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This is such a cute 🍑 that I’m in physical pain 🐰😍 

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What is Wicca and how do you get started?

As Wicca stems from Paganism, it is closely linked to the belief that nature rules everything. However, the founder mixed in Eastern mysticism, Kabbalah and British legend as well as various esoteric traditions. The result is an intricate religion that is interpretation-based, you will often meet Wiccans who pick and choose what fits their needs and what they grew up with. For me personally, Wicca is a way to communicate my wishes and necessities to myself. The spells and prayers help to articulate what my body and mind are lacking in the moment. If you ask a Gardnerian Wiccan, that is probably different – Gardnerians are the most orthodox members of the community and follow the original traditions closely. The most basic principle is that everything exists in a duality – and all individuals do as well. Therefore, there's a dual deity manifesting in a male and a female avatar. Witches (a gender-neutral term) can choose to see them as not having a specific name or form, but there are those who honor Isis and Osiris, Hera and Zeus, or Apollo and Athena, to mention a few established pairings. Gardnerian witches receive the „true names“ of the God and Goddess after their initiation ceremony.

If you choose to practice the Wiccan religion in a community (sometimes called a coven), there is probably a High Priest or Priestess who will initiate you in a ceremony. After that, you will be at the lowest step of their degree system and with experience (studying the craft) and time gain ranks – that time is often referred to as the traditional „year and a day“ period. The initiation is seen as your rebirth to most covens, dedicating yourself to their deities is therefore something you will do for your whole life. Not being part of a coven is also accepted and common, and witches may choose to perform a ritual of self-dedication to pledge their loyalty to the path.

The word „witch“ already implies that magic is something very ingrained into Wiccan belief – and that's true. Magic is something that happens all the time, wherever we are. The difference is whether we add our intention or not. Magic isn't inherently supernatural, it's more about the natural energy. Looking at a candle or a bonfire is pretty soothing, because the controlled flames have calming energy. Watching a forest or a house burn down is upsetting, because that energy is out of control and often unleashed because someone had bad intentions or was neglectful of their environment. This is why rituals and spells are mostly performed inside a sacred circle: The circle is laid out intentionally, it harnesses any energy you may invoke and keeps outside energies at bay, allowing you to focus on what you want to work on. Anyone can work magic with a bit of practice, you don't need to belong to the priesthood for it.

Common tools to help you with focusing your intent are

the athame, a ritual dagger used to carve symbols into materials (also in the air, as it is seen as having energy as well)

a Book of Shadows

herbs (especially herbal wands that may be lit to create smoke)

crystals

Tarot cards

runes

coal

and candles.

Most Wiccans I know adhere to the Wiccan Rede, it's the closest thing the religion has to gospel – it's a set of rules that you choose to live by. Not everyone does, but especially the ones focusing on performing magic to change the world around them perform rituals according to the Law Of Threefold Return (also called the Rule Of Three): Whatever energy you put out into the world, whether positive or negative, will be returned to you three times as strongly. That's why people will often discourage using magic to harm others, it's going to bite you in the end.

If you choose to get started practicing this religion and find a coven, they will probably explain anything according to their rules, so it's best to follow their advice. If you want to be self-dedicated, though, I encourage you to start by looking up what a Book of Shadows is and what people have put in theirs. Books like these are used to document the witches' „year and a day“ journey. Anything related to the workings land there. It doesn't matter whether it's a cheap binder filled with print-outs and screenshots, or a giant tome handpainted and filled with your own secret language. What matters is that you document everything you've learned because all of our knowledge influences our behaviour and our opinions. Popular topics to put into your Book of Shadows include:

crystal types and their magical abilities

herbs and their use in medicine

the „wheel of the year“, a calendar for witches

moon phases

drawings of tools and tea leaf readings

sigil style studies

spell poems, chants and ritualistic words

aspects of the deities

the history of the religion/influencing religions

dream diaries or regular journals to keep track of their personal character development

ritual progress (especially important for charging rituals etc)

elemental correspondences

and many more, honestly.

Still interested in starting your journey of being a witch? Great, welcome to the wonderful world of weirdness! Your room is probably the place where you will spend a lot of time studying and also where you may keep your Book of Shadows, so it doesn't hurt to cleanse it. If you already know that you will perform all your magic in a different room, perform this ritual there.

To get you started, gather the following things:

a clear, round glass bowl (size doesn't matter)

white salt

a white candle and something to light it with

white paper

your favorite writing tool (ballpoint pen, pencil, marker, doesn't matter)

Fill the glass bowl with clean, cold water to about a third. Place it either in the middle of the room's floor or, if you want to contain your magic to a special table, in the middle of that. It should have as much clear space around it as possible, and if you cleanse a table, its surface should be empty.

Next, write out your intention on the paper: If you already know why you want to be a witch, you can write that down. If you feel excited, write that down. If you want to greet the deities, write that down as well. This is about cleansing your room of negative energy, so it's not the time to write down worries or doubts – those will have space in a later ritual, if you so wish.

Done writing? Great! Place your paper next to the bowl and get out the salt. In a clockwise movement and keeping the salt in your right hand, draw a circle around your bowl. It should be big enough to let you sit /stand in front of it, or if you cleanse a table, it should encompass the biggest possible area of the surface. Don't worry about special words right now, just focus your thoughts on keeping negative energy out of the circle and gathering positive energy inwards.

Now you're ready to light the candle. Once it's lit up, hold it over your water bowl and let it burn until the flame is completely still. Then, say this poem out loud, or in your mind: "Creature of wax - Creature of fire - Listen to me - Hear my desire - Cleanse this room - By the power of three - and blast away all negativity - With harm to none - So shall it be!"

Light the paper carefully, let it burn a little and then put it into the water bowl. Leave the candle to burn for at least an hour after that, to ensure that the light has cleansed every corner. If it's hard to hold it for that long, you can carefully place it next to the water bowl. Don't leave it burning alone, though, stay focused on the good energy that it emits.

After you're done, blow out the candle while thanking the fire's energy for cleansing the room. Next, remove the salt circle in counter-clockwise direction, if you can. The water should be thrown out either outside or down the drain, as it has absorbed negativity – you asked fire to bring positivity and the natural opposite, water, has taken on the opposite task. Take out the soggy paper before throwing the water out to protect the environment!

[kuonabnaq]

[kuonabnaq]

someone told me americans don’t have roundabouts and i’ve been thinking about it all week

how

[kuonabnaq]

About flying and the airport with autism

I was wondering if you could help me with a part in my story. I need help with an airport/airplane scene for it. I’ve never flown before. So, I can’t really vouch for my MC and her experiences. DO you know what an airport would be like for an autistic person? By this, I mean in terms of sensory input and what not. Same applies to flying the plane. She will get early boarding onto the plane, which I think would help her adjust. But I’m just having a hard time trying to figure this out for her because I’ve only been to an airport a couple times for a family member who was flying. I’m not as sensory-aware as much autistics, so it never bothered me much. I also have a poor memory as well. :c

What difficulties might there be at the airport?

Anxiety - the first thing to consider is that most people get anxious while traveling/flying, and anxiety is likely to affect your character’s autistic traits - for example, they may find that their sensory sensitivities are more particular and that they cope less well with changes to plans/routines than usual.

Long waits - the time you have to wait does depend on where you fly from, but I know that the typical airport in the UK needs you to arrive 3 hours early. A long wait can be anxiety-inducing because of changes to their plan for the journey and because the character might end up queuing or waiting in an area that is sensory hell.

Change - traveling by plane can mean a lot of changes, which can be distressing for the character. It is unpredictable what the queues at the airport will be like, flights can change at the last minute (being delayed or changing the gate they fly from).

Being separated from their bags - having their luggage taken to be put in the hold, or cabin luggage going through security clearance can be distressing. The distress would be worse if the character doesn’t know what to expect.

Security - going through security may be distressing for your character. Exactly what this involves depends on exactly where the character is flying from and when the story is set - different countries have different laws about about what is involved. Has anyone explained why this is happening to your character? How might your character react to being patted-down? How might they react to seeing sniffer dogs? How would they react to needing to remove shoes or items of clothing?

Other people’s perceptions - there are lots of other people in airports, and they tend to be on high alert and more suspicious and scared of unusual behaviour than they would otherwise be, which can affect how your character is perceived and treated. For example I know a woman who is stopped and questioned multiple times whenever she goes through an airport because her loose clothing and general appearance seem to make airport security think she is smuggling. A lack of eye contact can be seen as suspicious which might cause difficulties for a character, especially if they are someone who is already likely to be stigmatised as suspicious in an airport setting (eg. flying in the West while being middle Eastern or wearing certain types of religious garb). The character may stim more in order to cope with the new environment and their anxiety. Depending on how they stim, this can also be seen as suspicious.

Finally, the next few are sensory issues:

Sight - reflective surfaces, digital screens, various types of artificial lighting, lots of movement (people moving, text scrolling on screens, vehicles driving around).

Sound - airports are noisy, often with hard surfaces so there is a lot of echo. There are tannoy announcements with calls to board, alarms, the sound of crowds and noises.

Smell - food establishments, cleaning fluids, perfume shops, other people in queues and crowds.

Touch - crowded areas, lots of different surfaces (eg. carpeted areas, tiled areas, metal chairs), changes in temperature.

Prioprioception - movement from escalators and travelators, being jostled by other people, using trollies and wheely bags.

What difficulties might there be on the plane?

Seats - having to sit still for a long time so that if your character is someone who usually moves a lot they could feel understimulated. This is especially true in cheaper seats where there is less room to move one’s legs.

Noise - the engine and rumbling of the wheels is relatively gentle while the plane is taxiing, but there is a sudden increase in sound during takeoff. The sound of the engines is really loud and constant throughout the flight. There are also the sounds of other passengers, including snoring and babies crying.

Proprioception - the plane moves and can cause airsickness. During takeoff the acceleration and pitch (angle) of the plane means that you can feel the forces. Your character may also be aware of changes in pressure which might make their ears “pop”.

Food - a character who is hypersensitive to tastes and textures may struggle with finding food they can eat on the plane. For a character who samefoods or who has a very limited range of “safe” foods the limited choice on an aeroplane may make it difficult for them to eat.

Fear - people find flying scary. Does your character? If the character is stressed they are likely to have a harder time with sensory stuff and adapting to change. Takeoff is likely to be a particularly difficult experience if your character is afraid of flying.

What might help?

The character might prepare for the journey by:

using social stories about travelling by plane,

watching videos that show what you can expect to happen at the airport,

looking at photos of the airports they will be going through,

reading about the type of plane they will be flying on,

preparing a visual timetable of the plan for the journey (but it is good if it is flexible and can be easily adjusted if there are changes to the journey).

They might do these themselves, or they might get help from an aide, a friend, or a family member. Gatwick airport created an autism-friendly visual guide which you can access here (opens as pdf).

The airport and airline can provide support during the journey - look up the disability assistance provided by the services your character would use in order to get an idea of what sort of things they might be able to access.

While travelling, the character might use an autism alert card and have sensory toys, headphones, and sunglasses. They may use an adjustable visual timetable to help them cope with changes during the journey.

An airport prayer room will be a comparatively calm sensory experience, and might be a good option for your character if they are religious. Shannon airport in Dublin has a sensory room, but this is unusual!

As you said, getting early boarding can help. It is also likely to be a good idea to stay on the plane until other people have left when the plane lands so that your character can avoid the worst of the crowds. Alternatively, if you want your character to suffer, being caught in a crowd at the end of a tiring and overloading flight is a plausible scenario. The character could easily have a meltdown during disembarkation.

I hope you find this useful!

-Mod Snail buy me a coffee // check out the FAQ

Snail’s overview is very complete, there’s just one thing I wanted to add:

Getting onto a plane takes a lot of steps. You have to find where to check in, check in, get your bags checked in, find where security is, go through security, find where your boarding gate is, and board.

These steps have to be done in order, they all have to be done on a specific time schedule,  and they all happen in different spaces you have to find. The signage is usually pretty good, but if your character has trouble with

time management

spatial orientation

tasks with lots of steps,

this could be very difficult. Most of these tasks involve at least minimal conversation with the airport staff. They all happen in the difficult environment Snail described, and can be very stressful, which is going to make everything more difficult.

If it’s your character’s first time flying and they’re travelling alone, they’re likely to be very lost with all these steps and not to know how to do them, unless they’ve read about it in advance. Something that could help is having someone with them to guide them through the first steps in the airport, if that’s possible. In any case they’ll have to go through security and to do all later steps on their own.

Being at the airport very early can help lessen the stress caused by the time constraints and give them more time to figure everything out.

-Mod Cat

[kuonabnaq]

- Judith Lewis Herman, “Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence - From Domestic Abuse to Political Terror”

[kuonabnaq]

Video: Dog Fostering Kittens Without Mother Cat

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When you finally find the energy to do stuff

[kuonabnaq]

How Obama joked: here is a video of my birth *shows clip from Lion King*

How Trump jokes: haha my vice president wants to kill all the gay people

[kuonabnaq]

Reblog if you think fanfiction is a legitimate form of creative writing.

[kuonabnaq]

“Disney is for kids, GROW UP!”

[kuonabnaq]

It is an unspoken rule that if a little kid is hiding under a blanket or couch cushions, you are required to comment on how lumpy the blanket is and pretend to sit on it to try and “smooth it out.”

[kuonabnaq]

Sleepy bird love is the best kind there is.

[kuonabnaq]

the worst is when i make myself show up but i can’t make myself act well enough. like i tell myself “just go to the party, you’ll feel better, you’ll have fun.” but i go and nothing changes. i just realize better how tired i am. how i’m not good with anyone. i tell myself: make a joke, smile, relax, stop being so serious. but my brain feels empty and everything is muted. i’m trying, i swear. it’s just that i don’t have the energy for this. i don’t have the energy for anything, i guess.

[kuonabnaq]

Happy Bat Week! /＼^._.^／\ 

Called creepy, scary and spooky, bats often get a bad rap. These little creatures are an important species that impact our daily lives in ways we might not even realize – from pollinating our favorite fruits to eating pesky insects to inspiring medical marvels. Learn more about bats: http://on.doi.gov/bats

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https://www.instagram.com/p/BaUSjmvBiLh/

[kuonabnaq]

NGC 7635, The Bubble Nebula

Image Credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble Heritage Team (STScI / AURA)