#witchy hot take

[coinandcandle]

What is your witchy hot take?

Rules for this post:

Give the benefit of the doubt. If it seems like a blanket statement, it probably isn't, it's probably just based on that person's experience or belief system. Also don't turn it into some weird bigoted stuff or you get blocked.

MY witchy hot take is that I think tarot decks you choose personally match your energy better than those gifted to you.

How are you gunna know if you vibe with it if you've never messed with it before? I vibe with the one's I've been gifted, of course, but not as much as those that I choose myself.

[witchescollection]

controversial witchy take: wicca isnt real

Controversial take back: no religion is real in the slightest, and the only thing that makes religions worth respecting is the fact that people put faith into them, and we should respect people.

wicca is no more not-real than hellenic paganism, or christianity, or satanism.

[thehazeldruid]

The greatest and most important tool you have as a witch is your own discernment. Be mindful always, and be a judge of what is best for you and your practice, while respecting the boundaries of others and their practices.

[aesethewitch]

I'm writing up a post about when to take magical steps and what they should/could be while cooking (stirring, rising/rest times, etc.). And I had just -- as Sec would say -- a Spicy Moment that I've got to share right now:

Hot take: I don't buy the whole [stirring] clockwise to bring in vs counter-clockwise to push out thing. I think it can help you focus your intentions and strengthen the conviction of in or out, but it isn't necessary. Source: I stir counter-clockwise for everything because I'm right-handed and it hurts my wrist less in the long run and don't experience any differences.

[psychopomp-recital]

Unpopular Opinion Time

The doodle you make or the picrew you use, the poorly executed poetry or basic bare bones prayer will ALWAYS be better than AI generated offerings.

I am sick of having my feed flooded with practitioners, pagans and other polytheists using AI. Specifically deities like Brigid should never be offered AI in my opinion, it’s essentially a slap in the face.

AI generated spells aren’t shit, it’s what a computer assumes will work based off of what it can gather from internet trends and research. MAKE IT YOURSELF, ask a human for help anything but AI.

There is no place for Artificial Intelligence in these spaces.

[maxs-grimoire]

My witchy hot takes (deity work edition)

There's no age or experience barriers to worshipping deities (not working with them). Young children have been worshipping the Gods for millennia in several different cultures. It's safe for anyone to worship the Gods, at any age, at any experience level.

Worshipping or working with multiple deities doesn't make you a clout chaser or a fake witch. I think as long as you have the time and resources to maintain multiple divine relationships, it's ok to do so. If your practice looks like worshipping many deities, that's valid! It's YOUR practice, and as long as you're being respectful to those deities, and you aren't hurting anyone (including yourself), then go for it! Ancient societies, that many of our Pagan religions are based off of, have worshipped dozens of gods at a time. You're doing just fine, I promise.

You don't need to wait for a sign or wait for a deity to reach out to you first Deities don't give signs nearly as much as Witchtok would lead you to believe. It's perfectly fine, and much more common, to reach out to a God or Goddess first and ask to work with or worship them. You don't need to wait and hope they notice you. It's alright to take the initiative and be the first to reach out.

We shouldn't put an expectation that deities always communicate through psychic senses (clairvoyance) Witchtok and Witchblr make it seem like everyone is physically hearing or seeing their deities, or are interacting with them all the time in the astral plane. In reality, this is an experience some people have, but it isn't the "norm". Most people don't have clair senses. Most people have a hard time doing astral projection, or don't have astral projection in their craft. Most people need divination tools to communicate with the Divine. And that is perfectly ok.

Everyones relationship with the Divine is different Some people have a more relaxed relationship with the Gods than others do. Some people may have a parental-ish connection with their gods, some might have a strict mentor/student relationship, others might be very relaxed and comfortable with their relationships. Heck, some people might not believe in the Gods existence at all. Whatever the relationship is, it's valid. As long as you aren't disrespecting the Gods themselves (no, not believing in deities isn't disrespect), I think your relationship with them is amazing.

[tangledinink]

Wait wait wait

You do witchcraft???

That's so cool! I had no idea there were other witches in the TMNT fandom!!!

What kind of witchcraft do you practice?? Personally, I deal mostly with divination, but I'd love to hear more about other people's crafts!

I do! ^^ Though admittedly my practice has been a little bit dormant as of late because I sort of fell out of habit after An Event which was a Bit Disruptive to My Life lol. But I guess I kind of dabble in a bit of everything? I dunno if I could pin myself down to just one kind of practice yet, I still sort of consider myself a Baby Witch. But I really like making little spelljars and casting candle spells and things of the like, and I've been trying to learn tarot for a while now! I also really like making and drawing sigils... For a while part of the joy for me has been just Learning New Things.

^ ft. gecko enclosure and tail lol. BoS and altar not pictured.

[https-witch]

Ouija board is a divination method

It's been a while since I used mine, but once communication is fluid, it's just like tarot cards.

I ask simple things usually. There's this entity (not negative, I just never asked what it is) that shows up everytime & helps. It even cuts communication when I feel some bad presence poke through. I never had an issue with my safety.

I am aware bad things can/have happen.ed. Ouija boards are the most accessible and ready to use communication method even though it requires cleansing & protection just like anything else.

Be safe out there! ✨☀️

[just-missunderst00d]

So I found this post on Threads and it got me thinking... So fuck it, here are some "rules" I fuckin despise

(I replied there but I wanna go a bit more in depth)

• Threefold rule/rule of three: though I do believe in... universal retribution? Sometimes you gotta be someone's retribution. I've seen way too many good people suffer through horrible things that they didn't deserve, and even more horrible people never pay for the harm they've caused others. It's more like a "do no (unprovoked) harm" IMO

• "You can't work with deities from different pantheons" and/or "you can't work with deities that don't like each other": Deities are far more complex than humans, and most of them can tolerate each other for the sake of their devotees. As always, just be mindful about the deities you choose to work with and their personalities.

• On a similar note "you have to believe in/work with deities": no, you don't. Atheist witches exist. And even if you believe in deities, you don't have to work with them if you don't want to. Your spell work isn't going to be less powerful because of that.

• "you can't mix and match types of magic": give me a break. If you like using runes to communicate with your Christian deities because that's the tool that works best for you and they answer that way, more power to you. Do what works for you. Just be mindful about it and don't be sticking your nose where you're not supposed to (looking at you, people who fuck around with closed practices).

• Correspondences (so much bs around what thing is what). Correspondences are not the same for everyone. For example: I love carnations. They've always been one of my favorite flowers. If my bf gifted me a carnation bouquet, I'll most definitely use those carnations in love spells because that's what I associate those carnations with. I don't care if you associate them with death or whatever (they're very popular in cemeteries where I live). Context matters.

• Feminine/masculine energy: there's SO MUCH sexism behind that. It's a lot to unpack here.

• "spells need to be well thought of and can't be improvised": once again, if that's what works best for you, that's great! In my case, I have countless spells that I've "designed", you know how many of them I did? None. You wanna know which ones I did and worked best? The one's where I've been like "okay, I need to achieve [intent] so let's see..." and mushed a bunch of things together, with whatever felt right at the moment, said a couple words, several profanities and ta-da! Worked like a charm (pun intended). So yea, to each their own.

• "you have to be initiated", whether its done by someone else or yourself, "you have to have a ritualistic initiation": my initiation was adding "baby witch" to my Tumblr bio lol is that ritualistic enough for y'all? Tbh the whole initiation bit feels a bit gatekeepy for me. As I've been saying, if you've done it because you wanted to do it, then that's amazing, but expecting eeeveryoooneee to do it as well is weird, idk.

• Related to the last one "you have to have a coven": my small-town, socially traumatized, opinionated, anxious ass couldn't handle it. I won't deny that being a self-taught witch feels lonely at times but I don't think I could just join a coven just because I "need" it. If I ever found a place that makes me feel welcome and whatnot, maybe I'll consider it but even then... Paraphrasing Cher "men covens are a luxury, not a necessity."

• "you have to have a grimoire/book of shadows": my AHDH won't allow it, sorry. I can't keep track of it and honestly I've tried everything lol a traditional notebook, a side blog, the notes app on my phone, docs on my PC... I just can't keep up with it. My grimoire is mostly in my head and that's where it works best. I'm not planning on "passing it along" so... And if I ever need to refresh something, I can almost always google it.

• back to deity-related rules "offerings need to be done in a ritualistic/specific way and you can't eat them/throw them into the trash": once again, depends on who you're working with and the occasion. There was a time I was working with 5 different deities (3 of "my own" plus 2 "borrowed ones", for a lack of better words) and I was making offerings for them every week, meaning almost an offering everyday and honestly who has the time for making that super extra? Not me. They knew that and understood. The same way they understand when I can't provide an offering for whatever reason. But again, that's depending on your relationship with your deities.

• "Meditation/visualization is a must": yea, that's not it and it's kind of ableist when you think about it. Some neurodivergent people can't meditate/our meditations aren't the same as other's. As well, some people are literally incapable of visualizing pictures in their mind as they can only think in words. More so, even the people who can visualize pictures can sometimes see unclear pictures/outlines/shadows. Not everyone is capable of creating FULL HD 4K images inside their brains and "mental clarity" isn't a thing when your "train of thought" is the equivalent to the entire public transportation system of Buenos Aires, with interceptions, connecting routes and lines that are out of service due to mechanical issues. So yes, if you can't mediate/visualize, don't give it much though and focus on what works for you ok, I'm done with the puns

There's probably a lot more that I can't remember so that's it for now.

I didn't proofread this so I apologize not for anything that doesn't make much sense, it's currently 1:14 am and I wanna go to sleep.

Yes, I'm a chaos witch, how did you know?

Anyways, blessed be ✨

[jingycakes]

sorry not sorry I created this

[halcyondoll]

I literally cannot fathom jacking off to a shounen character. no not even the girls.

like more power to you if you do but shounen emits such a powerful non-sexual aura to me that even when they intentionally try to draw "sexy" characters it doesn't speak to me at all.

[lovevalley45]

so i had an idea for a lil "taking care of the other when sick" fic for behrastra n i don't know if i'll finish it

however i threw in a line about spooner n i was like. oh no i've nailed the exact vibe i write her with: "She preferred to double down with medicinal teas from her mother Gloria and DayQuil from the pharmacy down the street then going on with her day [rather than let herself get nursed back to health.]"

[honeyleafisaghost]

oh ive got some <3 ( a lot )

spirit shops are complete scams.

people who claim they know “the truth” about astral projection(or any craft really) and they will so kindly “teach it to you” and that everyone else is false, are just wannabe cult leaders

not everyone wants to hear if your god(s) likes them or not, if they don’t believe in gods or goddesses but are respectful about your beliefs, that’s not an open invitation to push your religion or beliefs on them (ask first!!)

do not let a random user in a discord server tell you if something is a closed practice or not, research if it is on your own time. im so serious. sometimes things are 100% open or sometimes they’re only open if you do them a certain way OR they’re completely closed unless you are initiated into the religion, but i guarantee you the random discord user in the witchy server you joined who has One Opinion doesnt know if you can or not.

tiktok is full of shit and there is NO WAY to verify if the people spreading information on there actually know what they’re talking about

if you left christianity and are now a witch you need to do some healing before you decide fully devote yourself to specific crafts, because i guarantee you’re going to have some things you are accidentally bringing in from your last belief system thats going to make being a witch very exhausting

you don’t have to believe in or worship deities to be a witch, im a witch and i do not devote myself to any deities!

I’m bored so drop your hot take on anything spiritual related. I wanna see what people’s opinions are on certain subjects.

[alisoncooper]

enough about whether your star sign is accurate and you identify strongly with it or not. i want to know whether you think your actual birth DATE suits your personality

[psychopomp-recital]

Unpopular Opinions Pt.2

Having beginner spaces is important, however right now there is a lack of good advanced and intermediate spaces.

And I understand that with the rise of magic in social media that we’re going to have a disproportionate amount of beginners to advanced individuals.

It is just frustrating, I wish there were more active spaces for this sort of thing. When there isn’t that community for the rest of us, we aren’t being creatively challenged as a collective anymore. There’s a lack of those sort of heavy discussions and conversations that keep us growing as practitioners. Idk I’m just rambling out of frustration.

If anyone knows or any good ones please let me know.

All my love, Psychopomp

[theherbalsanctuary]

Hot take on Toxic Positivity in the Witchcraft Community

Rant post. Hopefully some of you can relate. Who knows, maybe "Hot Witch Takes" will become a series.

Sit down. I want you to sit, and reflect on why you chose this spiritual path. Was it for power? Healing? Love? Was it for....revenge? Or simply a deep dive for cosmic knowledge? Whatever the case may be, there is a huge trend that will not seem to die, and that is this god awful "love and light" movement.

Before I go on, yes. Going down the path of energetic workings, and witchcraft, and all that magickal amazing stuff, can be very uplifting! And if you are a depressed human like many of us are these days, then being a practitioner of some sort can bring about a ton of positive vibes and healing. But you know what else is great for healing? Embracing the dark sides of ourselves. And dare I say, only true healing can come from looking inward to the deepest darkest nooks and crannies of our souls.

What I can't stand, is when I go onto a witch page on say, Facebook, and the amount of comments condemning other practitioners for wanting to place a hex, or wanting to work during the dark moon, or even an eclipse, or dive into shadow work, is getting sort of insane. While it has gotten marginally better, rose quartz and some lavender is not going to solve our PTSD Susan. It isn't. You know what will? Crying. Digesting your trauma. Digesting your inner darkness. Learning about why we need the balance between the light AND the dark within ourselves always. Learning to forgive our past mistakes, and come to an understanding that some of those choices came from the sheer need to survive in the situation. There will never be the simple answer to the question "how can I stop feeling like trash?" But I can tell you it certainly isn't masking and compartmentalizing your emotions till you are a stoic smiling puppet touting off "only love and light vibes here!"

This not only puts and undue amount of pressure on other struggling folks to be constantly happy, or else they are failing to be a "true" practitioner. But it also discriminates from a shit ton of other cultures and their respective energetic practices. Magick, and actively working with it, tends to root itself in some form of struggle. Be it to get away from our oppressors, to get more resources like money to feed our kids, or to leave an abusive situation safely. Clearly, to stamp "you need only love and light" on these workings and desires is ridiculous.

This also begs us to consider the Three Fold Rule as well as the whole "do no harm" rule-thing that many practitioners will spout off in the comments as soon as someone wants to defend themselves. While I will not tell anyone what to believe, I will completely squash you down if you dare tell someone else that has clearly thought a spell/hex/curse through, including the potential karmic consequences. Sometimes, an abuser just needs to be put in their place. I mean this next part with utmost sincerity. If you had an abuser, and decided to put some form of hex or curse on them, while also putting up wards and protections for your own safety, you have karmically suffered enough. While I can't guarantee you wouldn't get any energetic repercussions, make peace with knowing that karmically, it is your target's "turn." You have suffered enough. (Not that you were supposed to anyway, hopefully you understand where I am going here.) Certainly, the cosmos don't follow any silly dogma that is "oh my gosh! This person sent bad energies towards this other, let's get back at them exactly three fold."

I want to finish this by saying, IF ANYTHING, the whole love and light thing should only serve as a temporary beginning to a whole self healing and self love life change. To truly love yourself is to be able to pick up all of your pieces, even the painful ones, and accept them for what they are. To be a true healer for others, it is to be able to look in the mirror, acknowledge your dark self, and use it as a tool.

Thanks for reading, take care of yourselves out there.