#wheel of Halloween

[modernidolater]

🎃Wheel of Halloween🎃

There's a post of a tweet saying that every 31st of the month should be a Halloween, and you know what? I'm a Halloween Witch. I'm an Idolater. I'm an urban techno witch who lives an air conditioned life, can't stand nature bigger than a park or local landscaping, and hates leaving the city except to drive to another damn city.

I have been struggling to connect to the Wheel of the Year or the Solstices/Equinoxes for freaking years.

But a cycle of Halloweens?

That.

That I can fucking do.

So, without further ado, I present the shit I will be actually celebrating. Ya don't have to join me, but I will be posting about it for those that wanna follow along, with options and cutouts for those who don't want to or can't do the more party elements.

With luck, I'll pick up on August 31st and go from there, if not, I'll start with actual Halloween.

Halloween

October 31st

It's muthafucking Halloween. I have ideas and will post about them more as we get closer, but you know what this one is.

New Year's Eve

December 31st

This one actually also exists, but I have plans for tying it to the January 31st one to bookend the year. The primary purpose of this Eve is gratitude and sharing the good things from the year before, casting off the trappings of the old year, and to bring the new one in with luck and prosperity.

Candle's Eve

January 31st

One month from the casting out of the old year, it's time to set things for the new. Cleansing and cleaning, setting intentions (not resolutions) for the year to come, making the Mask of the Year to call on who I aspire to be, burning the intentions set last year with last years candle, and blessing a candle to burn this years intentions next year are all features. Food and drink suggestions available when I actually post this up.

Hallow Ides

March 31st

Couple of these have fun names, and this is one of them. It's a party holiday, involving a picnic and a special cake/cupcakes/muffins.

The costume element is that I'll swap clothes or looks with someone I'm celebrating with (or dress up as someone else if celebrating solo).

There's a drinking element (non-alcoholic is fine) that results in a stack o' good luck charms.

And for my trick, I can and will sing the filthiest songs, tell the dirtiest jokes, read a romance novel or erotica, just go ham on the bawdy shit.

Alternatives for ace and non-sexing folk will be forthcoming in the relevant post, but it's my damn Wheel and I'm doing bawdy shit for myself.

Blessed Eve

May 31st

Not a bonfire person, but I'm definitely gonna have a cookout and grill up some burgers! Also a neat drink and cookies that both double as offerings!

Flower masks and crowns are involved to hide from the spring spirits that might fux me upa.

There's a Blessing Bouquet that goes up early, is used to exorcise and re-bless my property/house, and then is ceremonially burned.

An ash blessing to seal the prosperity into my house ties the whole thing off.

Fortune's Eve

July 31st

This one pretty heavily revolves around a ritual game of betting and chance that I came up with based on a cool concept tied into the holiday I'm aiming at. Game generates lucky candy and a good luck charm.

Hella apples involved including a ceremonial apple and cider. Veils worn for the blindness of luck, and a strong theme of having a game day.

Neewollah

August 31st

I'm actually pretty stoked for this one, and will do a more expansive post on it later this week. I really hope I can pull this together in time this year.

Idea is a bit Opposite Day, a bit of LiarWeen vibe.

Trick the cosmos into taking away the bad shit and giving me good shit through a ritual lying ceremony, wearing a mask of duality to further confuse the issue. Ritual ash anointing to lock things down and ensure I get the stuff I want and ward off the shit I got rid of.

Candy (obvs) but I (and anyone celebrating with me) has to ask, and the person giving it has to make a point of saying no...while forking over.

And of course, games like Never Have I Ever or Two Truths & A Lie, drinking optional. (I will...probably...drink. Just saying.)

Where's the Eighth One?

Wheel has eight Sabbats, yeah?

In the grand tradition of the Satanist/Luciferian practices I stuck with for so long, Number 8 is my Birthday.

Or yours, if you decide to try this.

I'll decide what I wanna do about Birthday when I get there. You do you, tho.

And That's The Wheel of Halloween!

So yes, some of those are closer to recognizable Sabbats. Some of them are so far off that they're not in the same neighborhood. Spoiler: the ones you don't recognize are based (very, very loosely) on Roman festivals that occur in the corresponding month.

Why Roman?

Cause they had a religious festival for everything, there's records I can squint at, and they had a strong mystery tradition that plays well with my schtick.

I am not a dedicated Rome fanby, to be clear, the empire is just very much gone, very well attested, and I can most likely swipe the shape of their shit without worrying about stepping on anyone.

And even then, I'm mixing time periods, even up to hijacking Medieval Xtian shit where and when I see fit. Cause I was baptized Catholic, and that shit is my culture to use.

Neewollah Posting Hopefully Soon! Stay Tuned!

And of course, feel free to reach out for asks, questions, and readings if ya want 'em.

[vampirefairywitch]

[pendwelling]

ORV x TWSB novel swap AU!

When the Reader Strikes Back

Omniscient Third Wheel's Viewpoint

[notdelusionalatall]

Have a blessed Autumnal Equinox 🌰🍁🍂🍎

[thelandboundseawitch]

🎃Samhain & Halloween🎃

Samhain is a sabbat which celebrates the final harvest and the beginning of the coldest half of the year. For many practitioners, Samhain marks the beginning of a new spiritual year. There are many mainstream holidays that are similar to Samhain, though Dia de los Muertos(Day of the Dead) and Halloween are the most well known. Samhain is celebrated from sunset on October 31st to sunset on November 1st.

Activities

Carve pumpkins

Bake pies, soul cakes, or something with pumpkins

Create an ancestor altar

Have a bonfire

Visit the cemetery

Make apple cider

Visit a corn-maze

Have a hayride

Make smores

Tell scary stories

Watch horror movies

Roast pumpkin seeds

Altar Decorations

Pumpkins and other squash/gourds

Cauldrons

Candles

Skulls

Autumn Leaves/Garland

Corn

Besom

Ancestor Items

Photographs

Acorns

Black Lace

Animals

Bats

Owls

Spiders

Dogs

Foxes

Ravens & Crows

Black Cats

Colors

Orange

Black

Red

Purple

Silver

Crystals

Obsidian

Carnelian

Onyx

Smoky Quartz

Jet

Bloodstone

Malachite

Amethyst

Black Tourmaline

Ruby

Amber

Jasper

Deities

Demeter

Hekate

Morrigan

Anubis

Hel

Osiris

Persephone

The Crone

Flowers

Yarrow

Dittany

Chrysanthemum

Sunflower

Belladonna(☠️)

Marigold

Rose

Rue

Food

Pumpkins

Squash

Apples

Pies

Soups & Stews

Corn

Ale

Grains

Cider

Mulled Wine

Beets

Turnips

Potatoes

Cranberries

Pears

Incense and Oils

Patchouli

Sandalwood

Sage

Rosemary

Sweetgrass

Plants & Herbs

Mugwort(☠️)

Cinnamon

Clove

Nutmeg

Sage

Allspice

Rosemary

Wormwood

Pine

Spells and Rituals

Samhain is an excellent time to contact your ancestors and other spirits because the veil separating the land of the living and the land of the dead is thinnest during this time of the year. Ancestors often visit their relatives in the form of a spider during Samhain. Divination, protection, and banishing spells are also common to practice and cast on Samhain.

Final Notes

Keep black pets inside. Cruel people hurt them on this night

Be extra careful with spirit work. Take extra precautions.

[plutosoda]

you're still doomed for eternity but like, inclusively

[spookydestinycat]

Larkin Love as Elvira

[ittybittybumblebee]

one years halloween costumes

[nyalesta]

Nynaeve as Snow White based on a post from @kevin-sedai

[crimsonkingart]

If you are curious about how the Day of the Dead is celebrated in Italy, read here!

You may find similarities with your own customs 💕💕

A small excerpt: As is typical of Italy, the food for the festival varies from region to region. In Toscana and Milan the “pane dei morti” is said to be the characteristic offering. It may be made with hazelnuts and grapes. In northern Puglia, a wheat growing region, a sweet dish for the Day of the Dead is Colva or “Grains of the Dead”. It is made of softened and cooked wheat grains, pomegranate seeds, crushed nuts, vincotto, chocolate and sugar. Fave dei morti or “fava beans of the dead” are not beans at all but rather small cookies made with almond meal, and are another dish for the day found widespread through Italy. Ossa dei morti, suitably elongated and frosted “bones of the dead” are sweets found in Puglia and Sicily. Sicily also boasts sweets: “martorana” which look like fruit, and “pupa” small figurines (again sweets). Children participating in such celebrations are likely to be spoilt for choice. In the video linked below, we see a table loaded with food of an even greater variety and can meet the Signora Maria mentioned above, as well as observing some of the “dress up” and rituals the day involves.

[modernidolater]

Neewollah

Trickster Halloween (Aug. 31st)

Long story short, I'm celebrating a variant of Halloween on the 31st of every month that has a 31st.

See here for a Wheel of Halloweens Explainer regarding what the fuck this is about.

Neewollah Inspiration

Right, so off the bat, I do not care for Lammas or Lughnasadh. No hate, but no resonance.

There is, however, a Roman festival in August called Portunalia that honors Portunus, a two-faced counterpart of Janus, both gods of doors and portals, both symbolized by keys. Portunalia is celebrated by throwing keys in a fire while being very sad and upset.

Simultaneously, I have always been fascinated by Lying Contests and ritual obfuscation, and Portunas is literally two-faced (yes, i'm applying modernity to classicity, it's a choice), and we got ourselves a theme.

Neewollah Rituals, Rites, & Traditions

The Two Faced Mask

For Neewollah, and possibly workings of similar nature going forward, I'm going to want to create a mask that gives me two faces. Ideally, I would like this to be a permanent tool/icon/idol in its own right, but for now I'll be making temps.

The plan for the moment is the classic comedy/tragedy dichotomy, but when I create the permanent idol, I'll probably dive deeper into warring duality.

The purpose of the Duality Mask is to take on a trickster guise, saying one thing to manifest the opposite on the principle of, "anything that can go wrong, will." Essentially, I'm going to feint in one direction, then run like hell for the thing I actually desire.

The Seven Trickster Keys

To manifest my desires, I'm going to create Seven Trickster Keys. One for each of the seven major senses: sight, sound, taste, touch, smell, movement, and self.

The Keys are meant to be destroyed, and will be made specifically from paper. In the future, I may go for really ornate ones, but simplicity is also fine.

However they're made, I'm going to write on one side of each key a good thing for that sense I want to call, and on the opposite a bad thing to banish.

Burning The Keys

My goal is to hit a liminal time, sundown or midnight. I will, one at a time in the above listed order, burn the keys. As I burn them, I will loudly talk about what a shame it is to lose the thing I want to banish. Just, making a big deal of it going away. Big show. Lay it on with a trowel.

No mention of the good stuff yet.

Once they're all burned, I'm going to begin talking about the things I do want, but in the same terms.

"Gee, how am I going to handle all this financial success, however will I cope with finding true love, how even can I stand having stability, gosh that new car is gonna be really a big responsibility," and so on.

As I do, I'm going to take a bit of the ash and tap it on the forehead of the mask to capture the knowledge of how to gain what I desire, the backs of my hands to grasp it, and the tops of my feet to set me walking the path to my goals.

Once I have very thoroughly assured the universe that the best way to screw with me is to give me those good things and steal away the bad things, I'll gather the ash for future use in ritual, unmask, and either dispose of the temp, or when I have a permanent duality mask, return it to its place.

The Backhand Bowl

Wouldn't be a Halloween without candy, but Neewollah is not about just having things. I've checked and I'm definitely on my own for the Keys unless my twin joins in (obfuscation rituals being uncomfy for my partner), so the Backhand Bowl may also be me on my own unless one or both choose to partake in this part.

Either way, the idea is that to take a candy, you must ask to take a candy and be told no...while the person telling you no gives you the candy. This is actually a joke in my circle, of dramatically refusing a request while performing it, so I'm not fussed about this one.

But assuming solo practice, in my case I will likely just announce that I don't want a piece of candy while I eat that tasty lie candy.

Food, Drink, & Celebrating

Neewollah is largely about the Trickster Keys, so there's nothing I have planned for ritual feasts or drink at this time. First year, first time, so I may develop traditional Neewollah foods later.

I do have the idea that, if I find myself in a place to celebrate with others, I'll probs see about games like Two Truths & A Lie, Never Have I Ever, or a Lying Contest.

Obviously, though, I may still have like, pizza and a couple drinks, it's a Halloween, after all.

Anyway, that's Neewollah, the Trickster Halloween!

Wish me luck, play along if you choose, and if you take this on, let me know!

[sivilvendetta]

I love this crinkly duck doctor.

Scene from chapter 3 of Spook's Season where Reader is stuck in Halloweentown and taken care of by the Pumpkin King, Jack Skellington.

[filmnoirsbian]

october 2023

monster mutant boogie by bloodsucking zombies from outer space

tw flashing lights and jumpscares

[hot-hot-wheels]

Car-Nival Steamer

*second picture source

[asha-mage]

Man I've said this before, but if they made a WoT Gacha I would be so ruined so quickly.

Like can you IMAGINE the Halloween specials they would be running right now? Cute Sheet Ghost Rand? Witch Nynaeve? Perrin with FUZZY WEREWOLF EARS POKING OUT OF HIS CURLS?

[makenna-made-this]

BAWKtober Day 12 ~ Harvest Festival

If you see me posting this technically past midnight, no you didn't