mercurialtongued

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feeling a single ounce of a gods love feels like being in the center of a fire

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thinking of my best friend today

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messy messy

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Sun Center, Ingo Swann, 1975

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“Shadow Puppets" by Alex Kuno

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something interesting I've noticed is, with starting new relationships with other spirits/deities, I've been pushed to ask for something. Giving an offering and saying thank you is all well and good, but then I've been guided to ask a question/ask help for something. I'm not sure if it's because I'm usually just so against asking for help (even when I need it). Maybe it's a way to build rapport, maybe it's a way to strengthen some energetic tether between you both, maybe it's both of those things and other reasons I can't think of off the top of my head.

I think to when I gave the first offering to Ares and before I could even begin to light the incense, he immediately pushed, 'you've been curious about this, these are the materials you need'.

Then I remember my relationship with Hermes began with a deal being made between us. Now it's been 14 years lol.

This is coming from experiences with the fey and hellenic deities specifically, however.

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erica jong

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Finally reached out to Ares

I'm Mars-ruled, to start off. He's been in my life since at least 2018. He's given me advice randomly from blind readings from others. He's lifted me up and helped me, even though I haven't asked, even though I haven't given him the proper hello and thank you.

I gave him incense and thanked him for what he has done for me. Before I could even ask help from something I've wanted to do magically, he pushed an image of things that would help me in doing so, and said he would help me when I've gathered the materials.

I pulled cards. After doing so, I channeled messages from him.

He sat across from me, a low table between us. A roaring fire behind him in a hearth, he drank something from a cup as he regarded me. His face was dark, his eyes incredibly piercing, unmoving off my figure and unblinking towards me. His shoulders were covered in furs, it was the first thing I noticed of him was the furs.

He asked why I reached out to him, and I spoke honestly in regards to my heart's strength and courage moving forward. He let me know that my mental state and self-punishing was hindering my growth. I needed a flip in my thought-patterns first and foremost.

He asked what the nature of our relationship would be (I believe in regards for what I'm looking at him for). I said possibly casual and see where it leads and he laughed, saying: "I have broken down walls much sturdier than your heart thousands of times over." and "something is better than nothing."

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banishing (how to do it)

yeah this is like all UPG but it works good for me, take what you will and leave the rest behind.

if your response to this is "but most people never ever have to deal with unwanted spirit problems so you're probably wrong if you think it's a spirit! do shadow work and touch grass!" please let me invite you to just not interact with this post at all.

Don't cleanse. Like please don't, why do people do this??

"I am confident an unwanted spirit is in my home and I cleansed but nothing happened."

Okay, an unwanted guest is in your home and you did a bit of vacuuming and washing the dishes, so why are they still there??

Why WOULDN'T they be there?! It's nicer now??? It's better for them to stay?!?!?!

"I want to break up with my boyfriend so I did his laundry but he's still texting me :/"

Cleansing =/= banishing and cleansing should be saved for cleaning up after an unwanted spirit after they are banished, which again, is not accomplished by cleansing.

Stop raising wards that trap the spirit inside.

"I cleansed and put up a protection but that only made the problem worse!"

Yes you did a wash up and locked the spirit inside with you, of course it's pissed off. It's trapped.

If you feel the need for immediate protection when dealing with a spirit problem, craft an amulet that serves as a personal protection for you. NOT one that seals off the entrances to your home.

Once the spirit problem is taken care of and you are confident its presence has been removed, feel free to raise up those wards sky high.

Also, if you are heavy-handed with the warding, spirits can sometimes just get trapped inside regardless. Learn how to temporarily "switch off" wards when you need to so things can leave.

Put your fucking foot down and tell the spirit to leave.

This will solve a surprising number of unwanted spirit problems. Not all of them, and come on, please stop telling people they never need to learn actual banishing skills just because telling spirits to leave works most of the time.

But you gotta do it. And I mean you don't have to be an asshole about it. You don't have to jump right into screaming in the spirit's general direction and threatening all such harm on it.

And there's plenty of good reasons to start with this step, especially if you want to be a spirit worker, but that's neither here nor there. Just tell them to leave.

Go to an area where you think the spirit is, or go where its private and speak with the intent that the spirit will hear you.

(You may also sign or write; would generally not recommend doing this operation entirely mentally)

"Hey, Dude. I know you're here, and I want you to know that you must leave. It is no longer an option for you to stay. I request that you leave immediately, and I request that you do not come back to this place. Leave now and we part ways in peace."

Do not go belly up and beg the spirit. It benefits you to behave with authority and dignity.

DO NOT try to "soften the blow" by twisting your words into something that is no longer a demand that the spirit depart. "Hey, if it's okay with you, I'm hoping you'll leave soon, or as soon as you're able... I don't feel comfortable with you here, and I'd prefer if you went." Great, now the spirit knows how you feel. So what?

Banish the spirit (or human, or whatever).

Presumably we're at this step because the prior step ("bro, seriously just leave and never come back") did not work.

Obtain correspondences heavily associated with banishing, use them to enchant a candle, burn the candle.

Can't use a candle? Try a simmer pot.

No fire at all, including incense? Try a floor wash (test carpets to ensure there will not be staining).

Can't burn things or clean the house? Try a sigil you visualize being imprinted on all the walls of your home.

Can't visualize? Consecrate something to represent the spirit, drop it in a jar of water along with banishing correspondences, swirl it around like a whirlpool, chant about the spirit being washed away.

No waterproof containers? Consecrate something to represent the spirit, stand on the edge of your property, throw it off the edge of the property.

You get my drift -- do magic. Do magic. Do magic that banishes. Use magic specifically to banish. Not to cleanse the vibrations or whatever. Specifically magic intended to yeet a spirit.

At this point, do not try to ignore the problem or keep talking it out. Do not just try to meditate or whatever. Do magic. Do magic that banishes.

Here's a banishing spell if you need it:

Basil, cloves, red pepper

Candle (ideally, red)

Paper and ink

Small offering

Draw the planetary seal of mars and the planetary square on a piece of paper, ideally in red. Dress a candle in oil (*burning your house down is an effective way to banish a spirit but perhaps too heavy-handed; dress with care) and include either one or three dried, powdered herbal correspondences to it.

Dedicate the candle to Mars. ("Planet Mars, someone on the internet told me you'd help me if I asked - I'm asking now. I give this candle to you. It belongs to you now.")

Put the candle near the paper.

Evoke Mars. ("Planet Mars, where your symbol exists so you exist. Where your planetary square exists, so do you exist. The space has been made welcoming to you through the presence of these Martian correspondences.") The martian correspondences are the basil/cloves/peppers, btw ("I ask you to bring your attention now to me. I ask you to dwell fully in this space.")

Read the Orphic hymn to Ares if you'd like a little extra elbow grease behind your evocation.

Petition Mars. ("So please get rid of this spirit, it seriously sucks so bad.")

Offer payment. ("In exchange for this help I know you will provide, I give you this candle and also this [small offering].")

Seal the deal. No, you do not need to be able to receive psychic confirmation from a planet or whatever, but do not proceed if you feel any gut-level bad feelings or suddenly get a ton of anxiety. If that happens, be like, "Mars, buddy, never mind - I get a bad feeling about this, so I'm noping out. Thanks for listening while you did. Leave in peace."

But if you feel fine about moving ahead, just be like, "now I give you Mars this offering, and I light your candle, with full and total assuredness that this spirit will be permanently banished from my space, my life, and my home."

[Light the candle, give the offering]

Cleanse

The spirit should be gone before you put up wards

Residual ickyness can make you feel the spirit is still nearby even if its been banished

Cleanse your space and see if the symptoms of the spirit return.

If symptoms return, the spirit has not been banished.

If they don't return,

Put up wards.

Ya got haunted because ya didn't have a fence up to stop random cows from wandering into the garden of your life and trampling all your hard work. Put up the wards.

Oh, but maybe the banishment didn't work, in which case:

Mitigate symptoms.

I mean yeah, maybe try at least a few more types of magical banishing, call in a priest even. But!

Not every spirit can be banished. That's just the long and short of it.

As humans we have the capacity to intertwine our lives, intentionally or otherwise, with forces that cannot be immediately removed from our presence.

Like if the grand spirit of a forest hates all humans and you build a house in the forest, you're not going to be able to banish the forest from the forest, you feel me?

Sometimes, banishing isn't the solution.

As rare as it is, it happens. Make personal protections, use mirror or other illusory wards to hide from its attention, make reparations if possible, avoid attracting attention, and get on with your life.

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Discovering that stuff in your life aligns a lot with correspondences of the deities your worship is so weird and comforting at the same time.

Like, you've been there all my life and you didn't tell me you sneaky bitch, I love you.

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trying not to feel guilty about the ebbs and flows of practice. I go from doing things daily for years to becoming casual.

I've put my dedicated worship and communication on the back burner since around November. depressions been hard but it feels like a comforting, warm weighted blanket than something suffocating lately.

since Feb I've felt my guides' energy more, Hermes and Dionysos slowly coaxing me back with spring coming around.

last night was particularly more intense than usual. Felt Dionysos with me all this week but yesterday I couldn't get him out of my mind (tbf I wasn't trying to so). After I showered, I remembered I bought a bottle for him on Monday, and was like 'alright alright I'll open it and pour libations and pray/meditate today' and as I began to put clothes on my bsf asked for a glass of wine (she knows first glass is for my guides so she waited and didn't pop the cork). We love an extra nudge.

I popped open the bottle and gave libations, and briefly came out to give the bottle to my bsf. I did the thing (may write it up later -- meditation was immediately intense but lovely and sweet). after about an hour I came back out and she didn't even have a glass. literally just a nudge to pop the bottle lol.

happy full moon

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Corn poppies and daisies in an olive orchard in Crete, 1983. Photos by Dennis Stock.

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Like lovers entwined

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Misty oaks. Crane Creek Regional Park by alice cummings

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i want to be wanted with the same intensity as being devoured

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“My mouth — terrible angel, everlasting novena, ecstatic devourer.”

— Natalie Diaz, from Postcolonial Love Poem; Ode to the Beloved’s Hips.