#Witchcraft Articles

[liminalsoul]

Searching for (European) traditional witchcraft information

At first sight, trying to find traditional spells and rituals is overwhelming due to the amount of information that is usually mixed with a more globalized type of witchcraft. This isn't necessarily bad but it hinders the research work on the specific topic.

Through time, I have found academic articles referring to declarations in witches trials the most useful ones, however the main problem with them is that, while they give us a valuable general view in the practices of different times, they hardly ever inform us of concrete practices.

Another source similar to the other one is those documents that were written by inquisitors and for inquisitors. In this particular ones there are detailed different practices and superstitions to describe what witches exactly did and how to identify them. These give us valuable but biased information because of the christian view of the writers.

I have also surprisingly found interesting articles on witchcraft in literature. They offer and overview of how witches were seen by society and what services were publicly offered by them.

Finally, reading isn't the only source where you can get information. I think it is really necessary to ask old people about what superstitions, legends about witches or beliefs do they remember from their childhood or what did their family tell them, as well as researching on what customs are still active in rural areas.

[umbrae-sortilegium]

𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒜𝓇𝓉 𝑜𝒻 𝒰𝓈𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒶𝓃 𝒜𝒾𝓇 𝒟𝒾𝒻𝒻𝓊𝓈𝑒𝓇 𝒾𝓃 𝒲𝒾𝓉𝒸𝒽𝒸𝓇𝒶𝒻𝓉 Hᴀʀɴᴇssɪɴɢ Mʏsᴛɪᴄᴀʟ Aʀᴏᴍᴀs. Air diffusers can play a significant role in the practice of witchcraft, where scented air is believed to carry messages, reveal truths, and connect with the realm of spirits. These devices offer versatile means to create the desired atmosphere during rituals, ceremonies, and spellwork. Unlike incense, air diffusers can be more suitable for some practitioners due to various reasons, including health considerations and personal preferences. In this article, we will explore the multifaceted applications of air diffusers in witchcraft, covering their use in various magical purposes, such as banishing, cursing, and shadow magic. We will also delve into the magical significance of vapor as opposed to smoke or incense, shedding light on the unique qualities that make air diffusers a powerful tool in the practice of witchcraft.

Air diffusers are versatile tools in witchcraft, allowing practitioners to infuse spaces with various scents, each carrying its own magical significance. The aroma released by an air diffuser can serve as a medium for communication with the spirit world, as it is believed that spirits can be drawn to or repelled by specific scents. During rituals or ceremonies, practitioners may select scents that resonate with their intentions, whether they seek to invoke protective spirits, honor ancestors, or connect with particular deities.

One of the most common uses of air diffusers in witchcraft is for banishing negative energies and entities. By diffusing cleansing and purifying scents such as sage, frankincense, or rosemary, practitioners can create a barrier against unwanted energies, keeping their sacred space clear and protected. The diffused vapor becomes a potent tool for establishing boundaries and warding off malevolent forces, aligning with the magical intention to banish negativity.

In contrast to incense, air diffusers are favored by some witches for their smokeless and low-heat operation. This makes them suitable for individuals with respiratory issues or sensitivities to smoke. The choice of an air diffuser over incense can be seen as a practical consideration, ensuring that the practitioner can fully immerse themselves in the magical work without discomfort or health concerns. Furthermore, the controlled release of scents allows for a consistent and subtle presence of the chosen aroma, which can be essential for long rituals or meditation practices.

Cursing and hexing rituals also find use for air diffusers in witchcraft. Scents like black pepper, graveyard dirt-infused oils, or chili pepper lend an air of aggression and intensity to their workings. The vapor released by the diffuser can act as a conduit for the practitioner's intent, emphasizing the dark energy they wish to project. The aroma becomes an integral component of the curse, enhancing its potency.

Shadow magic, a branch of witchcraft that delves into the exploration of one's inner darkness and the mysteries of the subconscious mind, can greatly benefit from air diffusers. The subtle, vapor-based delivery of scents can contribute to the creation of an atmosphere that facilitates the practitioner's journey into the shadows of their psyche. Scents like myrrh, patchouli, or cedarwood can deepen the connection to the hidden aspects of the self, aiding in shadow work and inner transformation. Conversely, love spells and attraction magic can benefit from air diffusers as well. Aromatic oils like rose, jasmine, and ylang-ylang can be diffused to create an atmosphere of love, sensuality, and attraction. The gentle diffusion of these fragrances can enhance the effectiveness of spells designed to draw love and affection into one's life.

Air diffusers also have a role in divination and communication with the spirit world. When used in conjunction with specific oils, they can facilitate a clearer connection between the practitioner and the spirit realm. Oils like mugwort, cedarwood, or myrrh are known to enhance spiritual communication when diffused.

Protection spells in witchcraft often rely on the four elements, and air diffusers can represent the element of air in these rituals. By diffusing oils like eucalyptus or juniper, practitioners can strengthen the protective barrier around them or their sacred space, making it more challenging for negative energies or entities to penetrate.

In meditation and trance work, air diffusers serve as a valuable aid in reaching altered states of consciousness. A carefully selected blend of essential oils, such as lavender, frankincense, and sandalwood, can induce a deep state of relaxation, enhancing the ability to journey within or connect with higher realms.

The concept of elemental magic is central to many pagan and witchcraft traditions, with each element having its own unique properties and correspondences. Air diffusers, when used in spellwork, can invoke the power of the element of air/and or ether to lend energy and intent to a particular work. The gentle diffusion of air-element oils can create a sacred and potent space for rituals and spells that require the influence of this element.

The practice of smudging, common in many indigenous and pagan traditions, can be enhanced with air diffusers. By diffusing the smoke of sacred herbs or resins like sage or palo santo, practitioners can cleanse and purify their surroundings without the need for direct combustion. This smoke cleansing can be a powerful tool in removing negativity and unwanted energies.

Air diffusers are also instrumental in creating a harmonious and balanced environment. By diffusing oils associated with equilibrium, such as lavender and chamomile, practitioners can promote a sense of peace and balance within their homes or sacred spaces, fostering a positive atmosphere for their magical work.

Protection against psychic attacks and negative energies is another common use of air diffusers in witchcraft. Oils with strong protective properties, such as black salt-infused oils or rosemary, can be diffused to create a shield of defense around an individual or their space, ensuring safety from harmful intentions or entities.

In the realm of prosperity and abundance spells, air diffusers can be used to amplify intentions of financial well-being. Essential oils like cinnamon, basil, and patchouli, when diffused, can attract wealth and prosperity into one's life.

Air diffusers are also a valuable tool for enhancing one's focus and concentration during magical rituals and spellwork. Oils like peppermint and rosemary can be diffused to stimulate mental clarity and enhance cognitive abilities, allowing practitioners to perform their magical work with precision.

Witches and practitioners of folk magic often turn to air diffusers when working with lunar energy. By selecting oils that correspond with the moon's phases, they can harness the moon's mystical power to enhance their magical intentions.

In the practice of kitchen witchery, air diffusers can be used to infuse the atmosphere with the energies of the herbs and spices used in culinary magic. This adds an extra layer of intention to the meals prepared, imbuing them with magical properties that promote health, abundance, and love.

For practitioners of herbal magic, air diffusers offer an effective means of working with the properties of various herbs. By diffusing essential oils extracted from specific herbs, they can tap into the magical and healing qualities of these plants.

Dreamwork and lucid dreaming are enhanced through the use of air diffusers. Lavender, mugwort, and marjoram oils, when diffused before sleep, can promote vivid dreams and facilitate dream recall, aiding in the exploration of the subconscious.

Air diffusers are also a valuable tool for aura cleansing and energy balancing. By diffusing oils that resonate with the chakras, practitioners can cleanse and balance their energy centers, promoting physical and emotional well-being.

In the art of sigil magic, air diffusers can be employed to charge and activate sigils by diffusing oils aligned with the sigil's intent. This creates a focused and charged environment for the manifestation of desires.

Psychic and intuitive abilities can be heightened through the use of air diffusers. Oils like mugwort and bay laurel, when diffused during meditation or divination, can open the third eye and enhance clairvoyant and clairaudient experiences.

Air diffusers are also valuable tools for harnessing the energies of the seasons and sabbats in witchcraft. By diffusing oils that correspond with the specific sabbat or season, practitioners can attune themselves to the natural cycles and celebrate the turning of the wheel of the year.

In the practice of candle magic, air diffusers can complement the spellwork by diffusing oils that correspond with the intention of the candle. This enhances the effectiveness of the magic by infusing the surroundings with the desired energy.

Psychic protection and boundary-setting are important aspects of spiritual practice, and air diffusers can be used to create a protective energy barrier. Oils like juniper or myrrh, when diffused, can establish a shield against unwanted influences and psychic attacks.

Air diffusers are a valuable addition to the practice of color magic. By choosing oils associated with a specific color, practitioners can infuse their magical work with the energy and symbolism of that color, enhancing the effectiveness of their spells.

Healing magic can benefit from the use of air diffusers by diffusing essential oils that promote physical and emotional well-being. Oils like eucalyptus, lavender, and chamomile can facilitate the healing process and promote recovery.

In the creation of enchanted spaces and altars, air diffusers can be used to infuse the area with the desired energy. By diffusing oils that correspond to the purpose of the space or altar, practitioners can create a sacred and powerful environment for their magical work.

Air diffusers can also be employed in weather magic and working with the energies of the wind. By diffusing oils associated with specific wind directions, practitioners can align their magic with the natural forces of the atmosphere.

In the realm of astral projection and out-of-body experiences, air diffusers can be used to create an atmosphere conducive to these practices. Oils like frankincense, myrrh, and cedarwood, when diffused, can help induce a trance-like state that facilitates astral travel.

Air diffusers are a valuable tool for grounding and centering in magical practice. Oils like patchouli, vetiver, and cedarwood, when diffused, can anchor an individual's energy and provide a sense of stability and balance.

In self-discovery, air diffusers can be used to create a supportive and introspective atmosphere. Oils like rosemary and lavender can promote self-reflection and inner exploration, aiding in the process of personal growth and healing.

Magical significance lies in the form of vapor released by air diffusers compared to traditional incense smoke. Vapor is often seen as a purer, more ethereal substance, connecting with the spirit realm on a subtler level. This can be particularly advantageous for practitioners who prefer a gentler approach to magic or seek to work with spirits in a more refined manner. The fine mist of vapor is believed to be a better medium for messages and revelations from the spirit world, as it represents a more direct and refined conduit for spiritual energies.

Air diffusers are powerful tools in the practice of witchcraft, offering a wide range of applications during rituals, ceremonies, and spell work. Their ability to release scented vapor makes them versatile instruments for invoking or banishing spirits, cleansing spaces, or delving into the realms of shadow magic. The choice of air diffusers over incense can be driven by health considerations and personal preferences, ensuring that practitioners can fully engage with their craft. The magical significance of vapor in witchcraft emphasizes its role as a subtle and potent medium for communication with the spirit world, making it an invaluable addition to the witch's toolkit. © Dʏsʜᴀɴᴋᴀ/Oᴅᴇᴛᴛᴇ ₂₀₂₃

[windvexer]

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[moonmausoleum]

The Witch Caves of Zugarramurdi

During one of the biggest witch trials in Spain, there was one place that was thought to be more filled with witchcraft than others. In the so-called Witch Caves of Zugarramurdi in the Basque country, it was said that witches gathered for sabbaths.

During one of the biggest witch trials in Spain, there was one place that was thought to be more filled with witchcraft than others. In the so-called Witch Caves of Zugarramurdi in the Basque country, it was said that witches gathered for sabbaths and akellares. The witch hunt hit Europe hard, and Spain was no different. The Inquisition in Spain was brutal and perhaps one of the darkest chapters…

[traegorn]

Is it true that Friday the 13th was a celebration for Freyja before the Christians started associating it with Satan?

So Friday the 13th wasn't really a thing until the 19th century, and it happened just because both Friday and 13 were considered unlucky.

So no.

Drawing Norse connections here is tenuous. There is a story involving Loki that some use to theorize as a reason that 13 might be unlucky -- but that's just a hypothesis, with no more weight than the one that suggests it's unlucky because of Judas being the 13th guest at the last supper.

Which considering how widespread the idea that the number 13 being unlucky is, the Norse origin seems even less likely. And Friday in English is named for Frigg, not Freyja. Some argue that they're the same goddess, but that's not commonly agreed on. In any case, Friday in other languages in cultures that also see Friday the 13th as unlucky have completely unrelated root words.

And frankly that's not even tackling the subject of what calendar pre-Christian Norse and Germanic tribes were using in the first place.

This is one of those "Neopagans want to feel persecuted" stories that's been around for a long time, but has less support than a a cooked spaghetti bridge.

[the-witchy-housewife]

｡+*✧ The Basics of Spiritual Safety & Wellbeing✧*+｡

This is an article from my website, The Witchy Housewife. You can read it at the source here or look under the cut to read it here on Tumblr. If you enjoy my work, please consider subscribing (at the bottom of this page) to receive articles as they're posted via e-mail, exploring the shop, leaving a tip, or reblogging this post. I run this all myself, so all support is greatly appreciated. 💜🔮✨

When asked the most important place to begin as a newcomer to the craft, to energy work, or even to simply walking a more spiritual path, more experienced practitioners will often share the basics of their magickal tool cabinet, suggest a bouquet of book titles and YouTube channels, or state plainly that the only correct answer is to let your heart and soul guide you. Only occasionally do I see or hear these types of questions answered with the recommendation to familiarize oneself with spiritual safety and wellbeing prior to diving head-first. But matters of protection, I feel, are one of the most important things to study up on when starting out, and today, I’d like to share my own thoughts and advice on the topic.

Cleansing, Purification, & Banishing

As I define them in my practice: To cleanse is to rid a person, place, or thing of stagnant, unwanted, draining, counterproductive, or otherwise negative energies or entities (though positive energies will often accompany them), to purify is to return a person, place, or thing to its original energetic state, and to banish is to cleanse by authoritative expulsion or removal using an outward-pushing energy. You may find others who define these terms differently or use these words interchangeably, but this is how I have come to define them, each offering their own unique function in my workings. If you are looking at correspondences in my digital grimoire, these energetic properties can be found in items marked as cleansing, restoration, and banishment respectively.

A cleansing may be performed when you find that energies are stagnant, stuffy, or negative. Unpleasant energies like these can be responsible for inviting in equally unpleasant entities, hindering the results of energetic workings, creating a state of mental or emotional discomfort, brewing a heavy tension in the air, or even causing feelings of sickness in those who are particularly sensitive. As such, it is usually recommended that cleansings be performed on a regular basis – especially if you live in a space that is regularly exposed to more negative energies. Some common methods of cleansing utilize the smoke of cleansing herbs (alternatively, a spray), water infused with cleansing herbs, or simply a visualization of brilliant white light – and this is just barely scratching the surface. As with many rituals, there are hundreds of methods of cleansing out there for you to explore, and it is paramount to choose one – or even create one – that works for you. Let your intention – your goal – be your guiding force. As a general rule, if you are putting your intention into it and you are going about it in a way that feels intuitively compatible, you will more than likely see the results you are looking for.

Often, cleansing – similarly to banishing – will result in a feeling of emptiness. You are essentially scrubbing the present energies “clean”, including energies that may be more positive. On the other hand, you may wish to perform a purification, or restoration, of a person, place, or thing if the goal is to reverse any energetic damage that may have been done while still retaining those unique individual energies. For this, you would utilize restorative herbs instead of cleansing ones and focus your intention accordingly. It seems it is common for practitioners to opt for cleansing over purification – and even more common for the terms to be defined as one and the same – but I enjoy having this as a separate option when it is needed. In my practice, this process typically comes into play when I want to remove any absorbed energies from a crystal, charm, or tool but would like to preserve its core energies as much as possible.

Finally, banishment is used when you want to push an energy or entity out of a particular space, and in this case, the original energies seem to remain wholly unchanged. For this reason, some practitioners choose to also perform a cleansing beforehand. Like cleansing, there are many methods of banishment out there that you can give a try, though the most commonly passed-around is the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram (or LBRP) of ceremonial magick, sometimes given different flavors for different systems.

Enchanting & Blessing

The emptiness of a cleansing or banishing can feel pleasant enough, but I find that this sometimes allows unwanted energies to creep back in more easily. A blank slate becomes anyone’s game, so to speak. To mitigate this, you may choose to preemptively imbue the space with more intentionally – and typically positive – energies. For this, we use enchantment or blessings. To enchant is to fill a person, place, or thing with intentional (but not necessarily positive) energies, and to bless is to enchant with fresh, positive, and often divine energies.

Enchantment is one of those foundational things that is pretty crucial to get the hang of when first starting out in a magickal practice, and all it entails is focusing on an intention and willing the energy of that intention to fill the person, place, or thing being enchanted. To a beginner, this can be more difficult, which is why it is also important to learn what these subtle energies can feel like to you. Skipping this step can sometimes deter people away from magick altogether. Lady Gravedancer, one of my favorite witches on YouTube, has an excellent video on learning to work with and sense these subtle energies. If this is all new to you, I highly recommend it.

Typically, though, a blessing is more what we’re looking for post-cleansing – positive, even divine, energies that inspire a sense of wellbeing. If you work with deities, you may also like to ask them to bestow their own blessings in your stead or beside you. Otherwise, it’s just enchantment with a wholly positive intention, but if the idea of a blessing feels too religious for your comfort, stick with “enchantment” and don’t let semantics bog you down.

Warding, Shielding, & Cloaking

In all cases, I tend to feel that the energies we’re working through are not being totally destroyed, but are rather either transmuted, deterred, or even just fragmented. In my opinion, it is usually a good idea to follow up your cleansings or banishments with the re-energizing of your wards. To ward is to create an energetic protective barrier around a person, place, or thing as a semi-passive and long-term protective measure, to shield is to create a more short-term ward that surrounds a personal, place, or thing entirely and is envisioned as a bubble, and to cloak is to make a person, place, or thing energetically “invisible” or “irrelevant” to wandering energies or entities so that interests are directed elsewhere. You can find relevant correspondences in my digital grimoire marked as protection, security, and invisibility.

Warding can be thought of as the closing and locking of your spiritual entryway, though it is often done with the intention to protect from more than just matters of the spiritual. I’ve known people to create physical barriers around properties using salt and/or eggshells with protective herbs as a base and visualizing their wards rising from that barrier. You might also like to bury protective crystals at the four corners of the property for that additional kick. But once again, there are so many methods out there that it really comes down to personal preference.

I tend to think of shielding – or bubbling, as some call it – as a more short-term and active form of warding. Shielding is especially useful as an emergency layer of protection when out and about or as an additional layer over your personal wards in outings that you suspect will be energetically taxing. Where wards are thought of as great and powerful walls, shields are typically thought of as entire bubbles surrounding a person, place, or thing on all sides. If you’re an empath like me – which is a sometimes-misrepresented term I’ll get into in a future article – shielding is a good practice to have in your pocket for going out into crowded environments, whether that crowd is physical, as in a theme park, or spiritual, as in a hospital. Whatever visualization you choose to use for warding, your shielding process can tend to be similar, and much of it, again, comes down to the intention. It is often the case, though, that this process takes more energy to conduct, and thus, if you choose to keep up a more permanent shield, it may require more care and more frequent energetic charging than your wards do.

Cloaking is something I don’t see discussed very often, but it can be very useful to consider when you are trying to be energetically off the radar. And obviously, I am not suggesting you go about doing sneaky, unsavory things. Instead, cloaking may be more beneficial for avoiding unnecessary conflict with nosy neighbors, finding peace to work in a coffee shop, or subduing the attention that can come from large-scale energetic workings. And as always, you may choose to hand-pick some herbs, crystals, or other mystical tools for this purpose, but the recommended visualization varies a bit from that typical bright light you may be used to working with. In the case of invisibility, you may choose to envision the person, place, or thing fading out of view or to mentally play the situation at hand out exactly as you wish it to transpire.

Safety Tips for Spirit Work

Certainly, if you plan to do spirit work – a line of spiritual work in which will regularly involve energies and entities completely independent of you – these concepts may be more important to familiarize yourself with than with someone whose only spiritual endeavor is manifesting a little extra spending money every once in a while. Aspiring spirit worker, the following tips are for you:

• As per the point of this article, it’s a good idea to have your preferred protective methods at the ready prior to actively working with spirits. This, of course, does not mean that your methods cannot change over time – but when starting out, you should find a method that is compatible with you and gets you the results you need. Once chosen, try to become familiar enough with it that you can cast it off-book in the event of some sort of spiritual emergency.

• As a spirit worker, you’ll want to cleanse your tools, your space, and yourself very regularly. My preference in my practice is at least once a month and more frequently if I feel it is necessary. Even if you aren’t involved with spirit work, regular cleansings are a good habit to get into, but it is especially important for those inviting a large number of outside influences into their home.

• Get to know your spirit guide(s), and keep them close during any sort of spirit work. I’ve heard from many people who feel that the connection you have with your guide(s) has a sort of solidity to it that can override other communications the moment you ask for it, and I myself have not yet seen evidence to the contrary. If you ever feel uneasy about a communication and are in need of a second opinion on who or what you may be speaking to, ask your guide(s) to come through and communicate with you. Still, as we communicate between realms, discernment is a necessary skill to develop, and having protections in place is always a good idea, regardless of whether you choose to involve your guide(s) or work on your own. If you are completely new to the idea of spirit guides, I do plan to write an article on the topic in the future – but in the meantime, if you’re interested in meeting yours, Lady Gravedancer also has a wonderful video featuring a ritual for communicating with your guides for the first time.

• You may also want to look into the idea of casting a circle (another topic I’ll likely be discussing here in the future). While an entire ritual may not be in the cards for your practice, it may help you to develop some alternative ideas for shielding the space around you during active spirit work. In doing so, you maintain greater control over what is permitted to enter. Afterwards, be sure to say your goodbyes and to close up your circle and any portals you may have opened to avoid uninvited visitors outside of working hours. If you are someone who chooses to always leave your space open to visitation – and some people do – be aware that anything can enter and be prepared for the circumstances that could stem from this.

• If you are someone who allows certain spirits to reside in your home – what I refer to as my “spirit family” – I think it is a hospitable gesture to let those spirits know when you are going to be performing a cleansing or banishing. I can’t imagine that having your energy forcefully transmuted or shoved out the door would be a terribly comfortable thing to experience, so I think of it as a sort of courtesy that exhibits the respect I have for them. This will give them a chance to temporarily leave the space of their own volition while you go through your routine. Alternatively, if you have a special space set up for your spirit family like I do, you may choose to shield that space with the intention for their energies to remain unaffected by the cleansing. I’m not sure that it’s the most perfect method, but it’s one that I’ve found to work well for my spirit family thus far. In both cases, there are those who would argue that this gives unwanted entities a chance to temporarily leave or take shelter within the shield, as well, but I tend to feel that my spirit family would act accordingly to keep our home safe. It is their home, too, after all.

Despite popular Hollywood tropes, working with spirits doesn’t necessarily equate to “terrifying and dangerous” – but this does not mean it is without its risks. And just as you wouldn’t find your way into a dark alley in the middle of the night without some pepper spray, it’s likely not a good idea to invite spirits into your home without compatible defense measures in place.

Safety Tips for Energy Work

Energy work, in general, tends to have the odd side effect of making you a sort of beacon in the realm of the spiritual – and the more you do, the more your energy builds, the more your awareness expands, and the brighter your whole being shines. No matter the level you find yourself at spiritually, the following tips are for you (though feel absolutely free to read through the previous section, as well; the additional knowledge can only benefit you):

• Whether it be through tarot, runes, pendulums, spirit boards, prayer, or some other form of divination you find useful, it is wonderfully wise to seek guidance regarding any workings you do. This practice can help you to avoid unwanted outcomes, to avoid manifesting something you may not truly want, and to uncover exactly what it is you need to add or take away from your workings to bring you the results that you are looking for.

• Keep a journal of what works and what doesn’t in your practice and of any intuitive insights you receive that you feel may be important. Your spiritual path is a deeply personal one, and one person’s experience will likely never be perfectly identical to another’s. There is an abundance of wonderful advice out there. There are many methods out there that work very well for many as-is. But at the end of the day, you must discover what works best for you, even if that is different from the teachings of the majority. Be sure to keep track of it.

• Be mindful of loopholes, especially in manifestation workings. Being too specific can sometimes be ineffective, but not being specific enough has the potential to cause even bigger issues. Manifestation, I find, tends to take the path of least resistance, so when putting your energies out there, you want to be sure your intentions don’t put anyone in harm’s way. Again, divination can be a wonderful source of guidance prior to your workings.

• If you are going to be working with negative intentions of any kind – which is something I don’t advise for a number of reasons, and especially not for beginners – be sure to deep-cleanse yourself and the space the spell or ritual took place in. In addition, it’s generally a good idea to not keep any items used in the working on or near your property. Also know that there are other options, like justice workings, that can be done in place of this. Sometimes when we feel very upset or very angry, we speak or act irrationally and come to regret it later. This can also be true for spellwork, but the results can sometimes be a lot more devastating. Ultimately, I cannot stop you from doing what you feel you must, but at the very least, I hope you’ll think things through.

• Finally, this may seem like common-sense, but don’t let your spiritual practice throw off balance in your life. The realm of the physical has its own value and importance, and that certainly includes your health and wellbeing. If you find yourself neglecting your health, your hygiene, your friends and family, your responsibilities, or your other hobbies, it may be necessary to take a break or dial it back until you’re able to find a good balance.

A Regular Cleansing Practice

You may have already seen this in my article on making the home more magickal, but I thought it would be good to include, here as well. The following are my two most often-used cleansing rituals – one which I perform monthly, and the other as-needed:

My Monthly Cleansing Ritual: I perform this ritual on the first of each month. Any cleansing tools to be charged on the altar should be set at least a day before performing the cleansing. The morning of, weather permitting, open windows and play uplifting music or cleansing affirmations, frequencies, or subliminals of choice. Take a cleansing shower. Clean the home as you normally would. When physical cleaning is complete, use a smoke or spray cleansing blend of choice, walking with intention from room-to-room. Pay special mind to corners and doorways. I like to use sound cleansing – bells, drums, or even snapping your fingers will do – in these spaces to really ensure the breaking up of any “stuck” energies. If you are someone who performs banishing rituals, you may choose to do so now. At this point, I also take a moment to cleanse myself, particularly as an empath. I then tend to my wards by first taking a blessed salt blend around the perimeter of the property, followed by sitting at the center of the property and funneling my own energy into the ward. If you would prefer to instead bless first and ward after, feel free to do so. It is your ritual, after all. Regardless of which order you perform the ritual in, the blessing process may be a deeply personal one, so this is a step I suggest thinking on a bit rather than following to the letter. In my ritual, I use a spray with positive energy-promoting herbs (as well as herbs that may promote the intention I wish to set for the month) and follow up with prayer to my deities. If you’re interested in a more in-depth look at my Monthly Cleansing Ritual, I do have detailed instructions available on my Monthly Blessings Patreon.

My As-Needed Cleansing Ritual: This is essentially a truncated version of my monthly ritual. If the energies are something I’ve tracked in or absorbed too much of, I will take a cleansing shower first. Following this, perform your usual smoke or spray cleansing, focusing especially on any room(s) that may be the most abundant in the energy that brought about this need for an emergency cleanse. You may also like to perform a shorter version of your regular blessing ritual. Unless the situation is really dire, I will generally stick to my spray in this case.

Just to reiterate, all of the information, including these rituals, are from my own practice and my own experience. You must do what works for you if you want to get the absolute best results and the most fulfilling experience. Take what serves you, and leave the rest. Much love and many blessings to you on your journey. Take care of yourself.

[visardistofelphame]

A trigger warning for the content below. Suicide and abuse are lightly touched upon, so please keep that in mind when reading.

Here is the old article (if you need context)

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“Witchcraft is an old hag, dead and rotting. She sits on a pile of bones, and hides behind the graves of her elders. It is here where she lurks waiting for the right moment. Witchcraft hungers for youth, it hungers for you.”

It is said that the Craft has continued to survive, despite being ‘destroyed’ time and time again. No matter how many times it has been uprooted, it is a weed that will regrow. So why the visceral description? What is it about Witchcraft that invokes such violence and wrath within the imagination? Why link it to death? To cannibalism? To these things that are faux pas in our modern world?

Within the British traditions (as well as others I am certain), there was a push to change the viewpoint of what the Craft was to the general populace. The hope being to reveal it not as some boogeyman cult, but as a private faith as genuine and fulfilling as any other. The idea of acceptance and freedom was forefront, and it can be understandable why. Who doesn’t want those things? 

As a queer woman, I certainly crave acceptance and freedom. I imagine it's what we all want: to live as we will, unafraid of the threat of shame or assault. But what happens when societal mechanisms press down upon you? No one is specifically stopping you from living your life, free and happy. Yet, can anyone truly achieve those if we cannot even afford shelter and food? I can only speak from my understanding of the world, living within the USA. What was once the American Dream has transformed into a nightmare. The paralysis demon that is Despair and Dread, a future with no hope.

I sometimes wonder if my passion for the occult and (more specifically) witchcraft is an act of escapism? It's easy to understand why one would turn to the past for relief from the thought of what the future will bring. A bit of “Yeah, obviously” sort of thing. The idea of nostalgia isn’t new, whether it’s a longing for your childhood or for a history you were never a part of. I feel like it is a perfectly natural thing to experience. I know for me, it is less nostalgia for my childhood and more towards general history. 

I flocked to fairy tales, folktales, old Irish ballads, ghost stories, and was thrilled to learn history. I’ve always been fascinated by how people lived their lives, how the world once was. It seems natural that I would get caught up in the obscured parts of it, into the secret histories of the Occult. Though there was also a hidden side to my interests, an obsession with death. This is what led me to find Witchcraft. I know that not all are drawn to the Craft have experienced trauma in their life, but many I know have. I certainly have. Perhaps it is an aspect of the Craft being counter-culture, being quite attractive to those that are othered.

So what is my point? All I’ve described and talked about isn't revolutionary. These topics have all been discussed by far better writers than I. Yet, we each individually come to our own revelations and realizations about these things in our own time. It is the nature of the mystery, to be experienced. And for me, all this has brought me to the understanding that we aren’t any different from the peoples of the past. The struggles I’ve described have been universal, social society evolving alongside mankind. These feelings of a hopeless future, dread and despair? The only thing that’s different is the specific nuances: technology, our understanding of how the physical world operates, etc etc.

When writing the original piece, it was fueled by my feelings of anger and frustration, fueled by a spiteful hope - The acknowledgement that I will die, traditions die, movements die. Yet, death is part of a greater cycle and that such primal and universally human desires will never be gone for long. They can only be suppressed for so long, before boiling over. 

So I ask myself again, why did I write with such bloody description? I find the modern world to be oppressive when it comes to allowing the presence of healthy feminine rage. I was taught to be quiet and calm, only pleasing to others. The abuse and pain I had experienced was mere inconvenient to everyone else. It is a culmination of the many times that I had tried to end my own life, only to somehow still be alive and learn how to keep on living. A feeling of kinship to peoples long dead. 

Yet with all that said, who I am now is very different from who I was then. It's true of everyone and everything, we’re moments in time: always changing and always becoming. True of people and everything we have and will ever create. The revelation of my own understanding, both as a spiritual and physical creature. The even greater revelation that this is true for every person. 

“The very moment you step within the Sabbat these secrets are made possible. The witches are waiting there ready to teach and pass their secrets; however, are you ready to be dined upon by their wicked cannibalism? For when you are torn apart and thrown into the cauldron, the witch blood truly takes hold.”

I bring my entirety, whether I want to or not. The good and the bad, the love and hatred. No one is exempt from this. Things are not cookie cut perfectly as desired, everything is thrown in both good and bad. To a practice of those who have been othered, one cannot live in the fantasy that being othered prevents them from those same acts. We are all susceptible to misinformation, propaganda, bigotry and hate. The witches have a wicked cannibalism, they dine upon all of me. They dine upon all of those that seek this. And as I said before, “You are what you eat”

So to this diabolical nature, the untamed current of Witchcraft. No one group can ever hope to have ownership, despite some who have tried. No one controls when the witch cult rises and falls, it simply is and will continue to be. 

Please keep in mind that all this said, I do wish to note that all this is more towards the nature of Witchcraft as I understand it and have experienced it. The untamed nature is its own beast, so do not confuse it with the depths that is the well of magic. Even so, I know that the greatest mystery for any who explores these hidden paths: to know yourself.

Hope you all enjoyed going over an older article I had written back in 2018. My current practice has been heavily influenced from my dive into philosophy, so it's good to be able to write a think-piece like this. Nothing like a healthy dose of self analyzing to help get the creative juices flowing, though I hope that I'm not the only one~

[hedgewitchgarden]

On a crisp afternoon last spring, visiting student Yair Berzofsky found himself in the largest park in Prague captivated by the sight of a human effigy burning on a tall pyre. He took notice of the children in play armor who ran past him wearing giant purple hats and jousted with foam swords as adults drank, danced, and beat drums. The figure in the bonfire was part of this year’s Čarodějnice, a celebratory burning of winter witches. Berzofsky watched the woman’s frame crumple as celebrants took turns roasting sausages and marshmallows over the fiery branches.

“The witch burning was not the reason everyone came,” he later tells us, adding that the event was a testament to Prague’s “ability to not just rehash an old tradition, but to turn it into a reason to celebrate its heritage.”

At the end of each winter, Czechs and diasporic Slavs celebrate Čarodějnice, a variation of the ancestral Walpurgis Night—the Christian Saint Walpurga’s feast day, during which observers light bonfires to ward off witches in Europe and the United States. While some see a witch-burning parties as distasteful, as it recalls a dark history of persecution and murder, Čarodějnice harks back to similar pre-Christian traditions. Berzofsky fondly recalls the event’s warm and charming energy: “In a weird way, I felt at home.”

The witch burning evokes customs associated with Slavic gods and goddesses. As author Michael Mojhe describes in his writings, some deities in the Slavic pantheons lived on through equivalent Christian saints, but others were abandoned. Two critical examples are Jarilo, god of war, vegetation, and spring, and his oppositely aligned sister Morana, goddess of witchcraft,  death, and winter.

While Slovakians reimagined Jarilo as St. George during Christianity’s spread across Europe in the late 900s, Morana was not. This was partially due to the Catholic Church’s patriarchy but also because she lacked a counterpart in a Christian tradition vehemently opposed to witchcraft and a female god. The burning or even drowning of her effigy, much like the one Berzofsky witnessed, is a Pagan tradition both celebrating winter’s end and ritually recognizing her cultural death.

Like the continued celebration of Čarodějnice, this story follows those of Slavic descent reclaiming an ancient faith tradition—namely, witchcraft—that endured centuries of erasure from Christian institutions. Both of us, authors Emma Cieslik and Alexandra Sikorski, are from Polish American families and grew up in the Catholic Church. It wasn’t until Sikorski began researching contemporary Paganism that we learned of Slavic religious practices prior to the sweep of Christianity in Europe. Researching the contemporary reclamation of Slavic witchcraft as an aspect of cultural identity—especially when invasion and destruction threaten that culture, as in Ukraine now—has become for us a way to reclaim parts of our heritage we never knew existed.

The term Slavic, or the culture of Slavs, encompasses an ethnolinguistic group of multiple ethnicities and cultures that share similarities in food, language, and cultural practices across Central, Southern, and Eastern Europe. The Slavic world extends from Russia in the east to Czechia in the west to North Macedonia in the south. Beyond these countries are Slavic immigrants and their descendants, including both of us, who exist in diasporic communities around the world.

“In Slavic Paganism, there are broad practices, but there are also some specific to the regions within each country,” Stephania Short, a Slavic Pagan, explains. These specific practices are often what come under threat. Invaders have fought over and died for rich farmlands of what is now Ukraine for hundreds if not thousands of years, making Russia’s recent attack on its sovereignty feel like a continuation of centuries-old conflict. It may come as no surprise that a long history of Slavic immigration, religion, and war shaped various Slavic practices and traditions. For Short, part of her witchcraft involves connecting with her Ukrainian ancestral roots—an act made all the more essential by recent events.

“People are looking for ancient meaning,” says Slovakian tour guide Helene Cincebaux. “I think there’s a fascination with Slavic culture, the rituals—maybe the plants, the herbs, things they did. They were natural healers.”

Witchcraft and Paganism existed in Slavic regions long before Christianity found a home. Even when witchcraft faced persecution, its traditions persisted, reimagined within the constraints of the new dominant religion.

In the UK, the 1950s emergence of Wicca, a nature-based, Pagan duotheistic religion, led to the repopularizing of witchcraft and other alternative belief systems. In the same way that native religions varied across Slavic areas, the term “witchcraft” does not refer to a singular identity. “Witches,” including those who do not use this term but exist under the umbrella of witchcraft, participate in a variety of practices and hold diverse spiritual beliefs. These include contemporary Paganism, folk Catholicism, and Wicca.

Where one person uses tarot, another may not. Where one person views hexes as inherently unethical, another may not. Where one person venerates deities, another may not or may only venerate one. Despite this diversity of practice, some people avoid using the term “witch” because it was and may still be used as a derogatory label for people holding spiritual power outside Christianity, as well as those who exist outside social norms.

In Eurocentric and Americentric beliefs, the prototype for a witch is a woman or femme presenting person who is targeted because of their practices. during the second wave of feminism, some women turned to witchcraft as liberation from the patriarchy, finding empowerment in venerating goddesses. Together, they could create a community through common practices in witchcraft, such as yearly festivals that mark the passage of time. According to a survey conducted by researcher Helen A. Berger between 2008 and 2010, 71.6 percent of contemporary Pagans, including various religions and witchcraft, are women. The faith has also become a safe haven for some LGBTQ+ individuals.

Ever since Christianity spread to Slavic Europe in the 900s, people who existed on the margins of society were accused or and persecuted for witchcraft, including literate women and individuals with limb differences and disabilities. It became a scapegoat identifier for people the Church deemed dangerous or different. Similarly, queer researcher Mara Gold explains, “those accused of witchcraft were generally those that didn’t fit the norms of the gender binary, including [LGTBQ+] people and poor older women discarded by society.”

Polish photographer Agata Kalinowska’s monograph Yaga supports and holds space for LGBTQ+ individuals within witchcraft. The diary, which includes photographs documenting thirteen years of queer women’s spaces, takes its name from Baba Yaga, a ferocious witch from Slavic folklore. For Kalinowska, this title is important because it speaks to how Baba Yaga creates space for queer witches:

Now there are women in Poland who empower such figures of older independent women… women who know a lot about nature, power of plants, the importance of female and nonbinary friendships. They are Yagas, they don’t belong to the world created around beauty myths, they queer the system.

Witches of the Church

“A lot of witchcraft is heavily intertwined with Christianity,” explains Sara Raztresen, a Slovenian American witch. Although Christianity sought to erase native religions, many Pagan traditions became embedded in Christian practice. Converts tethered Pagan deities to saints with similar iconography.

After the Catholic Church arrived in Slovenia, locals began to identify Kresnik, the god of the sun, fire, and storms, with St. John and St. George. So Kresnik, the head deity of the Slovenian pantheon, is no longer as prevalent as the saints who inherited his role. Kresnik, St. John, and St. George are among the entities with whom Raztresen actively communicates.

On those days, she sets her altar with offerings associated with the deity with whom she intends to speak. For Kresnik, this includes herbs and flowers related to his role as patron of summer, such as chamomile and daisies. When the deity makes their presence known, Raztresen asks questions that are answered through the tarot cards she pulls, acting as a conduit between the two.

One of these practices is “kitchen witchcraft,” a broad practice that encourages intention and focus, using many on-hand food ingredients with magic and symbolic meaning. For kitchen witch Raztresen and others, their practices often involve using ingredients key to their ethnic backgrounds, such as meats, grains, spices, and more that are native to their ancestral homelands. Kitchen witchcraft and other ethnic household rituals allow people like Raztresen to connect with their heritage even if they live far away.

However, the intermingling of Christianity and witchcraft among Slavs doesn’t erase the stigma the Catholic Church perpetuates against witchcraft. Today many Slavic witches practice their craft as a form of opposition against religious institutions. Raztresen says, “[Church goers] all want you to do the white button-up collar thing in Church,” but there’s a great diversity of Christian practices that include elements of witchcraft and folk traditions.

Similar to experiences across the world, the Church inquisitors in Slavic regions interrogated, tortured, and executed a number of witches. Scholar Michael Ostling states in early modern Poland, the Catholic Church executed approximately 2,000 people for witchcraft, most from the lower socioeconomic classes. The best documented example of this persecution is perhaps the 1775 Doruchów witch trial in Poland, where the Church executed fourteen women, although historians have debated the year and number of victims.

Immediately, marginalized people and their loved ones, as well as other concerned citizens across Eastern and Central Europe started questioning these claims of witchcraft. It wasn’t until 1776 that Poland outlawed torture and the death penalty—partly in response to the Doruchów witch trial. Today, more than two centuries later, people like Raztresen are exploring how their own ethnic traditions are rooted in pre-Christian pagan and witchcraft practices. They are reclaiming how practices persecuted on threat of torture and death lived on through cooking, praying, and sewing traditions.

The Strength of Color

Stephania Short was introduced to spiritualism at the age of thirteen after watching her mom pull tarot. By ninth grade, she “didn’t necessarily believe in God,” and as the years went by, she grew more connected to her Ukrainian roots. She reached out to family members and went to her mom to learn more about Ukrainian cultural traditions and spiritual beliefs. Like Raztresen, Short practices her witchcraft to celebrate her Slavic heritage.

“Paganism kind of allows you to practice with everything that our ancestors would, so everything is based off of the land,” she says. Plants and herbs that are abundant in Ukraine, such as rosemary, are important in her craft.

Like herbs, colors hold meanings in Ukrainian witchcraft traditions. Short explains, “Red is a symbol of strength and protection. Gold symbolizes abundance and prosperity and good luck. Blue symbolizes peace and healing and just kind vibes all around.” With this knowledge, she now intentionally decorates her pysanky, traditional Ukrainian Easter eggs, with these colors to welcome the spring.

Deepening the importance of the color red in Ukrainian witchcraft, poppies represent strength and prosperity. Short aims to incorporate the flower into her spell work and practice “as a form of appreciation for [her] ancestors.” To Short, spells may be made with and for a diverse array of occasions and situations. She defines them as “basically manifestations: energy or intentions that you’re pursuing out for the universe to grasp onto.” Herbs, like rosemary or poppy, and flame may speed up this process. Even the color of the candles may impact the spell. “All elements you use connect to your intentions with the spell, as they carry their own energies.” For Short and many other Slavic witches, the study and practice of Slavic witchcraft involves learning the meanings behind these cultural beliefs.

When winter bleeds into spring, effigies of Morana are drowned or burned just as Berzofsky witnessed, ushering in new life. The Catholic Church banned this practice in the fifteenth century, so the residents of some Slavic countries replaced her with an effigy of Judas. But the custom of burning Morana lived on. Short’s cousin introduced her to Morana. Before, she hadn’t been aware that Slavic Paganism contained so many deities. However, she doesn’t “believe in gods and goddesses necessarily.” Instead, she views it as alluring and something she needs to acknowledge.

Short discusses Slavic and Ukrainian witch practices on social media, from beliefs surrounding native gods and goddesses to the use and meaning of native Ukrainian herbs in spell work. The importance of this has risen in light of the current war. “I’m maybe a little biased, but the Russians’ goal is to eliminate our culture,” she says. During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Ukrainian witch has become a symbol of solidarity for some—recalling the woman of the past who fights for her cultural heritage (her native religion) in the face of erasure and destruction at the hands of the Christian Church.

Images of Ukrainian witches appear on the Ukraine War NFT Collection and among Ukrainian cosplayers around the world, alongside messages showing the strength of Ukrainian people. Madame Pamita, a Ukrainian American witch and author of Baba Yaga’s Book of Witchcraft, explains that during the invasion, traditions and practices have grown more dear, more important to preserve. Ukrainians and other people in Slavic diasporas see the rediscovery of their traditions and practices as a healing tool.

Healing

Emblems of Slavic witchcraft have been interwoven with messages of Ukrainian solidarity, including motanka dolls, 5,000-year-old symbols of feminine wisdom and guards for families within Ukrainian folk traditions. Motanka dolls are talismans unique to each family and symbolize connection between familial generations.

Madame Pamita’s grandmother was a baba sheptukha (баба шептуха), a healer who made motanky (мотанки) spirit dolls, but her grandmother died before she was born. Although she heard about these practices, she never knew how to perform them. Others share a similar experience of unfamiliarity, but a mother-and-daughter team in British Columbia are changing that by creating and selling motanka dolls as a fundraiser for Ukrainian relief.

With attention on agency and the self, Slavic witchcraft encourages healing and identity formation. It focuses on reflection and connection. Even if they aren’t recognized as religious practices, the cornerstones of many Slavic witchcraft traditions can be uncovered in small Ukrainian dolls, Slovenian kitchens, and large celebrations. Ukrainians and their allies are preserving these traditions for solidarity, fundraising, and strength.

The presence of magic may not be obvious, but it is simply a matter of perspective. That perspective may bring people closer to culture they may feel disconnected from in diasporic communities or from being part of a marginalized people. It may bring them their own version of spiritual happiness and cultural enrichment.

Emma Cieslik is a museum professional in the Washington, D.C., area and a former curatorial intern at the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.

Alexandra Sikorski is a writing intern at the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage and a master’s student in public anthropology at American University. When she isn’t researching contemporary witchcraft, she enjoys dissecting material culture and design.

[now-winter-comes-slowly]

Interesting piece on the history of the old belief, contextualised by Scandinavia's slow journey towards Christianisation, that witches worked their magic in the far north of Europe...

[brahmasawakening]

So I went out into the national forest early yesterday to scope out the location for a ritual site in the woods where I could have privacy as well as be able to come back later under the veil of darkness and do ritual shadow work at its finest.

I’ve been to this place once before, where I encountered a forest spirit of some variant that followed me around from a distance the entire time.

What drew me to this place was the silence that encompassed the location itself. The ere of mystery with the forest spirit as well. I wanted to see what else resides there and challenge my fortitude under darkness.

When I returned that night, the place was pitch black to the point of suffocating. It’s like stepping into a vacuum of space. Even the flashlights were swallowed up by the night.

But even so, I felt the energy as soon as I stepped out. The forest had shifted from the vibrant energy of the day into something more surreal and ethereal.

As I delved into the forest once more down the same trail, the forest appeared more claustrophobic. Like the trees were closing in all around me.

I reminded myself of the purpose for coming here and that nothing can befall upon me that I do not wish to encounter. Still, the anxiety panged.

I eventually made my way to a campfire spot a mile or so deep, and made a fire for myself to work around.

From there, I began. I used my usual herbs and materials for burning; myrtle, white oak bark, nettle, mugwort, basil, Angelica root, and red pepper seeds. These make up a sort of concoction for protection, prosperity, and energising within the spellwork.

Then I set out my candles that I had bought and prepared earlier that day, a black skull candle representing the old self and toxic aspects of ego I was shedding, and a blessed white candle for cleansing and protection.

I burned a bay leaf with annegrams ascribed on it, and sat until I felt ready to leave.

So the entire time from lighting the skull until I got back to my car I felt on edge, like I was being watched. I heard noises in the forest, talking in the distance, even footsteps walking around in the darkness beyond the firelight, but I ignored it and pressed on.

Eventually I decided that I had had enough for the night, as it was reaching midnight, and carried my candles with me out of the forest, letting them burn in the tray as I walked. The black candle finished by the time I returned, the white still burning. Which I just finished off this morning.

All together, I would say it was successful in terms of execution, now as far as results, well that’s left for the future.

The purpose of all of this was to sort of aid a transition if you will. Not force, but hurry along a bit.

This transition I have been anticipating for some time, and I believe to be on the tail end of, however there is something I am still failing to see.

So, I figured a ritualistic burning within a energetically charged setting would be a suffice manner of resolving this issue.

In a nutshell, my goal is severance and shedding of the past self that clings out of self-preservation despite no longer being needed. It’s become quite a thorn in my side, actually. This reluctance to step forward that causes me to get in my own way.

Whatever it might be, my goal is that by doing these actions, the answer will provide itself within meditative shadow work.

The greater focus I might add is the approaching towards para Bhakti yoga as I transition out of Dasa Bhakti yoga.

[grymrot]

The wild hunt

The Wild Hunt or also known as Wotans Hunt is a legend or folk tale that occurs in several European regions.

In other words, it is a large group of ghosts, gods and other demons that move thunderously and loudly across the sky. Depending on the legend and region, watching the wild hunt could be interpreted differently, but often as a bad omen that predicted catastrophes, wars, barren harvests and even death. It has often been assumed that the wild hunt also takes souls of sleeping or dying people with it.

The band is described as fearsome riders on dark horses and with hunting dogs, riding around on a cold storm wind and bringing disaster with them.

The time between the “Rauhnächte” or “Zwölfnächte” (winter solstice / December 21st to January 2nd, in European customs also between December 25th and January 6th) is particularly associated with the Wild Hunt.

The hunt races through the sky with all kinds of loud noises, screams and howls; you can often hear the neighing of horses and the barking of dogs in the distance. The group is led by the Germanic pagan god Wodan or Frau Holle / Frau Perchta (here too, it depends on the legend and region).

Other members of the Wild Hunt are any spirits/souls of people who have died due to violence or misfortune, including children. Animals also come along (horses and dogs etc) and, like human souls, stay with the hunt until they are freed. To free a soul from the duty of hunting usually requires a victim who has to fulfill the soul's duty in place of the soul until it is also freed. So the Wild Hunt is everlasting and infinite.

[screamingwiththewolves]

So, I'm reading an article about sexism/witchcraft in Colonial New England, and here are the horrific highlights so far;

The body was thought to protect the soul, and it was thought that women had weaker bodies, thus more likely to have their souls attacked by Satan. It was also thought if you were unhappy, or dissatisfied with your "place" in life, you were more likely to be seduced by the devil. Since women were often unhappy (apparently men knew they were unhappy, decided it was just the way of women, and not the huge amount of sexism.) they were more likely to be seduced. BUT it was also thought that the soul was inherently feminine, and that women were more connected with it. It was also thought that the soul was expected to be complacent and waiting for gods grace. SO, if a women wasn't complacent and obedient, it meant she had already given her soul over to the devil.

So, you were thought of as being weaker despite dealing with cramps, baring children, and doing farming on top of it. You were expected to be happy, but not TOO happy. Expected to be obedient, but that meant you were weak, but if you were confident that was much worse.

In a marriage, women took the symbolic role of the soul, while men took the symbolic role of Christ/god. Meaning it was your duty to give "consent."

If you had a period, or miscarried, it was thought to have been a punishment for a sin you committed, and/or a punishment as the result of Eve.

FUCK. THE. PURITAINS

[manicfoxmagick]

My first article on my new blog where I examine a highly original technique for empowering your magick.

[hippy-pants]

my new favorite hobby is collecting random Wikipedia lists and articles mentioning Neil Cicierega and stuff he's made. it's so fucking funny to me

[the-witchy-housewife]

A Khthonic Wiccan Guide to Beltane

This is an article from my website, The Witchy Housewife. You can read it at the source here or look under the cut to read it here on Tumblr. If you enjoy my work, please consider subscribing (at the bottom of this page) to receive articles as they're posted via e-mail, exploring the shop, leaving a tip, or reblogging this post. I run this all myself, so all support is greatly appreciated. 💜🔮✨

To those living in the Northern Hemisphere, I bid Beltane’s blessings to all who celebrate! As we approach the reach the middle of spring, the fast-moving energies of Divine Creation are buzzing about all around us. It is time to take these energies and transmute them to beautify ourselves inside and out. Today, I share with you not only the history of this sabbat, but how I observe and celebrate it on my own path as a Khthonic Wicca (which you can read about here).

History & Folklore

Coming from Gaelic ‘bealltainn’ (bright fire), Beltane (pronounced ‘bel-tain’) is one of the eight sabbats of the Wiccan Wheel of the Year which is inspired by the Celtic traditional festival of Beltaine and the Roman celebratory festival of Floralia. It may also be referred to as May Day in many modern celebrations. As it occurs during midspring – the halfway point between the spring equinox and the summer solstice – it is considered a Lesser Sabbat, though this does not imply that it is any less important than the four Greater Sabbats.

In Celtic regions, the flowering of the hawthorn trees signaled that the lighter half of the year had begun, and for agricultural people of the time, it meant that livestock were to be moved out into summer pastures for grazing. In Robert Graves’s The White Goddess, this is represented by the Oak King of the lighter half of the year overcoming the Holly King of the darker half of the year. In the earlier days of Beltaine, however, the celebrations may have been more closely connected to the worship of the Celtic god Belenus, a god of healing, sacred fountains, and a pastoral lifestyle, represented with symbols of bulls, horses, oak trees, and phallic imagery. While little is known about these very early rituals, we can surmise from this that celebrations pertained to cattle, crops, and fertility, as many early cultural festivals did.

The earliest mention of the festival from the medieval writings of King Cormac mac Cuilennáin of Munster, in which it was said that such a festival was held on May 1st to mark the beginning of summer. During this festival, the Druids of the time would light two ritual bonfires, speak various incantations and prayers, and pass cattle between these ritual bonfires. Another early mention by historian Geoffrey Keating expands upon this in suggesting that the ritual was meant to protect the cattle from disease or other external negative forces. It is in his writing that we hear of sacrifices to a god named Bel, which likely refers to Belenus.

As powerful symbols of protection, Beltaine bonfire would be kindled by way of friction via various regional tools, such as wheels and spindles, oak planks and wimbles, and green wood with axles. This type of fire is called a need-fire. This type of fire was considered so sacred that, in some areas of Scotland, it was thought that if a spark was not successfully created, it meant a member of the group attempting to kindle it was guilty of murder, theft, adultery, or some other heinous crime. With success, however, every aspect of the resulting fires were considered to grant protection and good health – the flames, the embers, the ashes, and even the smoke. In some Celtic regions, even hearth fires would be extinguished at this time to be relit with the flames from the communal bonfires. In other regions, beyond just cattle, people, as well, would pass between the fires, inviting the smoke to blow over them as they passed, and ashes would be collected and sprinkled over crops.

In the Scottish Highlands, special nine-knobbed oatmeal cakes would be made at the fireside. Each knob would then be broken off one-by-one and offered to the fire as a sacrifice in exchange for various relevant requests. In other traditions, another type of cake would be separated into a number of pieces equal to the number of the people gathered at the festival. One of the sections would then be marked with charcoal before tossing all of the separated sections into a bonnet and allowing everyone to blindly draw one section each. Whoever drew the marked section would then be dubbed the Cailleach Beal-tine, or the Old Lady of Beltaine, the victim of a lengthy mock-sacrifice ritual.

Besides sacred fires, it was also believed that the morning dew of Beltaine had the ability to preserve youth and enhance beauty. The dew would be collected in jars or hollowed stones. Young women would roll in it or anoint themselves with it. Holy wells were also sometimes visited, as the first water drawn from it on the morning of Beltaine was considered sacred. Those who visited the wells would walk clockwise around it to mimic the path of the sun and offer coins, cloth, or other small offerings in exchange for blessings.

Finally, as this was considered the first of two major in-betweens of the year, along with Samhain, it was thought that witches and the fae were particularly active and mischievous at this time of year. For protection, various regional rituals included offering food and drink, turning clothing inside out, carrying small pieces of iron, setting bushes on fire, and decorating spaces and cattle with flowers and foliage.

This brings us to Floralia, which was said by Ovid to be started at the founding of the Roman goddess Flora’s temple following a period of particularly bad drought per the advice of an oracle. This festival included games, performances, revelry, striptease, feasting, and dancing and promoted sexual liberty, pleasure, and wild abandon. Sexually active animals like hares and goats would be released and hunted to promote fertility. The crowds would be showered with beans, lupins, vetches, and medals engraved with obscene imagery.

As the influence of the Roman empire spread, Floralia gave way to May Day, when young men and women would run off into the woods on May Eve (sometimes engaging in various activities which were sexual in nature) and emerge the next morning with handfuls of flowers and foliage which brought good luck over their village. Children would make dolls from natural materials and dress it with flowers to parade across town or secure to garland or hoops. Young boys, specifically, made wands called May-gads from stripped white willow branches and cowslips. May Baskets would be filled with flowers, candies, and other small gifts and left at doorsteps as tokens of friendship and good will. Small trees were selected as May Bushes and decorated with flowers, ribbons, fabric, or painted shells. Similarly, the phallic Maypole would be constructed of a tall tree stripped of its branches and decorated with flowers and greenery, which would then be danced around to promote fertility. In the Victorian period, ribbons were implemented into this particular tradition. Due to the symbolism of fertility and the naturally frisky nature of this celebration, you’ll find that the modern-day Beltane is sometimes likened to a sort of Pagan Valentine’s Day and celebrated accordingly.

Other traditions include choosing a young woman as the May Queen, who would dress in flowers and make speeches, lead parades, or perform other festivity duties required of her. In some traditions, a May King would be chosen to accompany her. Theatrics like this were common across the board in May Day celebrations, as evidenced by mummers’ plays, personified battles of summer and winter, performances featuring figures like Robin Hood and Maid Marian, and the personification of a loud and drunk forest spirit called Jack in the Green. The childish nature of this time of year is exemplified further in the German Walpurgis Night in celebration of Saint Walpurga, which, in various regions, involved trick-or-treating.

Secular and non-secular festivals for Beltaine, Floralia, May Day, and Walpurgis Day are still held to this day as music festivals, parades, workshops, multi-day camping retreats, markets, wicker man burnings, and more all across the world with a heavy focus on sacred sexuality and unabashed personal freedom. As May 1st was chosen to be recognized as International Workers’ Day, a time to honor workers and stand up for workers’ rights, many modern celebrations of May Day also include activism related to such.

In Khthonic Wicca

In Persephone’s cyclical seasonal journey, Beltane marks the time when Persephone has reunited happily with her mother on the surface of Gaia, whom is thriving full of vibrant life. The air has also begun to fill with abundant solar energies, courtesy of Helios – with the assistance of Apollon, Hemera, and Aither – as he begins his dominant reign of the skies over the lighter half of the year.

In domain, Khloris can be honored as a parallel to Flora. Floral decoration and offerings are appropriate. We may also choose to honor Dionysos at this time of year for the untamed energy of revelry that is rampant at this time of year. This also seems appropriate, given the link between Dionysos and Zagreus, the son of Persephone, as the Goddess steps into her Mother aspect. It would also be appropriate to honor Hermes at this time of year, given his fast-moving energies and his own brand of untamed instinct which differs from that of Dionysos. This is perfect, as well, since he is honored during the month of May on the whole in this practice. As with every Khthonic Wiccan observance of the sabbat, we also take time during Imbolc to offer prayer to the Sacred Triad, to the Olympioi, and to the Protogenoi in accordance with seasonal shifts in energies.

As acts of service around this time of year, it is recommended to beautify your community with organic or otherwise environmentally-friendly décor, to rehabilitate and remove litter from natural spaces, and to help invite lonely folks into the company of others.

Sabbat Correspondences

As mentioned in the previous section, the best possible parallel for Flora on this particular path would be Khloris. For Belenus, however, this would instead be Apollon. In Wicca, we reach the end of Divine Youth – the Maiden Goddess and the Youth God. The two figures are now joined in marriage and in love, and, and the Maiden Goddess becomes the Mother Goddess as she is impregnated by the Warrior God soon to reach the height of his power. Kosmos gives way to Existence. Gaia gives way to the Tangible. Courtesy of Persephone, Vibrant Life can now be seen everywhere you look.

Plants: Daisy, Dandelion, Rose, Hawthorn, Lemon Minerals: Spirit Quartz, Citrine, Rose Quartz, Ruby, Copper Colors: Red, Pink, Yellow, Green, Brown Animals: Bee, Dove, Swan, Deer, Jackalope Symbols: Maypole, Priapic Wand, Floral Garland, Fae Imagery, Hearts Tarot: The Lovers, The Emperor, The Devil

Beltane Ritual Ideas

I will always recommend some sort of Maypole ritual around this time of year. It’s one of my favorite symbols of Beltane, as I find it to be such a beautiful representation of love, unity, and alchemical creation. In my practice, I prefer to use a miniaturized one, and, if possible, to stick it in the garden to symbolically help to maintain the love and connection between Persephone and Haides during their time apart. You may choose to sprinkle a blend of loving herbs around the Maypole once it’s in the ground in offering your own love and gratitude not only to Khthonic deities but also to the spirits of those who have passed on.

Of course, while out in the garden, it is also a great time to offer your prayers to the local and household fae living around you. If you don’t already have a small space serving as a little faery home, this, I think, is the perfect time to do so. Be sure to use natural materials that will not harm the environment. You may also choose to leave a little offering or libation to them in this space, as well.

Beltane is, of course, the optimal time for love workings. For those already in a relationship, this may mean spending some intentional, sensual time worshipping your partner and allowing your partner to worship you in return. You may like to pray to the Khthonic Triad, Aphrodite, and perhaps Hera over your union. If you are not in a relationship, this is a good time to do a little ideal partner attraction spell.

Finally, you may wish to make some small (or large, if that’s what you want) May Baskets with pastries, chocolates, flowers, or other small trinkets blessed with the intention of love or friendship to give out to your loved ones or to mark the beginning of new relationships.

Beltane Spread Ideas

A berry-forward spring salad is wonderful at this time of year, with my preference between strawberry and feta with a honey-sweetened vinegar dressing. This pairs well with pesto-drenched chicken paired with roasted tomatoes and peppers and a side of very sensually invigorating lemon garlic asparagus.

For dessert, a simple honey cake infused with the intention of sweetening your relationships is nice. I like to take some inspiration from Persian love cakes by adding rose syrup, rose petals, and pistachios.

You can also make what I would call “sun pies”, which are essentially lemon pudding filled hand pies blessed by Helios and enchanted with an energy of warmth and joy. For another element of the sun, you can make a sunshine-infused citronade of choice (also blessed by Helios). It may also be nice to offer prayer over these treats to Apollon, Hemera, and Aither, as well. You could even include these in your May Baskets!

For the fae, you can make faery cakes and faery wine. My preference for faery cakes are sugar cookies infused with extracts of lemon and vanilla, lightly glazed, and topped with violets (candied, for extra sweetness). For the wine, you can use a white wine base left to be infused for sometime with lemon slices and woodruff or vanilla bean.

For Your Reference

The Digital Grimoire provides a plethora of free resources on witchcraft, Khthonic Wicca, and more. As of today, a quick reference for Beltane has been added to the Sabbats subsection, available here on my website any time you should need it. Until my next article, have a very blessed Beltane!

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