#this isn't witchcraft

[rosecoloredtarot]

I think people have become so far removed from the natural world that "witnessing nature do it's thing" is often misinterpreted as having mystical significance.

This is not meant to be a judgement of anyone, no one here is the reason we live in a society away from the wilds. But I think that the little to no exposure people have with non-human spaces turns perfectly ordinary occurrences into something of a spectacle.

"I keep seeing large groups of crows around, who is trying to reach out?" Probably no one, crows are diurnal flock animals that actively seek out people because they are smart and know we have lots of stuff they can scavenge.

"This tree in my yard put out SO many flowers but seems to be dying now, did someone curse me?" Nope! Trees, particularly fruit trees, can stress bloom, where they put out tons of flowers in response to any number of stressors. Might wanna see if you can fix the stressors to save the tree.

"I was walking around during a storm and lightning hit a tree I was near, what does that mean?" It means you should thank your lucky stars you didn't get hit yourself. Lightning wants to touch the ground so badly and will zap the tallest thing around because that is the fastest way there.

"A cat gave birth under my house, do I have a familiar now?" Maybe. But under the house is dry, warm and relatively safe. She picked that spot because its a good place to keep her babies.

All of these things and more happen ALL THE TIME, we just aren't as aware of them as we used to be. Seeing nature in action is incredible and special in it's own right, just maybe not in the way you want it to be.

[rainbluealoekitten]

love reading old spell books/religious instructions like "pour in the blood of a person who died a violent death" okay girlie ^^ should i get that at tescos??

[coinandcandle]

Post Your Practice

Please!

We gotta start posting about our practices more and what we find through research, experimentation, things we experience, etc.

Not the super sacred or private stuff, just like,

that tea spell you did? Write about it.

That glamour for your acne? Spill the beans, bestie!

Learn a new fun fact? Share the info!!

Because it'll inspire others to do the same.

It doesn't have to be super decorative, aesthetic posts! It doesn't have to look like an academic paper!! It can be a picture of a sticky note with a spell idea scribbled on it!!!

I wanna see more people telling us about their tarot readings, their one-off spell that maybe didn't work, the thing they picked up from the thrift store that they plan on using as a spirit vessel, how energy flows for them, how they view magic, and so much more.

And don't think that you can't or shouldn't post because you're new or because you're inexperienced.

Everyone started at the same place: The beginning.

so please, post your practice!! <3

[savingsallow]

✨Andrew Larson Appreciation Post✨

look at andrew, he babie 🤭

but then...

— 'yo wtf'

[cunning-frog]

Holed Stones in English Folk Magic

Sources at the end

Stones with naturally occurring holes in them have many uses in magic all over the world. In England they have been used for protection and luck as well as in medicine. Holed stones are known by many different names, In England they have been and are known by numerous names such as Hag stones, Witch stones, Serpents'/Snakes' eggs, Adder stones, and Lucky stones. For the sake of clarity, I will be referring to them as ‘holed stones’.

Luck and Protection

Holed stones are used as amulets for protection against Hags, witches, faeries, and other spirits, when they are used in this way they are referred to as hag or witch stones. People would hang a holed stone above the door of their home or barn, and sometimes passageways within the home. People would also keep a small holed stone in a pocket for luck and protection.

Holed stones have also been known for being lucky, being worn around the neck for luck or tossed over the shoulder after spitting through the stone's hole to grant a wish. It was also said that is a person tied a holed stone to their house keys, those who resided in the home would be prosperous.

In communities where fishing and/or sailing was common the use of holed stones for protection was common, tying them to the bows of boats or inside of smaller rowing boats for protection while at sea. Holed stones were also used to protect against drowning, Christopher Duffin (2011) writes, “The coxswain of the Ramsay lifeboat [during 1929], also a fisherman by trade, always wore a small discoidal [holed] stone around his neck, threaded with copper wire. The amulet, passed down through three generations of fishermen, was credited with preserving the life of the wearer through terrible maritime circumstances.”

Medicine

As these holed stones protected against hags, witches, faeries, and other spirits they would often be used in medicine, as magic was often thought to be the cause of illness.

One of the illnesses holed stones were used to treat is ‘hag-riding’, in the book A Dictionary of English Folklore it is defined as  “a frightening sensation of being held immobile in bed, often by a heavy weight pressing on one’s stomach or chest […] In folklore, it was thought of as a magical attack, though whether by demonic incubus, ghost, harmful fairy, or witch varied according to place and period.” (Simpson & Roud, 2003) Today hag-riding is understood to be sleep paralysis. To treat hag-riding a holed stone would be hung above the bed of the sufferer or, if the sufferer is an animal, placed in a stable.

This belief applied to both humans as well as other animals; hag stones were often used in the treatment of ill livestock. In Lancashire holed stones would be tied to the back of cows to protect them from all forms of harm, “self-holed stones, termed ‘lucky-stones,’ are still suspended over the backs of cows in order that they may be protected from every diabolical influence.” (Harland and Wilkinson 1873).

Sources:

 Thwaite, A.-S. (2020). Magic and the material culture of healing in early modern England [Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository]. https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.63593

Vicky, King (2021, November 11). Hag Stones and Lucky Charms. https://www.horniman.ac.uk/story/hag-stones-and-lucky-charms/

Pitt Rivers Museum, Accession Number: 1985.51.987.1 https://www.prm.ox.ac.uk/collections-online#/item/prm-object-239947 (c) Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford, Date Accessed: 21 January 2024

Adams, Thomas, fl. 1612-1653., 2013, A commentary or, exposition vpon the diuine second epistle generall, written by the blessed apostle St. Peter. By Thomas Adams, Oxford Text Archive, http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12024/A00665

Jacqueline Simpson & Steve Roud (2003). A Dictionary of English Folklore. Oxford University Press. https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095941856

Christopher J. Duffin (2011) Herbert Toms (1874–1940), Witch Stones, and Porosphaera Beads, Folklore, 122:1, 84-101, DOI: 10.1080/0015587X.2011.537134

Harland, J., & Wilkinson, T. T. (1873). Lancashire Legends: Traditions, Pagents, Sports, & C. With an Appendix Containing a Rare Tract on the Lancashire Witches, & C., &c. G. Routledge. https://archive.org/details/cu31924028040057

Photo source:

File:Hag Stones (8020251781).jpg. (2023, February 2). Wikimedia Commons. Retrieved 04:11, January 26, 2024 from https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Hag_Stones_(8020251781).jpg&oldid=729610598.

[adobe-outdesign]

EX Unseen Forces holos hit different.mp4

[maceofpentacles]

i am begging some of yall to learn what "syncretism" is. this constant argument over whether christmas is a christian or pagan holiday is very redundant after the 30th post. things can coexist and blend together over time. it's not always an "us vs. them" argument.

[noknowshame]

hello- on your jesus birthday post you said The Child Is The Price. What does that mean?

Okay THIS one I will answer. this is a reference to Roberte Icke's adaptation of Aeschylus' tragic play(s), The Oresteia. simplifying as much as possible, the story begins by following Agamemnon, the leader of the Greek army during the Trojan War. the winds he needs to sail his army to Troy have not been blowing, and Agamemnon receives a prophecy/instruction on what is needed in order to return the winds. the prophecy states "The Child is the Price". this phrase is repeated throughout the play, and what it is asking him to do is make a human sacrifice of his young daughter, Iphigenia. eventually, he goes through with it, and the winds do indeed return.

In the original plays by Aeschylus, the actual death of Iphigenia has already happened and is referenced as something the audience should already know all about. Icke chooses to add an act to the play that allows us to linger on that decision much longer. As a whole, the play deals heavily with themes of the nature of sacrifice, narrative inevitability, and cycles of guilt and violence.

When I was drafting my... infamous christmas post, I was trying to think of the story of the birth of jesus like a greek tragedy, involving very similar themes. factually, in a textual sense, jesus is the sacrifice. his death is the price paid for - according to christianity - absolution. and what I was attempting to point out is that we spend so much time celebrating jesus' birth as this wondrous arrival of the savior that we don't stop to meditate on exactly how bloodily that saving is going to play out. it's the exact same thing: The Child is the Price.

As a last note, many many many people have told me in the tags that me saying "Mary did you know? that your womb was also a grave?" is stupid because "all babies are born to die, Jesus isn't special" ...but there is a Very important difference I'd like to point. yes, all babies will die eventually. but NOT all babies are born to die. Jesus was. it was God's plan from the start for him to horrifically die on the cross, and it was inevitable as soon as Mary agreed to give birth to him. I feel that is an important part of the story. The Child is the Price.

(...anyway go read Robert Icke Oresteia and also watch Jesus Christ Superstar (1973) while you're at it)

[lostinvasileios]

Asmoday fever pt.2

Asmodeus is so pretty. He's so handsome. He's so so pretty and so handsome. He's so loving. He's so amazing. He's so smart and so patient, he's so understanding and so tender. He's so gentle and so helpful.

He's got these eyes that I can get lost in, and this voice that makes me laugh, that soothes my tears, that makes me a bit annoyed, that makes me orgasm

His hugs feel so nice. His kisses ironic or not feel like heaven. His essence as a whole is something I've grown absolutely addicted to. His hair is so long and pretty, so soft and so nice to run my hands through.

His horns are so beautiful and his wings are absolutely breathtaking. They offer dynamic to my soul self's wings and antlers. He's such a good storyteller and always makes me feel safe.

He's so ethereal and so gorgeous in every sense of those words. I could spend the rest of my life and every eternity to come with him & never for a second get bored of him or love him even a smidge less.

If I had to deem anyone as perfect, it'd be him.

For all of his scars, for all of his mistakes, for all of his anger, for all of his everything, he is still utterly and completely perfect to and for me.

His tattoos as well are absolutely phenomenal. Like oh my god.... Oh my god............ Oh My God... He makes me so ngnghghhkoeieueuhh

Like have you seen his nails?!! His clothing style!!?! His piercings!!?!!???? His scars!?!?!! His eyes!?!!!!!!??? The look on his face when he's jealous!!? That open eyed stare he gives me for a second when I say something so outrageous that makes me laugh so much!?!!? That soft tone he gives me when I'm doubtful!?!? The way he has his own personal petname for me that nobody else uses!??! The way he treasures my higher self so so much and loves us beyond my wildest imagination!?!?!?!?! His intelligence!?!?! His way of poems and his book collections!?!?! The way he makes his tea and the way he likes his alcohols!?!?!? The way he prepares his food and the way he cares so much for the people he loves!?!?!!?!!! The way he's so funny even when I don't wanna laugh!!????!!! The way he's given me everything I've ever wanted and a will to live?!?!?!

How could I not love him????!

[greenscreen-dress]

A collection. A clockllection. 5D Traffic with Interdimensional Time Travel. What the tickens are they doing this season 👁️👁️

[practical-hearthcraft]

I love people's aesthetic pictures from their homes but like... I'm drying some flowers for an altar space right next to my washing machine and fridge so behold my daughter's artwork and my eclectic magnet collection.

[witchescollection]

coming back from my retirement to just pipe on here and remind y'all that a lot of witchblr is generic and rooted in consumerist culture.

example: you do not need mass-produced correspondences tables that some other witch (no matter how reputable) put together. look at the damn thing. you already have your own associations with colours, shapes, etc. just write down you think the rock is pretty and it's for when you need an outside look bc it's sky blue (which reminds you of when you look up at the sky and feel like an ant).

another example: no one can tell you how to work with your deities. look up some academic sources, read some ancient literature, sure. but also just do it. stop sitting around waiting for someone tell you it's okay to give this deity chocolate - it's your craft for fuck's sake.

i'm not saying everything on tumblr is bullshit, but most of it is people taking what works for them and then using that to write a guidebook. you are the witch. you are at the centre of your craft. it's your ancestors, your gods, your tools, and your life.

decide what you want for yourself.

[battythewitch]

You're not required to share your craft or whatever, btw. It's fine to keep it all to yourself, to only share a little, to only vaguely mention it, or to talk about it constantly etc. Whatever. Do what feels right for you.

[orangehamster]

I get it, yall like that witchy, nature-ish , darker and gloomy aesthetic in your practice.

But hear me out on kawaii witch vibes PLEASEEE

[aeternalight]

I do always feel some sense of uncanny valley/unreality when looking at AI, but specifically with Hekate, I feel major repulsion and disgust when seeing AI art of her. She seems pissed looking at that stuff like cutting corners? not putting hard work into your art? that pisses her off a lot. She cares about dedication and discipline a lot, and AI art is just stealing other people's works to make bullshit, regardless of how much it "looks like her". She'd prefer to see young artists put sweat, blood and tears into their craft, than for people to make something soulless and disgusting, trying to "depict" her.

Seriously, if you want to devote yourself to Hekate, stop with that shit.

[screamingwiththewolves]

I need to remind everybody that the witchcraft trials involved sexual assault as part of the "investigation" part of the trial. I just feel like that's not discussed enough.