#landspirit

[river-in-the-woods]

Over the weekend, I had the inspiration to go out and forage some plant material around my neighbourhood, which I left to dry in the sun. Thereafter, a quick brew in sunflower oil, some beeswax and muttered prayers, I created my first handmade devotional candle to my spirit neighbours. An idea I wanted to try for months, and finally could. I invited all the local spirits and guardians to partake in the offerings, and read many prayers and poems to the Goddess of the Earth. On my way back to the house, I almost walked into a female Emperor Dragonfly, resting on the cypress tree in my back garden. A thing of beauty, about the size of my palm, and seemingly a perfect representative of the Earth Queen. Hopefully a good omen that my offerings were well received!

[sherlokplatypws]

How do you venerate the Landspirits/Ancestors? I have no idea. With the gods I think I know how to venerate them, though I have a far deeper relationship with Máni then with all the others. But with the Landspirits I have no clue.

Help me please.

[poisonerspath]

Dragons Blood and Nightshade Pendants 🐉 🩸 I used an oil infusion and alcohol extract so the two colors remain separate #draconic #ophidianwitchcraft #daemon #geniusloci #landspirit #poisonpath #thepoisonpath #veneficium #poisonousplants #plantspiritmedicine #plantspiritallies #solanaceae #witchesointment #flyingointment #nightshadeoils #ritualoils #banefulherbs #banefulallies #plantmagic #entheogens #plantspirits #pharmakeia #poisoner #witchcraft #greenwitchcraft #botanicalwitchcraft #belladonna https://www.instagram.com/p/CQyjFLhLxMp/?utm_medium=tumblr

[nordic-witch-siri]

🕯️ Happy St Lucia’s Day! 🕯

Yuletide in many folk traditions is a huge time for different kinds of magic, and that is very very true of Nordic folk customs. And as seems appropriate for the year I’m having, this year I’m thinking about Catholic syncretism of Lussi Longnight.

This is the night when the month of Jul begins.

Lussi is a spirit who rules over this night. Her name translates to “Light,” and she is known as a mother or queen of the vettir (spirit) and Huldrefolk. She would ride around the countryside with her horse of Yule Riders and look in to homes to check that everything is ready for Yule. This was also the night when the animals would get together and pass judgment on how their humans have kept them - a vestige of animist, reciprocal relationships. It is important to celebrate Lussi Longnight to preserve your health and have a good winter.

In the Catholic tradition, a young girl dressed in a white dress, red sash, and a crown with four candles. She still parades through the streets, and Lucia’s name still means “light.” She has the power to bring back the Sun. Lucy is the patron saint of the blind.

Together, these two form a powerful image for this day of celebration: we pray to them to bring back the light and to ease the hardship of winter.

📸 credits:

Slide 1: me! Slide 2: Wikipedia Slide 3: Swedish artist Adèle Söderberg Slide 4: Swedish artist Gerda Tirén #stlucia #santalucia #lussilongnight #lussi #landspirits #spiritcontact #folkcatholicism #traditionalwitchcraft #trolldom #trollkona #häxan #trollkunning #vættir #yule #yuletide #pagan

[williambriar]

Day 23 of my February #domagick #meditation challenge expanded my work with local #landspirits to the sleeping #forest of #birch #trees across from my home. Even in winter, I found in them the promise of growth and new beginnings. #landspirit #fairies #nature #shamanism #neoshamanism #art #artistsoninstagram #watercolor #meditativeacts https://www.instagram.com/p/BuO_pruHBrC/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=46svcervkk75

[celticwaterwitch]

Moving from the city and a fast-paced life to rural Oregon was an act of pure magic. I knew we were moving before I even accepted it as part of my mundane life. 💙 The name Rose Thorn kept being whispered in my ear. So I named my apothecary Rose Thorn Apothecary. It wasn’t too long after that I began to realize that Rose Thorn wasn’t just an apothecary it was the name of the homestead where I would grow my own food, herbs, and connect with nature. 💙 I wanted to live in harmony with the land, not against it. I won't lie, this was not easy. Though this was an act of pure magic it was also a series of divinations, listening to spirit and reading the signs over about an 18 month period 💙 We finally landed in Oregon and somehow found an amazingly beautiful homestead with land and a creek. It sounds romantic, doesn’t it? 💙 Well, it is, to a certain degree, but it also isn’t. There is nothing romantic about falling on your bum in mud, mucking a chicken coop, braving the fighting peacock to feed the chickens, chasing coyotes, and the cruelty of life and death that is ever-present on a homestead. 💙 Today Rose Thorn Apothecary is still alive, however, the shop has taken a bit of a pause as I continue to learn how to live and tend this land. 💙 There is such a difference between growing your own herbs and buying them. One major difference is time, it takes a heck of a lot of time to grow your own plants and the harvest isn’t nearly as large as if you were to purchase bulk. 💙 I have been working behind the scenes here and hope to have some wears to present for sale by fall. Though, the world is fast changing so we will see… Swipe ----> . . . . . . . . . . . #witchwithwellness #witch #instawitch #witchesofig #witchesofinsta #witchlife #witchcraft #waterwitch #WaterPriestess #herbalmagic #herbalmedicine #landspirits #witchesofinstagram #witchylife #magicalhomestead #pagansofinstagram #greenwitch #farmwitch #rosethornapothecary https://www.instagram.com/p/CCUJWvIHbkf/?igshid=1mpc9sq8c0it5

[meadofpoetry]

[sjtuckermusic]

Next door, here in the liminal world just past the county line. My kin tell stories of our departed neighbor, speak of him kindly, but I never got to meet him. What remains of this house, naked now after a recent and inexplicable clearing of the acres around it, is all I know. #abandonedarkansas #abandonedar @abandonedar @abandonedarkansas #eldritch #absentfriends #liminalspace #donotenter #arkansaspostcard #conwaycounty #ruraldecay #woodswitch #geniusloci #landspirits #probablyhaunted #lonelyplaces https://www.instagram.com/p/ClwH0PdL4Ff/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[river-in-the-woods]

Perhaps you are dreaming of flowers, when you are still growing your leaves.

[primalobscurite]

Like extending branches growing into new terrain, can energetic tendrils investigate, explore and strengthen bonds to the Other as well as be used for other self-cultivating purposes. They are an ideal way to begin to root oneself within a landscape even when isolating within closed doors - the first step of a connection waiting to flourish, the first adventure of a relationship worth cultivating. Image - 'Scion' by Gerhard Marx #traditionalwitchcraft #bioregionalmagic #landspirits #vampyrism #vampirism #hedgewalking https://www.instagram.com/p/CPLshLrnl-t/?utm_medium=tumblr

[prehistoriceurope]

Sungir

Sungir is the name of an archeological site in Russia, slightly north east of Moscow, that was discovered in 1955. The discovery was an accident as local digging from clay pits eventually led to the discovery of an ancient human settlement and burial site. The site has been dated back to somewhere around 33,000BC and is therefore a real treasure trove for researchers researching the lifestyle of early European homo sapiens.

What makes the Sungir site especially fascinating is the discovery of extremely extravagant burials. One example is a buried male, who died somewhere between the age of 35-45. It is not certain how he died but he probably died quite suddenly from an injury in his neck. He was buried with elaborate decorations including 3,000 beads made of mammoth ivory, fox teeth and ivory bracelets. It took early humans about 40 minutes to make just one ivory bead so imagine how much time they spent making 3,000 of them.

Two other richly decorated graves were found, which belonged to two adolescent children. These two were placed together in a grave with an adult femur bone. Both children were also decorated with thousands of mammoth ivory beads, red ochre, bracelets, fox teeth (they would have needed to slay at least 20 foxes for this burial), mammoth ivory spears, disks and pierced antlers.

This site is extremely important because it gives us clues into the spiritual lives of our earliest European ancestors. There has to be of course a reason why these three individuals were buried with such riches. If you count the man-hours of all the found decorations, it would be at least 10,000 hours. Why were these people buried with all of these items?

Several theories about the reason why they were buried like this exists, sadly it is impossible to be absolutely sure about a theory since these ancient people haven't written anything down. One theory suggests that these individuals were part of an ancient ritualistic sacrifice. Perhaps they were sacrificed to the landspirits for certain blessings, it would explain the extreme amount of jewelry and unique burial style.

Another theory suggests that these three individuals were of a high status, perhaps the adult male was the chief of the tribe and suffered from a hunting injury that ultimately cost him his life, his high status could be the reason why he received so many burial gifts but it doesn't explain why the two children were also buried with such rich gifts.

It wasn't until 2017 when scientists finally fully sequenced the DNA of the two children, the adult male and the adult femur bone. All four individuals are male but none of them are direct family members of each other so the children were not the high status offspring of the buried adult male. This would mean that the theory of a possible human sacrifice seems more likely than the theory of high status burials.

One important detail that I want to add is the fact that both the children and the adult male show physical abnormalities in their remains. This might perhaps be the reason why they were part of a ritual, if the ritual theory is correct, and why they were given such an odd burial. Perhaps they were viewed as gifted people thanks to their disabilities. One of the children, a 10 year old boy, has femurs which are unusually short and the other boy, 12 years old, shows an abnormality in his upper jaw.

There is still so much to learn about ancient paleolithic spiritual practices. It is also unfortunately an incredibly hard subject since there is so little evidence and we have to make conclusions based on the lifestyle of modern day hunters and gatherers which is of course not 100% reliable. But piece by piece and through careful research we might perhaps reconstruct bits of ancient spiritual practices of our earliest European ancestors.

Here are images of: Sungir grave of the adult male, Sungir grave of the two children, Bones of the children showing abnormalities< Bone jewelry found at Sungir

[coldalbion]

subtle

Accidentally finding myself picking up snd reading LeCouteux's DAEMONS AND SPIRITS OF THE LAND: ANCESTRAL LORE AND PRACTICES and making notes for review-and-other purposes. Reading about propitiation of landspirits happening during Yule period/Christmas Day. Think: "That's interesting"  Belatedly realise what day it is. Scowl pointedly at the unsubtle hint.

[stitchnoirfibrearts]

#Midsummer #tarot reading after a visit to the gods and the #landspirits

[williambriar]

Day 20 of my February #domagick #meditation continued with my #landspirit work - a houseplant slowly growing while the world slumbers outside. #landspirits #fairies #shamanism #neoshamanism #art #artistsoninstagram #watercolor #meditativeacts https://www.instagram.com/p/BuHbxRWHtfU/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=xr8yq2fscjvw

[celticwaterwitch]

Found a wild cherry tree and black raspberries on the property this afternoon. I couldn't help but think of one of my favorite poems while picking the delicious berries tomorrow I will turn them into either tarts or jam. I cant decide! 💙 Where dips the rocky highland Of Sleuth Wood in the lake, There lies a leafy island Where flapping herons wake The drowsy water rats; There we've hid our faery vats, Full of berries And of reddest stolen cherries. 💦 Come away, O human child! To the waters and the wild With a faery, hand in hand. For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand. 💦 Where the wave of moonlight glosses The dim grey sands with light, Far off by furthest Rosses We foot it all the night, Weaving olden dances Mingling hands and mingling glances Till the moon has taken flight; To and fro we leap And chase the frothy bubbles, While the world is full of troubles And is anxious in its sleep. 💙 Come away, O human child! To the waters and the wild With a faery, hand in hand, For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand. 💙 Where the wandering water gushes From the hills above Glen-Car, In pools among the rushes That scarce could bathe a star, We seek for slumbering trout And whispering in their ears Give them unquiet dreams; Leaning softly out From ferns that drop their tears Over the young streams. 💙 Come away, O human child! To the waters and the wild With a faery, hand in hand, For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand. 💙 Away with us he's going, The solemn-eyed: He'll hear no more the lowing Of the calves on the warm hillside Or the kettle on the hob Sing peace into his breast, Or see the brown mice bob Round and round the oatmeal chest. 💙 For he comes, the human child, To the waters and the wild With a faery, hand in hand, For the world’s more full of weeping than he can understand. . W.B. Yeats . . . . . . . . #stolencherries #blackraspberries #basket #wildharvest #pickyourfood #wildharvesting #wildcherry #wildberries #witchesofinstagram #witchesofig #pagan #landspirits #magicalhomestead #pnwwitch #pnw #getinmybelly https://www.instagram.com/p/CB15tObn3iM/?igshid=16ikwddzljb43

[hugleikinn]

Please let me know if this is a stupid question. I'm putting together a personal book of shadows. I have a page about general offerings to spirits. I easily found what sorts of items I can offer to faeries and elementals. However I haven't found offerings for angels so easily. What sorts of items might I offer to angels?

Hello, that is not a stupid question at all, so much so, that I am unsure, whether I should be the one to attempt an answer. 

In my humble opinion, experience and UPG (read: The following is just one way of looking at things and is the one that makes sense to me, but doesn't have to make sense to you), angels are a different sort of bunch. 

Where you can describe (pagan and other) deities, landspirits, fae, and to a certain degree saints, elementals and demons to be “earthly” spirits or entities, as in existing in the current space time, on Earth, in our or their own linear 4D world - I’d say that angels are rather cosmic. 

Cosmic because based on my understanding of the universe, Earthly spirits are bound to Earth, and humans to a degree (but that is a discussion for a different time), where angels are BigBang old.

Cosmic in the sense that they are everywhere at once - now, in the past and in the future - and more importantly here and everywhere else in the cosmos too. All at the same time.

 As in:

And in my experience this leads to a fundamental disinterest in anything Earthly, as in “historically short-lived”, ephemeral (like food or drink), “current” (like ones dire need for a job or partner, because that does not have any meaning in the scheme of things most of the time: “Yeah, sure, it will work out in the end, you will not be alone on your deathbed. Yes, the job will happen quickly, in about 0-25 years, no worries, mate”). The only interest they have is, put very simply, in the grand design and that being the emanations of God and their balance.

This is a long winded way of me saying that I believe they don’t care.

Offerings to angels are basically just for you, to allow yourself to connect to one tiny aspect -  in the spirit of “divide and conquer” - of something our brain and existence is just not wired to comprehend. They are not going to benefit from a glass of alcohol, it is not like they need the energy. It is not like they need you to believe in them, or God, or need you to bargain with them for their benefit.

They listen, because you are an emanation of God, and unlike them, have free will. It is you, who needs to make the effort to transcend the limitation of matter and to find that divinity in you. So basically, you are making the offering yourself, to yourself in the name of a tool/aid/concept/entity/network you want to access, which is already somewhat in your grasp or in your domain.

But to finally answer your question: Offer what you think is the best you can do. Make sure it corresponds well with the goal of the ritual or the aspect of the angel you want to work with or ideally, both.

Generally, deeds work best in my opinion - from fasting, to random charity, through ordeals, prayers, cooking/baking etc. Because those affect you, too. 

Again, you are doing this to transcend outside yourself. 

Think of it as you being the computer, Earthly spirits the internet and angels are electricity. Where God is in this? God is the something between particles holding everything together.

***

I do hope this is somewhat helpful, even if it isn’t exactly what you wanted to hear :)