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orionnquartzwater · 3 years

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In a local witches group on my personal FB page, an admin I look up to asked us what our current altars looked like at the moment to spark up a discussion. I had an offhand picture of recently showing and explaining my faith to a friend of mine, but as I began to reflect on the items, my reply grew longer and longer until Facebook just gave up on allowing me to post it. Still wanting to share, I figured I would host my answer here.

This is my current set-up. Please excuse some of the mess, I'm currently in the process of clearing out the old for the new calender year. I don't work at my altar very often at the moment as life has been a little hectic, but it's right above my fireplace in my living room! ♡

PHOTO DESCRIPTION WITH DETAILS AND PERSONAL HISTORIES BEHIND THE OBJECTS PICTURED: On white shelf above the fireplace in my living room is my altar, lit by a ceiling light that brings the eye to the center of the image where a wall-hanging of the elemental symbols I hand-crafted in branches and black twine covers a large portion of the white wall in the back. In the middle on the top of the hanging decor is a clear hand-crafted witch ball I made several years back when my coven was still meeting and I was teaching some of the history behind them and what they are today filled with many different herbs and a large cinnamon stick. Several natural pieces of twine hang from some of the twigs that make up the elemental symbols, used for tying and drying herb bunches above my altar, currently sitting empty. On both sides framing the mantle on the wall, there two metallic swirling candle holders, one of which has a recently gifted antique bell from my once-ignorant and oppressive grandmother about what my faith truly had meant to me on twine hanging from it. In the dead center of the altar, a large glass candle holder sits containing a layered orange and red candle, burned most of the way down with ash on the insise of the glass as it hasn't been in use for some time. Currently displayed on top of the candle is my own hand-crafted wand that sits perfectly balanced in my hand with the natural curve of the branch. It felt made for my hand as I whittled the top down and used copper and quartz to charge it, wrapping the handle and charging the energy forward with the small point I've had for years until I found why I had clung to it.

Two alabaster statuette busts of the Greek deities Artemis (to the left), and Apollo (to the right) also frame the large glass candleholder. The statues are of the deities who I worked faithfully worked with to recieve my service dog Andromeda, and thank constantly trying to honor, as everything in my life had said I couldn't receive her from time to money to circumstance to lack of outside help, even though everything else about it was said that it was truly meant for me, and I believe to this day it was due to them watching me working tirelessly to do everything on my end including my rituals and asking for their assistance that they granted me a medically healing (Apollo's side) & faithful canine (Artemis's side). I had the statues shipped to me from Greece, and the golden accents on the alabaster textiles and laurel on them are probably my favorite part of them. They're one of my most prized possessions. The two godly siblings face each other with their heads cast in different directions. Behind Artemis, slightly to her right is a black and white painting I did of the forested coast and night sky with a prominent moon bouncing off the waves and a comet in the stars above (Ironically, my dog Andromeda (Andi) was listed as Comit in the breeders list as well, something I hadn't even considered when painting and adding it to my altar). To Artemis' left is a small antler chew we took from my service dog when she was too big to use it safely any longer, as well as a small clay torso of the human form I crafted some time ago. In front of the mini painting is where I currently sit a chakra bracelet gifted to me years ago, and sitting in front of those not too far from the edge is an incense holder depicting a skeleton with roses around it as a memento mori, a circle of life as the ash falls and the incense is burned. To the left of that are some pieces of geodes and petrified woods I have that my grandmother also gifted me, two unused candles in front of those, and a petrified wood piece laying flat that holds two tiny pinecones connected by a stem and two coins for abundance beside a ceramic acorn bowl holding many gemstones collected through the years, including the labradorite my grandmother also gifted me when I was a small child and found myself connecting to the stone as I connected to the faith alone on my own. To the left of that is a tall decorative triple goddess wooden box box my dad's girlfriend bought for me, a small black and white moon phase & elemental symbol zentangle art piece sitting above it that I drew in pen in high school, and in front of them on the altar is an antique taxidermied dog-paw letter opener made of Mother of Pearl, dating the beloved Print's death as Sept 15th, 1867 that I use for directing energy, connecting to the love we hold for those in our lives, and also with connecting to the centuries past in my own hands.

To Apollo's right sits a massive pinecone, and behind him somewhat obscured is a small wax burner currently holding the remnants of the ritual work I had been using to call forth my service dog to me as a variety of herbs, green wax for abundance and coins. To the right of that are a variety of candles, currently perching a bird's nest that had fallen out of and was sitting abandoned from the tree in front of my apartments two years ago that would have been tossed by maintainence or mowed over but found a renewed life in my practice after it sat abandoned for some time. Beside that is a squared lantern of black metal framinh with frosted glass and metallic fir tree silhouettes. Also the right of that, leaning over the edge of the mantle from a small end table not pictured is a twig broom with the bristles up. (On the very edge of the mantle also sits a large bottle of hand-sanitizer constantly in use as I live with a hospital worker, and both cleanliness and healthcare are just as important in our faith, lest we forget to take care of ourselves with the modern knowledge passed down to us now, nor forget to do our part wherever we go.)

— I haven't had the mind to do much traditional work, even here, and this doesn't include the dresser I plan on doing a fuller altar for so I can have a place to be alone, in my space, and wholly enter the circle once more as I haven't been able to do that in a very, very long time, but this one houses most of my items of power, is displayed prominently, and is curated to allow me to remember to honor my faith more and never stop working on it, taking time to stand in front of it and reflect on me, my faith, where I came from and where I'm going as well as spending a moment with the deities I honor. After my birthday later this year growing up in a household of agnostics and the faith and discomfort of my oppressive grandparents, I'll actually have been in the faith for more than half my life as I was only 11 when I stumbled into it alone, celebrated my first Imbolc all by myself by making crafts out of ribbons and buying and lighting candles, meditating reading books. I ran around with my bell wand shaking it at nature to reawaken it for spring, and I knew I would always be in the faith, and want to raise a future family in it, and grow a community of like-minded folks. I'm still always learning, and it makes me equally immensely proud and insanely humbled when I can teach others what I've learned since the faith found me. I can actually remember crying to my grandma about whether or not magic(k) could truly exist in the world and she told me if I believed in it, it DID at that age, and the feelings of finding power in my faith after growing up so alone have been unlike any other. Finding other witches was one of the most impactful moments of my life, especially growing up in a heavily Christian town of just over 1,000. Nothing has made me ever feel more fulfilled than people who know me and know I have been in the faith since childhood coming up to me to timidly ask them to teach them some things and where they could start to learn more, asking questions and finding me with a million resources for them, only to come back at a later date and truly thank me for helping them find their path to deity, to nature, to being one with the energies around us and finding power in their experiences and newfound budding faith and community. I've since found a true passion for anthropology and folklore, and I never feel more whole than working with others who share that with me. I think that my coven was one of the best things I experienced in high school, a mix of young witches learning and finding our paths and bringing our passions to life with each other and what we knew over good food, good friends and good faith wasn't something I got to experience often until then.

I'm still hoping to one day build an establishment where witches and aspiring witches can come, talk, read, ask for recommendations, be taught by local witches, take community crafting classes with history lessons, and be able to continue to provide that feeling to other folks. One of the people I ended up mentoring after they were asking me questions and for book recommendations, for clarifications and good conversation, also reaffirmed my childhood last name of faith that came to me by expressing their gratitude of my mentorship referring to me as "a willow tree I was providing wisdom, knowledge and needed shade to the growing saplings around them," and I actually broke down crying as Willow was the last name I ended up with as child, and Willowtree was the last name I had settled on after my transition. I hate the feeling of buying myself mass-produced items used for making a quick buck off a community rather than fostering the Craft, and the power that's within our tools created by hand or when they're gifted by people who impacted us with the knowledge of what they mean and the things they hold are just so much different than not knowing the ethical conditions of who made the materials, or the companies behind them pandering for money, and it's a bit of a passion project as my physical health keeps me from being able to work much on my own. I often wish I could go back and tell a young me how much I would learn and do, how many amazing people I would meet, and communities I would find, even in the areas directly around me. I think I would have been amazed. After writing all of this, I looked back and realized that my current set-up is actually doing it's EXACT job right now. As I described the objects and what they meant to me when I got them, I got caught up in it the same way I do IRL when I pass by and take a moment to think about what my faith holds for me, where I'm coming from and where I really want to take things from here. I guess it's REALLY just that effective on me that even trying to answer a question about it off-hand in a post really ends up in me really taking a minute to address who I am and the power it all holds to me, especially standing where I stand today.

Blessed Be! I hope everyone has a wonderful week.

— 12.9.2020

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mikeysnipes · 7 years

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I Am Alive 🖊 (Bendy x reader)

Chapter 1 - "Go away!"

Published (1730 Words)

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Chapter 1 - "Go away!"

Your POV:

"Mm?" I opened my eyes, looking around at where I was. I found myself sitting by a desk with a drawing of a cute creature, smiling back up at me. To the left of the desk there was a cardboard cutout of a full-body character, with a smiling face and a bow tie to top off his friendly look. I snorted and stood up, searching for anything hinting as to where I was. Eventually I found a note, crinkled and ink fading. I curiously picked it up and read it.

Dear Henry,

It seems like a lifetime since we worked on cartoons together. Thirty years really slips away, doesn't it?

If you're back in town, come visit the old workshop. There's something I need to show you.

Your best pal,

Joey Drew.

I furrowed my brow and pocketed the note. Apparently I wasn't the only one here, or maybe I was? It doesn't matter, all that does is the fact that I don't know this Henry person whatsoever. More importantly, I don't know who this Joey Drew is either. Could they be good? Bad? I don't know.

I looked around the area, determining within the first five seconds that this place was too creepy for my liking. Very little light came into this supposed workshop, and ink stains were everywhere. Not only that, but the color scheme wasn't very enticing. The only colors were brown and black, and a little bit of white every now and then. There were more cardboard cutouts of the creature I had seen before, which didn't help give me a reassuring feeling.

Nope, that's it. I have to leave, and I have to leave now. This is no time for games. I started to wander the building, hoping to find some sort of exit by the walls. Eventually I found a room with a wolf-looking creature, chest cut open and ribs exposed. It had no organs or a heart, which I found to be surprising. However, I still cringed when I saw the body of whatever this was meant to be.

I looked closely and saw that this wolf was tied to an operation table, hinting that some sort of experiment was in progress. I looked to the right and saw a quote, scrawled with something black. Ink, I assumed. My hand immediately flew to my heart when I saw what phrase was listed.

"Who's laughing now?"

I backed up and ran out of there as fast as I could. At this rate, I didn't care where I ended up, as long as I got away from that creepy quote. I eventually bumped into one of those cardboard creatures, creating a red bruise on my cheek. I stared at the creature in front of me, wondering why the cardboard didn't fall like anything else would. My fears started to rise even more, and I glanced up.

I saw multiple posters, ads of certain shows. The first that caught my eye was a printed body with a tutu, with the advertisement where the head should be. It read "Bendy in The Dancing Demon", giving me the assumption that the creature in front of me was called Bendy. I could tell because this body sported gloves and a bow tie, which nothing else I had seen had.

The second poster I saw said "Bendy in Sheep Songs, with Boris the wolf!" From here I could guess that the half-dissected wolf was called Boris. Boris the wolf held a clarinet, so I also predicted that he could play an instrument.

The third poster featured Alice Angel, a smiling girl with both devil horns and a halo. Beside it, there was one last poster, showing Bendy's gloved hand. Each poster had their own show title.

I gaped for a moment, before continuing on my way. At least I had a general idea of who the characters were, but then what was Boris's supposed body doing here? Cartoons aren't alive, they're drawn and put together in a quick-paced movie. It doesn't make sense.

I walked into another room and saw some sort of machine, with a note on the top. I snatched it and saw that this was titled the Ink Machine, along with instructions on how to turn it on. First I had to go to the Power Room and turn on the machine. I followed what the note told me and eventually found the Power Room, with six pedestals and a sign that said 'Low Pressure'. There was a caution sign above a switch, and a big ink stain on the ground.

Wondering what to do now, I consulted the instructions. I was told to find six items. I shrugged, then looked at the items I needed to gather.

I needed to find a cogwheel, a Bendy doll, 'The Illusion of Living' book, an ink bottle, a record, and a wrench. After this, I had to put the items on the pedestals, then go to the Projector Room to restore the ink flow. After I was done doing that, I had to return to the Power Room and flip the switch.

I rolled my eyes. My work was sure cut out for me. Oh well, better get started.

-o-+-o-

After I found all the items, I set them on the pedestals, wiping my hands on my jeans. The ink flecks stained my clothing rather than my hands and I let out a puff of air. I then regarded the note once more and head to the Projector Room. The projector was on, and displayed on the wall was a continuously crouching Bendy character. I smiled and rolled my eyes, then felt around the walls for a lever of any sort. Instead I found a button, which had one bold word shown.

Flow, in all caps.

I pressed the button and heard a whirring sound, shuddering at the new noise. I then walked back to the Power Room, walking up to the lever. I took a deep breath before flipping the switch, resulting in all the items on the pedestals conveniently disappearing.

Eyes wide, I thought about what to do next, and eventually decided on going back to check on Boris. I passed the ink machine and heard water-like sounds, but ignored it. I just assumed the Ink Machine was working again, nothing to be worried about.

I reached Boris's room and saw a sight that made me start freaking out again. Ink was squirting from where Boris's heart should be, and splattering on the floor. It never seemed to stop. I stared for a moment, then shook my head and walked out. I continued to wander the workshop, forgetting the main task at hand.

Well, until I saw the solution.

The exit door was down a long hallway, as if it were taunting me. My jaw dropped and I started bolting towards it at full speed, focusing only on my way out of this creepy place. It was a mistake to eliminate any other features of the area around me, for I fell down a trapdoor and scraped my legs.

"Ow!" I hissed, rubbing my knees. I looked up and saw an axe hanging from hooks on the wall. I stood up and ignored the stinging pain in my knees, then snatched the weapon from its holder. I weighted it in my hands and focused on some wooden boards in front of me. They were blocking another exit, which could or could not be beneficial.

I decided the axe would be useful and started to chop through the area, finding planks after planks. I continued at my work, clearing a path, until I came to a strange room. It had a pentagram on the ground, with small candles surrounding it. The lights were dim, and there were three coffins around the area. There were a few chairs, as if this would be a place to rest.

I tried approaching the satanic drawing, but when I did, the ground started to shake. When a piece of wood fell from the ceiling, I backed up, staring at the floor with eyes wide. When I was at a safe distance from the devil's circle the building stopped shaking, and I released a breath I never even knew I was holding.

Suddenly, I heard the sounds of soft, distant chuckles. I tried turning around, but something stopped me from moving.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" A voice asked, from the darkness. I turned my head so that I was looking over my right shoulder, face contorted with fear. I looked down and saw something black and sticky at my feet, looking fairly similar to...

Ink?

I started to struggle, hopelessly thinking that I might be able to get out of these restraints. The snickers just got louder as a figure emerged from the darkness.

"Go away!" I snapped, launching my axe into the gloom. Laughs followed the clumsy aim, and I guessed that I missed. No surprise either, as I didn't have a good structure to throw and I couldn't see the target in front of me. Either way, it was a feeble attempt.

The creature appeared from the darkness again, advancing on me faster than before.

I saw horns, a tail, and a pointed smile.

When the person lifted his head I knew exactly who it was.

Bendy, the cartoon devil.

---

Hey guys, thanks for reading the first chapter of this book! The whole story is being edited on my Wattpad account, where my username is LovesitGirl. However, if you want to see more here, then I'll post sneak peeks and chapters as they come out!

Thank you all!

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