types of magic: Sympathetic magic and Nature magic XVII Types of Magic: Divination Magic XVIII Types of Magic: Beyond the Basics

XII Ritual Tools

the What, why, who, where, and when of ritual tools

Primary Tools: athame, book of shadows, wand, chalice, and pentacle

Secondary Tools: boline, broom, cauldron, cords, staff, sword

Other tools: incense holder, the scourge, sickle, elemental and deity representations, etc.

Keeping and taking care of tools

Psychodrama

XIII Basic Ritual Magic

the three C’s: Cleansing, Consecrating, and Charging

Spiritual Self-defense

Basic Spellcraft (writing your own spells)

Magical alphabets

Trancework

Personal deity vs. deity for a specific goal

XIV Types of Magic: attracting and repelling magic

What is attracting magic?

What is repelling magic?

Different types and examples

Important works/influences

How to perform an effective attracting of repelling spell

Healing magic: details and techniques

XV Types of Magic: Ceremonial magic and Talisman magic

History of Ceremonial magic

Important works/influences

Basics of Ceremonial magic

History of Talisman magic

Talisman vs. Amulet

Sigils and Bindrunes

How to make a talisman or amulet

XVI Types of magic: Sympathetic magic and Nature magic

Herbal magic

Crystal magic

Tree magic

Weather- and seasonal magic

Sun- and Moon magic

cycles of the day/ the year/ the moon/ astrology

Planetary magic and correspondences

Animal magic

Color magic

Candle magic

Ley lines and places of power

Alchemy

Astrology

Poppet magic

Using blood in ritual

XVII Types of Magic: Divination Magic

Tarot and Oracle Cards

Runes

Pendulums and dowsing

Scrying

Ouija- and Spiritboards

Palmreading

Numerology

XVIII Types of Magic: Beyond the Basics

Astral Travel

Shapeshifting

Aspecting Deity (deity possession)

Using fiction in Ritual

Pop-culture magic

Mental rituals/temples

Techno- and Cybermagic

Traditional magic

Art magic

#witch #witchcraft #paganism #witchblr #lessonplan #grimoire topics #witchcraft basics #research

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that-cunning-witch · 1 year

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What happened to (almost) all of my altars?

TLDR: I’m taking a break from worshipping/working with all of my deities and focusing on figuring out my craft, spirituality, and religion. I’m not going away forever :^)

The end of a year is a time of shedding old habits, ways, thoughts, beliefs, and self to welcome new knowledge and ways of being.

As 2022 is coming to a close, I’ve come to realize that my spiritual/religious beliefs are all over the place and not in a good way. I’ve shifted what I believe in over the years and I’ve not done a single proper cleansing/exorcising of these old beliefs, so they’ve just lingered on my altar of self and have collected dust, bringing in more and more dull and negative energy over the years.

I have unresolved religious trauma, I have ancestors I haven’t talked to in years, I’ve been letting my bad habits taint my relationships with deities and spirits.

So as of today, I am letting go of all of my deities... for the time being. Not in a possessive manner, no, as one can never “own” a deity’s time and energy. But rather, I’m no longer going to be worshipping them or working with them.

Will I abandon them forever? Probably not.

Think of it like the Hermit card in tarot. This is my Hermit moment.

I need to get my shit together and figure out what I truly believe in. When I come back, things may be totally different.

Will I still use electronic altars, or e-altars? Who knows. The reason why I use them in the first place is because I don’t have space nor the accessibility to do so, as I am a college student living in the dorms with other people.

Am I abandoning the Greek pantheon? Absolutely not. Queen Persephone is my patroness, so even if I don’t go back to worshipping Apollo, Hekate, Aphrodite, or Eros, I will still be worshipping my patron... or patroness. Whichever one it is.

I’m making this post for two reasons:

1) To update everyone on why nearly all of my blogs are now password protected and titled “this altar has been taken down”. 2) To show others that it’s okay to do something like this.

What about this blog, the main one? That’s a good question. I’ll let everyone know once I figure it out.

What is my spiritual path looking like at this point in time? (Not that you need to know, but I’m writing this down so I can look back on it, kind of like a public diary).

Take cunning folk magic, aka english/british folk magic, replace the anglo-saxon pantheon with the greek pantheon, and remove everything christian except for the angels. Perhaps ancestors will be in the mix, but that may be even further down the line.

Once I get my spiritual shit together, I will explain every part of my craft and why. Why the greek pantheon, why cunning folk magic, why only angels, etc.

This blog never had the intention of getting followers. I wanted to honor, worship, and work with the deities I was with at the time, and this was the only way I knew how.

But for those who did follow me, thank you for deciding that you wanted to take a peek into my craft. I want to make the main blog more active, with book recs, spellcrafting, personal experiences, and more.

So goodbye 2022, and hello 2023.

#irl #real life #update #witchcraft #witchblr #greek pantheon #hellenism #angels #angel work #folk magic #cunning folk magic #cunning folk #english folk #british folk #magic #pagan #polytheism

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thewitchchallenge · 2 years

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Ideas! (2022)

A list of ideas for the challenge. This post will be edited if ideas are used or discarded.

Note: I understand that not everyone has time or energy for these, especially with upcoming school. You do not have to do all of them, or even an activity. As well as this, these prompts can be done any time of the year, so if you want to save them for later, go ahead.

August 2022

Theme: Protection Magic, And Slowing Down

Week one will be from August 7-13, solely because the actual first week is almost over by the time of writing this.

(August 7-13) Week One Study Topics:

Basics, and all about you!

Monday: What witchy topics interest you?

Tuesday: What are closed practices, examples, and why they are closed

Wednesday: What do you want to incorporate into your craft right now? (See Monday)

Thursday: What are you most excited for in this challenge? Do you have any suggestions?

Friday: You correspondences (birth tarot card, numerology, birth chart) (do not show this to anyone)

Sunday + Saturday: Break + catch up days!

(August 7-13) Week One Activities:

A page/spread on what interest you ('fancy' decoration is optional, but encouraged!)

(August 14-20) Week Two Study Topics:

Basics of Spellcraft and Protection Magic

Monday: What are the basics of cleansing?

Tuesday: What is the 'anatomy' of a spell? (i.e. what is the key parts of a spell and how does each of them work?)

Wednesday: What is protection magic? What are the types of protection magic? (Hint: one of them is an activity)

Thursday: What are some correspondences for protective magic you will be using (e.g. herbs, crystals, candles, colours, timing, etc.)

Friday: Different types of spells, and how to construct a spell.

Sunday + Saturday: Break + catch up days!

(August 14-20) Week Two Activities:

(Note: You can do all or just one activity. Or in-between.)

Setting up Wards

A page/spread on protective correspondences ('fancy' decoration is optional, but encouraged!)

Onion Braid for Protection (see how to braid an onion post)

Cleanse your house/room and tools

(August 21-27) Week Three Study Topics:

Slowing Down

Monday: How do you incorporate witchcraft into your self-care practices?

Tuesday: What are some correspondences for self-love and self-care magic?

Wednesday: What are some low-effort spells or other magic that anyone can do at anytime?

Thursday: Basics of meditation + grounding

Sunday + Friday + Saturday: Break + catch up days!

(August 21-27) Week Three Activities:

(Note: You can do all or just one activity. Or in-between.)

Make a tarot/oracle spread for self care.

A page/spread on self-love correspondences ('fancy' decoration is optional, but encouraged!)

Cleanse yourself

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cryptcreechur · 2 years

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hey i know this is sort of an. out of nowhere question. but i cant find anywhere else and scientific resources just. seem to ignore whatever this is so im kinda desperate lol.

i keep having premonitions in my dreams. im not actively doing anything to have premonitions but talking to and doing some readings with my tarot and playing card decks. i barely use my crystals for anything but charging and cleansing the two of them. i cleanse my house with sage sometimes but i dont do any spellcraft besides that. the most i do to open up mentally is mess around trying to tell my friends how many fingers theyre holding up over discord and i only get that right like 30% of the time lol

but before my grandmother died, i asked my playing cards if her most recent decline in health was the sign of the end, and he gave me a definitive yes- 3 days later, she's gone. i appreciated the warning and thanked him for the help even if it did hurt really bad in the moment to pull that ace of spades and hear him say "yes, im so sorry." just recently, i had a dream about going to my grand aunt's funeral. a day later, my mom calls me and tells me she's gone- i didnt say anything about this dream since i was hoping it... yknow. was just a dream. didnt ask my cards about it. i didnt know her very well and hadnt been reminded of her in a while, so it freaked me out when i got the call and just.... knew already.

ive been having incidents like this happen in increasing frequency and its starting to get concerning since im not really the most in tune with my spiritual side so i dont get why this is happening? id really appreciate any second opinion, and i thank you in advance for just. reading this, haha

first of all, please don't feel like you're doing something wrong or out of the ordinary by having these. while it is scary and confusing, it seems like it's natural for you. i have premonition dreams as well, though theyve declined in frequency as my mental health has declined as well, but mine started coming around a lot when people or pets were about to die, or when something life-changing was going to happen. i was a preteen when i remember them starting and being frequent, so i definitely wasn't doing any intentional spellwork back then - it just happened.

premonitions are something that can occur with ease for some people, or with training and practice with others. that's how all clairsence works.

unfortunately, i dont know how to stop or lessen premonitions - the only thing that's ever worked for me was getting extremely depressed and on the edge of suicide, so i definitely don't recommend that. at all. but, i don't think you should try to shut it out. it can be scary, especially with what you're getting right now, and i understand.

journal your dreams. all of them. every morning as soon as you wake up and have a sip of water, bust out your nearest empty spiral bound notebook and write everything you can remember. even if its only one thing, or nothing. or a whole lot of something. i found that often, the act of writing out your dream can help you remember it even better.

dream journaling helps you keep track of what you know and what you don't, and you can practice dream interpretation if you feel like it (a lot of my premonitory dreams weren't so cut and dry as seeing a funeral, it would be something deeply symbolic, like a once dead deer suddenly rising and bursting into ash). aside from that, dream journaling can help improve memory and focus, and might even help you learn how to lucid dream.

also, i would consider asking your parents (if able) if they have or had premonitory dreams as well. when mine were first appearing, i was scared and worried, and i asked my mum about it, and she told me she has premonition dreams too, as did her mum, and her mum before her. it runs in our family, and when i spoke to friends that also claimed premonitory dreams, in ran in their families too. perhaps the elders in your family have some advice as well. premonitory dreams aren't inherently a spiritual thing, or limited to one spirituality - they happen in all religions and all walks of life whether spiritual or not.

thank you for sending me this ask, i hope this helped. please feel free to message me or send more asks if you have any other questions.

blessed be <3

#premonitions #premonitory dream #dream interpretation #dreams #magick #witchcraft #baby witch #witch community #witches of tumblr #heathenry #pagan witch #norse paganism #paganism

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ravensoddshoppe · 6 months

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About Me:

Enchanting spirits with over a decade of experience in the mystical arts, I'm a passionate practitioner of eclectic paganism and a devoted nonbinary witch. As a disabled individual, I've found solace, strength, and boundless inspiration in my craft. Tarot, runework, sigilcrafting, and more - I've dabbled in many areas of witchcraft. For more info about me and my craft, click here.

Click below for more about what you'll see here, as well as what services I offer.

My Services:

Looking for guidance, insight, or some magical inspiration? I'm here to assist you on your spiritual journey. Check out the services I offer, including tarot readings, sigil commissions, and more.

🌙 Tarot Readings: Gain clarity and insight into your life's questions and challenges.

🔑 Sigil Commissions: Unlock the power of personalized sigils for your intentions.

📖 Personalized Tarot Spreads: Don't worry about finding the perfect spread - I'll help you make one!

Discover all this and more on my KoFi page, and stay tuned for a special announcement about my monthly membership options, coming soon! 🔮🌟 For more info about my services, click here.

Posting Schedule:

On Mondays, we’ll be sharing personal reflections and writing-related topics for our “Monday Musings” series. Tune in for insights and inspiration on writing and creativity.

Tuesdays are all about Tarot! Join us for “Tarot Tuesday” as we debut new spreads, tarot readings, and discussions about tarot and how the cards help us on our spiritual journey.

Wednesdays are for witches from all walks of life, with “Witchcraft Wednesday” where we’ll be delving into the depth of witchcraft, unravelings its mysteries and empowering you on your magical journey.

We’ll be taking Thursdays off to recharge, but we’ll be back on Friday with a lineup of engaging posts! Join us for “Friday Faves” where we’ll be sharing our favorite witchy/spiritual items, books, or tools of the week and invite our followers to share theirs. Plus, we’ll be bringing you updates about our spiritual journey and business news.

On Saturdays, we’ll be debuting new sigils and discussing the power of sigilwork in our “Sigil Saturday” series.

On Sundays, we’ll be delving into the enchanting world of spells with “Spellcraft Sunday,” which will detail the various aspects of spellcrafting to help you elevate your spells and manifest your desires.

#about me #witchblr #witches of tumblr #eclectic witch #witchy services #post schedule

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samwisethewitch · 4 years

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a real witch reviews the arcana (aka that phone game based on tarot cards that keeps showing up on your explore page)

I’ve been seeing The Arcana all over Tumblr and Instagram for several months now, and since I am a Genuine Real Life Witch™️ and have been reading tarot for several years now, I thought it would be fun to play the game and review it both from a gamer perspective and a witch/tarot reader perspective.

Spoiler: I really, really like it.

Please note that I have done virtually no research into the developer or development history of this game. This review is based purely on my experience from my playthroughs.

So what is The Arcana?

The Arcana is a fantasy/romance visual novel created by Nix Hydra Games. A visual novel is an interactive, text-based story with static visuals, so it’s almost more like an interactive graphic novel than a video game. Honestly, visual novels remind me of those “Choose Your Own Adventure” books that were really popular in the 1980s and 1990s more than anything else.

(Note: I recently learned that a visual novel is NOT the same thing as a dating sim, although the two genres are similar and do sometimes overlap. Dating sims... simulate dating. That’s really all there is to them. Visual novels typically have a more plot-focused story, and may have other stuff going on besides the romance.)

The story of The Arcana follows the player character, a magician’s apprentice living in the fictional city-state of Vesuvia, who is enlisted to track down a suspected murderer. Where the story goes from there depends on which route you choose to play. There are currently six routes, each with a different love interest. Each route has its own unique story, although obviously there are some overlapping elements.

Sam the Gamer’s Review

Like I mentioned, The Arcana is essentially an interactive novel, so I’m reviewing it the way I’d review a book. So, let’s just run down some of the typical book review questions, shall we?

Is the content good? Yes. It has gotta be difficult to juggle six parallel storylines and make all of them equally compelling, but this game pulls it off. There were parts that genuinely had me in suspense, other parts that had me giggling at my phone, and some parts that were (intentionally) frustrating. I’m really impressed with how each route is totally different from the others -- not just in content, but even in tone. For example, Portia’s route comes across as much more lighthearted and fluffy, whereas Julian and Muriel both have a lot of angst in their respective stories. It’s really well done.

Are the characters well-rounded and realistic? Again, yes. Okay, “realistic” may be a bit of a stretch in some cases Vlastomil but all six of the main romanceable characters have fleshed out personalities that feel natural within the story world. The side characters in this game are also really interesting, although I do wish some of them had bigger roles in the story.

What about the technical stuff (dialogue, grammar, etc.)? For the most part, it’s pretty good. The dialogue flows naturally, and different characters have different speaking styles, which is a little thing that makes SUCH a big difference. I noticed a couple of typos, but nothing too crazy.

The gameplay was pretty good. The only real mechanic is choosing one of two or three dialogue options at certain points in the game. There are a couple of places in each route where these choices are timed, but other than that it’s a very stress-free gaming experience.

Another thing that impresses me from both a writing and a gameplay angle is the multiple ending mechanic. Your choices matter in this game. Each of the routes has an “upright” ending and a “reversed” ending. I’m not exactly sure which choices affect the ending you get, but I’ve only managed to get “upright” endings so far, and I didn’t have to do anything special to unlock them.

Sam the Witch/Tarot Reader’s Review

Honestly, I did not expect this game to be as accurate with its depiction of magick and the Tarot as it was.

Each character is based on one of the Major Arcana, and I feel like they did a really good job of matching their personalities to their cards. Nadia is based on the High Priestess so she’s very intuitive and intelligent but tends to be distant and hard to read, Julian is based on the Hanged Man so he feels the need to sacrifice himself for others (with lots of gallows humor along the way), Lucio is based on the Devil so he’s a fucking bitch all about power and excess, etc.

I reeeeaaalllyy like the use of “upright” and “reversed” endings instead of the typical good vs. bad endings -- based on upright vs. reversed meanings of Tarot cards, of course. I also really love that the reversed endings aren’t 100% negative, just like how reversed cards in readings aren’t necessarily negative.

I don’t wanna spoil anything, but I also really like how the upright endings deal with the upright traits of that character’s Major Arcana card, while the reversed endings deal with the reversed traits of that card.

This game also includes some pretty realistic depictions of witchcraft and magick. Obviously because it’s a fantasy world there is fantasy magic involved, but astral travel is a major theme in pretty much every route, and the way it’s depicted in the game is very similar to my real life experiences with it.

There’s one character who is a kitchen witch and makes homemade enchanted food with magickal herbs, which made me feel warm and fuzzy because it reminded me of all the times I’ve used kitchen magick to make charmed food for myself and my loved ones.

Tarot readings are obviously a big deal within the story world, but there’s also a character who uses runestones! Which I think is neat!!

They mention some real-life magickal plants. Myrrh being used for protection comes up a lot, which, in case anyone was curious, is actually one of the common uses for myrrh in spellcraft.

They clearly did their research and honestly I’m thrilled.

Other Cool Stuff About This Game

It’s probably the most queer-inclusive video game I’ve ever played. Right off the bat, you’re given the choice to choose between he/him, she/her, or they/them pronouns for your character. The pronouns you pick do not affect the story in any way.

All six love interests are romanceable no matter what gender you play as. Which means this is canonically a universe in which everyone is queer. Hell yeah.

Two of the six current romanceable characters are women, and one is nonbinary. The routes for these characters are just as well written and romantic, with just as many wink-wink-nudge-nudge innuendos, as the men’s. There are also multiple nonbinary side characters.

Also! Racial and ethnic diversity in the main cast! And the main characters all have different body types, which is another nice touch.

This is nerdy as hell but I love how the different cultures and ethnic groups in the game are based on real-life cultures? It’s just one of those little things that makes my heart happy.

The art style is pretty as fuck.

In conclusion: I feel like this review is overwhelmingly positive but I just genuinely can’t think of any major criticisms of this game. It’s fun, it’s free, there was clearly a lot of thought put into it. I was really pleasantly surprised. Everybody go download it and play it. You’ll have a good time, and afterwards you’ll understand all the memes.

P.S. I know people are gonna ask so: I chose Julian for my first playthrough because he’s tall and goth and has messy hair and that’s honestly all I look for in a man. Now that I’ve played all six routes, Portia’s is probably my favorite because it’s so cute and wholesome and I just really want a soft bookworm girlfriend, please. Lucio’s route is a close second because after seeing him as an antagonist in everyone else’s routes it’s actually really interesting to see his story told from a sympathetic angle! But like I said, I’ve played all six routes.

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theladysexpistol · 4 years

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Ok so i have this thought like La Squadra's reaction to their s/o being a witch and have a hellhound familiar please ?

Man you guys keep bringing up things I forget to say I LOVE and am ECSTATIC to write about! I love paranormal/occult stuff!! I was in a paranormal club in college undergrad and we did ghost investigations, had psychics come and guest speak, spent nights talking about cryptids and aliens and all kinds of conspiracies... it was amazing!! We’ve talked about witches and hellhounds loads of times!!

I really, really had a lot of fun with this one 😈

~~~

Risotto

- The first thing that caught his eye about his s/o was their asethetic. In what I can only describe as like, witchy goth, with a big black dog. He’s a fan.

- Ris thought they were just into the occult stuff, figured they probably were into astrology and tarot cards and crystals and such.

- Here’s how im imagining he finds out: a rival gang learns his s/o is dating Risotto, the capo of the hitman team. His team has probably killed a lot of rival gang members. So naturally, they’re gonna target his s/o. Risotto learns about the plot and goes to rescue them, only to find their big Rottweiler-looking dog spitting fire and moving like a shadow, while his s/o chants in some demonic/ancient language and puts a curse on their attacker.

- Honestly? Risotto’s totally into it.

- I mean I would say his Stand is pretty violent honestly, the way he makes razor blades and needles and scalpels pop out of his victim’s own blood. So the witch stuff wouldn’t bother him in the slightest.

- In fact it probably makes their relationship a little more, idk kinky? His s/o is probably very interested in the ways he can manipulate blood, both for their witchy spellcrafting and on a sexual pleasure level

- Risotto keeps his s/o a secret, from his team but that’s mostly to keep them from the boss. He knows the boss would probably try to use them for his own gain, and Ris is not interested in letting the boss get a hand on them. His s/o could be his advantage in taking down the boss, too.

- The two of them are an absolute power couple. You cannot beat them when they’re together. That’s not including the hellhound either. Witchy s/o and Ris would have demolished anyone in the Bucci gang, unless they were like all fighting together against the two of them.

Formaggio

- Again, Formaggio was probably really drawn in by the s/o’s witchy goth asethetic. He’s kinda dumb.

- Formaggio is a cat guy, so he doesn’t like their familiar at first. Especially because it’s a big, scary looking dog.

- But the hellhound reflects its master’s feelings, and as soon as they feel affection toward Formaggio it will too.

- Formaggio finds out when he’s showing his s/o his Stand. He shrinks himself and they think at first he’s a witch too. Formaggio is very confused; he’s only known Stands. He didn’t know witches were real.

- But he likes that they can shrink things too, and that they definitely don’t think his Stand is useless (the way the rest of his team seems to think)

- Is probably now even more afraid of the hellhound now knowing it’s a hellhound that could roast him alive, but figures as long as he doesn’t break his s/o’s heart he’s probably safe

- He tries to brag about them at least to Illuso for sure, the smug bastard. Most of the team doesn’t believe him, except Pesci and Melone.

- Would absolutely let them try out spells and curses on him. He strikes me as an adrenaline junkie. As long as he gets rewarded for it 😏

Illuso

- Okay I’ll be honest I guess since this is the third one I’m like “he’d be into the asethetic” I guess I just imagine most of the hitman team would absolutely be into goth/punk. Also witchy goth is just very hot okay and that’s what I’m imagining here

- Illuso finds out very quickly they’re a witch because he uses his mirror world to spy on them

- After a couple times of doing that though, the hellhound starts to sense his presence

- Finally his s/o is straight up like “I don’t know how you’re here Illuso, but I know you’re here. Come out and maybe we can get a little alone time together 😉”

- He comes out of the mirror and honestly they’re more shocked than he was when he learned they were a witch

- But they’re also incredibly intrigued and would probably want to try and go into the mirror world. Think of all the information they could gather on people they want to hex

- The two of them are a mischevious, trouble-making couple and fit together almost a little too perfectly

- Like Formaggio I think with a little encouragement I think he would be willing to be a test subject for his s/o

- Unlike Formaggio he loves the hellhound. He really wants to see it in action.

Prosciutto

- Okay first boy not interested in the asethetic at first

- I imagine witchy approached him first. There was something about him they really liked - that intense, cold expression in his eyes, they could tell what he did as his job from a glance

- Prosciutto agreed to go on a date with them to determine if they were a threat to Passione - most importantly, his team - that needed to be taken out or if they were harmless

- Halfway through the date Prosciutto is thinking they’re dangerous and he’ll have to kill them so he brings out his Stand but as he does the hellhound appears from the shadows and growls at him for threatening its master. Witchy sighs and explains to him that they’re a witch. I don’t think they’d necessarily be hiding it, just that they know most people would probably be freaked out by it

- Prosciutto is intrigued and continues to go on dates with them. Next thing he realizes is he’s in love.

- Did they slip him a potion? He’ll never know

- Prosciutto is extremely protective of his s/o. He worries that if anyone finds out they’re a witch they’ll be attacked by a mob or something.

- For that reason he and the hellhound get along pretty well. They’re both interested in protecting his s/o

- The hellhound still likes Pesci the most though

Melone

- Okay back to boys who were drawn in by the asethetic, except it’s like 1000x worse than the others for Melone

- At first he thinks it’s like, oh they’d make a great host for Babyface. Then he realizes no, he’s like really attracted to them himself, not because of his Stand

- Melone has a weird taste in like science and experimentation, I think his s/o would be pretty comfortable early on in the relationship telling him they’re a witch

- He is the most enthusiastic about being used as his s/o’s guinea pig. Honestly probably gets a little turned on by it.

- Not the biggest fan of the hellhound, but they respect one another’s place in his s/o’s life

- Because the thing his Stand creates is a homunculus, I think his s/o would also be very interested in his abilities as well

- The two of them are just experimenting left and right, helping one another as they push the limits on their abilities. It’s like putting two mad scientists together. Eventually they’re gonna create a monster thats unstoppable lol

Ghiaccio

- Another one I think witchy would approach first, similar to Prosciutto because they can see the eyes of a killer in him, but also because he’s just pure rage. It intrigued them

- Ghiaccio likes them because they don’t tell him to shut up and they just let him fully rage and destroy things, watching him the whole time and comforting him when he needs it

- The hellhound likes him too. Ghiaccio’s anger is very familiar to his demonic roots

- He’s probably not going to find out for a while that they’re a witch. It’s not that his s/o didn’t feel comfortable telling him, it’s just that there wasn’t really a good way to bring it up.

- Honestly they probably witness him use White Album first, and think he’s also a witch, and that’s how he finds out

- Ghiaccio is a little freaked out at first honestly. He didn’t know witches could exist. He’s also a little peeved they didn’t tell him and they again, observe him as he has another freak out

- Witchy admits they really loves how angry he gets, feels the power behind it, and wishes they had a way to harness it

- I don’t think Ghiaccio would be a guinea pig with any incentive, but he might offer to let them try and figure out a way to take the raw energy of his fury and channel it into their spells

- They’re an odd pair, but his s/o is so calm and collected that they balance out his explosive temper

#bree writes #jojo headcanons #la squadra x reader #risotto x reader #formaggio x reader #illuso x reader #prosciutto x reader #melone x reader #ghiaccio x reader #reader is a witch hehe #because yanno what vampires and zombies and shit are possible im gonna say witches are too #i started hysterically laughing while writing this #because i imagined risotto with one of those cliche big tiddy witches #and i was like oh my god they are a big tiddy power couple

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sorcierarchy · 4 years

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Quarter Moon Spellcraft: Better Business Spell for Artists

For this first quarter moon of the New Year, my boyfriend and I decided to focus on bringing in new business. We are both entering new stages with our personal endeavours, him starting his own hustle and me going into my last semester of school, subsequently hitting the job market this summer. He just moved up here from Cali, so there is a lot going on and we both need to be bringing in some money from our side (and hopefully future main) jobs.

Spell Preparation

For this spell (and a few others I’m trying out this month), I chose something from Judika Iles book Encyclopedia of 5000 Spells. I picked this because I trust in her research, and I wanted to use some ingredients I already had at home. I’ve done many money spells and rituals, and even more sigils, but figured the New Year would be a good time to try some new methods and improve on documenting when things work/don’t work. It also just so happened that this spell specifically is for bringing money to artists, and that was too on the nose for me to ignore.

My intention is to take as many spells as possible and perform them “as is” so I can troubleshoot more easily, but when you have been practicing as long as I have you sometimes just can’t help yourself and end up having to tweak things a little bit…

The instructions read as follows:

Carve and dress one small purple and one small green candle to suit your personal circumstances. Place the candles on either side of a Fool card drawn from the tarot deck of your choice. Burn and trust to inspiration.

The significance of purple and green (inspiration and money) are pretty straightforward, and the Fool is a great representation for new beginnings, maintaining one’s sense of wonder towards their art, setting aside criticism and expectations, etc.

There were no explanations on what type of oil to dress the candles with or what to carve into them. Initially, my plan was to simply dress the candles in a basil infused olive oil (both great for protection and money), and carve dollar signs into them…

… but this is where I ran into my first problem.

Sometimes a witch doesn’t have the right candles on hand. Sometimes a witch has got to run to the store and make a purchase. Sometimes a witch can’t quite find what they’re looking for.

I did find a purple candle, that was easy. BUT it was lavender, and while I do love lavender, I do not associate it with inspiration and creativity. I associate it with sleep and protection, and while I will never have too much of those, the last thing I need is to be falling asleep every time I want to start an art project. I was also unable to find a green candle on short notice… so much for that.

I debated changing my spell completely and picking something else, but I couldn’t bring myself to neglect this spell. It’s too perfect for what I need, this final semester and making my portfolio, it seems like a waste to not start the year off with this beautiful little spell, so I’m breaking my own first rule here and subbing in some alternates.

Instead of the usual coloured candles, I’ll be sticking with my run of the mill white tea candles that I almost always use for spellwork. I will be dropping the colour associations entirely, and instead using herb associations: basil for the green candle, mugwort for the purple candle. I’m lucky in that I have an enormous supply of mugwort near my apartment, and keep basil on hand. I’ll be dressing the candles in a basil infused olive oil and will carve a sigil into each before burning them while meditating on the Fool’s card from my deck.

How to Create Herb Correspondences with Plain White Candles (for when you don’t have coloured candles available)

This is a pretty common occurrence for me, as I almost always have a ton of plain white tealights on hand since I use them for fire scrying and many of my ritual spells, but never got into candle magic per se. It’s very common to have colour correspondences for candle magic and it is a major portion of the spellwork, but I needed to improvise and use what I had on hand for the spell while trying to keep in line as much as possible with Iles’ version of the work.

If at all possible, I highly recommend following spells to the letter when you can, especially if you are trying it for the first time. It’s easier to troubleshoot when you have done exactly what the spell required, in the event that things don’t work out. For this reason, I wanted to keep in touch with the candle magic and simply replace the colours with plants of similar association.

The technique is fairly simple, you have probably seen it elsewhere online before. All you need to do is light the candles, allow them to burn and melt the top layer of wax as much as possible. Once it is sufficiently melted, put out the flame and sprinkle the herbs so they fall into the melted wax. Let the candles cool, and when you are ready for your spell you can simply light them as you would normally and use them as you would your coloured candles.

Cautions: Inevitably when you burn these candles, some of the herbs will also burn. Some herbs are not safe to burn, and some can be toxic to animals when burned. Research your herbs before attempting this and check for toxicity. Avoid burning them around pets to be safe. Mugwort may cause allergic reactions, especially if you are allergic to ragweed.

Spell and Notes

I chose to do the spell during the planetary hour of Saturn to establish control, foundation, discipline, etc. I carved a + sign into each candle and anointed them with a basil infused olive oil. Here are the spell instructions again as a reminder:

Here is my final setup, with the Fool’s card from my Revelations deck by Zach Wong:

I meditated for a few minutes and let the candles burn. And that’s it! I feel pretty happy with the spell, I will report back on it when I feel there is progress in regards to it. I usually expect for there to be some kind of return within a week, so we’ll see what happens <}:-)

#witchcraft #spell work #money manifestation #witchblr #folk magic

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thisisawitchgang · 6 years

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DIVINATION THEME

Theme Ran By: Mod Jess

Edited By: Mod Em

Theme tag: #divination theme

Astrology

Astrology Basics

Astrology: The Basics

Basics

The Houses

Cartomancy

Playing Card Fortune Telling

Candles Reading Candles Yes/No

DIYS

Pennies for Runes Dreams Oneiromancy

Divination

How I Rephrase Questions for Divination

Types of Divination that are not Tarot

Divination Intro

Divination Tips for Beginners

Divination Incantation (for Centering and Focus)

Types of Divination

Masterposts Youtube Divination Lessons

Chiefgrumpkin Divination Masterpost

Misc.

D20 Divination

Art Divination Rings

Future Blessings Board - Divination Method

Numerology

Numerology: Calculating Your Life Lesson Number

Number Correspondences

Numbers

Palmistry

Astrology & Palmistry

A Witch’s Palm

Palmistry through Images

Basic Palmistry Notes - Astroadvice

Beginners Guide to Tea Leaf Reading Pendulum Types of Pendulums and Uses How to Use a Pendulum

How to Work and Calibrate Your Pendulum

Scrying Leaf Scrying

Water Scrying

Mirror Scrying for Past Lives

Scrying [Witchcraft 101]

Candle Wax Scrying

Ink Scrying

Interpreting Scrying and Visions

The Shy Fox’s Guide to Scrying

Full Moon Water Scrying

Water Scrying Basics

Elemental Scrying

Scrying Methods

How to Make a Scrying Bowl

Tarot Spreads New Deck Spread Reading The Sun Let Your Weaknesses Become Strengths

Dream Meaning Spread

Tasseomancy

Tasseomancy Info

Reading Tea Leaves

Revelatory Tea - Edible Spellcraft

Witch Tips!

Recharge Yourself after Readings

Tarot Hacks

Divination Witch Tips

#mod jess #mod em #divination theme #thisisawitchgang #divination #witchcraft #divination community

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learntolive-again · 5 years

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Money is pretty tight for me right now, and so for this reason, I’m opening up some of my spellcraft/ spiritual practices for purchase. Listed below is everything that I’m willing to do.

-Tarot reading-

3 card reading- $5

5 card reading- $7

After the five- card number, its an extra $1 per card. Please note that I’ll do general readings, as well as try to answer almost any applicable questions.

-Custom sigils-

Each sigil is $3, and again I’ll make them for almost everything.

-Custom spells and rituals-

The pricing for these is going to depend on how intricate you want/ need the spell to be. Is it just a simple chant or incantation? Does it involve candles and oils? Does it involve herbs and salts? The more elements involved in creating the spell the more expensive it will be, and I will of course run what the price will probably be by you before I start writing the spell.

-Custom mini spell jars-

This is one of my favorite things to do; I have tiny jar charms (1-4″ in length) that I can turn into tiny spell jar charms. the price will depend on what size charm you want and how many materials you want/ need in your charm. I can use herbs, gemstone chips, different kinds of salt, different kinds of oils, and several misc. ingredients like egg shell.

*Please note that this is a physical item that I will have to ship to you, and therefore I will have to ask you to pay for shipping.

I appreciate anyone who purchases any of these from me, as it will help me out a lot. Please note, though, that if you’re experiencing any financial difficulty yourself to please take care of yourself first. Thank you!

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twosidestarot · 6 years

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Readers in Profile: Siobhan of Radical Tarot

If you've been around these parts for many moons, you might remember my interview series, Readers in Profile, in which I sit down with some of the many cool cats in our tarot community to talk shop. It's been a while since we've had an instalment of this series, but I'm very glad to be breathing some life back into it with one of my favourite radical cardslingers, Siobhan of Radical Tarot.

Siobhan's one of those readers who inspires me in my own practice, because she never takes a boundary or brick wall as a given. Siobhan's writing and thinking about tarot always, always stretches this old art form into new shapes, and her compassionate, curious, and expansive approach always manages to find new ways of seeing the cards. It's pretty magical!

Let's get to it, shall we?

Hi Siobhan! Tell us a little bit about yourself as a tarot reader and a human person.

I'm a person that both starts with and rallies against a series of labels. Black. Poor. Anxious (or crazy depending on who you ask). Empathic (or crazy depending on who you ask).

I came to the cards with a great deal of fear. Growing up where I grew up there were doubts or questions about my place in the world. I never fit. There was a constant question about my worth. Metaphysical differences complicated these issues.

When I was younger, I saw and heard which were not of the physical world. And I knew back then to keep my mouth shut. Because I was raised in a family that while very Christian and relatively conservative, still acknowledged the unseen. They had to, there were too many unexplained incidents shared between us.

What is your tarot origin story?

By the time I handled the first tarot deck, I was searching very hard for a way to feel safe. I wanted to believe that there were mechanisms through which I could wrangle my own intuition. I wanted to make peace with the part of me that whispered me bits of information that I shouldn't know about myself and others.

I wanted to turn my gift off and on at will, and I had a hunch that the tarot was the way. Even if the cards themselves did nothing, I thought they might at least train my mind so that I might get a say in when I would pick up on things. I hadn't met anyone like me other than my grandmother and other relatives.

I set out to learn about my premonitions at all costs. Even if it meant studying witchcraft and things I was raised to believe came from the devil. I came to the cards out of kind of psychic desperation. I would come to learn as I got older and met more metaphysicians and practitioners that this isn't a typical way to come to the craft. Most come looking to tap into more, not less.

I used the Tarot not to contact spirit realm but to limit contact. I felt that if I could give myself a spiritual outlet, time and space where it was ok to deal with the unseen, maybe the unseen would stop flooding the rest of my life and my dreams. And sure enough, things got better.

The spellcraft I did, and the cards that I pulled signaled to my brain that there was a time for such things and that it wasn't all the time. I could sleep easier, and I had substantially less fear.

The only reason I ever even laid eyes on a tarot deck was through a dear friend. Through school, I was exposed to media that my family couldn't afford, anime, comics, and of course, tarot. My best friend showed me her mother's Morgan Greer deck.

There was a definite weight to the cards. Even though I don't remember the art blowing me away. I don't remember fear or trepidation handling the cards. Even though I had been raised to be afraid of them.

How does tarot fit into your life day-to-day – what are the regular practices you use to connect with and learn from the cards?

I notice myself pulling cards in waves. When I feel like I would be put at ease by knowing how something is going to turn out, when I'm anxious or stressed about the future or when I notice that I'm fixating on something from the past and I want to let it go.

I pull my cards when I'm biking through a particularly beautiful trail, and feel at peace, and when I am visiting places of power. Geographical locations where I feel strong spiritual presences or a spike in energy for whatever reason.

I notice that even on the days when I don't pull a card, I'm thinking about the images. This is how I really came to embrace pulling cards face up. I was doing in my head anyway, so it made sense to pull the cards this way as well.

I reach for my cards when I need to make a decision where I would normally second guess myself or look for someone else to tell me what to do. I'm recovering from a time in my life where I didn't have a lot of confidence in my decision making or even my perception of reality. I have an old habit of looking for reassurance outside of myself.

The cards help me to remember that I can look to the unseen for answers and also that there are parts of myself that I can draw from. That I almost never need to look anywhere further than my own judgment.

Do you integrate tarot into any other aspects of your spiritual or creative practice?

One of the most unlikely spiritual combinations in my life is tarot and sexuality. I’ve pulled cards Face Up, consciously rather than at random, for Tantric rituals before. And lately, I've been drawing cards for my kink.

This is partially due to one of my decks, Manara's Erotic Tarot. It's a hard deck to read. It's one of those made of images that weren't intended for tarot. I don't usually like decks like these. But it's comic art. And I do like comics, so it ended up being one of my first decks. But it's a dark and obscure deck.

It focuses entirely on the male gaze, something that was interesting to me when I was younger but in the last decade or so, underwhelms me. It has some pretty kinky images. At least, at the time, indie decks have pushed the envelope in recent years.

I was already interested in kink when I bought the deck, but I wasn't so experienced at the time. I hadn't been exposed to the range of fetishes and kinky activities that I have at this point. So I used the deck but didn't really hear it, you know?

Years after I bought it, after much more kink play, I recognized one of the images on the card as something I had (almost) done. There were cobblestones in the picture and a partially nude woman flashing traffic at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. This card really came alive for me after I'd seen the Arc in person for myself AND after I'd done a brief stint modeling for fetish photography.

I'm outside with a photographer one day wearing this corset and these heels and not much else, and it's a real struggle balancing on these cobblestones in 7-inch platforms, and I was cold and nervous about being so scantily clad in the middle of the financial district. I had to use the restroom and the photographer, being a bit of sadist suggests I go right there in the middle of the street.

I tell him absolutely not.

But I go ahead and imagine what it would be like, the relief, the release. I imagine what it would be like to be a person who has no shame about doing this very private act in a very public place. It would feel free. The kind of freedom and bliss you can only get doing something extreme.

This is the image on the nine of cups in the Erotic Tarot. It has this puddle beneath a woman in the photo. And after this fetish shoot, I realized it's not rain water underneath her. It's not the exhibitionist flashing that causes her to bite her lip.

Once I could understand this deck, it changed the way I looked at all the others, opening up a world of interpretation concerning all kinds of sexuality that had never occurred to me.

In your professional work, are there any pro tips or insights you’ve picked up along the way that you’d like to share?

At least two things stand out to me about reading tarot for others. Both things that it took me a long time to realize. The first is whether or not the reading is about you. The reading can be about you. Many people read tarot this way. Some realize it. Some don't. Some do it pro this way.

They read tarot to fulfill a need that they have, and this is the primary focus. And I suppose on some level this will always come into play. Any interaction between humans will involve, hopefully, the needs of everyone getting met. The difference I am focusing on is one of primary-ness.

Some people never bother to ask themselves the question of what is primary to their tarot practice. Are you looking to feel wise? Magical? Holy? Caring? Useful? Are these needs primary? Are you looking to be of service?

And even if you think you mean to serve, it can be tricky to see the root of why we do the things we do. Until we face something annoying. The no-brainer. The stupid or infuriating things. These things are the clues. The pregnancy questions. The questions about a third party. The questions where some people feel the ethics are plain as day and not even worth looking at.

These are the places where we find out our real motivation. Are we drained or are we angry when we receive the less-than-ideal questions? If we feel any heavy charge when reading, there's something we're taking personally or a need that we feel is not being met.

If we don't happen to have the awareness to notice moments like these, we may spend our entire practice thinking we are doing one thing but in actuality doing another. This comes back to a question I've asked before on my blog that I got from Betty Martin, an educator that I love: "who's it for?"

The second thing is what a reading actually entails. We all know it can take days, months, or years to learn the cards, the symbols and their meanings and our own personalized interpretations of the archetypes. We all agree on that part. But what about communicating the reading to the querent? What about doing so without unintended triggers, microaggressions, miscommunication? What about how we listen?

Many of the people who want readings may not have another outlet to express their issue. What about recognizing when to refer someone for services outside the realm of tarot? And if you read tarot professionally there are several more layers of expertise that it wouldn't hurt to cultivate the same as with any business. What exactly does it mean to be spiritual or emotional triage for someone?

Having a business is its own journey without even considering the part where we learn to use the cards. There are so many ways to both run a business and use the tarot that it really behooves a person to know why they do what they do. What their values are. And yet there are so many who don't know these things about themselves. Discernment is key.

Discernment of the teachers that we choose to learn from, the words we use, the attitude with which we approach other humans. It takes a lot of actions, daily habits, and work to handle all those things with grace and integrity. And not everybody will want to invest what is needed, and not everyone will realize that they don't want to right away.

I just have to ask – what would be your five desert island tarot (or oracle) decks? Which ones couldn’t you live without?

If I were on a desert island, I'd honestly really focus on my God-given divination tools, words, breath, and dreams. One day you ask me this question I might say the Margarete Peterson. One day maybe the St. Croix. One day Thoth (No really, it might just have to be Thoth. That deck seems to scream at me.) And maybe that means I'm a bit ambivalent about the decks I've seen so far. And maybe there's room for me to fall in love and for this to change.

The further down the rabbit hole I sink toward minimalism and toward letting go of objects, both of which are pretty important to me lately, the less I notice preferences that I used to hold so strong. I sometimes think about a year-long ritual I could do that involves getting rid of every deck I own, til' I own one or maybe even no more decks. To test myself and see if I could remember the impermanence of everything.

I read a book years ago, I don't remember which one in it said, "a witch has no possessions." And me, with my Aspie-leaning heart, took it quite literally. That I couldn't call myself a witch until I had nothing or until I did not consider my relationship to things one of ownership.

I don't identify as a witch anymore. But this concept works well with my more recent Buddhist approach to things and so still serves. And when we think about the earth, isn't this for the best? The mindset that is the most sustainable is to be attached to absolutely nothing, not even the bones we breathe through. Not the most fun way to look at this question I know...

Where can we find you?

You can find me blogging at radicaltarot.com. It’s a good idea to sign up for my newsletter. Between my column on Little Red Tarot, random publications, free monthly tarotscopes, and seasonal professional readings, there’s kind of a lot to keep track of.

You can probably tell now why I love Siobhan's tarot brain! I highly recommend her Little Red Tarot column, and do make sure you get on her mailing list so you never miss your monthly tarot scopes!

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toycarousel · 6 years

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I have really weird feelings about witchcraft because my gramma did it when my mom was a gal, but I'm not jarred or anything! I still love you and your stuff. My gramma (who's now a very religious woman, haha) has never been one to judge or hate without reason, and you're the same. I guess I'm just really ignorant on the details of witchcraft? And with the stories I've heard from my mom it's quite scary to me, haha. Lots of love!! xoxo

That raises a lot of great questions, Anon~! Witchcraft is actually a HUGE umbrella term. There are Pagan witches, Wiccan witches, Satanic witches, Christian and Catholic witches, Muslim witches, and witches of all sorts of spiritual beliefs.

When I first started learning about spellcraft and witchcraft as I knew it, I found mostly info on Wicca witchcraft. But I was actually raised a Catholic since I was born (I was baptized, and went to a Catholic school for the first 12 years of my life), and other stuff. There's a form of witchcraft called "High Magic," wherein a lot of ritual work with Christian Angels may be done, and the first spells I tested out were of that nature, because it was what I felt safe within, and what I just happened to run into~! But there's so much info relating to crafting spells and magic that ties into Wicca, that I ended up being a Wiccan for a little while instead (the teachers at my Catholic school were not pleased with me).

I'm not a Wiccan now, I'm more... I suppose, like... a combo between Christian and Polytheist (which seems like it would automatically contradict itself, but it doesn't have to). I leave myself open to a variety of beliefs, and take what I find to be morally sound or potentially true (based on personal instincts) and craft my own set of beliefs from wider religions. I don't really follow anything specific to the letter though, you know~?

So, I have no idea what kind of witchcraft your Gramma was doing at the time, but I fully believe you when you say she may have had bad experiences with it. Just like people can have bad experiences with every faith, and lose their own way, it can happen with certain incidences of witchcraft too.

There are a lot of people online who practice witchcraft and are very open about it, but they are super diverse, so I can't even loosely define witchcraft, it's so vast. ; P A lot of witches use the term to refer to working with maybe crystals, healing herbs, casting spells (which are p much synonymous with personalized prayers, imo), maybe casting curses.

On that note, I think curses or "negative" magic (magic with the intent to harm) is what a lot of people associate with all witchcraft (witchcraft and Satanism are also conflated with each other, and while there are Satanic witches out there, there are Satanic ppl who don't identify as witches, and Satanism as a whole is something I can't say much about because I know it's also very vast, and individuals don't all practice it the same way -- and besides that, I personally don't know a whole lot about it~!)

I don't judge witches (of any spirituality) who cast curses, because a lot of them are casting curses on people who've genuinely wronged them -- like enacting a spell to bring justice to someone who may have abused them as a child, for example. It's a lot like praying to God that a bad person gets what's coming to them. I can understand that. However, I do believe that curses can accumulate negative energy, and that they can backfire. Even innocent spells can backfire, in my personal experience. :’)

Maybe something your Gramma got into backfired, or maybe she met with a crowd of self-proclaimed witches who were doing unkind things, who knows~? There are very cultish witches out there too, who prey on people who are interested in witchcraft, or who are maybe just exploring options -- just like there are cultish versions of/groups within every faith (there are witches, and then there are like... the westboro baptist church version of people who consider themselves witches, if that makes any sense, ahahaha~!)

Anyway, basically what I'm saying is that it's fair for you to be wary of something that has caused you, or people in your life a lot of pain. But it’s always good to remember that witchcraft is such a broad spectrum of people that the term can mean almost anything -- and it's likely that the specific version of witchcraft that harmed your Gramma and Mom is exactly that. A specific version of witchcraft that may just not have been all that nice, or all that effective, or all that safe... it’s hard to always know exactly what you’re getting into when you adopt a faith.

In any case, I rambled a whole lot here, ahahahaha~!!! And thank you for being non-judgmental toward me~!!! For transparency, the witchcraft I do now basically consists of writing and imagining prayers to Aphrodite, keeping a shrine for her that I add things to or adjust on occasion, burning incense, burning sage, using herbs and spell-bottles for, like, self love, or fortune for loved ones, crystal magic, tarot cards, and stuff like that.

I'm also kind of a sea witch, so I like to work with ocean-water, seashells, sea-glass, and sea-salt in my spells, along with cool stuff I find at the beach (whenever I get to visit a city that has a beach; I'm landlocked, sigh :')

I don't do curses (though, as I said, many truly good people do), because I personally prefer to let cosmic justice do its own thing without my help, no matter how tempting it might be to spiritually attack someone myself. It's just not my thing. However~! I have cast a spell on myself that means if someone else curses me, my body acts as a mirror, and their curse is reflected back at them, so they suffer the consequences of the harm they tried to do to me. I did that for peace of mind, because I know a lot of witches, and a lot of people who don’t like me for the mean things I said in the past (and I don’t think brutally cursing someone because they said something mean to you in passing is fair justice). I’m already suffering the direct consequences for things I’ve said and done, and that’s just life. ; P

But yeah, I’m not sure if any of this cleared things up for you... I can link you to some witchcraft masterposts and blogs if you’re interested in knowing more details about specific forms of witchcraft. The best way to figure this out would be to ask your Gramma what kind of witchcraft she once did, why she quit, etc., if she feels safe talking about it~!!!

But no matter what, it’s good to learn about various faiths -- you never have to believe in something that you just. Don’t. And if you’re wary of something, sometimes learning more about it can help assuage that fear, even if, after learning about it, you don’t decide to partake in it. Like I said, you don’t ever have to be into anything that makes you uncomfortable~!!! Best of wishes, Anon, and I hope you and your family are doing well these days~!!!

#spellcraft #witchcraft #religion #family mention -#ask to tag -#anons #scotchasks

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grimoiresontape · 7 years

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Circling Ways in Geomancy

In the relatively early days of my magical practice, I gathered and used a lot of things I found in the course of going on walks - bits of interestingly-shaped sticks, torn pages of books and newspapers, playing cards, scraps of fabric, that sort of thing. This seems a common enough phase for many magicians, learning to navigate their landscape and sense the subtle tides and shifts around them in those interactions. Walks around my neighbourhood, building my relationship with the spirits of place, or drifting through unfamiliar parts of town on extended augury expeditions; these rambles would lead me to find objects that seemed significant and magically useful. There was something so satisfying about finding meaning and use in things picked up off the ground; those discarded omens and overlooked materials of inner-city sorcery. For years I kept a stray white cue ball which I had found when on an extended Lunary wandering. Chalk-marked ivory globe uncannily out of place, plucked from the gutter of night, a delicate egg of veiled promise. One of my most used magical tools found in this manner was a simple set of brown seed beads strung as a necklace. I came across it while ambling along meditating on geomancy, the earth, and delineations of sacred space. Mulling over old pantheism-and/or-animism distinctions and where divining with spirits in space fit in, I found the beads lying on the floor: they were spread like a square. This demarcation of space, this establishment of a matrix of divinatory coherence, this cauldron from which new answers could be cooked up, made a lot of sense. The shape of the idea itself looped me in. I began using the strung seeds as a field upon which to throw my coins, dice, or whatever other means I was using to generate my geomantic figures. This is not to suggest I invented anything - this is simply how something was shown to me. As we shall see shortly, such a technique is far from unique to my practice. In the years since, that found cord has had a lot of play. A lot. Enough that, a month or so ago, I pulled it from its bag and saw it was - in exactly the way time’s shadow sneaks up on you - suddenly looking all too raggedy. I resolved to build some new gear. In fact I had already made short beaded “loops” - too short to be considered necklaces - dedicated to particular senior spirits in my practice, and generally adorning their statuary and icons. I would occasionally employ these to charge the divining space with their authority, especially at auspicious hours and days at which the power of these Chiefly spirits waxed crowned. I would set them out, squaring the circle - forming the four sides of the natural ‘elementated’ world from the celestial circle. These beaded circlets empowered the clarity and focus of my readings. I even found them useful for cohering the virtues of the figures I set for more sorcerous ends; combining the natural potencies of their gemstones with the operative spellcraft of displaying a figure inside them, as in the manner of image magic employing, say, Tarot cards. Rough chips of sanguine coral, the very blood of Medusa, as soldiers of scarlets and incarnadines surrounding a marked Puer in the eighth hour of Tuesday.

More broadly, this kind of altar-top circling has long been part of my practice, casting an orbit of materia magica around foci of influence and effect. The sprinkled rosemary around the purifying candle spell, the chalk around the spirit’s seal to trap or stabilise. Such circlets belt up firm foundation, spin loops to run perpetually, wind and bind. New cord and even knot magic utilities continue to reveal themselves. Even a rosary is but a garland of the threaded blooms of Love and Mystery, stirring in turns and spirals. Considering the Puck’s girdle about the world, however, I am especially interested in how spiritwork permeates these kinds of tools and techniques. So it was I decided to construct seven circlets, dedicated to the seven planetary Rulers so important to geomantic sorcery.

In more modern geomancies, diviners are often encouraged or instructed to invoke the Spirit of the planet most suitable for the question - matters of romance and sensuality on Friday, the day of Venus, for example - as part of the formal protocol of divining. Along with directing practitioners to begin their geomancy by tracing an Invoking Pentagram of Earth, Israel Regardie’s A Practical Guide to Geomantic Divination suggests the following:

‘To every planetary force in geomancy, there is attributed a Genius presiding over all matters covered by the definitions of that force… [Each genius has a] sigil, a traditional word that merely means a signature. This sigil should be very deliberately and carefully drawn in the centre of the Pentagram which has been traced. It should be visualized as clearly as possible, while vibrating his [sic] name several times, either vocally or mentally. This places the whole divinatory process under divine guidance, and opens up specific pathways to the Unconscious area which can act to provide an answer to the question.’ [Regardie, 45.]

It seems an uncontroversial consensus these days that the formal shaping of pentagrams and spirit seals of the Golden Dawn’s protocols for geomancy can be traced to John Heydon and his Theomagia. In this Temple of Wisdom (as it is not-so-humbly subtitled), when he is not quoting Agrippa whole-sale, Heydon expounds of his self-identified “Rosiecrucian way” that operators ‘first used holy Deprications, Incantations with other Rites and observations provoking and alluring Idea’s of this nature hereunto...’ [Heydon, Theomagia (London, 1668), 2-3] Here are hints of geomancy’s “high ceremonial” dimensions. Crucially however we should also note that Owen Davies has remarked that early modern village cunning-folk and local wizards, traditionally represented as the magic-users least interested in complex Neoplatonic orders and arrangements of angels, ‘would certainly appreciate the detailed practical guide to astromantic and geomantic divination, and the diagrams showing the various signs and characters of the planets and their angels’. [Davies, Popular Magic (), 124]

The senior planetary Spirits of geomancy, contrasted by Agrippa with the more angelic planetary Intelligences, are referred to by Heydon et al as the ‘seven Rulers of the Earth’. Without diving too deep into Heydon’s idiosyncratic cosmology, it is worth reiterating that Heydon hardly ever refers to the straight astrological grammar of geomancy, preferring to use the names of the spirits of those astrological principles: he does not talk about Saturn, but rather Zazel; he speaks of Malchidael not Aries. It is in his lists of correspondences attributed to these Rulers that we come across colour schemes for these spirits:

Zazel, Spirit of Saturn: ‘He ruleth over the Lead, the Load-stone, the dross of all Mettals, as also the Dust and Rubbish of every thing... He Ruleth the Saphire stone, Lapis Lazul, all black ugly sheet stones, not polishable and of a sad ashy or black colour…’

Hismael, Spirit of Jupiter: ‘that which is most pleasant and delightful without extream Colours; he signifyeth Seagreen or blew, purple, Ash colours’

Barzabel, Spirit of Mars: ‘He delighteth in Red colour, or yellow, fiery and shining like Saffron…'

Sorath, Spirit of the Sun: ‘he ruleth the Yellow, the colour of Gold, the Scarlet or the clear Red, and all reddish colours’

Kedemel, Spirit of Venus: ‘she signifieth white, or milky colour, mixed with brown or a little green’

Taphthartharath, Spirit of Mercury: ‘Mixed and new colours, the gray mixed with Sky colour, such as is on the neck of the Dove, and Pidgeon, Stock-Dove, and such fine Colours; also Lincy-Wooly colours, or… of many colours, mixed…’

Chasmodai, Spirit of the Moon: ‘Of Colours, the White, or pale Yellow, White, pale Green, or a little of the Silver colour’

Rather than simply tracing the sigils of these Spirits to centre and focus my readings, I was inspired to bead my own circlets in versions of these dedicated corresponding colours, including in the designs gemstones with virtues relevant to their planetary governances. Specifically, four stones for squaring that circle, for bringing to bear the four classical forces of the ‘elementated’ natural world with which geomancy so deeply engages. These would be a tool for further drawing on the strength, force and authority of the Rulers to provide accurate information in my readings and precise affect in my rituals.

It was in speaking about these plans to my dear friend and Tatá Quimbanda that I discovered this was in fact not a novel approach! Practitioners of Candomble and of Quimbanda have both long utilized the beaded necklaces of their traditions - ritual objects with deep significances - to mark a space for divining with shells. Elekes of Candomble, like those of Regla de Ocha and the guia de contas of Umbanda, represent a holy bond between devotee and the Orisha. Washed in sacred omiero, these beads are a sign of blessing as well as a mantle of commitment. The beads are normally worn around the throat, either diagonally or pendulously, and must encompass the heart and ideally down to the navel. This necklace connects the speaking voice and the core at the heart of us. A connection between what is ordinarily worn now on a table creates a necessary link between the Orisha’s mouths (the cowries) and your own. To divine is after all to give voice to the divine from the heart.

Similarly, the guias of Quimbanda de Raiz are washed in sorcerous amaçi and worn to foreground pacts and commitments made and to offer protection. Along with beads worn in devotion, they are also used to ensure Orisha and Exu and Pomba Gira can communicate efficiently. The guia imperial of Quimbanda is in fact required for reading shells when reading away from one’s assentamentos. My godfather describes this in terms of how it keeps the link to the spirits one has seated and works with: a temporary field of settlement allowing all Kingdoms to come through. A further innovation of these Afro-Diasporic techniques of demarcating ritual space for divination with sacred beads includes not only various different necklaces for different gods or spirits, but of constructing one large loop containing sections for each power, force, Orisha or Kingdom, such as the guia imperial pictured below.

Candomble and Umbanda-influenced practices also hold important lessons to bear in mind when comparing such so-called New World practices with the specifically planetary aspects of geomantic divination and sorcery. Earlier African significances of sevenfold divisions and heptarchies - for seven is a potent crossroads number - were later glossed through Theosophic lenses as chiefly concerning the seven classical planets. As highlighted by articles such as this, on the ‘Fundamentos de Jogo de Búzios’, this gloss can be seen in the approach to things like days of the week in such practices.

I am far from the first geomancer to cast into a corded or even beaded circlet. It is a shared technological response to the operation of geomancy, a co-impulse of many different craftsfolk of the divinatory art. Such living full-blooded traditional practices are unique instantiations of resonant approaches to patterning the geomantic crafts of ritual and truth-telling. Noting the use of circlets in this manner should not be taken as any attempt to flatline different traditions and cultures but celebrate their songs and harmonies in sharper context.

Conducting geomantic divination using these talismans dedicated to the Seven Rulers of the Earth, emblazoned in their heraldic colours and bearing stones of empowering virtue, has already focused my readings, has brought planetary virtues of both stability and dynamism to bear. They have begun to assist my understanding of the unique natures of these Spirits as more than cookie-cutter planetary entities. These geomantic circlets have also certainly improved the scope and precision of various operations of geomantic sorcery. I share these thoughts, accounts, and experiences at a somewhat nascent stage of working the tools: I am excited to share them and their techniques to encourage and compare experiments and extrapolations.

Working these planetary talismans of the Seven Rulers has certainly furthered my interest in exploring use of circling ways beyond the classic 9-ft magic circles of protection and conjuration. It has also given me valuable perspectives on broader historical instances of circling in the European grimoire traditions of magic. Evidence from one of the earliest manuscripts of the Grimorium Verum grimoire-family, the Clavicula Salomonis De Secretis, details several sorcerous operations involving encircling tools of magical operation: ‘Ut Pluat' (To Make It Rain) one must place a glass of sea water and a heliotrope stone in a circle inscribed; ‘Ut Fulguret’ (To Make Lightning) a lamp is placed at the centre of a specially scribed circle; and an operation to ‘Concubitu Potiendum’ (‘For Love Making/Coupling’) features a diagram of the circle, to be inscribed in a red ochre chalk, on top of an altar.

Another operation of the Grimorium Verum with strong circling implications, To Open Anything that is Shut or Locked, demonstrates some pertinent squaring dimensions as well as avenues for potential spiritwork. The experiment instructs the operator to make a circle around a lodestone then ‘within the circle make a square and at all the angles put the sigil of Sergutha’. If we take this to be Surgat, recent developments in joined-up thinking about grimoire devils inform us that this spirit is also identified with Annobath… who just happens to ‘teacheth the knowledge of necromancy, geomancy, and chiromancy’, amongst other things. We come full squared circle.

The use of a bloodstone to mark the earth in the Grand Grimoire offers inspiration for experimenting with lapidary lore for our geomantic tools, both in terms of beading or these more direct gemstone styli. Nor should we be hidebound to strict repetition: bloodstone is a powerful ally, but it is not our only poison. When constructing the geomantic circlet for work with Hismael and Jupiterian currents, virtues and spirits (and, thus, for Thursdays especially), for instance, I divined that the inclusion of four amethyst beads for the circlet’s “corners” would inform and galvanise my work with the grand Spirit of the Greater Benefic.

I have already signaled from social media accounts the availability of these planetary talismans for purchase. Feel free to email me at [email protected] if you are interested in working with these tools; I am happy to work with clients to tailor bespoke consecratory treatments. They are currently priced at $44 apiece, or $231 for the full set of seven. I am currently experimenting with various forms of additional consecration - involving homebrew planetary oils, asperging waters and fumigation blends - so that price may climb as I develop these talismans further and the process of construction and empowerment becomes more complex and potent.

Inquiries, commissions and any other questions or comments can be directed to [email protected]

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