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CIRCE the witch goddess, daughter of HELIOS god of the sun 🌞

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“Humbling women seems to me a chief pastime of poets. As if there can be no story unless we crawl and weep.” ― Madeline Miller, Circe

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“I will not be like a bird bred in a cage, I thought, too dull to fly even when the door stands open. I stepped into those woods and my life began.” ― Madeline Miller, Circe

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Making Sigils

So as y’all know, the place I live is pretty fucked. Ive been researching protective magic for awhile and ive connected most with sigils. I thought you guys might want to try them out too, especially if your luck is as shitty as mine (its literally not).

Sigils are symbols charged with magikal power- basically a spell in a symbol. I like them because they dont take expensive materials (im a poor bitch), are pretty easy to make, and are mega aesthetic. Most importantly tho, they’re effective. While tons of premade sigils are available online, work that you create is always going to be more powerful in anything youre trying to do. Heres a guide to making your own, original sigil.

Start by writing your intention. This needs to be written positively, without using words like “not” or “won’t”. For example, i want to be protected from the thing in the woods. Instead of writing “I will not be hurt by the great evil”, i wrote “I will be protected from the great evil”.

(srry my hand writing is absolute garbage)

Once youve written your intention, cross out all vowels. This will help us simplify our intention to its simplest form.

Next, cross out all duplicate letters, leaving only one of each.

Now, write down the letters you have left.

We will now break these letters down even further until we are left with only their base symbols. Separate all complex shapes down to lines, curves, and circles.

This looks pretty complicated, but organizing the symbols makes it a lot easier to keep track of all of them.

Now we can begin forming the sigil. Start arranging the symbols in whatever way your mind is calling you. If i stay focused on my intention, my hands just work and seem to know where the shapes fit. If youre having trouble just take a breath. Dont stress. It will work because YOURE making it. The power doesn’t come form the symbol- it comes from YOU. Thats another reason why this is only a baseline. You may feel called to add extra symbols- do it. Trust yourself, the goal is to make something that you feel connected with.

This was my finished sigil. To charge it, it is usually best to make it transform. This symbolizes the transformation between where you are and where you want your intention to lead you. This transformation can be done in a few ways, but is most commonly done by burning or soaking the sigil. Because we’re having a rainstorm tonight, Im leaving mine outside to be soaked. Once it dries in the sunlight I’ll carry what remains of the paper with me. This is just a personal preference because I like having something physical to remind me that the magic is working even if i cant see it. Other options for transformation include:

Burning and scattering the ashes

Writing in soil or sand before a rainstorm and letting it wash the sigil away

Writing it on your hand and letting it naturally fade away

Best of luck ✌️ Stay witchy and hmu if you have questions or have requests for a certain tutorial. Subscribe for more rants, lesbian whining, and occasional helpful tips.

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Hellenic Pronunciation for the Gods

It is likely, like me, you grew up without an education in Classical (or Modern for that matter) Greek. You might have read “Hecate” and read it as “Heh-KATE” or, at best, “Heh-kuh-TEE” (a habit which I fear I might take to the grave). So hopefully you will also find this selection of pronunciation from HellenicGods.org interesting. I recommend reading their full article. In particular was the use of the diphthongs - where the tip of the tongue meets and presses flat against the roof of the mouth right behind the teeth before releasing. It makes a sound that is something between a D and a Th. This is common in Indian languages, like Punjabi, where I became familiar with it.

Ækáti - (Hecate or Hekate; Gr. Ἑκάτη, ΕΚΑΤΗ) Pronounced: æ-KAH-tee. or eh-KAH-tee.

Ærmís (Hermes; Gr. Ἑρμῆς, ΕΡΜΗΣ) Pronounced: ayr-MEES, the ‘H’ is silent; the ‘R’ is rolled slightly such that it almost sounds like the name has three syllables.

Æstía (Hestia; Gr. Ἑστία, ΕΣΤΙΑ) Pronounced: æs-TEE-ah.

Aphrodíti (Aphrodite; Gr. Ἀφροδίτη, ΑΦΡΟΔΙΤΗ) Pronunciation: ah-froh-DEE-tee, roll the ‘r’ slightly; the d (dǽlta) is pronounced like the soft th in this, not like the hard th in theory

Apóllohn - (Apollo; Gr. Ἀπόλλων, ΑΠΟΛΛΩΝ) Pronounced ah-POH-lohn.

Áris - (Ares; Gr. Άρης, ΑΡΗΣ) Pronunciation: AH-rees 

Ártæmis (Artemis; Gr. Ἄρτεμις, ΑΡΤΕΜΙΣ) Pronunciation: AHR-tay-mees 

Athiná (Athena; Gr. Ἀθηνᾶ, ΑΘΗΝΑ) Pronunciation: ah-thee-NAH, the accent on the final syllable, or not accenting any syllable.

Daimohn (Gr. δαίμων, ΔΑΙΜΩΝ) Pronounced: DAY-mohn, the D sounding like the th in thee (not like the th in thesis).

Dimítir (Demeter or Demetra; Gr. Δημήτηρ, ΔΗΜΗΤΗΡ) When enunciating the name Dimítir, the D (delta) is pronounced like the soft th in this, not like the hard th in theory: dee-MEE-teer, with the accent on the second syllable.

Diónysos - (Dionysus; Gr. Διόνυσος, ΔΙΟΝΥΣΟΣ) The D in Diónysos is pronounced like the th in thee (not like the th in thesis). Pronounced: dee-OH-nee-sohs.

Ílios - (Helios; Gr. Ἥλιος, ΗΛΙΟΣ) Pronounced: EE-lee-ohs.

Íphaistos (Hephaestus; Gr. Ἥφαιστος, ΗΦΑΙΣΤΟΣ) Pronounced: EE-fays-tohs, with the accent on the first syllable; there is no ‘H.’

Íra (Hera; Gr. Ήρα, ΗΡΑ) Pronounced: EE-rah.  The ‘H’ (Íta [Eta; Gr. ἦτα]) at the beginning of the name of the Goddess is a vowel.

Nyx (Gr. Νύξ, ΝΥΞ) Pronounced: neeks.

Orphéfs (Orpheus; Gr. Ὀρφεύς, ΟΡΦΕΥΣ) Pronounced: ohr-FEFS

Pærsæphóni - (Persephone; Gr. Περσεφόνη, ΠΕΡΣΕΦΟΝΗ) Pronounced: payr-say-FOH-nee.

Poseidóhn  - (Poseidon; Gr. Ποσειδῶν, ΠΟΣΕΙΔΩΝ) Pronounced: poh-see-DOHN, accent on the last syllable; the d (delta) at the beginning of the last syllable is pronounced like a soft th as in this, not like the th in theory. 

Rǽa - (Rhea; Gr. Ῥέα, ΡΕΑ) Pronounced: RAY-ah, rolling the R just slightly.

Titánæs (Titans; Gr. Τιτᾶνες, ΤΙΤΑΝΕΣ) Pronounced: tee-TAH-nays or tee-TAH-nehs.

Yaia - (Gaia; Gr. Γαῖα, ΓΑΙΑ. Pronounced: YÆ-ah.

Zefs (Zeus; Gr.  Ζεύς, ΖΕΥΣ) Pronounced: zĕfs; the diphthong εύ is pronounced like the ef in left.

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I can't draw snakes

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Wisteria (by Annie Spratt)

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Whisper Tree by Nitesh Nagda

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Chinese flowering crabapple by 烟波里的棠

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“Don’t Work with Death!”

“Don’t work with death, because then you invite it into your house.”

Death is already in my house. Death is everywhere. Death is what decays the plant matter that feeds my garden. Death is what feeds the herbs I use in my spells, for each grows from what died before it.

Death is what feeds my family - death of plants, the death of animals. I would not disrespect the spirits of that which feeds us by ignoring their sacrifice. 

Death is the veil between my ancestors and myself, keeping them at rest and then acting as the gate for them to step into their next life.

When I do hospice work and sit with someone who is accepting their approaching death, I don’t tell them death is something to fear or avoid. I tell them death is the friend that walked beside them, every step of their life, maintaining the balance of the world, and waiting for them with open arms, to escort them to rebirth. 

“Don’t work with death!” 

I would not ignore life’s partner, not for arrogance or fear or ignorance. When I go to my own, I want to greet death with respect, acceptance, and gratitude. 

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Full moon, May 07 - 2020

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Eros and Psyche

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A Silent Song for the Moon: © gif by riverwindphotography, May, 2020

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How sunlight moves through the forest….: © riverwindphotography, May, 2019

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🌱Some helpful tips to keep healthy house plants🌱

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Anticipation for Blue Flax, Twinflower, and Wild Rose - is running high! I hope your May is full of beauty. © riverwindphotography