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[honey-and-gunpowder]

*****Frozen 2 Spoilers Ahead *****

“The Next Right Thing” and how it speaks to Depression:

Okay but real talk, everyone is talking about Elsa’s transformation and her songs and how amazing it all is (which it is) but the one thing in the movie that cut me to the core and actually made me shed tears was Anna’s song “The Next Right Thing”.

Anna has thus far been a quintessentially hopeful character. She never gave up despite the odds and obstacles that were thrown at her. She represents a piece of Disney that we all tend to look to in our dark times - that hope within the darkness. The theme of taking heart to step towards the light.

So when she hits her lowest low in the movie - when everything’s she’s loved or ever cared about has essentially been taken away from her, we expected Disney to take the high road and pull their token “well everything’s dark right now but I’m not gonna give up” speech/song.

But that’s not what they did.

They let her feel her brokenness. They let her have a song that was full of pain and dark and grief and despair. They didn’t shy away from the fact that she was NOT okay, and that in that moment she would probably never be okay again. “This is cold / this is empty / this is numb / hello darkness I’m ready to succumb”

Disney didn’t dance around the bushes with this one. They acknowledged a dark deep depression here. They acknowledged the feeling of that when everything goes dark you really can’t hold onto hope. That you have to live in that moment and accept that darkness- that you have to make peace with it before you can take the next step forward.

You don’t try to snuff it out or shove it away with feelings of hope and light. You don’t destroy those dark feelings in favor of good ones. You accept them. You make them a part of yourself and then you somehow find some way to keep moving forward- not because you have hope that things will get better- but because sometimes all you can do is eat you pain and find a way to adapt from it.

“You are lost / hope is gone / but you must go on / and do the next right thing / take a step / step again / it is all that I can do “

For someone who struggles with depression every day, this was a lesson that I desperately needed to hear. In our culture ( though it is slowly changing from this) there is still that stigma that darkness and depression is a thing that we have to cure ourselves from. That we have to fight and find hope in order to overcome it .

But depression is a disease. It never truly “goes away”. You have to find a way to live with it. You find ways to keep your head above water and how to tread carefully. And sometimes you even find a way to send your depression into a deep slumber or hibernation. But it’s always there hidden under the surface. And so many struggle with feelings of shame that we just can’t seem to get rid of it.

But it’s okay, and you’re okay. You don’t have to defeat it. As Anna says “Just break it down to the next breath / the next step / the next choice is the one that you can make.”

I love Disney for doing this. For being true to those feelings of darkness that we all struggle with. It was real and in that moment I cried watching it because it was needed.

[honey-and-gunpowder]

Spoopy Halloween Movie List

After years of research, I have finally found the ultimate Halloween movie list and order to watch!

-Double Double Toil and Trouble (1993)

-The Vampire Academy (2014)

-Queen of the Damned (2002)

-Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)

- Underworld (2003)

-The Little Vampire (2000)

-Coraline (2009)

-Corpse Bride (2005)

-The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

-Monster House (2006) 

-Hotel Transylvania (2012)

-Paranorman (2012)

-Sleepy Hollow (1999)

-Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)

-Twitches (2006)

-The Haunted Mansion (2003)

-Dark Shadows (2012)

-Beetlejuice (1988)

-The Goonies (1985)

-Halloweentown (1998) (also Halloweentown II & Halloweentown High)

-The Craft (1996)

-Scooby Doo on Zombie Island (1998)

-Scooby Doo and the Witches Ghost (1999)

-Scooby Doo Ghoul School (1988)

-Scary Godmother Halloween Spooktakular (2003)

-Addams Family (1991)

-Addams Family Values (1993)

These last two must be watched on October 31st!

-Practical Magic (1998)

-Hocus Pocus (1993)

HAPPY SPOOPING!

[honey-and-gunpowder]

- TRASH BLESSINGS -

A series of pieces based off of common urban fauna with the aim of reminding people of traits in them we could all do well emulating sometimes, and celebrating the ability of nature to carve out a place in any environment.

Interested in seeing these on patches or pins? Please send me a message! If there’s enough interest, I’ll look into the cost of having them made.

[REDBUBBLE COLLECTION] // [COMMISSIONS]

[honey-and-gunpowder]

Hidden Witchery: Witch’s Ladder Necklace

One of the hardest, but possibly most fun, ways of being a Surreptitious Solitary is trying to find ways to practice out in the open without anyone knowing. I’ve been wanting to do a witch’s ladder (sometimes called pagan prayer beads, witches rosaries, etc.) for some time. If you don’t know what a Witch’s Ladder is, there are a few articles out there, but the summary is: it’s knot and nature magic mostly intended for protection.

Generally, they’re made of string of different colors corresponding with protection (or whatever you’re making the ladder for), and natural items like feathers, sea glass, shells, stones, etc. Sometimes charms or taglocks can be incorporated. If you look on Etsy there are some really pretty ones out there.

As I researched them, I wondered how I could incorporate this crafty craft into my daily life. And I kind of came to the conclusion that I don’t have to have a big rope of feathers and rocks hanging outside my door to do it: I can make something to wear that would protect me wherever I go!

I debated for some time whether to make a bracelet or necklace, but I liked how the numbers and measurements worked out on a necklace.

If you want to make one, you’ll need:

About 6 feet of beading string in an appropriately corresponding color to your needs (I went with purple for spirituality and power)

Forty beads (6mm for the sizing to come out like mine; larger or smaller will affect it; I picked hematite mostly for the look, but also to keep me grounded)

Nine feather charms

One end charm (serves as your closeure; something with dimension will work better than the flat disc I chose which likes to slip out now and then)

To make your ladder necklace, you’ll have to tie a loop in it in a place so that you have one short strand about two feet long and one long strand of the remainder. The loop will be part of your closeure. Basically, fold your string so one part hangs two feet, and the remainder hangs on the other side. Tie a simple knot in the folded string so you have a loop that’s just big enough for your end charm to slip through with little/no excess.

Find something to affix this to for knotting (I slipped the loop through some tweezers which I then clamped into my clipboard).

Now get to knotting, just like middle school friendship bracelets. As you know, remember to set your intent for the ladder into each knot. Also remember to keep the short strand stationary: use the long strand to make a basic forward knot around the short strand.

Make four knots to establish (4K)

Thread a bead (B), make four knots (4K). This is your basic pattern.

For my ladder, I established a pattern of four beads to each side of each feather charm (F). The pattern runs like so from start to finish: [4K, (B, 4K)x4, F]x9, (4K, B)x4, 4K.

In other words, with four knots between each item, string beads and feather charms in a four-one pattern with nine repeats, then end with an additional four beads.

At the end, tie on your final charm using both strands (I used a clinch knot), and trim off the excess string.

Done! Hang it up or wear it for protection. No one needs to know you’re carrying a loaded charm. 😉

Blessed be!

[honey-and-gunpowder]

Sinking In

Gouache on paper, 2019

by Kelly Louise Judd

[honey-and-gunpowder]

The Universe knows you, and will always communicate the things you need to hear in a way you can understand. You will never easily pass over a clear message from the Universe if you are waiting or looking for one. However, if your heart is not open, and you repeatedly doubt your ability to perceive such messages, it may take a little longer for you to really hear it. Trust in the process and trust in yourself.

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poets always talk about Icarus

hapless human moth

to irresistible flame

as if loving something

that kills you

is worth the burning

listen

you are more

than a burnt match

the sun is inside your mouth

light glitters from your eyes

we are all drawn

to your torch

in the darkness

there are cold hands reaching blue

to drag you down

below the salted sea

rise

I say

on your hot white wings

show us

the miracle of your joy

[honey-and-gunpowder]

Ingeborg Bachmann, from In the Storm of Roses: Poems; “In The Storm of Roses,” c. 1955

[honey-and-gunpowder]

“Think about a thunderstorm, they have a chaotic sound but when they are over everything is clean, fresh and beautiful again.”

— Bob Ross

[honey-and-gunpowder]

Sage Away the Sad

Sad’s Done. Its gone. Consider it Banished.

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“Your sadness, your fear, your loneliness, even your despair is so fragile, friend. It can break open at any moment. A single note in a piece of music can do it. A kind glance from a stranger. The feeling of the spring breeze on your face. A reflection of a bird in flight. In any moment, your sorrow can shatter into nothingness; it has no more reality than that, no more substance than a shadow. The more you focus on your sorrows and fears, the more you talk about them, analyse them, identify with them, or resist them, the more ‘real’ they seem, the more solid and independent of you they appear to be, the more power they seem to have. In searching for a solution to your problems, you create the problem of ‘having problems’ at all. Be available for the breaking-open of your pain, friend. Do not assume it is here for any longer than a moment. Allow the arrival and passing of all that troubles you. All this shall pass, remember, all this shall pass.”

— Jeff Foster

[honey-and-gunpowder]

No one will know the violence it took to become this gentle.

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“Self-care is often a very unbeautiful thing.

It is making a spreadsheet of your debt and enforcing a morning routine and cooking yourself healthy meals and no longer just running from your problems and calling the distraction a solution.

It is often doing the ugliest thing that you have to do, like sweat through another workout or tell a toxic friend you don’t want to see them anymore or get a second job so you can have a savings account or figure out a way to accept yourself so that you’re not constantly exhausted from trying to be everything, all the time and then needing to take deliberate, mandated breaks from living to do basic things like drop some oil into a bath and read Marie Claire and turn your phone off for the day.

A world in which self-care has to be such a trendy topic is a world that is sick. Self-care should not be something we resort to because we are so absolutely exhausted that we need some reprieve from our own relentless internal pressure.

True self-care is not salt baths and chocolate cake, it is making the choice to build a life you don’t need to regularly escape from.

And that often takes doing the thing you least want to do.

It often means looking your failures and disappointments square in the eye and re-strategizing. It is not satiating your immediate desires. It is letting go. It is choosing new. It is disappointing some people. It is making sacrifices for others. It is living a way that other people won’t, so maybe you can live in a way that other people can’t.

It is letting yourself be normal. Regular. Unexceptional. It is sometimes having a dirty kitchen and deciding your ultimate goal in life isn’t going to be having abs and keeping up with your fake friends. It is deciding how much of your anxiety comes from not actualizing your latent potential, and how much comes from the way you were being trained to think before you even knew what was happening.

If you find yourself having to regularly indulge in consumer self-care, it’s because you are disconnected from actual self-care, which has very little to do with “treating yourself” and a whole lot do with parenting yourself and making choices for your long-term wellness.

It is no longer using your hectic and unreasonable life as justification for self-sabotage in the form of liquor and procrastination. It is learning how to stop trying to “fix yourself” and start trying to take care of yourself… and maybe finding that taking care lovingly attends to a lot of the problems you were trying to fix in the first place.

It means being the hero of your life, not the victim. It means rewiring what you have until your everyday life isn’t something you need therapy to recover from. It is no longer choosing a life that looks good over a life that feels good. It is giving the hell up on some goals so you can care about others. It is being honest even if that means you aren’t universally liked. It is meeting your own needs so you aren’t anxious and dependent on other people.

It is becoming the person you know you want and are meant to be. Someone who knows that salt baths and chocolate cake are ways to enjoy life – not escape from it.”

-Brianna Wiest, in Thought Catalog

[honey-and-gunpowder]

Tips for the Dark Half of the Year

Winter is coming quickly. A lot of people see this time of year as bleak, depressing, or just boring. Here are some tips to stay attuned to nature during these months.

❄️ Go outside. Even if it’s cold, the trees are bare, and the only colors are muted and dull. We often think that summer is the only time to enjoy the outdoors—the only time to hike, meditate outside, etc. In winter, there are no lush green trees or balmy days filled with sunshine and the smell of flowers. While summer is intoxicating, winter is a time to contemplate and reflect. Go outside. Feel the cold. Feel the mud and the dead grass and the chilly wind. Listen to how quiet it is. Understand that the dark half of the year is a time of silence, stillness, and death. It’s natural to have an aversion to these things, but take some time to sit down and just listen. Breathe. Feel the reality of silence and death around you. It’s a sobering experience, but also a very insightful one. If you have any fear of death or quiet, now is the time to go sit with those things as they appear in nature and just meditate with them.

❄️ Eat cozy foods. It’s cold outside—warm up with hearty soups, stews, homemade bread, and root veggies. Warm spices and hot drinks will keep you feeling grounded. This is a wonderful time of year to practice kitchen witchcraft—focus on coziness, family, protection, and rest.

❄️ Study magic! The Dark Half of the year is devoted to self-reflection, rest, and contemplation. Snuggle up indoors with a fluffy blanket and devote some time to studying magic and witchcraft with a hot cup of magically-brewed tea.

❄️ Think spirits are sleeping along with all the greenery? Think again! The Dark Half of the year, in many cultures and spiritual traditions, is considered extremely spiritually active. Deities like Odin, Berchta, Hekate, and spirits such as elves and ghosts are very active this time of year. You can choose to honor them if you want, or practice various spirit-working techniques. If you’re into necromancy or divination, this is a wonderful time of year for those things.

❄️ Be kind to local wildlife by installing things like bird feeders outside your home. We modern humans may have an easy time of it in winter, but animals struggle to survive during these months. Any bit of kindness will be much appreciated.

❄️ Nurture your fire energy. During winter, it’s easy to internalize the cold and take on its characteristics—sluggishness, sleepiness, a foggy-headed feeling. Some crystals that are great for winter include golden rutilated quartz (aka Venus hair), citrine, carnelian, obsidian, and garnet. All of these crystals contain a strong fire element as well as offer grounding qualities, mental clarity, and protection.

❄️ Go out and forage for magical ingredients! Melted snow is extremely purifying and can be incorporated into spells for purification and cleansing. Icicles can serve as temporary wands, especially in spells that require a strong water element. The ash from bonfires (or hearth fires) can be used to make black salt. Fallen branches can be crafted into wands. There may be nothing growing this time of year, but you can get creative and still find magical ingredients in unexpected places. Just be respectful and don’t collect from places where it’s illegal!

This is by no means a comprehensive list—these are just some ways I’ve celebrated the colder months. I hope they’re helpful in any way!

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If a ghost can open cupboards and break things, why not just take a pencil, find paper, write exactly why it’s unhappy, and tape the message on the fridge.

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i wonder if magic is real, but only in a really mundane way.

when i was little i could almost inerringly switch back to disney channel right as the ads ended when i was channel surfing.

maybe youve never accidentally crushed a ladybug underfoot. maybe your microwave popcorn never burns. maybe you can spin around lots and lots of times before you get dizzy.

is that magic??

honestly im not sure if these are magic or just small, invisible skills. im not sure which i like better.

[honey-and-gunpowder]

Witchcraft & Meds

For everyone with mental and physical stuff that they have to take medication for! I’m both mentally and chronically ill and take a LOT of meds each day. There’s so much negativity about magic and meds, so let’s find a way to incorporate both into your life! <3

Pill bottles:

Charge the bottles (while empty), the bowl you place your dose in, or your pill organizer in the sun or moon

Decorate them to look more witchy! Don’t cover up important labels. [X]

Draw sigils on the bottom to help minimize side effects and so you don’t forget a dose!

Use empty bottles for anything witchy (spell bottles, herb storage, etc.) [X]

Place crystals or herbs around/on the bottle

Use color correspondences - doodle on the lid or bottom

Meds:

Keep in cool pill boxes

Whisper an enchantment or blessing over them for desired effects (easy to swallow, less side effects, doing their job, etc.)

Think or say an affirmation with each one (I say so many affirmations a day!)

Take with (drinking safe) moon water or infused water.

Also use a cool cup, could be decorated, covered in sigils, using color correspondences, and more!

Coat your pills with honey before taking them to sweeten up your life

IV treatments and injections (no needle mentions):

Listen to witchy music

Draw healing/soothing sigils

Keep crystals in your pocket or bag

Bring infused water with you (if using herbs, check for interactions)

Bring a spell bottle/sachet to your treatment for good vibes, quick healing, minimal pain, and the like.

Sigils on the band-aid!

You may also like…

This post!

“My medications work as intended” and “My medications aid me” sigils

Well being in a pill bottle spell

Spoonie witch masterpost

Chronically ill + Mentally ill witchcraft: For your symptoms

Tips for taking meds

Herb interactions