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Andrew Garfield, in an interview with GQ

It's never-ending. The grief is never-ending. The love is never-ending. Like, Oh. That's the nature of love.

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books I’ve read in 2021:

19. the empress of salt and fortune by nghi vo

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Death

The Nine of Cups

Justice

The Nine of Swords

The King of Swords

The Hanged Man

The Hermit

The Six of Swords

The Eight of Cups

The Five of Cups

The Sun

The Three of Swords

‘The Ghetto Tarot’: Haitian artists transform classic tarot deck into stunning real life scenes:

Welcome to the Ghetto Tarot, a project from award-winning documentary photographer Alice Smeets and a group of Haitian artists known as Atis Rezistans. The idea was to take the classic Rider-Waite tarot deck of 78 cards and create a photographic version of each card using settings and objects in the vibrant ghetto of Haiti.

As Smeets says, “The spirit of the Ghetto Tarot project is the inspiration to turn negative into positive while playing. The group of artists ‘Atiz Rezistans’ use trash to create art with their own visions that are a reflection of the beauty they see hidden within the waste. They are claiming the word ‘Ghetto,’ thus freeing themselves of its depreciating undertone and turning it into something beautiful.”

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Witches in History - Podcast Recs

If you prefer your history lessons in podcast form, here’s a list of audio treats about witches, witch trials, and witch panics, from antiquity to the modern day. Check out these shows on your favorite podcast app!

I will update this list as I find new examples. Feel free to add your own!

(Last Updated January 16, 2024 - Full post under Read More)

Witches & Witch Trials in History

Hex Positive

Ep. 3 - Hex Positive June 1, 2020 Bree delves into what it means to be Hex Positive, as well as discussing and dismantling some of the confusion surrounding the use of hexes and curses. Just what IS the Threefold Law, anyway? The answer may surprise you.

Ep. 19 - The Trouble with Tarot August 1, 2021 Tarot and tarot-reading have been a part of the modern witchcraft movement since the 1960s. But where did these cards and their meanings come from? Are they secretly Ancient Egyptian mystical texts? Do they have their origins among the Romani people? Are they a sacred closed practice that should not be used by outsiders? Nope, nope, and nope. This month, we delve into the actual history of tarot cards, discover their origins on the gaming tables of Italy and France, meet the people who developed their imagery and symbolism into the deck we know today, and debunk some of the nonsense that’s been going around lately concerning their use. The Witchstorian is putting on her research specs for this one!

Ep. 20 - Witchcraft and the Law September 1, 2021 A discussion of the history of witchcraft-related laws and how changing views on magic, religion, and superstition first denied the existence of witches, then panicked over their alleged activities, and finally settled into something resembling common sense. This is a long slog, encompassing over 3000 years of history from a broomstick-height view, and I get off on a few tangents where history crosses paths with modern issues. But if you’re a history buff, you’re gonna love this episode!

Ep. 21 - Witchcraft and Modern Law September 21, 2021 A follow-up to Ep. 20, this time dealing with modern legal codes that may affect our practices even if they don’t deal with witchcraft directly. There is also some discussion of 20th-century events missed in the previous episode, as well as a brief overview of witch hunts still occurring in some parts of the world today.

Ep. 22 - Bree and Lozzie vs the Witch Hunters October 1, 2021 Bree NicGarran and guest host Lozzie Stardust run down the history and many misdeeds of notorious witch hunters Matthew Hopkins and John Stearne.

Ep. 23 - The Name of the Game November 1, 2021 Bree delves into the history, myths, and urban legends surrounding Ouija boards. Along the way, we’ll uncover their origins in the spiritualist movement, discover the pop culture phenomenon that labeled them portals to hell, and try to separate fact from internet fiction with regard to what these talking boards can actually do.

Ep. 28 - The Easter-Ostara Debacle April 1, 2022 Bree puts on her Witchstorian hat once more to delve into the origins of both Easter  and Ostara and to finally answer the age-old question: which came first  – the bunny or the egg?

Ep. 036 - Margaret Effing Murray with Trae Dorn July 1, 2023 Margaret Murray was a celebrated author, historian, folklorist, Egyptologist, archaeologist, anthropologist, first-wave feminist, and the first woman to be appointed to the position of lecturer in archaeology in the UK. So why so we get so annoyed whenever her name is mentioned in conversations about witchcraft? Well, it all has to do with a book Margaret wrote back in 1921…which just so happened to go on to have a profound influence on the roots of the modern witchcraft movement. Nerd & Tie senpai and host of BS-Free Witchcraft Trae Dorn joins me in the virtual studio to discuss the thoroughly-discredited witch-cult hypothesis, Murray’s various writings and accomplishments, and why modern paganism might not have caught on so strongly without her.

BS-Free Witchcraft

Ep 03: The History of Wicca October 06, 2018 On this episode Trae digs deep into the history of Wicca, and tries to give the most accurate history of the religion as they can. I mean, yeah, we know this is a general Witchcraft podcast, but Wicca is the most widely practiced form of Witchcraft in the US, UK, Canada and Australia… so how it got started is kind of important for the modern Witchcraft movement. (And trust me, there aren’t any pulled punches here.)

Ep. 28: The Burning Times May 30, 2020 On this installment of the podcast, we tackle probably one of the more controversial topics in the modern witchcraft movement: The Burning Times. What were the actual “Burning Times,” where do we get that phrase from, and what really happened? Also, how has this phrase been used in modern witchcraft? It’s a heavy one, folks.

Ep. 33: The Wheel of the Year March 27, 2021 After two fairly depressing episodes, it’s time to move on to something a little less bleak. This time around we’re talking about the Wheel of the Year! Well, at least the basic idea. Where did it come from, who slapped these eight holidays together, and are they really something every witch needs to give a crap about? (Minor spoiler, the answer to that last question is a firm “no.”)

Ep. 39. - Mabon and Aidan Kelly Sept. 25, 2021 In the last few years there has been some minor push back against using the name “Mabon” for the Autumnal Equinox. In this episode we’re going to talk about how Mabon got its name, who came up with the name, and why exactly a small group of British Traditional Wiccans are so mad about it. (Spoiler: it’s because a bunch of Gardnerian Wiccans are mad at Aidan Kelly.)

Ep. 43 - “Lilith” Jan. 29, 2022 As long as I can remember, people have been debating whether or not it’s okay for non-Jewish witches to incorporate Lilith into their practices. Is Lilith closed? Is it cultural appropriation? There’s so much misinformation in new age and poorly written witchcraft books on Lilith, it’s hard for some witches to get a clear picture. Like I’ve run into folks on social media talking about Lilith as a “Goddess,” which she very much isn’t. Let’s dive into the origins of the folklore surrounding this figure, and I’ll let you decide whether or not it’s okay to work with Lilith. But, uh, spoiler – I don’t think you should.

Ep. 53 - Modern Witchcraft History Nov. 26, 2022 This episode of BS-Free Witchcraft is actually a panel from CritWitchCon 2022 this last October. Spend an hour with Alex Wrekk, Bree NicGarran, Lozzie Stardust, and Trae Dorn as they talk about the history of modern witchcraft. Also you get to list to Trae speed run like 130 years of history in under five minutes. [It was epic.]

Ep. 54 - A Conversation with Aidan Kelly Dec. 31, 2022 Trae sits down with Aidan Kelly (yes THE Aidan Kelly) to discuss the September 2021 episode listed above and set the record straight about Kelly’s new Wheel of the Year.

Keep reading

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You don’t need a psychic to make healthy choices for yourself.

You do not always need a psychic or tarot cards or pendulums to make decisions for you. That can be toxic, especially if they’re wrong, or you are spending all of your time putting your trust in someone else. You have intuition too, and you know yourself better than anyone. No one is 100% sure of anything because the future is fluid. No one is 100% ready for big decisions. You don’t need to be perfect about it. Just trust yourself and your gut, and get readings every once in a while if you actually need them and are truly lost, or maybe just curious. You don’t have to have readings dictate your day or your life. You are in control of your life at the end of the day. You are perfect how you are, and you can make healthy decisions for yourself better than anyone else, since you know yourself the best.

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By magicinsalem

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Robert Wun Couture Spring/Summer 2023

"The Raincoat" is Hand crafted with 30,000 Swarovski crystals, and took over 600 hours to construct. Designed to emulate rain droplets sparkling on a dark rainy night.

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𝚁𝚊𝚋𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚑 𝚃𝚊𝚐𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙱𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚍 – 𝟿 [𝟷𝟿𝟹𝟽-𝟷𝟿𝟺𝟷]

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King of spring and fairies

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M104, Sombrero Galaxy

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These little shamrocks are blooming ☘️

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A Witch’s Ingredients: Charcoal

Charcoal is what is left over after burning wood in a fire or other plant material that has been used in not only witchcraft but medicine and art for centuries. This ingredient is often a well forgotten or overlooked one, but it is truly an easy obtainable ingredient to harness for your craft.

The Basics

Elements: Charcoal is often related to 3 main elements- Fire, Earth and Air. Often it is related to earth due to the charcoal being created from wood, air due to the porous light nature and its relation to smoke and to fire due to fire being the energy that creates and transforms it. Though often most associate charcoal with fire.

Correspondences: Unity, Purification, Banishing, Cleansing, Protection, Warding, Concentration

Colors: Black, Gray, Ashen White

The History of Charcoal Use

In Witchcraft

In witchcraft charcoal was often used for ink making to write in grimoires by mixing the charcoal (or ash) with water and vinegar. Sticks of charcoal were used for drawing, inscribing and warding. Crushed charcoal would be mixed into salt to create black salt and casted about the home or property to absorb negative energies and ward against negative entities. Lining windows or doorways with charcoal dust was said to keep away illness and misfortune and cleanse those who entered the home.

In Medicine

Charcoal has been used in medicine for centuries, some of the latest uses dating to the times of Pharaohs in Ancient Egypt. In ancient times it was often used to prevent wounds from festering by pressing charcoal into the wound and wrapping it with clothe. Egyptians and Native Americans both have history of grinding up charcoal into dust to mix with water (or milk) to drink to cure a number of ailments including food poisoning, influenza, stomach cramping and other digestive issues.

Throughout Europe charcoal was used as a ‘cure all’ for numerous ailments including epilepsy, seizures, contraception and infection. Though charcoal definitely isn’t a cure all, it was popularly used to help settle upset stomachs, calm vomiting and aid in digestion. Later several doctors discovered the use of charcoal to counteract poisons by ingesting it with a poison, greatly nullifying the effects of the poison making them minimal in nature. During the 1800s was when activated charcoal became the main type of charcoal used for medical purposes.

Modern Uses of Charcoal

In Witchcraft

Modernly, charcoal is still used for many of the same things. Witches of all kinds use charcoal for sigil drawing and for circle casting and a sorted few still use charcoal to create ink and paint for their grimoires and spell writing.

Black Salt is still popularly made by witches by mixing salt with charcoal (1:1). Black salt is used to absorb negative energy, banish out negative entities and to ward against unwanted guests entering your home. Black salt is often used to line entry points of the home or the outlines of the property to ward and to cleanse a room or home spreading it about the home then sweeping or vacuuming it up after about an hour is the popular technique. Often charcoal is used in sachet spells to help boost their energy and prevent them from getting ‘dirtied’ by negative energy too quickly similar to adding salt to a spell sachet or even jar spells. It can also be placed or used in a spell to represent the element of fire or upon an altar for the same purpose.

In Cosmic Witchcraft it is common to use charcoal to align with the planet Saturn and sometimes Jupiter. Often it is used in spells related to justice, cleansing and ridding oneself of negativity. The blackness of charcoal can also be used to represent the blackness of the night sky itself or to represent black holes in negativity removal spells.

In Bath magick it is popular to use charcoal face masks, charcoal soap or charcoal bath salts to help cleanse oneself and remove negative energies tied to them. Glamor spells using charcoal often are for concealment and to vanish from the gaze of those who you wish not to see you such as protection at night or protection from judgement. In these cases charcoal is often added to sachets or small travel jar spells for invisibility or used for drawn sigils held on the person.

Artist’s charcoal can be used to replace standard charcoal in spells such as making black salt or for the purpose of sigil making. Though artist’s charcoal should never be used in cases of bath magick or to be ingested due to safety reasons. Grilling charcoal should never be used in place of natural charcoal due to it being often mixed with gasoline or other lighting fluids. It is not safe to get onto the skin and certainly not to ingest under any circumstances.

Medical Purposes

Charcoal is still used today for medical uses of calming stomachs and easing digestive issues though mostly activated charcoal is used now. One should not ingest wood charcoal straight from a fire! Especially not if lighter fluid or kerosine was used in the fire. If one wishes to use charcoal for medical use at home purchase it properly from a pharmacy. Charcoal is still used in hospitals for its properties of absorbing toxins ingested such as when a person has alcohol poisoning or believed to have ingested poisons, this again tends to be a mix of activated charcoal.

Health and Beauty

In skin care charcoal is used to replenish and cleanse the skin, often used for clearing out pores of bacteria, dirt and sweat to help fight and prevent blackheads and acne. It is often used in facial masks of varying kinds due to its properties of clearing out the skin, these types of masks include but are not limited to: charcoal peeling masks, charcoal mud masks, charcoal cotton masks, charcoal bubbling masks and more. This is also why charcoal soap is quite popular for those wishing to cleanse their skin. The charcoal used in these beauty masks is a type of activated charcoal though it is often mixed with several other ingredients to fight acne and blackheads.

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