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starlitwhispers · 3 months

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for you hesitate to love me 1500 words, lime/mochi for @musubiki a/n: girly this is homework, tell me what i did bad so i can write them better

He said, “We’re no longer kids, Moch.”

He said this, after breaking the news. Like a crystal ball dropped to the ground, shattering into a million pieces – those pieces being the words laid across the floor – sharp, deadly to the touch, drawing a line between them. She wasn’t quite too sure what to say in reply and as she struggled to find the words, her voice faltered and his expression remained the same.

The tip of his sneaker toed the ground as his head hung down. He was waiting for a response. And a response, he didn’t receive. After a couple minutes painstakingly passed, he rubbed the back of his neck in frustration and sighed. His frustration was not with her, no – he could never find fault with her. His anger and discontent lay solely with the situation as it was not his ideal. It was not his ideal… but it was his answer.

She watched as he turned his back to her and walked away. The moment he left her line of sight, he wouldn’t be the same person she knew. The same person she loved. In the worst way, he was off to become someone she could not trust, quite possibly her enemy. In the easiest way, as she told herself to ease her aching heart, he would return to her. It was fine, anyway, because she had decided her own path as well – without telling him in the first place.

But when she turned her back to his, her heart began to ache. When would they see each other again? The young witch had been sure, very sure, when she returned, he would be there waiting. Time had progressed for her on her own journey, a metamorphosis through magic and growth. And when she returned, he wasn’t there waiting, like she had thought. As she wandered with her eyes glancing around for a glimpse of his orange hair, she found no such thing.

Perhaps, he could really change too, after all.

Days began to pass. She worked harder on her spells and her beloved familiar purred with praise and pride. Days turned into months and her mother said she could have more responsibility with the cafe. She spent more time learning about something called ‘FIFO’ for the stock in the back. Months turned into what felt like an eternity and her hair had grown a bit longer, sometimes more puffy depending on the weather.

And finally, he had come back.

In truth, really not much time had passed, it was all relative. But to Mochi, without him around, it could have been years and she wouldn’t have known it. A day without seeing him felt like forever. And for Lime, the feeling was quite the same – although, she didn’t know that. For all these years they had known each other, there had always been this thin wall between them. Faint hints and unsure mumblings about the other which barely passed them by – with a singular, clear message:

I love you.

But with this decision, the wall between them had become stronger, wider and something she was unsure to touch. If she hadn’t been certain of whether to cross that boundary before he left, she had a more conclusive idea now. Lime had always been his own person to her, but looking at him in that getup was more than she could take. It was if they lived in separate worlds–

Funny. Funny how she felt what he had felt for so long. This… untouchability, this uncrossable bridge, of difference in ability and personhood. And in the midst of the difference, they shared the same heart.

He walked around town with that girl for weeks, running around waving new weapons, and living his life without needing her. She wasn’t sure how to approach him, only he could really do that, so he did just that. And somehow, he found himself standing before her, in the privacy of her home, with no one else around.

Her eyes looked him up and down, conflicting feelings of desire and heartache boiling inside all at once. And they stood apart, staring at the other not as children, high school friends, or classmates, but as a man and a woman. Yet, yet, yet, flashed in her mind; but, but, but! He’d been initiated as a member of the very organization that stands against her kind. How could she ever dare love this specific mortal? If it hadn’t felt like taboo before, it sank like a pit in her stomach now.

Now, his eyelids slowly blinked as his gaze soaked every inch of her in. They both had changed so much, but in his belief, she stayed the same Mochi. Beautiful, kind, and a storm of emotion and pondering behind her eyes. But this time, she was hesitating, he could see it. It must be the clothes, he thought, they say they make the man, after all.

And made him they did.

All this time, he had been running after her. He had been trying to close this gap but somehow instead took one step forward and three steps back. He wasn’t compensating anymore, he knew this, confidently. So, he would now step forward without the distance continuing to grow. When he stepped forward, she tried to step away and he reached out to stop her. For the first time. And he could reach her.

“Mochi, please stop,” he began, his voice low and earnest.

The seriousness in his words finally caused her to meet his gaze. Her eyes had been avoiding his face ever since the moment she noticed how handsome he had become. She could barely hear him over the sound of her beating heart.

“W-What?” She finally managed to reply, a crack in her voice followed by uneasiness.

He didn’t like this. He liked when Mochi was herself around him, when she was comfortable, laughing, and smiling. But then he thought to himself, how long had it been since he last saw that version of her? How long had it been since they had… been themselves together? He didn’t train this hard for her to push him away again. He loved her more than she could understand, more than the stars could explain, and more than whatever cosmic force might try to keep them apart. He would tear any opposing forces apart and down and inside out to have her.

Gently, he grasped a few strands of her hair. He felt the ends of it on his thumb, lovingly peering down at the locks. And then, his gaze trailed up to her blushing and adamant face. His eyes ever so steadfast and sincere, he finally responded to her.

“I’m not running on some baseball field anymore and you’re… you’re not struggling with 3rd period physics anymore. I’m not running anymore, but you – you are… Stop running away from me, stop… hesitating.”

She swallowed, the resolution in his voice caught her off guard, and somehow, hurt her feelings. Her? Running away? She wasn’t sure if she was ready to face the music, hadn’t that been the case? She was running away? No, she needed to stay strong, feign ignorance.

“What does some soldier from the M34TH want with me, some witch?” She answered, turning her face away from his.

He stepped closer, their bodies barely an inch apart. He lowered his face closer to hers, his gaze piercing with sincerity and a fire she had known before behind his eyes. “As far as I’m concerned, I’m not just some soldier and you’re not just some witch, but if you’re stressing that beautiful head of yours out about it, allow me to clarify.”

His large, calloused hand swiftly found its way to her waist, while the other gently cradled her jaw tilting upwards. Within seconds he closed the distance between their lips and pressed their bodies together. How long had he been waiting for his moment, to claim what he felt was unclaimable? When he pulled away, he brushed his thumb across her lips, which she quickly pushed away and hid her face within his chest.

What had he just done? He broke the wall, he crossed the line – he had done what she kept herself from doing for so long. He stopped hesitating. Her fingers gripped the sides of his coat and she pushed her face harder into his chest. She felt too many things, too many conflicting thoughts swirling, but above it all it told her this may change everything.

And, in true Lime fashion, “this won’t change anything,” he said. As if reading her mind, he responded with the words she needed to hear. “But let me have this today, where you’re not some witch and I’m not some officer.”

She pulled back and looked up at him, her cheeks flushed. “And what about tomorrow, when I decide to hesitate again? What about tomorrow, when I have to be who I really am, a witch, and you have to put that uniform on?”

Wrapping his arms around her, he snuggled his chin into the nape of her neck. “No matter what day it is, you’re still Mochi and I’m still Lime.”

#musubiki #the cat witchs guild #limochi #the misc adventures of mochi & lime #tcwg #tmaomal #i rly wanted to finish this before my program starts bc then i will be virtually dead for a year smh #which i did!!! bc my first class starts in fifteen minutes lMAO #i thought lime talked too much in this.... very awk n i apologize for how ooc this may be babe #i rly hope u enjoy it i tried akdkdk #BUT LMK WHAT I DID WRONG... im taking notes so i can do better next time #i wanted to do more steamy words but... the spice left me... idk why

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aesethewitch · 22 days

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From Notes to Grimoire

I’ve talked some about my thoughts and recommendations for taking notes for witchcraft, but what comes after that? In my method, notes are taken in a date-based, linear fashion. Subjects aren’t usually grouped together (unless you’re using separate notebooks for specific topics), and it can be tough to use rough notes like that for much more than basic study. I said in that post that I wasn’t talking about a reference document; I was just talking about writing down thoughts, ideas, spell tests, book notes, study notes, theory notes, and other assorted things as you research and learn about your craft.

So what about when you want to take your rough study notes and turn them into a nice-looking, well-organized, practical collection that’s better for regular referencing and actual use? That’s when you go from notes to grimoire.

(Note that this post is loaded with my opinions. I say it throughout, but go into this knowing that I’m speaking from my personal perspective — you won’t, and really you shouldn’t — agree with everything I say here.)

What Goes into a Grimoire?

Ultimately, what you put in your grimoire is up to you. I’m of the opinion that grimoires are and should be working documents. If you aren’t familiar with the term “working document,” it just means that the contents of the grimoire are always under construction. It means that you’re allowed to add, remove, and modify things as your practice changes over time. It also means that you’re supposed to reevaluate the grimoire’s contents every so often to make those updates. Complacency is the enemy of progress — there’s always a new question to ask or a new perspective to take. Keep the working document mentality in mind while you decide what to put in your grimoire.

With that said, in my opinion, a grimoire is not a place to take raw notes, write out theories, test spells, or even record divinations. Those things ought to go in your notebook, not your grimoire.

A grimoire is a reference document. It holds information on the spells, rituals, traditions, incantations, observances, and materials you actually use and need to look up. Grimoires are practical tools. Yes, they can look nice, but if the function isn’t there, it isn’t a grimoire — it’s just a scrapbook.

So, what should you put in a grimoire? Here’s a general idea of things I’d recommend:

Proven spells and recipes

Rituals you perform and when you perform them

Sigils, symbols, and spell vessels you’ve made and what they’re for

Instructions for making or obtaining materials for spellwork

A reference sheet for making substitutions

Holidays and events you observe and how you observe them

Divination instructions, including cartomancy spreads, magpie oracle charm lists, symbols you look for, and other relevant information

Plant, herb, stone, and crystal profiles

Fire, smoke, pet, and other safety details and instructions

Your astrological chart and its meanings

Profiles on spirits and deities you work with, including preferred offerings, important dates, descriptions of vessels, and details about any ongoing deals or agreements

Anything you commonly need to reference from books, online articles, or other sources

Conversely, here are things that should not go in a grimoire:

Notes on books you’re reading

Spells that are works in progress

Drawings of sigils in progress

Divination notes

Lists of books you want to read

Lists of topics you want to research next

Notes on spirit encounters

Journal pages

Rambles on magic theory

Information that has nothing to do with your witchcraft, spiritual path, religion, or other related field

Information you simply will not use

Obviously, you can add and remove things as you see fit. You should put whatever you commonly reference and whatever is practical for you in your grimoire. If you’re using it all the time, put it in there. If you don’t use something that “everyone” says “has” to be in your grimoire, don’t put it in. For example, I don’t use my astrological chart for anything. I know my big three, and that’s good enough for me. So, it doesn’t go in the book, no matter how many times I see it on those “what to put in your grimoire!” lists that go around witchblr every so often. Similarly, if you don’t have pets, you don’t need to put pet safety information in your book.

Use your common sense and discretion. Your grimoire is yours. If it isn’t practical, don’t put it in. If it is practical and relevant to you, but no one “recommends” putting that particular bit of information down in a grimoire, who cares? Write it down. You can always take it out later.

Creating and Maintaining a Working Document

Now, you’ll see grimoires referred to as working documents (or “living” documents) pretty frequently. You’re allowed to (and meant to) change things over time as you and your practice change.

But how do you do that? How do you keep an organized, practical reference document if it’s constantly changing?

Well, first of all, stop over-thinking it (I say to myself, frequently and loudly). Second of all, no matter what format you choose, from bound notebooks to binders to apps, the primary idea is to evaluate the contents regularly and to keep them in some kind of predetermined order. How that will look and how frequently you do reviews depends on you, your preferences, your practice, and the medium you choose. So, let’s have a look at some options and how I would suggest setting them up as a working-document-grimoire.

Binders

First (and best, in my opinion), are binders. There are a plethora of sizes and styles, so you can choose based on portability, available volume, color, and features according to your needs.

By far, the greatest benefits of using a binder for a grimoire are versatility and adaptability. You can create sections by inserting hunks of cardboard, sheets of colored paper, or pre-made pages with tabs that stick out for easy navigation. And, if you decide you don’t like the way your sections are organized, you can easily open the binder rings, take the section out, and put it wherever you want. In the same way, you can add and remove pages to any section at any point. You don’t have to allot space ahead of time or worry about running out of room in a given section.

Binders have a sort of inherent working document nature. With these, I would recommend reading through the entire thing at least twice a year to review the contents. When something sticks out as inaccurate, unused, or outdated, remove it. You can discard the page entirely or set up a separate “archive” folder to keep it in so you can look back and remember what you’ve taken out. (I keep one of these, though I’m considering moving it into a folder clipped into the back of my grimoire binder.)

On the other hand, if you find something in your grimoire that needs more attention, detail, or elaboration — or you just get inspired and want to add a new spell or bit of information to what’s already there — you can pull out the old page and replace it, or you can add a new page right after the existing one.

It’s up to you how frequently you go through your grimoire. Remember that this is a practical reference document. Set it up in a way that makes sense to you. Again, the nice thing about binders is that if you decide the way you’ve set it up is no good, you can change it without having to start over completely.

Notebooks

Obviously, there are a ton of types of notebooks out there. It comes down to pure personal preference what kind you go with.

Because notebooks can’t be rearranged in the same way that a binder can, keeping one as a working document obviously looks different. With any kind of bound notebook, I recommend doing a sort of yearly review. If much of your practice has changed, or if you find you’ve run out of room in your grimoire for new entries, it’s time to start into a new notebook. This doesn’t mean you have to disregard the original grimoire entirely.

You can copy over spells, information, and whatever else you like into the new book and shelf the original as a relic or treat the books like volumes in a series. In that way, you wouldn’t copy more than the essentials into the new grimoire; you would instead add entirely new spells, rituals, and information to it.

Either way, I would suggest dating the books. I would jot down at least the year(s) you work in the grimoire for organizational purposes. Remember that practicality and usability are the names of the game. You want to be able to use these books as references for your magical practice to help you remember things accurately.

The major drawback of any kind of notebook is that if you find you hate the way you’ve set it up, you can’t just go back and rearrange it. Once it’s down on paper, it’s down. You would either have to rip out the pages and move them manually, leaving them loose or re-pasted into their new places, or start up a new notebook entirely.

On the other hand, that has benefits, too. It removes the temptation to arrange and rearrange endlessly. If you’re indecisive and would waste too much time worrying about layout as opposed to getting a functional document up and running (even if it’s imperfect), a notebook may actually be a pretty good choice for you. It’s an exercise in tolerance for imperfection, to say the least.

Now, let’s have a brief look at different kinds of notebooks.

Divided Notebooks

First, let’s look at notebooks that come divided already. Whether it’s a subject-divided spiral notebook, a journal with built-in title pages, or journals that are divided into smaller journals inside them, part of the work has already been done for you.

A drawback of using these types of notebooks or journals is that you lose the ability to decide how much space is given to a particular subject. On the other hand, it can make getting started much, much easier. My first grimoire was in a large spiral-bound five-subject notebook. I divided it into five sections: Spells, Holidays and Seasons, Spirits, Plants, and Miscellaneous. Granted, at the time, I was taking notes into my grimoire. It wasn’t a very practical document; that wouldn’t come until several years later, when I figured out why I couldn’t remember anything with any sort of reliability. Now, I’ve got very strong opinions on note-taking and record-keeping.

It’s the chemistry nerd in me.

Blank Notebooks

This includes plain lined notebooks, unlined notebooks, and bullet journals. These are harder to use, in my opinion. I don’t think they’re very friendly to beginners who are creating their very first grimoire. These lend themselves better to note-taking notebooks than official grimoires, but you can certainly make them work.

To make a blank notebook function as a grimoire, you should spend a bit of time deciding the order of contents. How many pages do you want to dedicate to a given subject? What subjects will you place next to each other? Will information about moon phases be followed by planetary information, or will you talk about moon water and moon-based spellwork? Do you want to create sections and title pages ahead of time? To make it organized, you’ll want to decide these things somewhat in advance or leave room to add them later on. It’s easier to add (taping, gluing, paper-clipping, etc.) or remove (cutting, tearing, etc.) pages in some notebooks than others. Take that into account when you choose a notebook for your grimoire!

Sketchbooks

For the more artistically inclined magical practitioner, a sketchbook might make a good choice. If you plan on using materials like paint or watercolors, the thicker paper stock would be a solid asset. Artists will feel right at home drawing sketches, diagrams, sigils, and other illustrative details in their grimoires with a sketchbook. They have the same drawbacks as blank notebooks, being complete blank slates that you have to plan around, but they do end up being very nice to look at.

Like with blank notebooks, consider the order you want to put things in. Jot down titles, content, and ideas for drawings or art pieces you’d like to include in the final product. Remember that because the book is bound, you may not be able to add things to sections that have already been filled in. Consider artistic ways to show what’s on a given page to make it easier to manage — color-coded page edges, for example, might be an idea.

Junk Journals

I genuinely wouldn’t recommend using a junk journal for a formal grimoire. By their nature, they’re messy, disorganized, and difficult to parse through for information. They’re fun to make, don’t get me wrong — I love a junk journal for regular journaling and inspiration. But they don’t lend themselves toward organizational systems. If you’re going to use a junk journal as your formal grimoire, you’ll either have to resign yourself to hunting through pages for what you’re looking for or do some extensive planning in advance.

The best way to make a practical, working-document-style junk journal would be to combine it with a binder, I think. Create those iconic, aesthetic pages. Punch holes in them and place them into a binder in the correct location. That way, you still get the pretty aesthetic of the junk with the practicality of what a grimoire should actually be.

(Personally, I would use the junk journal aesthetic for section title pages in a binder — give it some personality and decoration without sacrificing any of the practicality.)

Digital Documents

I say that binders are the best option, but honestly, digital grimoires are up there, too. If you need to keep your magical practice more secret, if you don’t have time or energy to put together a physical book, or if you would prefer to have a system you can reorganize at the drop of a hat, digital grimoires might be right for you.

There are a ton of programs out there you can use. I’ve used Word, Scrivener, and Obsidian for grimoires and/or witchcraft note-taking, personally. Of them all, Obsidian is the one I would recommend most strongly. Word is… well, it’s Word. Scrivener is wonderful as a writer’s tool, and I use it to write these posts! I had moderate success with it for grimoire work. By far, Obsidian has been the best. The back-linking capabilities alone revolutionized the way I set up my grimoire (and other reference documents, including TTRPG notes). I really can’t recommend it enough.

Another program I’ve seen recommended frequently is Notion. While I can’t speak about it myself, since I haven’t used it, it does get rave reviews — particularly from folks who like to have a nicer aesthetic for their craft. Obsidian is pretty bare-bones aesthetic-wise, so if that’s important to you, Notion may be an option to consider.

With digital grimoires as working documents, I would follow the same guidelines as with a binder. Review the contents regularly, archive anything outdated, and evaluate the organizational layout for practicality. My biggest suggestion is to date the individual entries. Include the date you first create the page, obviously, but I would also include the date of the most recent update. If you want to get really lab-notebooky and formal about it, you could include every date you update it. (That’s what I do, personally, but I come from a database management background.)

The main downside to a digital grimoire is accessibility. If you’re out in the middle of nowhere without a computer or cell service, you may not be able to access your grimoire. I’ve seen folks set up entire grimoires using the notes app on their phones to make it easy to carry around, which is fine… unless you find it difficult to type with a phone keyboard. Physical books can be transported via bags, and they don’t need to be charged like a phone or laptop.

I also find that digital grimoires often lack the charm of a physical one. Even pretty, aesthetic templates on Notion are missing that witchy feeling. You know the one I mean — cracking open a tome of secrets to access the magic within just can’t be done through a screen.

Turning Notes into Reference Materials

This is probably the toughest part. After you decide what you want to include in your grimoire, now you’ve got to actually go through your notes and put together your collection.

The tone of your grimoire doesn’t necessarily need to be overly formal. It also doesn’t have to be publisher-ready. You aren’t writing a book on magic. You’re putting together a collection of materials that you want to be able to reference quickly and easily. It doesn’t have to make sense to anyone else or be absolutely perfect. Remember — this is a working reference document for you. If you mess it up, you can fix it later. Don’t be afraid to cross stuff out or be a little messy. So long as it stays practical and reference-able, you’re fine.

Spells and rituals are probably the easiest things to copy into a grimoire. You might even be able to copy them over verbatim from your notes, depending on how you took the notes. Bring over any changes you made to the spell, clean up the language, and make it easy to read. If you’ve scribbled on your notes, bring over any annotations that make sense. I wouldn’t copy all commentary; just the things that impact the working itself. You can include a “notes” section after the spell itself if you want to make note of your personal thoughts regarding the spell, what to expect during or after, and other information that might be found in the margins of your raw notes. Trim the excess. You don’t need your “lol this ingredient looks like a dick” joke in your grimoire, but you might want the “this ingredient can cause eye irritation, so don’t touch your face after handling” note.

If you’ve ever written an essay for school, I usually recommend a similar process. Your notebook is the basic first draft. For your grimoire, clean up the draft, fact-check yourself, jot down your sources, and then make it look nice.

“Making it look nice” could mean drawings, stickers, washi tape, pictures, and the like… or, it could mean choosing a clean font and ordering your steps numerically. If you’re hand-writing your grimoire, do your best to keep your writing legible. Always remember that these pages are intended as a reference document. If you can’t go back and read it, it’s failing in its function! That applies to overly-decorative pages, too; if your aesthetic is obscuring the information inside the grimoire to the point where you can’t parse the instructions on the page, it isn’t a grimoire anymore. There’s nothing wrong with a pretty, aesthetic inspiration book, but that’s not what we’re going for here.

My biggest piece of advice when transferring notes into a grimoire is to be practical. Not everything you learn about and jot down in your journal or notebook can (or should) make into your grimoire. If you aren’t going to use a spell, don’t include it. If you don’t go by the Wheel of the Year, don’t put those holidays down in your grimoire. Learning about things and taking in information is what the notebooks are for. Grimoires are akin to manuals.

Only take what you need from your notes. Think about what you want to incorporate and what you already use in your actual practice. You wouldn’t want to take down all of your notes about that witchcraft book you just finished, but maybe there was a spell or a correspondence table that you keep going back to look at. That’s something to put in your grimoire.

My Grimoire

I’m of the opinion that you shouldn’t share your grimoire with just anybody. Frankly, not a single person in my life has ever seen mine. I’ve shown off examples, and I’ll share my note-taking journal(s) on occasion, but you’ll never see my actual grimoire. My grimoire is for me. It isn’t for the aesthetic, and it isn’t for show. It’s a reference document that details my entire practice, from spells adapted from various sources to spirits I’m allied with to traditions that have been passed down in my family.

To no one’s surprise, I actually keep two grimoires. I’ve got my digital grimoire in Obsidian, which also doubles as a note-taking repository. I have several physical notebooks scattered around that I use in the moment, but everything gets recorded digitally for posterity and easy perusal. My Obsidian files are divided into categories which are then sub-divided into specific subjects. Raw notes, experiments, and theory crafting are kept separate from the reference sections.

And I keep a physical grimoire. I used to struggle with keeping physical grimoires. I was always unsatisfied with them, or I forgot about them, or I changed my mind about how I wanted them to be organized mid-way through and ended up frustrated. It’s why I swapped over to exclusively using digital programs — and why I landed at Obsidian in the first place.

But now, having a very good digital system in place, I find myself wanting to travel with my grimoire. I want to take it with me so that I can perform spells on the go. I’d like to take it to the cemeteries and forests I frequent to discuss its contents with those spirits and to accurately perform rituals without having to look at a blurry picture on my phone. Recently, I decided to repurpose an old binder that I once used for character creation. It’s got a pencil pouch in the front, and it isn’t too large to carry around. Plus, to the untrained eye, it just looks like a very nice student’s school binder. I could easily take it to a coffee shop to work on it and raise precisely no eyebrows.

It’s been a work in progress to decide how I want to lay it out. Writing this post and the taking notes post have been really helpful, actually. I think I’ve finally got a solid idea of what I want to put in it and how. It isn’t ready to show off, but I do think that once I have the layout settled, I’ll share more specifics about it to illustrate some of my points made here. Depending on what I decide to share, it may end up a Ko-Fi exclusive. (Just the layout/title cards would be fine to be totally public; pictures or descriptions of the actual pages would be exclusive.)

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#aese speaks #witchcraft #witchblr #witch community #taking notes #grimoire #making a grimoire #witch tips #for beginner witches #practical witchcraft

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wolfgirlboyjester · 2 months

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happy xalday! i had so much fun working on this one tee hee

#RIGHT under the wire #i had pretty bad art block for a while there but ive evaded the witch's trick yet again #another note: ive drawn black characters before but i havent painted them (ive only recently started painting at all!)#i studied from photos and sincerely tried my best. but i still have a lot of growing to do as an artist #if im off base in any big way id appreciate being informed about it :]#i did take some liberties with his hairstyle--if xemnas can have gravity defying hair spikes then xaldin can have physics defying hair too #kh #kingdom hearts #xaldin #dilan

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songsofbloodandwater · 2 months

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🔥 witchcraft - in response to your unpopular opinion repost

Oh it's long, but here's what's recently been doing rounds in my head:

I'm with the gatekeepers. But sometimes people don't "gatekeep" correctly from my point of view, and then from their point of view, I am "too gatekeepy". When it's not about "more or less" gatekeeping, it's about how we go about it and who's doing it.

I often encounter situations where people don't respect nor properly protect things that need to be handled with respect and protection, and nuance, for the safety and general well being of everyone involved. In most cases, it's because they don't even know what they're trying to protect, or who, or why.

Gods Bless Nuance. It's completely gone from some very influential witchcraft people's vocabulary and behavior. And it irks me every time.

Like yes, sure, you can do magic without thinking too long and hard about the hows and whys that make magic work in general, and work specifically for you. But that's only going to take you so far as the "tried and true recipes" can take you, and in that case, you’re definitely not fit to teach or preach. You can't try to define, name, or explain to someone else something you don't thoroughly understand. And you certainly can't pretend to gatekeep the "Mysteries" if you've never fully submerged yourself in Them either. Not read about them! no matter how many books! Not taken a masterclass! submerged yourself fully, experienced them first hand, without the intervention or "guide" of others. Only when you've fully learnt to stand on your own. And that includes knowing when to say "this isn't my expertise, i'll refer you to someone else" or "I don't know". Standing on your own doesn't mean know everything and do everything, it means, what you do, you do properly. What you've learnt, you've fully internalized and know how it is applied. What you were given, you've made your own. You've earnt your stance.

The roles of teacher and gatekeeper in magic, in my opinion, always come together. When you're choosing what to preach and who to teach, you’re choosing what and who makes it through the Gates and more importantly how they do so.

Which means, if you're not fit to teach, you’re not fit to be at the Gates making Big Decisions about any tradition or the place of any person on either side of the gates. Specially not traditions that you don't belong in, but no, not even your own. You should still be in a teacher-student position and trust in the guidance and gatekeeping of your Elders or Teachers.

Not everyone is fit to teach, and most people online aren't. They're simply sharing their own experiences. But in the process, they often share more than they actually should, and more than they're fit to teach. Which ends up in all the misappropriation and bastardizing of practices, beliefs, entire cultures and religions on the greedy hands of people that should've never even been able to peer into them.

But students often underestimate the value and sacredness of what little has been shared with them in their journey. Specially in the beginning, when they don't know the whole truth to that specific concept, belief, practice nor the tradition as a whole and thus can't see the place of it in the bigger picture, or their own place as a practitioner, or simply don't have the maturity to take that weight in and act accordingly. They also vastly underestimate the sheer damage that incorrect handling and disrespect can do to a magical tradition and all the people in it, or to an initiatory, occult or "closed" religion, specially those magical practices belonging to disenfranchised and marginalized groups, and even to the people outside the culture, magical tradition, witchcraft tradition or occult religion, as they're reading or watching the student being inexperienced and incorrectly handling or inaccurately explaining something incomplete and out of context, to an even more lost audience, and thinking that's all there is to it. Missing the context of the message and who it was given to, and why. Missing the cultural context of the practice and all the ways that people coming from other cultures or traditions can fundamentally misunderstand it. Missing the theorical beliefs and cosmology behind why these truths are what they are, how and why these practices stem from them. Not just harm intellectually to that witchcraft tradition, the very real harm (physical, mental or spiritual, or all of the above) that anyone involved in that situation can incurr in if they don't learn to do certain things properly.

There's an alarming amount of so called "professionals" who are taken by others as authorities on certain magical traditions, and continously share bits of the "new findings" they're making, or the progress they've experienced personally... only to capitalize from it. Then completely detach themselves from the consequences of their actions. How can you share something you've learnt personally, and teach others how to do it themselves, if you haven't even fully internalized that lesson yet? if you haven't familiarized yourself enough with those spirits? what makes you think that what you're teaching, scratch that, selling, is actually something that is yours to teach or sell? what measures have you taken to ensure your own capability to teach this, who vouches for you and why? what measures have you taken to ensure you give due honor to the elders, the spirits, the Ancestors, and to the people who make up the body of this culture and tradition? and I don't expect just pretty words on a presentation if you're capitalizing off of a marginalized culture, I want really solid ways in which the profits of this work, class or else, will be going directly back to the original keepers' hands. I want them front and center at all times.

But even if it's not a marginalized culture or tradition. Even, no, specially when it's something that you created on your own, and had no one to lead you or teach you how it's suppossed to be done safely, the limitations of it, the reasons why it worked for you specifically and why it could or couldn't work for others. Hell, having no one there to challenge your biases. Witchcraft practitioners are often too quick to try to generalize an idea they had, a lesson they've learnt or a practice they've developed, in order to share it online with others, and sometimes, specifically in order to have something new to sell. Which opens a whole 'nother can of worms.

When you find all of that mess... with a cutesy instagram caption telling you to check out this New Offering! available only for U$D 200, for a limited time! That's just the cherry on top. Enjoy "learning" from someone who's practically a newborn to the relationship with those spirits, and has never had any of their biases or mislearnings checked. There's more chances that you'll be the one teaching them than anything else. And paying tens or hundreds of dollars ontop. The blind leading the blind.

TL;DR: If you're charging people hundreds of dollars for consultations and work, doing witchcraft profesionally, you can't claim to "never want to be seen as an authority". You can't literally place yourself in a position of authority, reap the benefits, pay your bills, but disregard and detach yourself from the responsibilities that come with your words and actions. Just because you know something doesn't mean you can share it, just because you learnt how to do something doesn't mean you can teach it, and you probably shouldn't either way. Witchcraft is often too personal and too culturally-historically tied to you specifically as a person, to your experiences in a tradition or lineage, and it's irresponsible, actively harmful, to generalize concepts, beliefs, practices or entire religions, for a wider audience in order to be able to capitalize off of them. "But I'm a witch and I got bills to pay" is never a valid answer to any of this. There's proper ways to learn and teach things in each tradition and culture, and they should be respected, in order to protect both the tradition and the people who wish to be, or are already, involved in it.

#Witchcraft #Witchblr #Witches of color #ask #asks #hey it was meant to be an unpopular opinion #so if this ruffles any feathers...#take it up to your elders and spirits #my notes #the way that my people teach #Is the complete opposite of how I see some people sharing or even #''teaching'' things online #which looks from over here like the witchcraft equivalent of gaming's ''i'm pushing all the buttons''#''I just did it''#''you should try it too''#''lmk if you figure out what button we're suppossed to be pushing''#...*very concerned stare*

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gren-arlio · 5 months

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Random Update #3:

Decided to quickly check out the Super Madou Monogatari novel despite not knowing what's giving on.

I mean it looks cool when you get art for the pages.

These all came from Volume 2 of the novel, which I read on Archive.org. All IK is that there's Satan's brother, the ARS Trio work together for once, and it's loosely off Waku Waku Puyo Puyo Dungeon, since the image with Witch was when she was in the Horror House vs Schezo.

Also, through that, I stumbled upon these.

About 4 random pages of Disc Station talking about Serilly's Happy Birthday, along with artwork for the characters I haven't seen. I'd like to assume they're from different magazines.

Its...pretty fascinating. I take no real credit for finding this stuff, anyways. It's just me posting it here.

Translations will be late because of school unfortunately, taking 3 English classes was not my best move, but they'll be released next week at the very least.

That'll be all for now. Just wanted to throw this out here.

#schezo puyo puyo #schezo wegey #arle puyo puyo #arle nadja #witch puyo puyo #witch #madou monogatari #puyo puyo #puyoposting #disc station #rulue puyo puyo #Note to all: Don't take 3 classes of the same subject in one semester. Not the best plan of action.

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rotisseries · 2 days

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also would you like to share the timeline. for research purposes

I'm not done yet but when I am I will

#I'm trying to get things down to the minute if I can I'm being so real #that's how this started actually I was so hyperaware of everything reading the latest chapter that it was the first time #I really took notice of specific clock times being given. and so then I was like let me take note of the exact minutes things are confirmed #to be happening in this chapter #and then I went wait a fucking minute they've used specific clock times before in earlier chapters #and then that devolved into. exact timeline. I will have one #ask #witch-of-aiaia #hi aiaia!

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juriyuna · 5 months

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We know the Bat didn't witch out, but she's not among the ghosts of Futatsugi's dead magical girls in juriyuna's event, either. She doesn't even get a passing mention. The implication that she survived getting mauled by her former underlings in CR... much to think about........

#we find out that the helpful (read: trying her best) ghost guide was juri's friend from her mss who she accidentally killed #and yuna notes that her senpai is absent #she isn't sure if that's because senpai turned into a witch (it's unclear if witches leave ghosts behind)#or if senpai was staying hidden on purpose #(it sorta felt implied to me that senpai was watching from afar to see how much yuna has grown as a leader)#the bat is at least as influential as both of those NPCs but she never gets brought up #perhaps... my headcanon that she survived is real after all......#ranka scraped her off the floor of the arcade after that fight in CR and kept her #magia record #bat of monzenbashi #tbh i think the bat would've actively tried to make ao worse after the ryou incident #since she did enjoy fucking with ao's head in CR #but maybe she had to keep that reined in because if ao got rapidly worse everyone would know who was responsible #and there's no way she'd be able to take juri AND yuna AND hikaru all at once #(in a fight. to be clear.)#these tags are getting away from me. goodnight tumblr

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caterpillarinacave · 22 days

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For the yes/no ask game: If you were interested in picking berries and learned all the good spots in your area to collect from, of which there happened to be many, and you found yourself falling into a little community of berry pickers, where you trade locations, recipes, and knowledge of berries, and one day you heard of a little local legend about a lost grove that's supposed to have some of the most delicious berries but no one remembers the path since the markers for it were washed away one particularly strong storm, only a general area of where it might be is recalled, but you're intrigued, so armed with what little information you have and boatload of determination, you pack yourself a little picnic and decide to make a day of it, hiking out to the spot, and it takes the better part of a morning, mostly because you keep stopping to check for berries, but by noon you've reached a place you're pretty sure must be it because the bushes are so high and thick they seem to be trying to drown out the sky itself and the berries (which you one hundred and ten percent recognize 'cause you're cool like that) are plentiful as expected, so you get to work filling your basket and while you're collecting you stumble across a couple little neat trinkets you decide to pocket as well (a spinning top, a key, a dog tag, and an old useless walkie-talkie) and before long you've filled your basket and you start your trek back following your markers, only to see a door halfway back, standing in a frame in the middle of a clearing of a thicket, so, obviously intrigued, you wander over to give a closer look, it's old, vines climbing the brick around the frame, it's closed and the door is painted black, when you try the handle you see it is locked, when you go to the other side you see the door is white, and when you try the handle the same applies, even when you rattle it nothing happens and while you chew on a berry and think on this problem you remember the key you found earlier, and having nothing better to do you dig it out and try it, to find to your delight that it does indeed open, you take the key back out and step through the doorway, closing the door behind you, you try the key on the black side, but it doesn't work, so you shrug and pocket the key once more, returning to your journey out of the woods, only...where are the path markers you tied on the way in?

You wouldn't say you're lost quite yet, but you hurry along the path you're sure you took anyway and you make it out, but your way home is missing, you let out a noise of frustration, you've been robbed, but you have no cell service here so you start walking, luckily home isn't too far, but it is tiring, and by the time you make it to town it's mid-afternoon, you're tired, yet satisfied with your haul, but as you walk into town you make a very disturbing observation, this is not your town, the streets are strange, the architecture too, you make it to where your house should be and there is no building, instead the place is a garden, there are people, tall with long dark hair, and you wave to them to ask where you are, obviously you've made a wrong turn somewhere, but as they come close they seem confused by you and your words, when they speak the language is harsh and punctuated by chirps, like nothing you've ever heard, you can't understand them, so you politely apologize as best you can and try to speak to the next person walking down the road, but with the same results, you try again and again, each time you fail to communicate a sense of unease quickly turning to dread fills you, you can't even find common words in any language you know or gestures with those who try to communicate with you, eventually you find yourself sitting alone outside of town, evening will be here soon, you put away your phone, which you noticed earlier hasn't had service all day, and your fingers brush against the key from the Door, despite how bizarre it sounds, you are struck with the hypothesis that it may be the source of your current mishap, after a long bout of debate, deliberating your options, you decide to try going back to the Door, while it might be a waste of time, it couldn't hurt and maybe you'd solve this problem while walking anyway, so you head back, much more direct than the first time, but it's still dusk by the time you make it, the doorway is just as you left it, you try the key in the lock on the black side of the door again, to no avail, you bang on the door, kick it, try to pick the lock, eventually you circle around to the white side, this time when you try the key, it opens, but when you look through you are certain that is not your world, do you walk through?

No.

#This is the sort of thing I’d end up in on some Thursday. Might as well happen I suppose. Step one is searching for another key.#We found several object in the brambles right? We should take a look at all of them. Explore the bushes see what else we might find.#Also: the walkie was useless in the my world. But maybe it’ll do something in this world?#Maybe it will connect us to someone who speaks our tongue or translate for us or explain something #Stepping potentially farther and farther away from my world right away in not necessarily the best move though it might be later #Take note of any other difference visible in the world. Are the only differences in the “man” made buildings? Is anything mirrored?#Do the berries still taste the same? Do they look the same? Are the plants the same? Sun? Sky? Clouds? Sunset? Is there anything new?#If the berries appear the same one course of action could be to bring them down to the “people” of the village to try and connect with them #I however do not have the nerves for that. At all. Becoming a berry witch might be in my future #Also: are there any animals around? Birds chirping?#Also I’m keeping the cell phone off to conserve power- also keeping the basket with me #Thanks for the ask #I love this game<3<3<3 #And I love anon #Let’s go get trapped in a berry world together

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