aesethewitch

[aesethewitch]

Witches will be like "my spell candle did something weird!!! Is this a sign????" And they'll show you the before and after pics for reference and.

By god in the first picture, the candle is loaded with plastic glitter and too many herbs all around the wick and a thick sheen of vegetable oil and essential oils. And the second picture is a shattered glass plate and wax absolutely everywhere and scorch marks on the table and.

Babes that isn't "weird" and the only "sign" here is that you have no concept of candle safety!!!!

[aesethewitch]

In my insufferable era.

[aesethewitch]

Tfw your long shot spellwork goes shockingly well and now you have to figure out an equivalent offering to the spirit who made it happen.......

[aesethewitch]

Image ID:

A photo of a bird in a snowstorm, perched on a rail, head tucked against the weather.

Text ID:

Keep my anger from becoming meanness.

Keep my sorrow from collapsing into self-pity. Keep my heart soft enough to keep breaking.

Keep my anger

turned towards justice, not cruelty.

Remind me that all of this, every bit of it, is for love.

Keep me fiercely kind.

Laura Jean Truman

HUMAN REFORM POLITICS: a force for positive change

[aesethewitch]

The very last thing I will say about it today, is that if you know you're using not-fire-safe candle holders or fire bowls, and you don't care and don't intend to stop, you can still mitigate risk.

You can still follow all the rest of the fire safety advice... not burning near fabrics, not letting things nearby get hot, minimum clearance to all walls, overhanging shelves, surfaces, and objects; having a fire extinguisher on hand, burning things on top of a deep tray of sand, never leaving flames unattended, etc...

For god's sake at have a clear plan for what to do when a fire loses containment.

It is wild to me that the people who are not using fire safe candleholders or firebowls are often also the same people that set shit on fire right next to wooden stuff and paper sigils, let fires get out of control in untempered glass containers, burn underneath shelves, leave burn rings on wooden furniture, don't have a concept of ventilation, using synthetic fabric altar cloths that will start smoking the second an incense ember falls on them, etc.

It's not like you have to say, "well I'm not buying a fire-safe candle holder so oh well, it is what it is :)"

If you know you're already doing something dangerous and you don't intend to stop there is still a spectrum of responsibility and it is your personal choice where you stand on it.

Like nobody is forcing you to tempt fate, you know?

[aesethewitch]

So are we ready to admit the world is doomed yet <3

No cuz I'm not a little bitch

[aesethewitch]

Another thing, I just decided that for any witchy gift exchange I'm in this year I'm buying people plasma lighters. they are just so cool!

[aesethewitch]

Why, yes, I am still writing this novel-length AU to the actual novel I'm almost done with. While doing, y'know, Everything Else. It's self-indulgent nonsense and I think you should read it. Yippeeeee

I'm too pleased with this chapter, so I'm not waiting to publish it. It's Chapter 9 of Worthy, and it's got pathetic gay pining and flirting via swordplay. We love to see it.

If you haven't read any of Worthy yet and want to, check out the landing page for a summary, warnings, and a list of chapters. If you want to jump right in, here's Chapter 1.

[aesethewitch]

Large, affordable, fire-safe cast iron cauldrons with fitted lids are not rare! They sell them right now at camping stores.

You can be out here at the Walmart or the camping store buying literal cast iron cauldrons with heavy-duty lids and legs to stand them up off of the ground.

This 5 quart (almost 5 liters) baby costs $25 in my area. Twenty-five bucks. It's even got three little leggggs.

Do you want a big boy cauldron? Look at this round guy. I used to have one, gave it away like a fucking fool. It comes in at $75, and it has volume.

Anyway my point is you don't have to find a literal wizard blacksmith, there are actual companies making fire-safe cast iron cauldrons for you this very day.

[aesethewitch]

BINGO complete, now for gambling!!

Gonna be making Advertisement Adversaries BINGO cards on stream today! And then indulging my new Balatro addiction!! Come hang out and make fun of shitty Etsy listings with us! 1:30 PM (EDT), about 1 hour!

(Hyperlink just in case the embed doesn't work)

[aesethewitch]

Understand PYROLISYS and stop your house from burning down!!

Pyrolisis: the chemical change that occurs in wood and other materials, lowering the material combustion point in response to repeated heating at even relatively low temperatures such as around 200F.

aka,

the chemical or thermal decomposition of a material when it is exposed to heat

THIS MEANS that if you repeatedly heat something up to pretty high temperatures - like, stuff that's stored near offering candles that repeatedly get hot to the touch -

THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF THOSE OBJECTS DEGRADES, AND LOWERS THE COMBUSTION POINT.

The chemical change of pyrolysis lowers the temperature at which a substance will catch fire. What may be surprising is that wood exposed to temperatures as low as 200 degF. can over time be changed such that its ignition point or combustion point is significantly lowered.

Repeated exposure to high temperatures changes the composition of things!!

Just because your mason jar candle holder didn't explode the first time a little fire got out of control, does not mean it will never explode.

It may explode the 5th, 10th, or 15th time you let a fire get out of control.

As things are repeatedly introduced to high temperatures they are not designed to handle, the little bits inside degrade.

When you burn candles or small fires, nothing in the vicinity should be getting hot. No figurines, no altar cloths, no curtains, no shelves, not the surface the fire-holder is sitting on.

If your candle holder is not fire-safe (which you should never use), never allow it to get hot. Maybe you have to put it in a bigger basin with water to dissipate heat, idk.

IF YOU ARE AWARE YOU ARE USING A CANDLE HOLDER OR FIRE BOWL THAT IS NOT FIRE SAFE (WHICH YOU SHOULD NEVER USE), ONLY USE IT IN A FIRE-SAFER AREA, LIKE IN A BATHTUB, OUTSIDE ON CONCRETE, OR IN A TALL METAL POT WITH A LID TO SUFFOCATE FLAMES. This is the same concept as assuming a gun is loaded and never pointing it at anyone.

You can use many random objects to contain fire that will not catch on fire or explode the first times you use them.

The problem is DOWN THE LINE, when you have exposed non-fire-safe materials to heat they were not designed to handle over and over again.

Definition & Explanation of Pyrolysis

[aesethewitch]

BINGO card made -- let's take it for a spin! (Then gambling!!!)

Gonna be making Advertisement Adversaries BINGO cards on stream today! And then indulging my new Balatro addiction!! Come hang out and make fun of shitty Etsy listings with us! 1:30 PM (EDT), about 1 hour!

(Hyperlink just in case the embed doesn't work)

[aesethewitch]

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????

[aesethewitch]

Live NOW! Let's make BINGO cards!!

Gonna be making Advertisement Adversaries BINGO cards on stream today! And then indulging my new Balatro addiction!! Come hang out and make fun of shitty Etsy listings with us! 1:30 PM (EDT), about 1 hour!

(Hyperlink just in case the embed doesn't work)

[aesethewitch]

Radfems get the fuck off my posts and throw themselves into the sun challenge.

[aesethewitch]

Gonna be making Advertisement Adversaries BINGO cards on stream today! And then indulging my new Balatro addiction!! Come hang out and make fun of shitty Etsy listings with us! 1:30 PM (EDT), about 1 hour!

(Hyperlink just in case the embed doesn't work)

[aesethewitch]

Aese's Advertisement Adversaries: Introduction, Expectations, and Guidelines

Hello, and welcome to my campaign against scams, grifting, and unethical advertisement practices in the witchcraft, divination, and adjacent spiritual communities!

If you don't already know me, I'm Aese, a professional witch and diviner, and I have a background in marketing, sales, and scam management (research, reporting, and communication). I have low tolerance for abusive and unethical business practices, and I've got the time and expertise to tear it apart! Hence, this project!

This post is meant to act as a guide for submitting ads, expected conduct from myself as the researcher/writer and from you as the reader, and my goals for this project. You can check out the better-formatted version of this post over on my website.

The Goal:

Too often, people are taking advantage of vulnerable people who don't fully understand what they're getting into as they walk into magical, occult, or spiritual spaces. My intention is to reveal those practices, inform about how to spot untrustworthy shops and sellers, and create a better environment for us all.

However, I also want to give legitimate sellers the opportunity to improve their advertising. If we raise our collective quality, it'll become even easier to spot bullshit. I want to give a platform to legitimate creators and professionals, lifting them up and creating a space where we can share ideas and feedback freely in the name of collective improvement.

Rules of Engagement:

If you're going to engage with this project in any way, I ask the following:

Do not harass or spam any shop, seller, or advertiser you see talked about here. When applicable, I am reporting them as is appropriate. You are welcome to do the same if you see fit, but do not contact these people to harass them.

Be respectful, particularly to people who have fallen for scams or who have purchased from dubious-at-best sellers. You cannot know what they're going through or what led them to trust a seller. Not everyone knows what you know. Be kind.

Do not demand I cover a specific shop or seller. You are welcome to submit suggestions via DM, ask, or email, but I won't respond to or encourage nastiness.

Do not send anyone hate or threats of any kind. If you send it to me, I won't respond to it, and you'll just look like an asshole in the group chat. If you send it to someone else, it's deplorable, and you will not be welcome in these parts. Again, be respectful.

What to Expect from Me:

This project's goal is to take a closer look at advertising in witchcraft, divination, and adjacent spiritual spaces, with a focus on education and scam prevention. As part of that, you're going to see screenshots and descriptions of listings of varying quality and legitimacy.

I'm going to be as respectful as I can be, as I strive to be kind to everyone, but you can anticipate some saltiness. I don't take kindly to grifting, and I hate people who take advantage of vulnerable communities.

Nothing you see in this series is going to be fabricated for the sake of content. Everything is coming from actual Etsy shops, Ko-Fi pages, Tumblr posts, and other sources. I will be honest and plain in my language.

Almost all posts will be anonymous, with shop names cropped out of screenshots and links not provided. Exceptions will be made only when a seller requests to be named while submitting their own listing(s) or when I am warning the community about a widespread scam going around.

I'm doing a fair amount of research before publishing anything, sometimes even going so far as to contact the sellers to ask questions before posting my thoughts. I won't publish unfinished thoughts, and I refuse to jump to conclusions.

Ad submissions I deem as legitimate will not be subjected to intense interrogation or review. The last thing I want is to hurt someone's feelings. Unless the seller themselves sends me their links with permission to review them, the most I'll be doing is explaining how I can tell it's legitimate. No extensive critique.

I also won't be touching ads/posts that I suspect are made by minors at all, unless the seller themselves submits them for review.

I may contact shops or sellers for permission to talk about listings. I'll only be doing this for shops I can tell are legitimate and which I want to use as examples of good advertising.

Genuine sellers have nothing to fear. At most, you'll get some honest opinions and suggestions for making your ads better by improving language, refining your style, and generally coming off as a unique, worthy shop to buy from.

Shitheel scammers, beware. I won't be so kind to you.

Rating Criteria:

That's right, we're rating ad listings on a scale. Each category is rated on a scale of One (very bad) to Five (very good). Then, we take the average score for an Overall Rating.

Here's what I'm looking at:

Clarity. Is it clear what the buyer is receiving? Is the language plain and understandable to even a layperson?

Transparency. Is the seller honest about their refund/returns policy? Is it obvious where materials are being sourced? Is the seller being honest and clear about their credentials and/or qualifications?

Presence. Is the seller present anywhere other than their shop? Do they share anything about their process, method, or practice anywhere? Are they actually part of a community, or are they just selling something?

Genuineness. Are listing photos genuine? Are any images AI, or is any copy written by an AI? Is this a real person selling something, or is this a bot account?

Verifiability. Is it obvious how a buyer will know their service is completed? Is it possible for the buyer to know? Are there any reviews verifying the quality/existence of the products or services? Are there negative reviews available?

Morality. Are they offering services related to health, mental health, legal services, or other dubious subjects? Are they knowingly targeting a vulnerable audience using buzzwords and inflammatory language? Is the listing sharing misinformation or encouraging belief in conspiracy theories? Does the listing contain debunkable information? Does the listing participate in bigotry, cultural appropriation, bioessentialism, or anything of that nature?

How You Can Participate:

If you spot an ad in the wild that you'd like to see me talk about, send me a link to it via DM, ask, or email (thewitchaese@gmail.com). If you get a scam DM or ask that you'd like me to see, send me a screenshot. You'll remain completely anonymous to minimize the chances of impact on your end. The seller/shop will also remain anonymous unless they're a danger to the community.

Things you can send me:

Etsy links (whole shops or single listings)

Tumblr links (not whole accounts, preferably)

Ko-fi links

Screenshots of DMs or other messages (from Tumblr or elsewhere)

Facebook links or screenshots (I don't have a FB account, so some posts will not be accessible)

Instagram links or screenshots (same thing as FB)

Screenshots of or links to ads you see elsewhere on the internet

Links to YouTube videos

Your own listings, if you want me to take a look at those as an example of a good shop! (You can request to remain anonymous!)

I ask that you don't send me links or screenshots to advertisements or listings that aren't related to witchcraft, divination, or adjacent spiritual communities. They're worth talking about for sure, but my focus is on my own community (for now)!

Otherwise, please feel free to reblog or reply to any posts you see in this series. I want to open up as much discussion as possible.

You are always welcome to send me an ask (anonymously or otherwise) with questions, commentary, or anything else you'd like to share. This is a zero-judgment zone for people asking questions. There is no such thing as a "stupid question." Rude behavior such as judging people for asking "obvious questions" or acting as though someone should already know something won't be tolerated.

My tag for this project is "#advertisement adversaries". I ask that you don't reblog posts into the tag, since I don't want folks to get hate or undue attention for being in it.

Thanks! See you in the trenches!