appalachianoraclewitch

[appalachianoraclewitch]

Ty Apollo for helping out so much!!! I appreciate you 🥰☀️

[appalachianoraclewitch]

Fly agarics

[appalachianoraclewitch]

Lord Apollon

God of sunlight, medicine, healing, plague, oracles, truth, poetry, arts, the muses, and more.

Epithets

Phoebus ~ The Bright and Shining

Alexikakos ~ The Averter of Evil

Proopsios ~ The Foreseeing

Hekatos ~ The Far Shooting

Paian ~ The Healer

Lykios ~ Of The Wolves

Theoxenios ~ God of Foreigners and Strangers

Argyieus ~ Of the Streets

Latoios ~ Son of Leto

Pythios ~ Of the Python

Horios ~ Of Bounderies and Boarders

Animal Associations

Snakes

Dolphins

Wolves

Crows and Ravens

Hawks

Swans

Deer

Boars

Locusts

Mice

Plants

Laurel / Bay

Hyacinths and Larkspur

Delphinium

Sunflowers

Cyprus Trees

Offerings and Devotional Acts

Wine and other alcohols

Laurel wreaths and branches

Solar imagery

Lemons, oranges, and other citrus

Fresh or dried flowers

Books and journals

Divining tools (tarot/oracle decks, pendulums, casting bones, scrying, etc.)

Suncatchers

Handmade artwork

Lighting candles and incense

Playing or writing music

Drawing, painting, or otherwise creating art

Writing stories and poetry

Learning first aide

Donations and volunteer work

Community outreach

Spending time outside or in the sun

Learning new languages

Spending time with family (given or chosen)

(credit to @samspenandsword for the beautiful sun dividers!)

[appalachianoraclewitch]

hope isn’t something you just have, it’s something you sink your teeth into like an animal so it doesn’t get away

[appalachianoraclewitch]

[appalachianoraclewitch]

Protections and Wards

What are protections and wards? 

Protections and wards can be pretty much anything; you can make protection jars using herbs, you can use crystals as protections, you can even do protections with just energy! There will be some simple examples of protections listed later on in this post.

Why do protections at all? What if I don’t believe in trickster spirits? 

Even if you don’t necessarily believe in trickster spirits, protections are still important. Negative energy still exists, and protecting yourself and your space from that negative energy may make it easier to deal with negativity around you in your daily life. 

What is the difference between protections and warding? 

Protections are a generalized term that describes using energy and intentions to protect yourself and your space. Warding specifically talks about using ordinary objects, setting intentions on them (possibly doing other things like blessing them or consecrating them) to turn them into protections.

Below is going to be a small list of some ideas for protections and wards, both for the home and for yourself. This list is not exhaustive, and there are many different ways to make protections and wards. 

Protection jars

Veiling 

Protection jewelry

Handmade protections

Protection satchels 

Crystals 

Energetic protections

Protection oil (please make sure that any essential oil or oil-based products are safe for the skin and pets if you are going to be using this). 

Protection candles (you can use color and scent magic for this as well!)

Protective sigils

Some of the methods listed, such as veiliing, protection jewelry, and crystals are a bit more ‘beginner friendly’. Please make sure you’re doing your research and setting clear intentions with any protections you’re making! 

Here is a short list of some easy, generally accessible herbs you can use in protection jars and satchels. 

Sage (please remember to only use white sage is you are part of that closed practice)

Lavender

Cinnamon

Rosemary

Bay

Salt

Pepper

Garlic 

What is veiling/how do I veil? 

Veiling is a tradition that has a lot of history behind it; essentially, veiling is the practice of wearing some type of headwear in order to protect your own energies from outside influence. You can veil in many different ways. Wearing a headscarf of some kind is a good way to veil, but you can also veil using hats, scrunchies/hair-ties, and even simple energy can be used to veil. For me, I have put an energetic veil on my head before while washing my hair in the shower!

Is there a right/wrong way to use/do protections? 

There is not really a right or wrong way to do or use protections; you can use protections however you like to protect your own energy and your space! For me personally, the majority of my protections are not physical objects, I purely use energy and visuals for my protections. A lot of my protections are also baneful in nature. 

Can I make protections to make someone not think of me/ignore me? 

Yes, you can! For protections like these, I recommend illusion magic or protections specifically made to hide you from them. Veiling is a good option in this scenario! 

How do I know I need to redo my protections? 

This can get a bit tricky to discern; I highly recommend using some form of divination to figure out if you need to re-do protections. I also recommend generally keeping up with your protections as part of a weekly/bi-weekly routine. As discussed in my previous post about cleansing, working in protections while you’re doing mundane tasks such as cleaning can be a good way to do this. 

As far as discerning when you need to redo protections, this will get a little complicated, so bear with me. First and foremost, please try to distinguish the mundane vs magical causes for things. While things like getting sick, feeling suddenly run down all the time, or having a bout of bad luck can SOMETIMES be indications of negative energy around you and the need to cleanse and redo protections, this is not always the case. Sometimes, life just sucks. This is again why I recommend doing divination as a way to discern if the cause is mundane or magical. I will be going more into divination methods in a later post. 

How do I make protection jewelry? 

Again, there can be a few ways to do this. I firstly recommend cleansing the jewelry you are wanting to turn into a protection. Please make sure you’re being safe when doing this (make sure you check and see if the jewelry can safely be submerged in water, get salt on it, etc).

Next, you can consecrate the jewelry in a few ways. You can use protection oil to consecrate the jewelry (please make sure that your jewelry will not corrode or anything with oil). You can also ask your deities/spirit guides to bless the jewelry for you and put their protective energies on it. You can also soak the jewelry in water and herbs (again, make sure that the jewelry is safe to go in water). 

How do I make protective sigils?

Sigils are a very fun, easy way to make protections (as well as doing other types of spellwork). You can find sigil online, however I do recommend making them on your own. There are also programs you can find online that will help you generate sigils. You can also make them up on your own, go based on associations (like you could draw a candle, and have that be a protective sigil for instance). 

This is not an exhaustive list that covers all forms of protection and all questions about protection, however I hope that this post will help some newer witches learn more about how to work protections into their practice.

[appalachianoraclewitch]

Digital Offering to Father Thanatos ♡

Orphic Hymn :

“To Thanatos (Death), Fumingation from Manna. Hear me, O Thanatos (Death), whose empire uconfin’d extendes to mortal tribes of ev’ry kind. On thee the portion of our time depends, whose absence lengthens life, whose presence ends. Thy sleep perpetual bursts the vivid folds by which the soul attracting the body holds: common to all, of ev’ry sex and age, for nought escapes thy all-destructive rage. Not youth itself thy clemency can gain, vig’rous and strong, by thee untimely slain. In thee, the end of nature’s works is known, in thee, all judgement is absolv’d alone. No suppliant arts thy dreadful rage control, no vows revoke the purpose of thy soul. O blessed pow’r, regard my ardent pray’r, and human life to age abundant spare.”

[appalachianoraclewitch]

the person he's pointing at needs to drink water

[appalachianoraclewitch]

Absolutely be political in your worship.

Aphrodite isn't called Pandemos (of All People) so you can sit around and let the big names capitalise love and serve it only to those who can afford to pay past the persecution. Hermes isn't called Oeopolus (Shepherd) so you can sit around and let a bunch of power-hungry wolves lead a flock of influencable sheep. Apollo isn't called Paean (Healer) so you can sit around while wealthy corporations serve healthcare only to those who can afford not to die. Athena isn't called Ambulia (Counsellor) so you can sit around while the people are being fed propaganda against each other to divert them from the real enemy at the top. Dionysus isn't called Eleuthereus (the Liberator) so you can sit around while freedom is only granted to those whose skins have the acceptable colour while the others die in chains. Zeus isn't called Xenios (of the Foreigners) so you can sit around while the borders are closed to those who need it and only open to those who can give back the money.

The Gods stand with the oppressed, and so should you.

[appalachianoraclewitch]

[appalachianoraclewitch]

Demeter ⸙

who's your favorite Greek goddess?

[appalachianoraclewitch]

Today I met this lovely thing in the local forest 🌲🍂

[appalachianoraclewitch]

Happy cluster of bonnets on a log

[appalachianoraclewitch]

Russula on wood

[appalachianoraclewitch]

Guide to Drying Herbs

Drying herbs is a simple practice, and there are several methods to choose from depending on the type of herb and your desire use. Here's how I dry my herbs:

1. Drying on Newspaper

2. Hanging Herbs Upside Down

3. Pressing Herbs

4. Drying Small Petals in Pouches

General Tips for Best Results

Use Breathable Cloths: Wrapping your herbs or laying them on a breathable cloth allows air to circulate freely, preventing mold while catching any small leaves or flowers that shed during the drying process.

Timing: Dry herbs as soon as possible after harvesting to retain their potency and fragrance.

Environment: Choose a dry, cool, and ventilated area to prevent mold or mildew.

Labeling: If drying multiple herbs, label them to avoid confusion.

Storage: Once dried, store your herbs in airtight containers away from sunlight and moisture.

Using Dried Herbs

Always check if the plant is safe for use before collecting it. Do not make tea or touch anything with unknown properties. Always clean your plants before drying.

[appalachianoraclewitch]

[appalachianoraclewitch]

the trees you grew up with have not forgotten you. their branches still whisper your name in the breeze and their roots remember the paths your feet once traced through their shade.