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quex-your-local-witch · 2 years ago

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Herb Spotlight: Fleabane

Guess what bitches? It's ~Fleabane Season~

Fleabane is a "weed" (i.e., a wildflower in the Erigeron family) that is prevalent throughout North America, and grows like crazy if left to prosper in meadow-y areas. It looks very similar to domesticated daisies, albeit much smaller in flower size, more akin to German Chamomile. There are actually many different types of Fleabane, and the color of the petals can vary from white to yellow, or even a pinkish/purpley color. It's a composite flower, and it will have many flower heads per stem. Neat, huh?

Anyways, Fleabane had been used for thousands of years in North America by the indigenous peoples. It has both a variety of magickal and medicinal uses!

Magickal uses include:

Exorcism. Yes, like banishing-bad-sprits type of exorcism, along with banishment of negative energies. Burn it as you would any other herb bundle (sage, rosemary, cedar, etc) to exorcize a space of any negative entity or energy.

You can also use it to protect yourself by preventing bad spirits from arriving by hanging it around your home - either in bundles, or small sachets. Can be done in combination with St. John's Wort, wheat, and a few capers for best effect.

The seeds of the Fleabane flower tossed between the bedsheets promotes chastity. I guess if you really need someone (or yourself) to remain celibate for a time, this can come in handy - especially if the person co-sleeps with a partner.

Alignments of: feminine aspect, the planet Venus, and the element of Water.

Along with the metaphysical uses of Fleabane, there is a wide variety of medicinal uses for this plant (note: I am not a medical doctor. Do not take this as medical advice. Consult a physician or certified herbalist if you plan on taking it for any of these... ahem... more serious uses).

Medicinal uses include:

To reduce inflammation. Can be used in a poultice or a tea to treat inflammation about the body.

Wound ointment. Traditionally, the Cherokee made an ointment using the herb and tallow to made a balm or salve for cuts and scrapes, as it has astringent properties.

You can steep it in a Witch Hazel Extract solution to further enhance the astringent properties for use on skin.

The roots can be boiled in water to make a solution for "menstruation troubles" (i.e., to bring about a miscarriage. Dangerous. Do not do this).

Drinking a tea can also help break fevers and treat symptoms of the common cold

A diuretic, can help with certain kidney conditions (consult a doctor for this one to make sure no medications you are taking with interfere with its use. Do not use if you have a history of kidney disease) by breaking up any of the smaller particulates that would lead to kidney stones

Using the herb as an incense and inhaling the smoke can be used to treat head colds

Has antioxidant and neuroprotective properties from something called caffeic acid, which this plant has LOTS of!

Aids in digestion and can be used to treat diarrhea

May help with passive bleeding or minor hemorrhaging by being applied directly to the wound (don't take this advice, go to the fuckin ER)

Had been shown in some circumstances to inhibit the growth of cancerous tumors (for the love of God, see a doctor for this, don't take the advice of a post on tumblr dot com to treat cancer)

Isn't this plant so cool? And you cloud have it growing in your yard right now! I know I do, because I harvested a fuck ton of it today, evidenced here:

I'm going to dry all of these bundles and process them into cut and shifted leaves/stems and flowerheads. The two small bundles in the middle will be hung from the ceiling to ward off negative spirits and energies.

Now for some fun facts!

Despite the name Fleabane and the association of repelling fleas and ticks, there is no proven evidence that this works... at least for the dried herbs. I haven't found any studies on this for live plants.

The entire plant is edible, and is high in vitamin C! It was used to treat scurvy, and the cooked leaves taste like spinach (you can eat them raw, but there's little hairs all over it, which are not pleasant to consume)

These plants are high in caffeine! If you make a tea out of the flower heads the same way you would Chamomile, you get a nice floral tea with a kick to start your day off right.

Remember kids! I am *not* a doctor, so don't be using this to treat some weird ailment or cancer. And please, for the love of God, do some research on herbs before you use them medicinally. But in terms of the metaphysical properties, go ham! Have a blast! Banish that weird ghost in your house that likes to watch you pee!

And as always, have fun with your craft!

Sources:

Department of Agriculture, United States. Erigeron Philadelphicus, L. USDA. https://plants.usda.gov/home/plantProfile?symbol=ERPH. Accessed April 17, 2023.

Cunningham, Scott. Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs. Llewellyn Publications, 1985.

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quex-your-local-witch · 2 years ago

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Billiardmancy: Divination for the Dirty Dive Bar Regular

I have developed a system of divination that I've termed Billiardmancy, because it seems to me that no one has developed anything surrounding pool games in terms of witchcraft and divination.

Now obviously not everyone is going to use this form of divination, nor is it necessarily accessible or convenient for... well, literally anyone who doesn't regularly play pool with friends at a bar (or owns a pool table. Them bitches be expensive) And even so, how many of those types of witchy, professionally-minded people hang out in dirty old dive bars on their nights out?

Anyways, here's how you do The Thing, and if anyone would like any more information on this or has any questions, please feel free to reblog or shoot me an ask.

Billiardmancy Basics for the Dirty Dive Bar Regular: A Mostly Comprehensive Guide

First things first, how the FUCK does this shit work? Well, think of it almost in a sortilege/runecasting type of way, where the "center" are the items closest in terms of time to what you're reading, and the ones further away are further removed/less indicative of influence on the situation at hand. Except, well... there is not a "center". Well, there is, but it's not the "center." It can be anywhere on the table, because it's actually the cue ball: i.e., the representation of self. Or, in layman's terms, the big white ball represents the person that the reading is being done for/about.

Now, I bet you're wondering about setup. How is this all performed? Well, that's simple really. The person who the reading is being done for (or the reader, if doing it themselves) both racks and breaks the balls. When racking, use intuition and place them where they feel right, like shuffling a deck of tarot/oracle cards. I personally use an 8-ball game spread versus a 9-ball spread for the greater variety, but it can be done either way. You'll just be using less balls, which in the end is actually easier - think of it as doing an 15 card tarot spread versus a 9 card one. Less info means less accurate, but easier to read (especially for beginners).

Now, once they've been racked, they gotta be broken up. Whomever is breaking the rack is the same person who racked the balls, so they get the say of where they want to break them - "shooting from the kitchen" is not required, but suggested just for the sake of the "randomness" of the spread. Now, what happens if the breaker pots the cue when they break? (i.e.: the cue ball goes into the pocket instead of staying on the table). Well, there's a few different answers for that.

Was this a yes-or-no type of reading? If yes, a potted cue ball is immediately a "no."

Was this a reading for what to expect in the future? If yes, potting the cue ball is a bad omen, but one should re-rack and re-break for a more thorough reading.

Was this a situation-based reading? If yes, re-rack and disregard the potted cue.

Was this a general state-of-life reading? If yes, refer to point #3.

Now, what the hell do the balls even mean? Well, I have a general list of their representations. In combination with other balls, consider the issues "tied," or dependant on one another. The further apart different balls are, the less connected they are to each other in terms of the situation at hand. I consider balls having influence on one another if they are within one diamond mark away from each other (in terms of lateral distance).

(You see those dots running around the edge of the table? Those are the "diamond marks." They're actually called the "sights" or "diamond system" to professional players, but I've always just called them diamond marks).

And, likewise, balls "in front" of other balls (from the 360 perspective of the cue) are blocking out those particular issues - either obscuring them from view, preventing them from coming forth, or interfering with whatever is behind them.

Now, onto what is arguably the most important aspect of this type of reading: what do the balls mean? Well, here's a quick list:

One Ball (Solid Yellow): The ego, centralism, nearsightedness, greed, personal thoughts, self-esteem, beginnings, the mind. Aligns with the element of air, the planet sun (obvi not actually a planet but w/e), the sign Leo, and the masculine aspect.

Two Ball (Solid Blue): The emotion, equanimity, movement or change, control, compromise, fluidity or flexibility, feeling. Aligns with the element of water, the planet Jupiter, the sign Pisces, and the feminine aspect.

Three Ball (Solid Red): The drive, passion, creativity, movement, expedition, travel, anger, betrayal. Aligns with the element of fire, the planet Mercury, the sign Leo, and the masculine aspect.

Four Ball (Solid Purple): The intuition, purpose, divinity, the astral self, knowing, self reliance, instinct, problem solving. Aligns with the element of air, the planet Saturn, the sign Aquarius, and the feminine aspect.

Five Ball (Solid Orange): The innovation, options, diversity, procrastination, decision-making, choices, mechanical or technological, turmoil, unrest. Aligns with the element of fire, the planet Mars, the sign Sagittarius, and the masculine aspect.

Six Ball (Solid Green): The stability, grounding, steadfast, prosperous, financial, fertility, abundance. Aligns with the element of earth, the planet Earth, the sign of Taurus, and the feminine aspect.

Seven Ball (Solid Burgundy/Brown): The heart, love, commitment, luck, tolerant, obsessive, controlling. Aligns with the elements of fire and water, the planet Venus, the sign of Aquarius, the both the masculine and feminine aspects.

Eight Ball (Solid Black): The shadow, unseen forces, shadow self, subconscious, malice, evil, spite, internalization, depression, self-loathing, the veil. Aligns to the element of Earth, the planet Neptune, the sign Libra, and the masculine aspect.

Nine Ball (Striped Yellow): The influence, outside forces, acquaintances, unforeseen circumstances, things out of your control. Aligns to the element of air, the planet Saturn, the the sign Gemini, and the feminine aspect.

Ten Ball (Striped Blue): The destiny, future changes, callings, motivation to change, things out of your control, purpose. Aligns to the element of water, the planet Jupiter, the sign Scorpio, and the feminine aspect.

Eleven Ball (Striped Red): The reflection, balance, as above so below, not all things are as they seem, opposites, magnetism. Aligns to the element of Air, the planet Uranus, the sign Libra, and the masculine aspect.

Twelve Ball (Striped Purple): The advancement, opinions, intellect, learning, apprenticeship, teaching, bestowed knowledge, callings. Aligns to the element of Air and Earth, the planet Mercury, the sign Capricorn, and the feminine and masculine aspect.

Thirteen Ball (Striped Orange): The deception, preconceived notions, adversaries, shooting yourself in the foot, willful ignorance. Aligns to the element of fire, the planet Mars, the sign Aries, and the masculine aspect.

Fourteen Ball (Striped Green): The comfort, things within control, ease, home, calm, parenthood, gentle growth. Aligns to the element of Earth, the Moon, the sign Cancer, and the feminine aspect.

Fifteen Ball (Striped Burgundy/Brown): The destruction, that which wishes to impede progress, chaos, unrelenting forces, unrest, nightmares, war. Aligns to the element of fire, the planet Mars, the sign Sagittarius, and the masculine aspect.

Of course those who are used to reading tarot understand that not all of the meanings of the cards are applicable to every reading, but the primary purpose always stays the same when combined with other cards. However, they also know that, depending on the position in the spread and the combinations with other cards, the meanings do change. This is also applicable in billiardmancy, where the meanings can change based on proximity to the other balls.

Now, I'm sure you're wondering why there are also elemental, planetary, zodiac, and masc/fem alignments to these meanings as well, and there's a simple reason for that: I just wanted to lol. Theoretically, in practice, it can provide some good further insight to the meanings of the balls and what can and can't be construed about the reading itself. You wanna use 'em? Go for it! You don't? Then disregard! No reason to fret about about an aspect that has no real necessity on the subject, but they're there if you want to use them.

One last piece of info that I think is very important: You already know about potting the cue and what that means depending on the reading type. But what happens to the other balls that you sink? Well, that's super easy: Just don't read them! Think of them sort of as the cards that are left in the deck when doing a tarot reading: they just don't apply.

Later on I'll be posting a "mock reading" to go more in depth on the method in which you can actually perform the reading. It will be specifically how I do it, but if you find a way that works better for you, then I would recommend doing that instead. Your confidence in divination is important, and if you don't have any confidence there, it's not gonna turn out so good.

Again, if y'all have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

-Quex

#billiardmancy #divination #tarot #oracle #witchcraft #witchy shit #not a spell #pagan #dive bar #bar

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