#pop culture magic

[thetoonworker]

Maleficent's Thorn Forest Spell

Source: Sleeping Beauty, 1959

To deter intruders, thieves, etc.

Take three nails (preferably iron) and a handful of rose branches, cut into pieces.

Go to the entrance of your home.

Bury the nails in a triangle shape by your front step. Scatter the thorns over the boundaries of the property. (If you live in an apartment, bury the nails in a flowerpot and the thorns in a square shape around it.)

"A forest of thorns, intruders' tomb

borne through the skies on a fog of doom

now go with a curse and serve me well

around home and castle, cast my spell!"

[missbelindachandrabombs]

> new series release (space babies) coincided with the uk seeing the northern lights for the first time in years

> the devil’s chord coincided with paul mccartney’s long-missing hofner bass guitar being found, by a doctor who fan no less

> boom coincided with an actual meteor crash

> 73 yards is coinciding with a rise in bizarre supposedly-occult animal sacrifice rituals in britain (the folk horror part) and rishi sunak finally calling a general election (the political drama part)

> hypothesis: russell t davies has somehow managed to tune in to the universe’s divine frequency ??

> conclusion: messing with the forces of fate, cause&effect and coincidence, even if it’s for the pop culture franchise you’re showrunning, actually turns it into an egregore, but only if it’s been going for long enough (sixty fucking years to the dot) and watched by enough people (tens of millions). which it has

> ergo, postscriptum: television magick is real and is being unintentionally performed by the creators + audience of the world’s silliest science fiction show

> /jk. unless?

[popculturealtar]

this may be too wild of a post and idk how many people are gonna agree with it (as i'm someone who thinks pop culture entities inherently exist in some form one way or another) but yknow. it's my blog and i can post what i like here.

so, idk what virtual pet-loving person needs to hear this but nothing is stopping you from working with your virtual pet as a magical entity, spiritual entity, servitor, spirit companion, friend, family member, or familiar.

u like pokemon? work with pokemon. u like neopets? work with neopets. have a tamagotchi that's old enough to graduate? work with it and see where it takes you.

despite practicing pcp/pcm for a long time it took me... a really long time to realise i can just do this. with virtual pets specifically. i can experiment, i can see what happens, and i'm allowed to make my practice more fun.

[jasper-pagan-witch]

Jasper's Energyform Zine

Hey. I made a zine about thoughtforms, servitors, and energyforms. It's free. It's yours now. Print it out. Eat it. I don't care. Just don't pretend you wrote it when I did all of this and screamed at the formatting and paid for Canva shit to accomplish this.

Download it as a PDF here.

[clowncarbrain]

Minecraft Mob Poppets: A Technomancy Concept

I’m playing with an idea in my head, per usual, so we’ll see how this works but writing down what’s going through my head helps unjumble my thoughts

Names can be used as a taglock. So if you name a mob after a specific person, it could be used as a poppet. I have a few ideas of what you could do from there…

Name it after your friend and use an anvil to name its food after what you’re wanting to cast (happiness, peace,) and feed it to the animal to send it their way (Note: You should always ask friends and loved ones if they’re comfortable with you using magic on them)

Name the mob after someone you want to protect and build a barrier around it

Name a cat after someone and sit it down on a bed to invoke better sleep

Drown the mob to drown the target with insecurity

Explode the mob to make the person’s own hatred backfire on them

Bury a mob named after a person you want to forget about

Might think of more ideas later, but this is something I wanted to jot down and try out.

Thoughts? 🤔

[snowangelcracker]

Intro post!!!

Hello! My name is Eunoia, but my magical girl name is Snow Angel. I am an IRL magical girl with an original concept.

I am an introject in a professionally diagnosed DID system.

My pronouns are she/her.

Please DNI if you don't believe in IRL magical heroes.

I will be making posts about my journey here. I will also post about my concept. If anyone has any questions, please ask.

That's all :)

[cryptidsmagick]

Cultural Appropriation in Pop Paganism: What Not To Do

In modern media—and in modern witch craft—there are various circumstances of cultural appropriation. Sometimes by choosing to try something new you might be immensely appropriating something and never realize. So, it's important to keep a sharp mind and research, especially if you're a pop witch.

Most forms of media have something based on another culture. For example, Genshin Impact and Avatar the Last Airbender based each Nation on one or more cultures, even if it's not immediately obvious. When something takes root in another culture, you need to stop and think: "Is it okay if I work with this?"

Some things, like figures based on Arabic deities and historical figures, are generally okay to work with. Other things, like figures based on closed cultures, such as Lilith or Native deities, are not.

When picking up work with a pop figure, you are expected to research it just as well as you would research something in traditional witchcraft, and keep in mind all effects of you working with something.

Some questions to ask yourself, might be: Does this stir discourse in the cultures it's based on?

If it stirs discourse, am I part of the culture it's based on?

Is this character misrepresenting/whitewashed/negatively representing their original figure?

Is this based on a real world practice? If so, does it belong to a closed culture?

What are this culture's rules for outsiders partaking?

Does the source material forbid outsiders from partaking?

At the end of the day, a culture might just simply have rules for you to use something.

Like with white sage—as a native, native tribes don't actually forbid you from using it, we just ask that you obtain it from a culturally appropriate source, such as a native seller or home grown. Some tribes might ask you to smudge properly, and if a local tribe does, then please research how to do so. We also, in general, ask you not to kill the flame, as you would be killing a spirit.

It might just be simple as that. But for some things, it might be outright forbidden for you to do something.

Don't abuse pop culture to get around that.

[fernthewhimsical]

Minecraft Witchcraft

So, I decided to dip my toe into a bit of tech magic, and use my newest obsession hobby to do it: minecraft!

This is my new witchy house! Inside is an elevator down to a much larger space that I will be working on.

Entrance room with a shrine for wisdom and magic. I used blue candles, books, and an oak sapling for wisdom and knowledge. And purple candles, the enchantment table, and amethyst cluster for magic. One bookcase is empty, I'm planning on filling that with books where I record my spells, affirmations, etc.

An eternal pool outside, made with yellow froglights and yellow glazed terracotta. This one will be for gathering Sunwater. I will be making a pool to collect Moonwater on the other side.

That's what I got so far! I am loving this process <3

[majokkid]

Basics of Servitor Creation and Implementation

For those new to chaos magic, or who are unfamiliar with the terminology, a servitor is an entity created by a magician to perform certain tasks autonomous from its creator.

Phil Hine writes in Condensed Chaos: Adventures in Chaos Magic that servitors are essentially a kind of psychological complex created "by deliberately budding off portions of our psyche and identifying them by means of a name, trait, symbol", after which "we can come to work with them (and understand how they affect us) at a conscious level.”

Servitors can be created to perform a wide range of tasks, from the specific to the general, and may be considered as expert systems which are able to modify themselves to take into account new factors that are likely to arise whilst they are performing their tasks. They can be programmed to work within specific circumstances, or to be operating continually.

Phil Hine, Condensed Chaos: An Introduction to Chaos Magic (New Falcon Publications, 1995)

Note: While some purport that servitors are a part of a ‘thoughtform continuum’, starting with ‘unintelligent’ sigils and eventually getting to the complexity of egregores and godforms, I think it would be prudent to mention that I don’t think I agree with the distinctions people tend to make between servitors and thoughtforms, namely that servitors are simpler and have less agency than thoughtforms. I can see why it may be helpful for some to keep them disparate but I find the separation unnecessary especially since there are certainly instances where servitors can be sophisticated enough to harbor agency and even intellect.

Generally, I’ve seen magicians follow a model similar to Austin Osman Spare’s sigil creation technique to encode a particular intention for a servitor to operate within. Alternatively, a magician may choose to create servitors from negative aspects of their psyche so they can interact with those traits as personal ‘demons’ and eradicate them. This is to say there are probably limitless ways you can program a servitor to aid you in your magical and mundane life.

When creating a servitor, I begin with a similar mindset as creating any other magical tool by first determining my intentions. What do I need help with? What am I seeking? Try to take note of the thoughts and emotions that are influencing your intentions and even try to imagine what things will be like after the task is complete; by collecting and holding all of this mental data during servitor creation, you can strengthen the complex it is born from.

Note: This is why I find there can be varying degrees of success when trying to use a servitor that someone else has created. While someone could have had great success with their servitor and enthusiastically shared the steps for its creation, you do not have the same psychological and magical ties to that entity and therefore may not really be tapping into what makes it tick.

During this inception process, also consider the level of sophistication you want your servitor to have. Ask yourself questions like:

Is your servitor made for one specific task and then it is banished or does it work in perpetuity (or until you stop it)?

Do you have to summon it each time you need it to perform a certain task? If so, how?

Is your servitor like a magical automaton, doing a set action like a machine, or can it learn from its experiences and adapt how it operates?

Does your servitor have a lifespan? Are you able to resummon the same entity if needed again or would you create a new version of itself?

Does your servitor have agency?

Does your servitor communicate? If so, how? Can it interact with other beings besides yourself?

Does your servitor require energy or sustenance? What does it require and how often?

By having set rules or constraints baked into the creation of your servitor, you can ensure it operates the way you want it to.

As you are thinking of all of this, picture what your servitor looks like, how it moves, if it has a sound or a voice—the more detail, the better.

Give your servitor a name and a sigil. You can create the sigil based on the servitor’s name or task using something like Austin Osman Spare’s sigilization technique or something more abstract. (My personal divination deck, much like Sakura Kinomoto’s cards in Cardcaptor Sakura, also houses an entity in each of the cards and the art on the card is essentially the entity’s sigil.)

Before launching your servitor, determine a ‘kill switch’ for the entity if anything goes sideways or you need it to cease working immediately for any reason. This can be a phrase or an action but make sure it is something you cannot accidentally do. If you connect your servitor to an object, simply destroying that object would also work.

Finally, with all of this information at hand, you can launch your servitor. You can do this as you would fire off any other sigil or you can choose to do something more ceremonial. (The defunct account @trollkunnig outlines a method of essentially ‘contracting’ a servitor in this post.) At this point, you can tether your servitor to an object, if you choose to do so. I have also connected a servitor to an additional object after its programmed task was completed with a renewed intention and a course of action should its original services be needed again.

This post is part of my Magi Praxis series. If you have any suggestions for future topics, or you have attempted anything I have shared and want you share your experiences, please send me a message! I am always happy to go back and provide further explanation as well. ☆

[mahypnou]

uh. anyone have resources on beginner witchcraft? i just realized ive never actually gotten the chance to study the barebones stuff and launched into the quote unquote "crazy stuff" right away ^_^'

[chaotic-gremlin-27]

What is Pop Culture Magic/Witchcraft?

In this post I will explain what pop culture magic is, how it works, and who can practice it. Please be aware this is very much a jumping off point. I recommend doing your own research and coming to your own conclusions.

Pop culture Magic is a sub section of chaos magic that believes you can use pop culture in your magic. This can be done a plethora of ways but the most popular include using incantations made for media, working with characters from media in the way you would work with any deity or being, using tarot/oracle decks that are inspired by certain media (like a Good Omens deck or a Disney Villains deck) or using game cards for oracle decks (like using pokemon cards as an oracle deck), and using music to help with spells, as divination (shufflemancy), or as a devotional act. Keep in mind this is by no means an extensive list of all things pop culture magic. It’s just the most popular parts of it.

How does that work?

As stated earlier, pop culture magic is a subsection of chaos magic. Now modern day chaos magic is the belief that as long as you’re putting your energy and intentions into something it will work. Thats how a lot of people believe pop culture magic works.

Can anyone practice this?

YES!! Pop culture magic is an open form of magic that is very beginner friendly!! If you’re unsure where to start, I highly recommend looking at the pop culture magic tag on tumblr and finding something that interests you and going from there.

[popculturealtar]

bun's week-long pop culture spirit work exercise:

monday: create a playlist for a pop culture spirit. play it for them and write down any feelings, sensations, or events that emerge.

tuesday: look up their iconography and anything inspired by them. take notes, and see if you can make a sigil from what is significant to you.

wednesday: look at a list of their tropes. write ones that stand out to you down, and see how you can judge what they might reside over, their personality, try to conclude some information. if you need confirmation or validation, see if you can confirm with a form of divination.

thursday: write a prayer inspired by one of the songs, their iconography, or their tropes. say it (or think it) to them while imagining the sigil you made for them, and write down any feelings, sensations, or events that emerge.

friday: it's time for offerings! based on what you've figured out, use your best judgment for deciding what you think they'll like. you can use a perishable offering, a votive offering, devotional acts, whatever suits! write down anything you learn during.

saturday: do a reading with them. this will require a divination deck, a pendulum, charms or bones, a playlist, a book, or anything you're comfortable using to talk to them. take this as a conversation, rather than an interview - talk to them as you get your responses, and write down anything that you find out.

sunday: finally, it's time to write down a correspondence list or basic guide. write down anything of importance. i tend to write down information about them, concepts they reside over, signs and symbols, offering ideas, and devotional acts - but go bananas here! jot down what you think is important.

bonus ideas: hanging out with their energy, doing a spell inspired by them, doing a spell with them, the sky's the limit! you don't have to do any of these activities if you don't want to, but i just thought i'd shed some light into how i organise myself with spirits and organise my thoughts regarding them. have fun!

[jasper-pagan-witch]

Shoutout to pop culture magic practitioners and witches and occultists.

Shoutout to pop culture pagans and polytheist.

Shoutout to the IRL magical girls.

Shoutout to selfshippers and self-inserts.

We may not be approaching the media we love in a "mainstream" way, but we're having fun, and that's the important part.

[panthera-dei]

I got another witchy FAQs question so I want to go ahead and share it.

This time, we're talking some basic chaos magic with different types of thoughtforms!

Please note that I am not an expert in chaos magic, nor do I consider myself a chaos magician, so feel free to (kindly) leave feedback or corrections as needed. ^^

Thoughtforms 101

Definition of Thoughtform: Thoughtform is a catch-all term from any entity that was created with or by human thought (conscious or otherwise).

Types of Thoughtforms: Common thoughtforms include sigils, servitors, thoughtform companions (aka tulpas), daemons, and egregores.

Sigils: Most folks who create sigils and use sigil magic probably don't think about sigils as a type of chaos magic or a thoughtform. However, sigils actually do fall into this category. Think of a sigil as being like a simple computer program that's powered by your mind. You give the program a basic function (such as protection or prosperity) and the magical "coding" of your intentions allows the sigil to carry it out.

Servitors: If sigils are basic computer programs, then servitors are robots. They're not sentient per se, as they still require the coding and programming that comes with intention and magical energy. Yet they're much more complex than a sigil and can carry out higher-level functions & multiple tasks (e.g., drawing in people to shop on your Etsy page for prosperity, or actively guarding a space or casting a magic circle for protection).

Thoughtform companions: The widespread term for this type is "tulpa," and creating/having one of these thoughtforms is commonly referred to as "tulpamancy." Since there's also a widespread controversy over these terms, I don't use them myself. I say "creating or working with a thoughtform," and I'll refer to the entity as a thoughtform or thoughtform companion. Regardless of the terminology or beliefs behind this category, they are defined as a separate consciousness created by the thoughts and actions of a human. The human is typically referred to as the "host," since the companion is typically treated as its own separate consciousness. These are fully sentient, autonomous beings with their own thoughts and feelings. They're generally created, either intentionally or not, as friends for the host (hence my personal terminology for them).

Daemons: This category is similar to a companion, but with a different origin and function. Daemons have been documented since ancient Greece, to my knowledge. A daemon is also a sentient entity, however, they are not created intentionally by the host (although they can be brought to the forefront by the human in question). A daemon is instead a conscious entity created by, and representative of, the human being's subconscious mind. They typically serve as helpers and mental guides for the human. They are not considered separate entities; instead, they're part of you.

Egregores: These are essentially the AIs of the thoughtform world. Whereas companions and daemons exist within the human mind, egregores are similar to servitors and sigils - created by the mind, but separate from it. Egregores are often made or manifested by a group of people intentionally for a purpose. E.g., a coven may create one as a guardian or a spiritual guide. They're also often created by accident from widespread symbols - for example, branding. And nations. Every time somebody posts a picture of the Starbucks logo, you're most likely feeding an egregore, according to one theory I've heard. Do I believe that personally? Not sure. (I do have an exact source for this one available on request.) As far as I know, egregores exist with varying degrees of sentience, power, and free will depending on the individual scenario (much like artificially intelligent computers & androids in science fiction).

Pop Culture Entities / Deities: These are often referred to as PCEs or PCDs. I prefer the former but I often use them interchangeably. Some folks prefer to be more specific. For example, Raiden from Mortal Kombat is considered a god in that series, so many folks would consider him a pop culture deity. Whereas Dean Winchester is *not* a deity in Supernatural - so he could be considered a pop culture entity instead. However, this is up to the preferences of the individual entity & practitioner.

Differences between PCDs and Egregores: Egregores are ALWAYS created, intentionally or not, by human energy and thought. PCDs, on the other hand, can have a mixed origin sometimes. Some of them may be pure egregores, manifested on purpose or by accident. Others may be preexisting spirits - often nature spirits that are aligned closely to the fandom content - that latch onto a fictional work as a power source, and eventually fuse with it. And then another theory is that PCDs are *all* preexisting spirits or even deities wearing a mask - so for example, folks with this belief would say that PCD Marvel Loki is just Loki appearing in a different form/aspect. I personally think that all PCEs have a unique origin and I try not to make any assumptions.

Where do I fact check you and/or learn more?: Unfortunately, it is *really damn hard* to find good, solid information on pop culture work because it's very new. And while there's *lots* of info on chaos magic, you have to be careful to check the reliability of the source, much as is the case with demonolatry sources. Fortunately, Tumblr is a great source to find other pop culture practitioners. I personally also have *some* sources available for these topics on request, I'm just too lazy to dig through my Drive right at this moment. :)