#witch marks

[bad-moodboard]

Witch Marks in a Saxon Tithe barn, Bradford-on-Avon (Historic England)

[sorotrax]

Witch Marks

$45 each

A magical sigil meant to represent your hopes and aspirations.

Please follow the instructions, buy one on my Ko-Fi page:

https://ko-fi.com/sorotrax/commissions

[ohhikit]

Apotropaic Marks in Norwich Cathedral (source: @norfolkfolkloresociety on instagram)

[goryhorroor]

horror sub-genres: witch

[wwprice1]

Mark Brooks is a genius!

[jijidraws]

✶ Dark Forest ✶

@missupacey and I did something a little spooky for our Rose City Comic Con collaboration! Witches felt appropriate. ❤︎ Snag them at our tables! We’re neighbours at D-18 and D-20! (Or in our shops! Prints and stickers available @ Jijidraws.shop & Missupacey.com)

[weirdlookindog]

Andrew Wyeth (1917–2009) - Witching Hour, 1977

source

[afacelesschampion]

DUNE: PROPHECY | Official Teaser

10,000 years before the birth of Paul Atreides, before the universe knew them as the Bene Gesserit…

[jopjab]

kinda late but whatever i just wanted to draw something for halloween and make it about fma somehow

[616witch]

she is too strong to shatter.

[akahael]

[sorotrax]

Witch Mark batch 29

If you're interested in getting a Witch Mark, you can find them in my Ko-Fi exclusive commissions via my pinned post!

[serpentface]

A witch of the Naig-Troibadnnas (Yellowtail river valley) people, resting and enjoying a smoke of the mild stimulant brolge leaf on a hot summer day.

Witches are a small part of the everyday cultural framework among the Hill Tribes. They are individuals considered born possessed by a virgranul, a type of disembodied wild spirit that seeks to inhabit human flesh, either entering the body at the moment of conception, or entering the body at the moment of death. The latter is a dire circumstance that requires significant intercession to fix (the dead body may wander off without rites, leaving the person's soul trapped and liable to warp into the dangerous fuldaigh spirit), while the former circumstance is what causes a person to be born a witch.

In the case of those afflicted in the womb, possession by virgranul is lifelong, and is both a curse and blessing- it divides and isolates them from the human world and causes other wild spirits (both benevolent and malicious) to be perpetually drawn to them, but also allows for them to be attuned to the subtleties of spirits, and able to work magic and divination that the everyday person is incapable of.

Witches are usually recognized from a young age due to marked behavioral differences or atypical development, though are sometimes simply identified as such without obvious behavioral indications, by other witches having read signs of their coming. Their occurrence is not frequent, usually once in a generation for any given tribe. An identified witch child will be taken from their family (the timing varies by tradition, though is usually upon puberty) and into mentorship by an established witch, who will impart their accumulated knowledge and skill and teach the child how to best harness their condition.

One can be a witch regardless of their gender, with the only commonality being that they must remain unmarried, and are expected to never have children (deemed too dangerous, unavoidably placing a child in the path of potentially harmful wild spirits). With no spouses or children to support them in holding a household and herds, witches are instead supported by their communities as means of payment for their services. They typically live in semi-isolation in the boundaries between the village and wilderness (a reflection of their own division between the world of people and of wild spirits, and a protective measure for their communities), and will periodically be brought needed supplies. They do not commonly enter villages unless summoned, or for the sake of certain holidays and festivals, and live most of their lives in seclusion aside from any given mentee (who will in turn care for their mentor in old age).

The societal function of witches is as intermediaries between people and their ancestors, people and wild spirits, and as especially skilled performers of practical magic (most commonly weaving protective spells into worn items, such as clothing or the nose rings of cattle). Forms of practical magic and intercession with ancestors and spirits are performed by all members of society, but a witch has intimate, detailed knowledge of such things and tremendous natural skill that makes them an invaluable asset.

Witches personally discern the identities of the spirits living in any given area and will attempt to familiarize themselves with them, learning in depth about their ways, giving warnings of where the particularly dangerous (or mischievous) ones are, and giving recommendations on which will be receptive to offerings in return for boons. When a village needs to commune with a particularly powerful or dangerous spirit (such as a wildfolk witch), they will commonly send their own witch as an intermediary.

They are ascribed have the ability to directly summon ancestors (who otherwise come and go of their own volition, and rarely ever deign to come at the call of one who is not their descendant). This is of great use when a person finds themselves punished by their ancestors with no certainty as to why, or cases where an orphaned child's ancestry must be identified to gain them proper spiritual support.

They are also regarded as having innate qualities of divination, particularly in reading birdsign (itself generally acknowledged as communication from ancestors, and occasionally gods). The average person has basic knowledge in reading omens of birds and a learned repertoire of key signs, but a witch can divine the messages of birdsign in immense and specific detail, through a vast knowledge system of the meanings of the species, sex, flight direction, gaze, prey, number, and songs of birds. It is common for people to approach a witch for a reading of the skies before undertaking a significant venture or life change, in order to receive detailed and specific advice.

Witches are always literate (and will be taught to read and write by their mentor if they cannot already) and will record their repositories of knowledge in tomes. These are items of absolute secrecy and taboo for a non-witch to touch (the consequences can be severe, you really don't want a witch ancestor-spirit upset with you). Witches can often become competitive about the knowledge stored in these tomes and are known to organize heists amongst themselves in order to gain access to each other's secrets. Most people avoid getting themselves entangled into the complicated rivalries of witches, as these competitions can get ugly and result in many a petty curse if one gains a witch's ire.

---

The only visual cue distinguishing this man as a witch is the tattoos on his forearms, otherwise usually regarded as inappropriate to mark in the contemporary Hill Tribes cultural sphere (the face, upper arms, and sternum is reserved for important clan/tribe/ancestry identification, hands and forearms are reserved for witches, and the rest of the body is appropriate for decoration). These unique forearm tattoos indicate his ancestral connection with a lineage of witches, not blood ancestry but rather the generations of mentors that have produced him. The lines extending down to his fingers are the newest, indicating that he has fully mentored another witch and gained a place in this ancestral line.

The rest of the tattoos here are tribe and blood ancestry identifiers (on the face and upper arms respectively, worn by all members of society), and purely decorative imagery (visible here is a deer, horse, eagle, and a dragon). He also has a snake on his forearm, applied decades ago in an act of youthful rebellion, which has since gotten in the way of critical open skin space.

His clothing is otherwise typical wear for warm seasonal conditions- a man's wool shawl and woven belt, short trousers, decorative deer hide (distinct to the Naig-Troibadnnas), and sandals (these are imported Wardi style sandals, which have been modified with preferred elevated heels). The horn shaped torc on his forearm identifies him as an esteemed elder.

[intuitive-revelations]

This week in obscure Doctor Who expanded universe references the internet has found:

First, the pub has a beer called Llanfer Ceiriog Pale Ale. While there's some similarly named locations IRL, with the Ceiriog Valley being a valley in North-East Wales, there is no place actually called this. Instead it's seemingly a direct reference to a fictional Welsh village visited by Seven and Ace in Cat's Cradle: Witch's Mark, connected by a stone circle to a planet of fantasy creatures. Quite ironic, given how mocking the landlady and patrons are about people thinking Welsh villages are backwards and full of witchcraft.

Secondly, while this might be a coincidence, Kate's suggestion of a Sontaran's arrival inspiring belief in God could be referencing DWM 59's comic: "The Gods Walk Among Us", where ancient Egyptians indeed mistake a Sontaran named Styx for a god.

Bonus, because it's not actually a reference, but just a reused filming location:

The pub Ruby stays in is the same one in Countrycide. At least in this case, however, it's just a filming location coincidence. The external shots are completely different, they're in different villages, and the pubs have different names.

[bioniclechicken]

House of H/Powers of H

or: Hero Factory if Jonathan Hickman got his hands on it

[tinkerbellaglowstone]

Must be the season of the witch..

saw x sotw is so dear to me. It’s the season of the pigs. I think they all deserved their own versions, and I’m very proud of my choosing.