thedreadfulmystic-blog

[thedreadfulmystic-blog]

To Listen to the Trees

Photo found on Pinterest, source  Today I am rereading a book on hoodoo, entitled Sticks, Stones, Roots and Bones by Stephanie Rose Bird. While I don’t agree with everything she says about how to work certain spells, especially substitutions, (and really is there any one out there that we agree with 100% on) I do really enjoy this book. One reason sticks out more than others and that is her understanding and description of communicating with the spirit’s of plants, trees, stones, and bones. 

Like many forms of witchcraft practices, hoodoo is not religious but there are certain held beliefs. Such as that everything has a spirit from rocks to bones left behind to trees and plants. This is commonly referred to as animism. Hoodoo isn’t the only form of witchcraft that believes in animism but it is a large part of this practice. If you pick up any book on hoodoo you will find a lot of information about connecting to a master root, herb, tree, plant, or animal in order to work with that energy. I think that this is a lost art that doesn’t get near enough face time. Many witches, myself included at one time, read book after book about what herbs do what and which stones help with which intent which is great, I’m not knocking it at all. Only that knowledge and experience are two different things entirely.

Picture found on Pinterest, source

For example: You can read about the ocean and watch videos about the ocean, listen to every recording of waves hitting the shore and even buy items scented like the ocean and have a good idea of what it is, sounds like and even smells like. Still, you will not have the understanding that a person who has placed their feet in the ocean does. You will not know exactly how it feels to experience the spray of the ocean on your face as it crashes into the shore. You can imagine it but it isn’t the same as feeling it. 

Understanding that, then I must ask why some of us don’t experience nature as witches? Connecting to it’s energy and communicating with the spirits of all things should be an essential part of our practice. Obviously, not all witches neglect this part of their practice but I don’t know many that can identify most of the herbs they use regularly in the wild, growing as a plant. They can talk about the magical properties of cinnamon but have no clue where it actually comes from or what it looks like outside of a stick or powder. There is a lot to be said for actual real world experiences with a growing plant or tree over jut reading about them.  Now, I am not saying that you need to be a master gardener with a huge collection of growing plants and harvesting your own herbs every harvest night at midnight. However, I do believe that we should all have experience in listening to the trees and putting our hands in the soil. Conversing with the wind on a full moon night can not be experienced to it’s full potential through second hand information. Reading about a stone is only one person’s perspective while holding the stone and connecting to it and listening to what it has to tell you can give you first hand knowledge that no one person can bestow upon you. Growing your favorite herb in a pot on a windowsill will teach more than any book ever possibly could about that herb. Moving among the trees on a cool summer evening with nothing but you and the forest to listen to will expand your mind like nothing else.  There is no real excuse to not be doing these things. Even city dwellers have amazing parks and gardens that they can visit and immerse themselves in nature. Anyone can grow an herb or two on a windowsill or a porch. Going into trance with a stone in your hand can be done easily from the same couch you binge watch Netflix on. We are still capable of connecting without having to live in a specific area and even then trips can be made to state and national parks to give you a whole weekend of nothing but nature. It is possible in this modern world and the benefits are great and necessary 

Picture found on Pinterest

 Witches have often read the phrase, “as above, so below” and understand it to mean what is created in the spirit realm reflects in the physical. This is how magic works, by influencing a plane of existence that is more flexible such as the spirit world, we create change in the physical world. This is also true for ourselves. We can read and learn mentally but we must also experience physically and spiritually these ideas we understand on a mental level. You can wrap your mind around it but you also need to feel it. Just like the difference between reading about the ocean and actually experiencing the ocean , in order to influence the spirit realm we must be able to feel what we are sending out in that realm. We have to have a complete understanding of each herb’s spirit, each stone’s vibration and each root’s personality if we want to really cast a spell that works.  So, part of our practice involves speaking to the plants and listening to the trees. It involves a connection that is not only a theory but felt soul deep. There is no harm in asking others what would you use angelica root for but don’t just blindly take the word of others even in written form. Experience it for yourself. Connect to what you use and learn from it. You may find that angelica root works differently for you than it does for others. Your energy is unique and reacts to other energy in a way that is only felt by you. What works for you may not work the same for me. So while you read up on how to create magic don’t forget to connect to it yourself. Trust your own knowledge that is whispered to you on the wind. Connect with the environment around you and truly feel the energy pulsing beneath your feet. Rewild yourself and as always stay in your magic.   

[thedreadfulmystic-blog]

Sacrifice in the Craft

This morning I had a very interesting conversation with two of my favorite witches. Basically it started out about books and transcended into a conversation about using animals in witchcraft. You know, like any other conversation..it mutated and wound around to something else entirely. That conversation sparked my mind into thinking about sacrifice. Sacrifice to Deity, to Spirits, to fuel spell work. There are a million ways we sacrifice of ourselves in our daily interactions with people, so shouldn’t we be thinking of how and what we sacrifice to our craft and in our craft (that craft being witchcraft, of course)? What exactly IS sacrifice and do we even really comprehend how much of it we are doing to live, to obtain favors, to cast a spell? Most witches know and preform the giving of food and drink during ritual which is a sacrifice of it’s own. We give to the Gods or Goddesses in thanks, as a boon to be received in return for something else, or in honor. This is done with little thought because it is literally in every single Wiccan, New Age, and  Witchcraft book there is from the ones steeped in tradition and history to the most watered down versions of the craft there are. I often wonder if people who preform this act even realize that it is a form of sacrifice. You are exchanging one bit of energy, life for something else and denying yourself that bit of food and drink. Especially after working up a good ritual, not eating what is in front of you can be a test of wills. This isn’t the only form of sacrifice there is but it is still a pretty big and commonly used sacrifice.  Some of us, grow, harvest, and preserve herbs for use in spell craft. Again there is sacrifice of our time, of the plant’s energy, and then use of the plant in it’s dried form. More of the plant sacrificing than from us so do you prepare the plant for it’s use and ask it for the gift of it’s life? Wouldn’t that be the proper way considering it is life in it’s own right? Some may, some may not, but it is worth thinking about. Personally, it comes naturally to me to talk to my herbs and vegetables and prepare them for their purpose as I grow them. Nothing in my garden won’t be eaten or used in some form or fashion and part of this exchange for me is not only giving the plants excellent care but saving their seeds for future use which again involves sacrificing the last harvest to not be consumed but to let it go to seed. Simple concepts that have great meaning when looked at from this perspective. Every single herb we use in a spell is a form of sacrifice. It has exchanged it’s energy to power our spell or fill our bodies with energy we need in order to live.  But what about animals? Ahh, now we are getting into a very complex area of ideals. Not to mention certain laws set into place to protect animals. Is animal sacrifice even still a thing? Well, in some forms of folk magic it is. Even then, it’s not a daily thing  or even a monthly thing (despite what certain famous people think). Mostly, animal sacrifices are done with the utmost respect and usually when the animal is about to be eaten by that person, family, or even community. Those trained in butchering and humanely killing animals do the actual deed and then every part that can be used will be after the spirits have had their fill. Some of you may be thinking that with the modern luxury of grabbing a steak from the local grocery store that there isn’t much point in killing an animal raised for your meat but if you knew how industrialized meat processing really worked, you might change your mind.And really isn’t that grocery store steak also a sacrifice to you and giving you life? Personally, I raise chickens. I can tell you how to humanely kill a chicken, how to pluck it, skin it (if you want the low fat version), and chop it into an 8 piece chicken dinner.  Mostly our chickens have no fear of winding up in a stock pot because we value their eggs too much. On the occasion that we have a chicken that is a poor layer, well we happen to like chicken dinners and I happen to be a witch. So that chicken will serve multiple purposes and no I don’t feel bad about it at all. Still, this isn’t done with a simple flick of my wrist and pull of a chicken’s head, it involves thanking that chicken for it’s life, and respectfully using that energy not only to sustain my own energy in the form of food but also giving of it’s blood and energy to sustain a certain spell, spirit, or deity. Any time you use a feather, obtain a animal skull, buy an animal part to use in magic you are in all actuality using an animal sacrifice. Not all sacrifices mean death to the one giving and if it is an exchange of energy for something else well...what else would you call a sacrifice?   Now if you have no clue how to kill an animal and you don’t raise animals and you basically are ignorant of the whole process in how you get that juicy, delicious hamburger you enjoy from time to time, I strongly advise for you not to look for a nice cow or chicken to kill in order to sacrifice it to whatever God you think may grant you some huge favor. For one thing, if that animal suffers for no reason other than your ignorance I am thinking that your deity is gonna get pissed. I know I’d be pissed. Knowledge is important and really most deities aren’t that into blood sacrifice. So, know your shit before you go chopping any animal heads off (not to mention knowing the laws about such things). There is a whole ritualistic process involved in raising an animal for consumption and sacrifice of any kind. This isn’t like fucking up a simple protection spell, this is tangible, recognized life that you are playing with so the best thing is to not play at all. Honestly, that should be said of any form of sacrifice whether plant, animal, or grain. If you don’t understand what you are doing, you probably shouldn’t do it.  Then there is the giving of your own blood as a sacrifice. Honestly, I could write an entire article on this alone. First, not all deities, spirits, or magical beings should be given blood. Some take it as an invitation to feed from you anytime for any reason. You really don’t want that. Second, the type of blood really does matter. Menstrual blood has a specific energy, that relates to it’s purpose in the physical. It sustains new life (and only new and growing life), it represents a once fertile space, it is involved in sex, so given that information your death goddess or war god isn’t really gonna want that kind of blood offering. The blood from your veins however represents life as a whole, and even death as without that blood we would surely die so if your deity wants that then definitely, by all means, give away (within reason). Thirdly, not all deities, spirits, or magical beings even want that kind of sacrifice. So before slicing open your finger (which hurts, a lot, by the way) make damn sure that it is wanted.  With every interaction we have with people, magic, Deity, other living beings, or spirits, we make some sort of sacrifice. We sacrifice our time, our hearts, our thoughts, our selves in one form or another. So, when you take the time to take plants, animal parts, animals, or bits of yourself to use for a spell or in honor of something or someone, or as a gift, do so with conscious thought and deliberation. Make sure you know what and who your giving to and if they or it even want it.  Understand that all exchanges of energy involves a sacrifice of some kind. Mundanely, it doesn’t matter if you are eating a salad or a hamburger for lunch something that once held life is now sustaining your own. Magically, it is much the same. No matter if you are burning a smudge stick made up of dried herbs to protect your home or if you are killing a chicken to protect your land, something that once held life is now giving it so you can be protected. Make sure you recognize this and understand exactly what it means. Don’t under appreciate the sacrifices that are given and made in our craft. It is  a special event that should always have our utmost respect.

[thedreadfulmystic-blog]

I must say it’s been quite a trip...

One of my favorite things about winter is the stars. They seem clearer, crisper, more during winter than any other time of the year. The first words out of my mouth every time I walk out the door on a dark night is, “There’s Orion.” In my little piece of the world Orion rules the winter sky and is often found looking straight out my front door and to the left. Orion and I have had many conversations lately. Well, I talked and he listened, sitting so patiently in the sky waiting for that perfect shot. I feel like we have a lot in common this year. Me with my proverbial arrow pointed at so many things with no real clear shot at hand. Just standing prone, arms shaking a bit at the taught stance of being constantly ready but not quite willing, to release. At some point this year I wondered if it was possible to be frozen in this state of preparedness...always ready, never satisfied with the targets being presented. This year has been called so many things, The Year of the Question Mark, The Year of Loss, The Last Chapter, The Year of the Onion...for me it’s been a huge, fat, question mark followed by an exclamation point , followed by several expletives. Every move I made I have questioned, people’s intentions I have had nagging feelings about, I have truly wondered what the fuck am I doing. All the while watching people scream and shout about actions of people that they, themselves are modeling quite well for not liking it in others. Many shakes of the head have been shook and overall it was a kind of personal, in your face, it’s time to really explore what you believe Melissa kind of year. I’ve retreated into myself so far I wondered if I could find my way out of the maze I’ve walked. However, there is something that has penetrated into this crazy confused noggin of mine. In all the star infused, conversations I’ve had, I have realized as we have reached the end of the year, that I am no longer questioning who I am. Not only that but I am finally comfortable with the person I am. I know exactly what I believe right in this moment. I am ready for those beliefs to be questioned and expansion is inevitable. This whole year of questioning where I am going, wondering into ideas that I held onto for years with no real reasoning, looking at patterns I fall into and why and how to change them, it has all been painfully educational. Lessons that I won’t soon forget. It was really a shocking revelation that through all the questions of my actions, of what other’s were doing around me and of why I reacted towards certain things as I have, that all of those things would culminate into understanding. That there was an actual purpose to all this fuckery.  So yep as the mantra for this year has been Fuck 2016..I can say I totally get it but it is not my true sentiment now that I really look back. Oh it’s sucked at many times for sure, and I have said “Fuck 2016″ several times, and it’s been painful, but it’s been illuminating and revealing of so many truths that I knew but refused to acknowledge, Now I can finally see that target I’ve been waiting for..funny thing is that it’s been right there, waiting with me. It was waiting for me to catch up, to see, to just open my eyes and release!  So before you burn your calendars and scream FUCK YOU 2016. Take a look at what you’ve truly learned about yourself. Have you learned anything at all? I hope so, Mystics because I have a feeling that next year will be the year to prove exactly what you’ve learned and if you haven’t then it may just take a big bite out of you and leave you behind.  Big, self realizations are usually followed with, “oh yeah, prove it.”, so I hope you can prove it. I’m rooting for you. I’m cheering for you. I’m cheering for me too. Proving yourself to yourself is a big step and can be challenging. It will be a wild ride of traveling unknown roads and seeing what we are really made of. So, take a moment, write down what you know to be true about you and get ready to show yourself that you can do what you say you can do. 

[thedreadfulmystic-blog]

Well, I’m a Witch

 This year has been so many things. I won’t rehash for you how crappy it’s been because let’s face it, we have all gotten the memo. What I do want to talk about and unlike my usual posts on Cunning folk magic as of late is just being a witch. Because that is what I am. Oh sure, I am a mother, lover, sister, daughter and a million other titles, labels, monikers, whatever the hell you wanna call them but no matter what, I am and have always been a witch. It’s a constant in my life. It’s the one thing that hasn’t ever changed about me. As a witch, I am so tired of reading craptastic blogs about how I should present myself as a witch. This year they have been in abundance all over my various social media feeds. From saying how I shouldn’t call myself an intuitive reader because that is too new-age sounding to the fact that I should hide my strength and look weak or else I really have no strength (what the actual FUCK does that mean?) there are a million opinions and ideas about what a witch should do, how they should practice and how they should present themselves. Well, here is a novel idea. Why don’t witches just actually practice? I mean I see these blogs about what we should wear, how we should act, but so far none about actually getting off your ass and casting a damn spell.  You would think that is like this novel, new idea that witches cast spells. OMG, really? Yes, darling that is what separates us from just being pagans. We don’t just leave menstrual blood as an offering for a war/death goddess (I won’t even go into how messed up that concept is..that’s a whole different blog post) or dress the house up for the holidays, we cast spells! We PRACTICE OUR CRAFT! That’s why I and many others share spells, explain weekday magical attributes, express how to effectively cast. We want you to cast a spell, loves! I am not saying don’t research..definitely please, do some research. Then after you study the properties of rosemary, use it! Cast a spell with it. Put it in a mojo bag, just please for the love of the gods DO something with it! Before you tell me what is really a show of strength and power as a witch, cast some spells and then come talk to me about appearing weak. If you don’t get a rush of energy and feel like shouting to the rooftops, I AM A WITCH, then my friend we are not practicing the same craft. I would rather you tell me about the latest spell you cast. You don’t have to go into detail but tell me how it made you feel, tell me what edge it gave you, tell me how strong you felt. Don’t tell me how that makes you sound like a fraud. You know what sounds like a fraud? Telling me about everything but casting, working, creating, putting in your blood (that didn’t fall out of your vajayjay), sweat and tears into a spell and the complete thrill that you felt from it!Don’t tell me how to describe myself or how NOT to. Tell me what your intuition has done for you lately. Tell me about that sense of foreboding that made you reel until you changed the way you were acting because you knew, just KNEW that way was the path to destruction. Tell me about how you told your friend out of the blue to not go to that party and they listened and avoided disaster. Tell me how you gave a reading and helped a complete stranger find joy where they once only saw reason to worry. Do that before you tell me how to describe myself. Instead of giving out mindless droll of what we should act like, why not show each other how to cast better spells? How to make better healing ointments? How to create better magic? Why not encourage your fellow witches to actually find the nerve to cast a spell?! Because as a witch, that is what I want to know. That is the conversation that I want to have. I am a witch and casting is what I do. Don’t tell me what you think about the latest trend in new age commentary. I don’t care. I want to talk about creating, how magic affects me and my life, how to be a better spell caster, how to get witches to actually cast spells regularly. Let’s talk about that. Let’s talk about the different properties of menstrual blood verses blood from your veins. Let’s talk about what makes a perfect cosmic combination for a protection spell. Let’s talk about magic,or magick if you prefer. Why? Well, I am a witch and that is what we do.

[thedreadfulmystic-blog]

The Hearthstone Rite

As dramatic and intense as this rite sounds, it is actually is a very simple rite that is preformed to prepare your space in your home (you won’t be looked down upon for preforming it outside if you wish) for spell casting. Granted there is little in folk magic that is a huge production or very complex. Not that they don’t have their rituals, they do and they are made of many aspects but compared to say some Wiccan rituals or High Ceremonial Magick, folk magic is by far much simpler. This rite is even more simple compared to the larger rite of The Witches’ Compass. Meant for smaller spells, and charms this is the most often used rite of the Cunning folk practitioner. First, you would calm your mind and focus on going betwixt the horns or Becoming. As you enter into this state of being, you should them focus on your area and stretch out your senses to feel if the area needs to be cleansed of any spirits or energy that could interfere with your spell casting. If so, you would rid the spot of these entities or energies as you would normally. One way could be by ringing a bell nine times or using your witches’ whisk to sweep clean the area.  Once that is done then you will light your candle, lantern, or fire and say, “I light this flame in Bucca’s name, Serpent arise, old ones draw near, By my will and my ways may you appear”

Then you would strike your staff on the floor in a steady rhythm or use a drum or wind roarer to call in the spirits and conjure the circle, and say, “I conjure the Compass Round, Be ye cast and be ye bound, By road above and road below, By snake and hare and toad and crow, By red spirit, white spirit, grey spirit, and black. I conjure thee by threefold track,  Be ye cast and be ye bound, Hallowed be O Compass Round” That’s all there is to it. You have cast your circle and are ready to proceed with casting your spell or enchanting your charm or whatever workings you need to accomplish. This rite is not of my own making but a repeated version of a Cornish hearthstone rite by Gemma Gary and I believe that even she is not the author but a conveyor of passed on tradition. Personally, I can never really remember a chant or a spell written for me. I change this up a bit and make it my own but the principles are the same. So, take this and change it to fit you or recite it as is. Happy witching, witches.

[thedreadfulmystic-blog]

Witch Magic Through the Eyes of Cunning Folk

Every tradition and practice has it’s own view of what magic one should practice and how it is to be classified. For example, many practicing witches have heard the terms “White Magic” and “Black Magic”, “The Three Fold Law” and other rules, regulations, and qualifiers that are placed on magic. Cunning folk magic is no different when it comes to identifying magic by color, type, and even associating it with specific animals. Rules and regulations on the other hand are left up to the moral compass of the  Pellar or Practitioner. In this blog post I wanted to go over some of the basic types of magic as expressed by Gemma Gary that the Cunning folk practice and their associations that accompany these types of magic.  First, it may be easier to express what it is not. There is no “Three Fold Law” or set rule that you will be punished in some way for throwing a curse or “Owl Blasting” as it is sometimes called by Cunning Folk. These things are left up to the practitioner and what he or she deems appropriate to use. Not that they go around throwing curses all day long without thought (well some might if they like that kind of thing but reasonable Pellars do not). It is always taken under consideration and much thought before “Owl Blasting” seeing as that takes a certain type of energy and requires working with certain types of Spirits that one may not want to mess around with and find very draining. There is also no such thing as “White Magic” and while there is a classification of “Black Magic” it isn’t necessarily what one would think it is. Magic is not so cut and dry through Cunning Folk eyes. The colors of Cunning witch magic are red, green, and black. All having several different facets and each with their own animal association as well. 

Red magic refers to magic that is ruled by the serpent’s path of energy that runs through the land. The raw, powerful energy often referred to as Sprowl by the Cunning Folk used to charge items, people, or places. It can also refer to sexual energy and casting protective spirit forces upon items, places or loved ones. It’s familiar spirit is the Red Serpent. 

Green magic is ruled by the land, plants, and every thing that is animated by Sprowl. It is associated with the physical and spells that deal with material gain, physical healing and herbs all fall under the category of Green magic. The Hare is the spirit familiar associated with Green magic.

Black magic is separated into two parts. The first deals with spirits, the dead, ancestral magic, “seeing” and some forms of divination. This part of Black magic’s spirit familiar is the Crow. The second part involves influence, control, deep emotions, sleep and dreaming, bindings, and cursing or Owl Blasting. The Toad is this area of Black magic’s spirit familiar.  

For myself, I personally enjoy and embrace this ideology of magical categorization. Possibly because it is so broad and allows for plenty of wiggle room which appeals to my free spirited nature. For me, magic is about personal responsibility and folk magic has that in spades. There is no repercussions other than you being accountable for your own actions which is really quite a heavy burden while being so freeing. Most people are the harshest judges of themselves whether they express it aloud or not.  

[thedreadfulmystic-blog]

Starting Again; This Time With Feeling

So, I’ve tried the blogging thing before with a less sophisticated style but very clear intentions. I enjoy expressing myself with the written word and most of the time I feel like I am better with the written word than the spoken word. Before the setup and style was discouraging and I gladly hopped on that idea to procrastinate the hell out of blogging. Since then it’s been a huge pain in the ass trying to figure out how to make this a more uniform and organized and eventually I just said, “Ok, Tumblr let’s see how you do” ,because even with much appreciated help from friends (Thanks so much Nadia!) I just could not get my web hosting site to cooperate the way I wanted. So, here I am and that’s enough of all that.

This blog’s intentions will be to write about what I love to do the most; magic, specifically folk magic. It is one of the largest parts of what makes me, me. It is my practice and affects all areas of my life. I truly believe I am a stronger person because of my practice. The belief I have in my practice makes me eager to share with the entire community of witches, new or old. By sharing we expand our knowledge and create something together. Besides it’s the traditional way applied to modern technology. Witches have always shared their collective insights with other witches when possible and I enjoy honoring that practice. 

Folk Magic is a very broad term. Cunning folk magic, hoodoo, and mountain folk magic are my main focuses but honestly so many other styles can be tossed under the umbrella term that is “Folk Magic”. That is the beauty of folk magic. It is a down and dirty, free spirited, just about anything can fit into it kind of magic. Oh sure, there are certain things that won’t sit very well under this category. Ceremonial magic would probably squirm a bit if you tried to mash it in here and Wicca is something that would enjoy aspects and reject others but even then those practices have similarities that find a comfortable home in folk magic. 

So as late as I am in starting this blog (again) and by now most of my followers can give you a great introduction to Cunning Folk Magic, this blog will expand on videos, ideas, spells, and tools that I introduce, create, newly experience and share with you all. As always thanks so much for reading, watching, sharing all that I express on this journey. I hope that you enjoy the walking path, Mystics.

If you would like to check out my latest video on my altar you can find it here