#ogham fews

[thatdruidgal]

Creating and using sigils

feat. My Sigils Using a Sigil Wheel and Ogham Alphabet

Here are my favorite sigils that I’ve made. I make my sigils using a sigil wheel with the Ogham alphabet, but there are many ways to make sigils.

What is a sigil?

A sigil is a symbol with a mystical or magical meaning. The term sigil derives from the Latin sigillum, meaning "seal”.

A sigil has no spirit, but can hold and store energy much like crystals can. They also each have their own signature energy that they give off, just like crystals.

How can I make a sigil?

There are a few standard methods, but really you can use any method you’d like to.

The standard methods are with a sigil wheel, a number grid, a deconstructed letter, or just artistic.

I personally use the sigil wheel

See below for all of these methods

Using my sigils

Draw, carve, or otherwise inscribe your symbol or sigil spell onto an object. This could be used in conjunction with other spell types like petition spells and candle spells.

There are active sigils and passive sigils.

Passive Sigils

In passive sigil activation, the energy is usually released overtime through a very moderate, and controlled fashion. This method is done through the act of keeping your sigil around, so that it can continue to work, and releases energy when it is needed. You will have to recharge your sigils if you are using this method every once in awhile after they get low on energy, unless they have a source to draw energy from.

Ways to activate Passive Sigils

Putting the sigil on a piece of paper.

Drawing the sigil on your body.

Getting a tattoo of the sigil on your body.

Making a sigil amulet.

Writing, or carved the sigils upon wood, or stones.

Having a piece of clothing with the sigil on it, or sewn into it.

Active Sigils

In active sigil activation, the energy is usually released all at once, or in a very immediate fashion. This type of activation is usually going to be done through the act of destruction of the sigil, so that all the energy that has been charged into it can be released and fired into the universe. This type of method should be used on things that you want done that are pretty direct, and will only need to be impacted once.

Ways to activate active sigils

Putting the sigil on a piece of paper, and burning it in fire.

Putting the sigil on a piece of paper, and submerging it in water until it dissolves.

Place the sigil on a piece of paper, and rip it up.

Charging Sigils

Pushing energy into the sigil by using energy work.

Meditating intently on the sigil.

Focus on the sigil intensely.

Burning candles around, or on the sigil.

Putting the sigil in the sunlight, or moonlight.

Having the sigil on your person while going through your day, keeping it with you so that it can feed off your energy.

Placing crystals on top of the sigil.

Placing the sigil at a ley-marker.

[mmuffncakes]

Eclectic Adventurer

After exploring through several countries, nations, and meeting hundreds of different folks of all sorts of backgrounds, Elodie has collected a few favorite pieces that she wears on the regular. Combing cultural familiarity with something new entirely, while still keeping herself comfortable to always be on the move towards her next destination.

so for the first time in my many years of playing Dead by Daylight, I've finally had the motivation and time to do the community cosmetic contest! and given that im a filthy licensed main, i decided to draw a cosmetic for the one original character i DO play often, and that is Elodie. so i designed her an outfit with relevance to her time as an explorer, archeologist, her heritage with both Madagascar and France, and even included a little nod to my own heritage with the ogham alphabet, like a little gift from me to her!

a decent amount of research went into some of the pieces in this look, but also i just wanted to give her something fun that she could wear while roaming old sites in search of her own adventure (that isnt the lab of a crazed man with her best friend)

[theres-whump-in-that-nebula]

Got a mini tarot deck at Five Below because it’s adorable and the Ogham oracle deck I’ve been studying for the past few weeks is very very complicated to use without prior experience with cartomancy, which I do not have. So I tried the “past present future” thing with the mini deck. But it didn’t really give me anything coherent and overall didn’t “feel” right; so I just reshuffled, did a 4x4 grid, and flipped the cards over. It makes more sense that way lol.

So far it’s telling me:

Your life is harmonious as it is (Two of Cups), so you don’t need to take on any new things at the moment, despite there being many opportunities presenting themselves to you (Four of Cups). Even though you are powerful, fortune and opportunity are on your side and you will succeed if you take on something new (The Magician), it will be more than you can handle and you will exhaust yourself; focus on healing for now (reversed Four of Swords).

Surprisingly accurate but half of the magic is in how you interpret the cards… so personal bias comes in. If your head isn’t clear and you’re wanting to hear something specific; then your reading will be skewed. Maybe this is subconsciously what I wanted to hear. I’ll try to interpret it another way as well just to see what I get.

Whatever… One thing is for certain though: it does force you to slow down and think… No wonder the Jehovah’s Witnesses hate it so much lol

[sherlockisademigod]

Void language for the TWOMP community [Post 2 of 3]

(Disclaimer: I write conlangs for fun. I am in no way an actual linguist. Yet) Neographing and grammer for the Void language: Ngagbwa (/ŋaɡ͡bwa/) is a language I made up over my summer break for the 'The World of Mr. Plant' horror series on TikTok. All Void residents are able to speak it fluently, but they prefer English when communicating in public. In post 1 (here) I mentioned that The Void is mostly linked to the Human world, and that the writing system influenced the Old Irish writing system (Ogham). Traditionally Ngagbwa was written from the bottom up, however in recent years, it has followed the second-most spoken language in The Void (English), and now writes left to right.

Punctuation is written above the written word:

Grammar:

Ngagbwa grammar was heavily influenced by a large portion of Asian languages, which stems from the fact that in the Human World, the second-most spoken language in Mandarin Chinese. Which means that there are no tenses, in terms of something like continuous precision.

Stating the date and/or timeframe is always the most crucial, especially in parts of The Void that have more wibbly-wobbly time mechanics. For example, if you are going to complete the action in the future, you start the sentence with Wegb Ngatse /wɛɡ͡b/ /ŋat͡sɛ/, or 'After this day'. If you are completing the action but on the same day, you start the sentence with Wegb Atses /wɛɡ͡b/ /at͡sɛs/, or 'After this hour'. For a past action, it's either Veb Ngatse /vɛb/ /ŋat͡sɛ/ (Before this day), or Veb Atses /vɛb/ /at͡sɛs/ (Before this hour).

Actions in the past are accompanied by the particle Bale /balɛ/ at the end of the sentence, while actions in the future can use Bale /balɛ/ and We /wɛ/ interchangeably at the end.

For actions that you are currently completing, the words Begb Oo /bɛɡ͡b/ /ʊ/ (roughly translations to 'concurrently', or 'right now') are placed after the pronoun and before the object. > Loo Begb Oo he'nook /Lʊ/ /bɛɡ͡b/ /ʊ/ /ɦɛʔnʊk/ [He is eating] > he' Begb Oo Lagba he'nook /bɛɡ͡b/ /ʊ/ /laɡ͡ba/ /ɦɛʔnʊk/ [That plant is eating]

Like Japanese, Ngagbwa uses quantifiers instead of outright stating plurality. Normally, numbers are used, but in case of unknown quantities other identifiers are used. > Ooqoo na /ʊqʊ/ /na/ [Unknown quantity of many] > Sooka tse /sʊka/ /t͡sɛ/ [Unknown quantity of few] > Neng /nɛng/ [All/Objects or ideas] > Soobets /sʊbɛt͡s/ [All/Living and animate beings]

The only exclusion to the mainly Japanese-and-Mandarin influence is the word order, which has retained the same as English since the Human World hit the 1780s. [Post 1 of 3]

[depleti]

Happy new year! I finished the cover for Chapter 23 (it's on Patreon) and felt compelled to collect all the previous covers together in one post.

The covers started off with the idea of mimicking the art styles often found on picture stones, being even more figurative and abstract than the style used in the comic itself. Over time they became less detailed but were always a fun departure that allowed me to play around with different layouts or design elements.

It was especially fun to bring in historic designs connected to cultures featured in the comic. Some specifics include:

Swirls inspired by Newgrange carvings for "The Thrall" and others that focus on Hedda/Saoirse.

Various Andalusian/Islamic design elements from the Mosque of Cordoba, the Madinat al-Zahra, and of course the Alhambra used in "Al Andalus" and "The Moor."

A magical stave is mixed with a hnefatafl board for the "Iceland" cover. The symbol is the Vegvísir stave meant to help someone find their way in rough weather. Arne also has a Helm of Awe on his chest in "The Skraeling." These staves would not have been used by Vikings (they're from the 17th century), but they look cool and that's reason enough to use them!

The "Homeward" cover features Arne split between a more Viking-like art style and one inspired by carvings from his birth culture, the Dorset.

Ogham inscription stones are the focus for "Freedom." They transliterate the Hail Mary prayer, which Hedda prays when we first meet her.

The ancient "red dancers" surround Angrboda's cave entrance in "Compensation." I already went into more detail about the red dancers in this post if you'd like to read more about them. They're really cool.

The cover for Chapter 23 also has a non-Viking inspired design to it, but it'll be a few weeks before it becomes public. If you'd like to see it now, and new pages as they're created, please consider joining my Patreon.

I hope you enjoyed this little glimpse into my thought process and inspirations. History is full of amazing things and people have been creating art since they had time to do so. It's as close to time travel as we'll ever get.

[midwestbramble]

The Book of Celtic Magic Book Review

When I first started on my journey, I was interested in Celtic paganism and witchcraft (after my stint with Wicca). This book is a hold over from that time.

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

Content:

Synopsis

What I liked

What I Didn't Like

Overall Thoughts

Conclusion

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

Published 2014

"Delve into the depths of a magical current that spans over two thousand years. The Book of Celtic Magic provides the unsurpassed power of practical magic and the transformative forces of ancient Celtica.

Druid priest Kristoffer Hughes invites you to explore the pantheon, myths, and magic of his native Wales. Discover the magical allies, the gods and goddesses, and the spirits of place that form the foundation of this vibrant tradition. Practice rituals that draw you closer to the divine energy of the trees, plants, and animals that surround you. Work with spells, conjurations, invocations, and magical tools that have been developed and refined from genuine Celtic sources. Complete with exercises and a glossary of terms, this step-by-step guide is a definitive source of authentic Celtic magic."

-from the back of the book

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

What I Liked

The book starts of with defining a few words such as englyn/englynion, as well as what the author means by "Celtic magic." A big section is set aside for Awen specifically and it's symbol, the three rays of light. Each ray is also given a meaning with definition and an exercise to connect with that idea. Right from the beginning we get exercises to help us put into practice what we are learning in the chapter. I highly encourage anyone reading this book to do the exercises as you're going through. Some of them I was drawn to more than others but they are all profound.

Most of this book is talking about magical allies, whether that be deities and demigods or plants and animals. Very specifically there is a chapter focused on introducing the concept as well as making sure the reader understands what their functions are. The more popular Welsh deities are each given a chapter where they are the focus (or if they are often paired with others then the couple (or triple) are focused on). The first is Madron and Mabon, which I felt was apt seeing as many people only know Mabon as a holiday on the Wiccan wheel of the year instead of an actual deity (which has nothing to do with the autumn equinox). You're given a run down of each with historical and primary information, then an exercise to help you connect with the deity or connect with an idea associated with them.

When I first got the book, the part that I was most drawn to was the section an working with the genius loci, ancestors, and plants and animals. Though for me, the sections on genius loci and ancestors wasn't enough but may work for those who are more into Celtic paganism than I was (even when I was trying). There's a big section on trees and working with them in the Celtic tradition, with the ogham and Kat Godeu given a lot of attention. This is a great book for more information on Ogham and working with the trees within that system. Other plants are given their own section and the part I found the most interesting was Hughes' connecting certain plants with different points on "the Great Wheel of the Year." He also uses the Physicians of Myddvai to inspire different recipes for working with different plants. Lastly, the section on animals would be very good for those looking to work in the Celtic system. It ultimately did not work for me as I am not culturally Celtic, despite half my ancestors coming from Wales and Scotland. However, I do think this can work well for others.

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

What I Didn't Like

The chapters on the deities are, admittedly, short for my taste. I wish there was more for me to have been able to jump off of instead of a quick dip of the toe. Hughes definitely appears knowledgeable and the book isn't small, so maybe there was a size limit. I just wanted more to go off of since I had already known most of the myths in this book. I did learn new things from it, just wanted more.

The end of the book has a chapter on what Hughes calls "the Forts of Truth" and that just confused me. It's a divination system that Hughes himself came up with based on island forts of Annwn in the Book of Taliesin poem "the Spoils of Annwn." I probably just didn't have enough background knowledge on Annwn itself when I read through it the first time, but it had my eyes spinning trying to make heads or tails.

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

Overall Thoughts

If you're interested in Welsh druidism or Welsh paganism, this is a good book to start, in my opinion. The author is (at least at the time of the publishing of this book) chief of the Anglesey Druid Order and a member of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids (OBOD), so I feel like this would be a good resource. You may need to eventually go out and do your own research for a few key pieces of myth for certain deities, but otherwise this was a good read.

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

Conclusion

At one point I would sell some of my witchcraft and pagan books so I could make room on my shelf for more, but this one stayed because it does have good information that I want to reference now and then. Specifically for folklore. If you would like to read it yourself, it can be found on Amazon, the OBOD store, it's publisher Llewellyn, 13 Moons, and more.

[sierrawitch]

Intuitive Magick: Healing Doll

by autumn sierra

My sister had been very ill at the start of this year. First, she suffered terrible menstrual symptoms while also catching a respiratory infection. Following the infection, we realized she had a gastrointestinal bug which kept her weak and in bed, unable to eat or drink much without vomiting. She did not eat for about 4 days and drank very little.

On the 4th or 5th night, she was crying in pain and frustration after vomiting every few hours. I knew I had to try something else that the mundane alone just could not seem to substitute. I got to work gathering supplies for making a healing doll. I sewed the fabric and added my herbs—oak leaf for protection, salt for cleansing, bay for intention, pine for healing, maple leaf for longevity—invoking each of them for their specific properties. I drew her initials, star sign, and some Ogham—Tinne and Ceirt—representative of my intention. When I was finished, I swayed for a while and chanted “For all that is ill, healing and peace. As I will, so mote it be”.

I finished the spell and went to her room to comfort her and help her drink. I ended up also massaging castor oil on her abdomen and focusing my energy there to help with any blockages or illness.

The next day she was feeling a bit better, and was able to eat some yam without vomiting, but was still depressed about her situation. So, the following day, I helped her tidy up the tissues in her space, and pick up the clutter that had been building. We talked about her emotional and physical struggles, I opened the door and window to let out stuffy air (and unbeknownst to her, any negative energy), and helped her remove things around her room that reminded her of negative things before replacing them with things she truly loved.

The day to follow, she was up and moving, rosy cheeked, eating normally yet cautiously, and any illness and blockages had been slowly clearing. The suffering that plagued her for nearly 2 weeks had been cleared up in just a couple days. I had doubted myself, my magick, and my holistic medicinal knowledge, but this experience was the perfect way to prove that I am capable of much more than I give myself credit for.

(An interesting aside: since this instance, my sister seemed to experience something of an existential crisis which completely altered her previous behavior and depressive tendencies. She’s been eating more healthily, better maintaining her personal environment, and cutting off toxic people and things from her life. She seems to have a different mindset toward many things.)

[camptara]

Hi hullo hi!

I'm thinking about making a character for this camp, and just have a few questions about some deities-

Can you tell me some more about Lugh, Oghma, and The Cailleach?

[[ Absolutely!

Lugh - God of Oathkeeping, the sun and light. Interestingly, Lugh's mother has the old Irish name of Ethniu, which is where Eithne derives their name. Lugh is a member of the Tuatha Dé Dannan. He's a warrior god and possesses a legendary spear called Gae Assail. The father / Incarnate of Cú Chulainn, a famous Irish hero from the Ulster cycle. Lugh is attributed with killing One-Eyed Balor, the leader of the Fommorions. An opposing race of "dark" deities who once possessed ownership of Ireland, and enslaved the Tuatha Dé Dannan.

Oghma - The God of speech and language, as well as eloquence and learning. A member of the Tuatha Dé Dannan, and their oracle. Oghma is the one responsible for inventing the script with which ancient Irish was first written in. Known as Ogham, they are still commonly used in divination. Notably, I am somewhat skilled in reading these! The Half brother of Lugh, and Brother of the Dagda. It is said that sound was the father of Ogham, and matter its mother.

The Cailleach- The goddess of winter, storms, plauge, creation and destruction. Known also as Beira. She is the Queen of winter. A Hag Goddess who predicts the harshness of winter. February 1st, of each year, the Cailleach runs out of firewood for the winter. She collects firewood as an old woman. If she wishes for winter to last longer, she makes the day sunny and bright for her search. If she accidentally oversleeps, the day is stormy and gray. Thus, tradition holds that if February 1st is gray and wintery, winter will be shorter that year; if the day is bright, winter will return due to her preparation. Notably, in the states this holiday has come to be known as groundhog day. Despite her destructive and often feral ways, she's a fierce protector of animals. A deer herder and patron of starving wolves. ]]

[libertarian-druid-ny-separatist]

Decided I'm gonna be opening wood burning commissions soon. It's one of few art forms I can sell at a profit. On top of that some Libertarian sayings in Ogham to go with the whole theme of my blog combined with Gaulish and Celtic quotes that can be seen as libertarian in nature.

I forgor that I can literally just grab peeling/fallen bark and sand it for material.

[breelandwalker]

hello, nos da! hoping you can advise a pagan polytheist (Brythonic pantheon) who sometimes does light folk spellwork (not a witch), having trouble reconnecting with the Gods and with practice? post-pandemic as well as a difficult change of residence/employment, I've lost touch with altarwork, divining (Ogham runes) and offerings. I feel stuck and guilty about it. Even though I now live in my divinity homeland, it feels hard. Advice gratefully received and appreciated, tysm and happy sunday!

Good day to you, friend! I'm happy to help and I've written a few posts on these very topics in the past. While my specialty IS witchcraft, I think the advice can be applied to non-witching pagan practice as well.

Feeling "stuck" or lacking in inspiration or motivation to continue with one's practice and projects is a common problem. From what I've been able to ascertain, it's something that affects all creatives at some point, not just witches and pagans. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that it affects academics and scholars as well.

And it's nothing to be ashamed of and it's not a personal failing. It's just Life Getting In The Way. Sometimes we need to take time to address practical issues, personal wellbeing, career matters, or the needs of our loved ones.

The following posts (and one podcast episode) deal with everything from connecting (and reconnecting) with our chosen deities to getting out of a rut to rediscovering that creative spark when it's gone dormant.

How Do I Contact A Deity?

How Do I Worship My Deity If I Can't Have An Altar?

Tips On Working With Deities And Spirits (here be upg)

My Intuitive Spark Feels Low - How Do I Get It Back?

I'm In A Slump - How Do I Get Out Of It?

I've Reached A Stopping Point - What Do I Do Next?

Hex Positive podcast, Ep. 27 - When Inspo Takes A Holiday (March 2022)

Hope this helps!

(If anyone would like more tips on growing and maintaining your practice, there's a General Advice masterpost here and plenty more in the tags below.)

[lanaevyssmoved]

The dwelling described below belongs to Geddeil, a standard illithid claiming membership in the Abysmal Creed. Geddeil is only 10 years past its ceremorphosis but already has good standing among other members of its Creed. Thus, its dwelling is only two levels above the axial plaza, and its balcony is quite wide.

Balcony Hanging 20 feet above the plaza is a large stone balcony jutting out from the spherical side wall. A narrow stair connects the balcony to one below it, and then to the plaza's floor. Above, below, and to either side of the balcony, windows, stairs, and ladders protrude from the stone wall, forming a two-dimensional community wrapped around the spherical plaza. Geddeil has placed a portable stone pool at the lip of the balcony, allowing the mind flayer to relax comfortably in its own domicile. For convenience, the balcony possesses a feeding-stock, but it is currently pushed against the far railing away from the steps.

Sitting Room This large chamber serves as the living, dining, and recreation rooms for Geddeil. It contains various throw pillows (filled with spongy, dry moss), artistic sculptures (best appreciated by tentacle touch), resonance stones (small crystals embedded with pleasant emotions; see Chapter 7: Illithid Technology for more information), several feeding-stocks (in case guests show up for dinner), and a large musical instrument, called a bonethriven. While in its dwelling, Geddeil works on a couple of different pet projects. Happily, its hobbies coincide with the stated aim of the Abysmal Creed. Geddeil also spends many hours a day composing discordant music on its instrument; this music unsettles and horrifies any humanoid creatures that listen to it. When not composing, Geddeil gives in to gluttony, eating far more than a single brain per month. Geddeil justifies this resource drain by claiming that it aids the mind flayer's own exploration of the effects of horror on thralls. Its obesity, combined with its sickening pallor and the accumulated debris of past meals caught in its clothing and upon its tentacles, has a certain demoralizing effect on nonillithids. So far, the Abysmal Creed con tinues to pay the extra expense associated with Geddeil's "experiments."

Bonethriven: A massive assembly of tubes carved of discarded thrall bones surrounding a resonating chamber. Illithids proficient in this instrument can produce a wide range of sounds by blowing through the mouthpiece while opening and closing the 12 different stops with both fingers and tentacles. A master thrivenist (a player of the bonethriven) can elicit sounds of such horrible intensity that humans and demihumans must check morale each round they hear the instrument played. Victims failing a single check suffer a -1 to ail die rolls while the "music" continues.

Thrall Quarters Every illithid has at least one personal thrall that rarely leaves its side. Personal thralls open doors, pick up items of interest to its master, clear paths along busy throughways, compliment their illithid owners on a regular basis, and generally accomplish menial tasks. In many cases, once an illithid finds a personal thrall that agrees with it, the mind flayer goes out of its way to avoid eating the thrall's brain in a bout of hunger or anger. Some thralls have lived out their entire lives as the personal servants of a single mind flayer. Personal thralls live in their masters' dwellings; their quarters provide for their basic needs and wants, containing moss mattresses, bundles of dried rations hanging low from the ceiling, and basins of drinking water. Geddeil's personal thrall, a grimlock male named Ogham, is also allowed to store a few changes of clothes in this chamber, as well as a few small trinkets (shiny rocks) and toys (very crude dolls) to keep him happy during his "off" hours.

Study This chamber resembles the office of an eccentric surface-dwelling sage. A clutter of cultural artifacts from various thrall races cover shelves, a desk, and even the floor. For example, an elven wall sconce hangs over a dwarven battlemask, bracketed on one side by a human-crafted decorative clay pot and on the other by a gnomish toolsuit. Geddeil has collected these items in order to make an honest attempt to understand their cultural significance. The creature feels that if it can truly understand the mindset of the various thrall races, it will be that much more successful in devising means of promoting cultural terror and fear. It's all in a day's work for Geddeil. Geddeil´s desk is a simple stone platform. Below it sit several sheaves of stiff blank parchment. A striator (a psionic pen used to imprint parchment with qualith; see Chapter 7: Illithid Technology) lies on the desk along with several sheets of qualith-imprinted parchment. The parchment pieces rest beneath a black, egg-shaped paperweight; the paperweight is actually a resonance stone imprinted with pure horror. Any creature touching the stone must make a saving throw vs. spell or suffer effects similar to a fear spell for 3d6 rounds. The written records beneath the "paperweight" have Geddeil's notes recorded upon them. These notes include such observations as "humans fear the dark," "dwarves fear deep water," "elves fear moral compromise,' and "halflings fear starvation."

Storage This locked chamber holds the fruit of some of Geddeil's past projects—not all of which were completely successful. Piled against the walls and upon a central stone table lie jumbles of odds and ends. These piles include stuffed grouse, dried limes, metal shavings in a steel chest, a bone horn that sounds with a weak and plaintive blast, a water pipe half filled with formic acid (4d10 points of damage if spilled or swallowed), candlelamps carved to resemble illithid heads (the light shines from the illithids' eyes and mouths), a dish of hard candy shaped like miniature human hands, a petrified human foot, and dozens of other items.

Sleep Chamber The fact that illithids require sleep is the best argument that currently exists for the supposition that illithids originated from a planet with periodic sunshine. Why else would illithids develop sleep patterns that so closely resemble the sleeping habits of surface-dwelling creatures? Geddeil's sleep chamber is a 10-foot-diameter mass of thick, damp, cushioning moss bounded by a small stonestep in the center of the room. Various small stands and shelves in the room contain odd knickknacks that appeal to Geddeil's sense of decor: ghastly shells collected from a nameless subterranean sea, humanoid tooth sculptures, a collection of silver bells, and an infra-painting. The painting shows (to those able to distinguish wave-lengths in the infrared) a landscape of foaming chaos through which a shard of floating earth is visible. At the base of the painting, a line of qualith reads, "Beyond the Pale: A Resonance Island." The painting is a memento of Geddeil's travels. An open archway in the chamber leads to Geddeil's walk-in closet. The closet contains several dozen robes, boots, gloves, and other illithid clothing accessories. Most of the clothing is imprinted with the raised sigil of Geddeil's Creed association. Hidden in the inner lining of a robe at the very back of the closet is a contraband wand of magic missiles (56 charges remaining) that Geddeil secretly keeps in disobedience of Abstemious' ordinance. Geddeil keeps the wand out of a secret fascination with magic, a fascination that the mind flayer has only just begun to explore.

[pop-culture-pantheon]

Broom Closet Creativity Spell (adapted from BreelandWalker's Inspiration Salt)

I was on Tumblr a couple days ago and found a post (linked) from Breelandwalker about a recipe for Inspiration Salt. I was ecstatic because this was very timely, and it looked like I had most of the ingredients! It was perfect!

Until I started reading the instructions and I realized that there was no way that I would be able to get by with grinding up herbs while in the broom closet. My family has only just gotten accustomed to essential oils, and I don't think they're quite ready for me to break out the mortar & pestle just yet. (I say facetiously and with no small measure of sadness at my lack of proper herb grinding equipment.) So, I did my best to adapt it to my needs. And now, I’m recording what I did so that I don't forget it! (And in case anyone else can use it later.)

My version is less of a salt/powder and more of a jar spell. ��� Actually, technically, it's more like an empty pocket-sized sanitizer bottle spell in my case. … I was out of the tiny Dollar Tree craft jars that I usually use, so I had to make do with what I had, OK? Plus, this is something easily overlooked among my clutter, so nobody will ever be the wiser!

Anyway…

Ingredients:

A few drops of witch hazel solution

Dried mugwort leaf (or if you have one of the other ingredients in the original recipe, use that instead! I literally just happen to have a mugwort plant that I got from my aunt.)

Pinch of salt

Whatever container you have on hand

Marker

Procedure:

1. (Optional) Since witch hazel was the main ingredient in my spell, I got out my Ogham card for Mór, which represents witch hazel in my wildcrafted Ogham (for more information on that and how to create your own Ogham associations with local plants, see Archdruid Dana O’Driscoll’s blog). I placed the Ogham card down on my workspace and set the ingredients around it. I asked the spirit of Mór to watch over the working. If you would like to call on a symbol of a plant ingredient, or a symbol of creativity, go for it! Otherwise, leave this step out.

2. (Optional) As a pop culture witch, I also wore my Amulet of Julianos to call upon his help. You can choose to call on an entity associated with knowledge or inspiration, or you can skip it.

3. Ask the spirit of Witch Hazel to bring creativity and inspiration, add the droplets to the container, and thank the spirit of the plant for its blessing.

4. Ask the spirit of Mugwort (or Jasmine, or Allspice, or whichever other plant you picked) to bring creativity, motivation, and focus. Add the leaf to the container and thank the spirit of the plant for its blessing.

5. Ask the spirit of Salt to bring grounding and purity through the creative process, add the salt to the container, and thank the spirit of the salt for its blessing.

6. Charge the spell however you prefer. As a Druid, I called upon the telluric, solar, and lunar currents to bless the container with their energy - and to allow me to send creativity to myself and to whomever I choose. As a Christian, I added a prayer of thanks to God as well.

7. Close the container and “seal” the spell by drawing a symbol of creativity on the container somewhere. For me, it was easy to conceal behind the peel-back label. I drew the Ogham letter Mór as well as the Awen symbol. You can choose anything that represents creativity and inspiration in your practice!

8. Close the working and return unused energy to the Earth, or give it to one or more of the spirits as an offering of thanks. And you’re done!

9. (For fellow broom closet witches) Hide the container somewhere inconspicuous so your family doesn't find it! Have fun!

[skylandersbf]

Conlang Update 8

I finally have time to myself and my hobbies because I graduated culinary school!!! I can finally update and work on my conlang. So here’s what I have done.

Orthography

I’ve changed the script a few times since last posting. I wasn’t happy with the first iteration. It was pretty and aesthetically pleasing but I feel it did not fit the language in terms of functionality and design. This time I went simpler and was inspired by Slavic embroidery and runes!

As well as my characters, I now have all the names for the letters! I wanted to do this because I was inspired by Irish Ogham and how each letter represents a tree. In my conlang, each letter is a fruit, vegetable, or an herb!

I’m so excited to finally be working on this again. More to come!!!!

[greenpanda-basicfakewitch]

Moon Glyphs

The world is full of fascinating symbols, some of them ancient and mysterious, some of them invented in the last few hundred years. People tell many stories about these symbols. The runes have been called a secret language used by an inherited priesthood. The ogham is said by some to be a magical alphabet used by the druids in the time of Stonehenge. And these moon glyphs are all over the internet pretending to be an ancient set of symbols used for moon magic by matriarchal civilizations long past.

Source:

[greenmansgrove]

Rowan: My Guide to/through Druidry

I've mentioned I only started studying druidry a little over a year ago. I knew for many years before that point how desperate I was for ritual and/or to "believe in" something again after estranging myself from Catholocism in my late teens, when even my parents drifted away from practicing Christianity. During grad school, I had friends who practiced various folk religions as well as Wicca, but even then, I struggled to find a connection to those practices, other than the joy of standing in my at-the-time metamour's overgrown backyard for a ritual of thanks at the polycule's Samhain party. That was my first time celebrating any of the high days, despite a childhood curiosity in pagan spirituality. I'd made soul cakes to share, too. But as time passed, relationships ended, and grad school became busier, my spiritual care fell by the wayside.

Then, roughly five years later, having recovered from homelessness thanks to a careless landlord, graduated grad school, survived a year as an adjunct (a job I promptly lost during the pandemic), moved to an entirely new state, all while nursing a broken heart and beginning my medical transition... I felt the need again. I had hopes that it, too, might help me through both the heartbreak and my declining mental health.

All the events of the past several years had left me feeling alone and vulnerable. I felt like I had no sense of self and no life of my own. I was also anticipating some painful future events, and I really didn't know how to emotionally prepare myself. On a whim, I asked someone to do an ogham reading. My question(s) were wild and unfocused, representative of my conflicted and pained emotional state, and I'm thankful for the reader's patience. I've always found humor in things like tarot and horoscopes, considering them nothing more than just for-fun or aids in guiding intuition. The results of this reading were as generic as any other, offering the same wisdom I'd heard elsewhere. But the final ogham the reader drew was none other than Luis, or rowan/mountain ash, which is the second few in the ogham alphabet (after birch) with two lines pointed towards the right. And so, when the reader drew this ogham, as if in perfect answer to the deepest fears I was anticipating, came the message, "You are protected."

It is difficult for me to describe what I felt when I received this message. I felt relief, though a cautious relief, at best, given that I take these readings with a grain of salt, but it was enough to bring me to tears. I have largely felt "unprotected" since moving out on my own and experiencing all I had in the last handful of years. It'd been one thing after another in my life with very little rest, peace, and joy. I wanted to believe that it were true. I wanted to believe after so many years of struggling to find faith in something, to cling to hope, to feel like I belonged anywhere, that I would be okay. It most definitely felt like grasping at straws to try believe in this reading. I've always been one of those people who wanted proof and to whom divine experiences never came. But it was enough for me at the time to open myself up a bit.

Rowan is one of the most sacred woods to the druids, and it is associated with protection thanks to folklore and mythology the world over. It also has associations with the fey. I read somewhere that, because of its associations with the fey, the divine, or the other world, it protects because of its chaotic nature. It "disrupts" whatever dangers or energies that are directed towards it. Again, as an atheist, I respect these interpretations. I find the symbolism to be helpful for finding connection to the world and to my ancestors (both those of blood and of covenant--another post in the making) who had their own ties to and stories of the lands in which they lived. Rowan has thus acted as a focus for me over the past year. It was my starting point, because I needed that one little push to act and move through the coming difficulty rather than dwell on the tragedy for which I'd been bracing myself. I am incredibly thankful for that message, because, as an act of reciprocity, which is concept important not just in spiritual practices but useful in developing deeper relationships with the land and community at large, I committed myself to trying out this druidry thing, at least for a year. And now I'm beginning year two.

In another occurrence of synchronicity in my life, I began practicing druidry in a place where not only the RDNA formed, but where rowan/mountain ash grows abundantly. One of the projects I created for myself (finding passions are good at forcing you to do that), I wanted to find harvest from various trees which I could give as offerings at RDNA rituals. UMN-Saint Paul has a self-guided tree tour, which was initially helpful in being able to visit some pre-identified examples, including rowan, to aid me in learning to identify the trees out in the wild. I've since found rowan trees closer to my home, with which I'm beginning to foster a relationship. I keep some rowan wood on my altar, I carry a piece of rowan wood on my keyfob and/or some berries in a little wooden locket, I had some rowan carved and painted onto my walking cane, and I regularly offer rowan berries at my RDNA grove's rituals.

More recently, I participated in a guided meditation on the rowan tree. Meditation can be especially helpful in aiding one listen to their intuition, and my question or focus of my meditation at the time was, "Should I join the priesthood of the RDNA?" The answer I "received" was flippant, but in tune with how I would answer myself or anyone looking for wisdom: "Follow what path you will. Even if that path is paved, it is still new to you." Another oddly perfect answer, thanks to rowan. I have a lot of anxiety about "going my own way" and "taking the road less traveled by" out of fear I am ill-prepared or will hurt myself. Hell, I've gone hiking so many time and gotten lost or fallen off/into things and needed to call park rangers, all because I didn't espouse as much caution as I should have. Part of my efforts over the past year to be more physically active and to be in nature has been to find places with paved hiking paths so I can just enjoy myself and build confidence instead of trying to hold myself to some ideal that I'm not ready to be just yet. So, "receiving" this answer really put me at ease and told me that I'm doing what I need to. I can go at the pace that I need and use what tools and aids are helpful to me because comparing myself to others isn't all that helpful. It may even be ableist to assume that a druid needs to be able to rough-it and hike unafraid and unfettered through the wilderness. It's more about the journey and forging my own personal relationship with nature in the quest for spiritual awareness. Maybe I will join the higher orders, or maybe I won't and I'll give up on druidry altogether. Either way, that's my path and no one can take it from me or judge me for it.

I finally feel like I do have a life, and I'm doing my best to enjoy it. I now feel that my daily experiences out in nature are divine in and of themselves, and I've become more skilled at "reading signs" that I might use to guide my intuition or view simply as poetic coincidences that enhance my enjoyment of a brief moment in time. I'm thankful for it all.

[margridarnauds]

What would you recommend to an aspiring Celticist for a tattoo? My sister wants to get matching Celtic tattoos, and while I’ve started to study Celtic mythology, I’m definitely no expert lol. I know a lot of symbols you’d find on the internet are bullshit, and a lot of the real ones have a ton of baggage associated with them (literally the first thing I told my sis when she brought this up was that we had to be careful & do our research when picking these out bcs the nazis looove that shit). But what would you recommend? Is there anything we should definitely steer clear of? Thanks!!

I'm going to either be really helpful or really non-helpful: A lot of this will depend on you and your sister.

Like, for me, when I've thought of Celtic-inspired tattoos, they're always things that are very personal to me. Like, for example, Bres' name in Ogham on my wrist, since it's always been him and me surviving this together, the Children of Lir, because that's a personal good luck symbol (yes, the most notoriously UNLUCKY story in the Mythological Cycle -- I have a Children of Lir necklace that I wore when I was giving my Capstone Presentation in my undergrad, and I've worn it to every talk I've ever given, even to my interview with my current program), an image of an owl (for Blodeuedd) or something like the Pictish Beast, since I love marine animals and waterhorses in the folkloric tradition. So, I'd look at what appeals to you and your sister, your relationship, shared interests, etc.

There's only one Celtic image that's formally been designated as being a potential white supremacist symbol by the anti-defamation league, and that is the Celtic Cross.

This is the image that most white supremacists will use, you'll notice that it has very short ends.

This is the more traditional Celtic cross -- you'll see these in just about every single tourist shop in Ireland, as well as in cemeteries. I'd be lying if I said that I don't still feel a bit of a jolt whenever I see the regular one in a tattoo; it shouldn't, because it's an image that is emblematic of Irishness and Irish heritage. And I don't feel that way about, say, a necklace, but a tattoo is much more different to me. It's permanent, it's...intimate. So I would suggest staying away from either version, even though the one at the bottom is NOT the one that has been appropriated by white supremacists.

I also tend to be distrustful of people who have like....mixed Celtic and Nordic symbols. Like, the Vikings did settle in Ireland, some Irish words are based in Norse terms, Cork, Dublin, and Waterford are Viking cities originally, there are a lot of folktales in common between Ireland and Norway, there are historic links there. That being said, anyone who treats them as being interchangeable (the term "Nordic-Celtic" makes me shudder whenever I see it in an organization's name and, no, I do not give a single fuck if you say that you aren't THAT kind of Nordic Celtic) raises my fight or flight response. Like, they're both part of this implicit idea of White Warrior Male Culture. But that's not a problem unless you're getting multiple tattoos. (Tbh, if I see a random Celtic knot on someone...I might think 'white supremacist' or I might think 'Irish American', it depends on everything else.)

...also a Celtic knot world tree symbol. Not because they're white supremacist, but because it isn't really based strongly in the Irish tradition.

Quite a few people in the field will get ogham tattoos, especially in Modern or Old Irish, possibly using a word or phrase that's important to them. One friend of mine has one that is a phrase that is related to their health problems and reflects their fortitude. You might get an image based on a particular story (I might actually choose the Children of Lir, just because, everything else about it aside...it does contain a really strong sibling relationship.)

Basically: Why do you want a Celtic-inspired tattoo (from any of the various Celtic cultures?) What are you interested in? What speaks to you as people?