A Note: Since this has gotten rather long, I’m sticking it under a read more to keep from clogging up people’s dashboards. As always, message me with any questions, suggestions, or corrections! Thank you! Currently, I have sections for the following:
Spell books and Grimoires
Spells, Spellcasting, and Sigils
Curses and Cursing
Magick and Ethics
Crystals
Herbs
Other Materials
Tarot Cards
Other Methods of Divination
Spirit and Astral Work
Other Types of Secular Witchcraft
List of Bloggers open to Questions
Advice to New Witches
Miscellaneous
Note: As of 6/4/2015, the Hoodoo and Rootwork section has been moved to another post, as I no longer felt it was appropriate to be included on this one.
Secular witchcraft as “I don’t believe in spirits, only energy”
:/
Okay, I am definitely the first and not the second. But what is wrong with the second? Is this post people saying, “I disagree with that outlook,” or is it people saying, “I believe that outlook is wrong and your craft is lesser if you practice that way?” Because that’s kinda rude.
It’s fine to believe whatever you want, but let’s say you don’t believe in God whilst calling yourself Christian. Using the correct word is important because words mean things. You can’t take away the core and have it remain the same.
Fair enough. So what do we call witches who work with energy?
Several self-descriptors from such practitioners come to mind, such as energy worker, energy healer, light worker. It’s different from witchcraft and is a discipline unto itself. Just as I cannot call myself a lawyer for not having been to law school, the same goes for them and “witch.” Our skillsets are different, and that is something to recognize on either end. I certainly cannot say I am trained or learned as an energy worker.
Ah, so we’re just garden variety gatekeeping witchcraft. Good to know my initial instinct was correct.
I mean if you say so? There’s nothing wrong with a spiritual/magical/energetic practice that isn’t witchcraft. There’s loads to choose from! But it does no favors in naming your cat “dog.”
And that’s for them to decide, not you.
They aren’t gatekeeping though? Nothing about this has been gatekeeping. They aren’t saying energy work isn’t valid. They aren’t saying that certain types of people can’t be witches. In fact, they’ve super polite and supportive about people practicing these other disciplines!
All the OP is pointing out is that witchcraft is historically tied to spirit work. There are multitudes of other forms of magic that go by various names. And those practices are valid! They’re fabulous! And it’s okay if it’s not labeled as witchcraft.
Words have meaning. Using the proper ones are important. At the end of the day, people can call themselves whatever they want. It’s no skin off my back. But it does a disservice to the hard work that goes into the respective practices of witchcraft and energy working. And it also makes it harder for people to find the kind of information they might be looking for.
And crying gatekeeping even at posts that are nothing like that diminish the calls of gatekeeping when it’s actually happening.
I had this big long intro but I cut it for all of our sakes. Actually, I deleted the entire post and started over for this reason. Basically my point of it was: I’ve been practicing for a long time and a lot of common practices have felt hard or even impossible to achieve. I’ve recently learned that I don’t need to cut those practices out entirely, I just need to do them differently. ADHDers brains work different than those without, and when we work with our brains instead of fighting, things become a lot easier. I’m starting with meditation because I think it’s one of the hardest tools to use for us.
Learn these before starting (they’ll help you, trust me)
Meditation is not about judgment. Try not to judge yourself for the things you can or cannot do.
Meditation is not about “clearing your mind of all distractions”. Sure for some people, but that’s actually not common. It’s about allowing your thoughts to come and go as they please, and to do so without judgment.
It is not possible to fail at meditation. Don’t beat yourself up if you can’t sit for a 30 minute, 10 minute, 5 minute meditation. Every bit counts.
Accept that you’ll probably have to do things different than people expect, and that’s okay. If you force yourself to conform you’re gonna have a bad time and not want to do it again.
Things that have helped me (that might help you)
Provide as much or as little stimulation as you need - this goes against the popular idea that meditation is about “removing all distractions”, but ADHDers know that stimulation often helpsus focus better. You may want to:
play soft music
light candles and incense (sensory input for your sense of smell)
use a fidget toy
take breaks to stand and wiggle around as you need - a lot of people think this is bad, that it’ll unnecessarily break up the meditation, and I’m here to tell you 1) it’s not bad, 2) that’s okay! Break it up! Do small chunks of meditation in intervals! Again, it is not possible to fail at meditation. Any amount is good and helpful, even if you can only sit for a few minutes before moving around.
As you learn and grow in your practice you may find you need less stimulation. Take them away as you see fit.
Other tips:
Make sure you’re physically comfortable. This means wearing clothes that won’t bother you, using pillows or blankets or blocks if you need the support/need to stay warm, finding a comfortable position, etc. And if you fall asleep? You probably needed it, as this article mentions.
On that note, try a meditation outfit! Wear the same clothes or hat or whatever each time you meditate to help transition your mind into meditation mode. This is especially helpful if you’re doing it at home.
Try a more interactive, guided mediation. Being able to sit in silence is an impressive skill, but it’s hard as hell, especially if you’re just starting out. I recently did a guided meditation that felt so much better than just the breathing ones because not only did it give me permission to have a lot of thoughts, it guided me on different categories to think about (I’ll explain it below)
It might help to schedule in time to meditate and ask someone else to help you stay on track.
The guided meditation I mentioned above:
Start with ten deep breaths in and out, counting the number between each inhale and exhale (ex. *breathe in* one *breath out* one, *breathe in* two *breathe out* two). I find that this gives my brain a challenge and keeps me on track.
Do the same counting down from ten if you’d like, but if you find yourself thinking “damn I’m bored” just skip it. You’ll have plenty of time to work up to that in the future.
List in your head everything you can remember doing in the day. Don’t stress if you can’t remember a lot; again, don’t judge yourself!
Next, list all of the emotions you’ve felt throughout the day. I see you judging yourself for your emotions, stop that.
Next, list who or what you were grateful for throughout the day.
Do another set of breathing to round it off, allowing the events of the day to fall behind you.
If all of this seems like too much to start with, pick one category and just do that. Do more in the future if you want, or just stick to one.
Remember: five minutes of meditation is good. Two minutes is good. And if you find yourself with large gaps between sessions, that’s okay too! Do it when you can, get comfortable with what works for you, and in time you might even find you enjoy it!
And that’s it for today! I hope this will be helpful to some of you, and I apologize if there are any typos. I checked three times but we all know how that works out. If you’ve found this helpful, let me know what witchy subject you’d like me to tackle next!
Creating a deck full of real, diverse bodies has been a dream of mine for years and I can’t believe it’s really done! It has a few days left on kickstarter so any support or shares is greatly appreciated!
Lucky you to be reading this right now! This is the first post we’ve made on tumblr and we’re so happy for you to be here apart of this. and by “we” I’m meaning the discord coven me and my admins are from (invite link in bio)
On this account, the admins and I plan to share our lessons about craft, all around advice, craft related memes, and more. We have all sorts of future plans!
Now to tell you a little about us, our coven has about 300 members from all over the world, with that said we have a wide range of experience/crafts. We’re an eclectic community that welcomes all, lgbtq+, poc, 13+, experience/craft/religion/practice
If you’re interested in craft, no matter your experience; consider joining our discord and dropping a follow.
Intent:To harness the power of the lunar cycle for the manifestation and fulfillment of wishes.
Materials:
Small Jar with tight-fitting lid
Chime candle & fire source
Oil for sealing
Herbs and Items representing your wish
Ideal Timing: Waxing or Full Moon
Find a clear space to work. Make sure it’s free of fire hazards. If possible, try to work near a window through which you can see the moon. (If you don’t have one, that’s all right too, since you’ll be setting the jar out for the moonlight when finished.) Light your candle, focus your intentions, and get to work.
Select herbs and trinkets which fit inside the jar to represent your wish. For example, if your wish is for money or prosperity, you might include coins or small craft gems. If your wish is for health, you might include vitamin pills or a charm representing medicine. Check your books for herbs or crystals that correspond to your wish as well. This is your wish - make the spell your own. The contents of the jar can be whatever you want. Use the materials that resonate best with you, but remember that your intent is the most important component of all.
Some common plants associated with wishmaking include:
Bamboo
Bay Leaf
Blue Violet
Dandelion Seeds
Dogwood Petals
Nutmeg
Peppermint
Sage Leaf (any color)
Sunflower Petals or Seeds
Once your jar is complete, drip three drops of wax from the candle into the jar and circle the mouth of the jar three times with the oil to seal the charm. Then cap the jar and seal it with wax. Leave your thumbprint in wax on top of the lid. Place the jar somewhere that it will be touched by the light of the full moon and leave it overnight. The jar should work for about a month, or slightly longer if you’re working with a supermoon. When the next full moon rolls around, you can recharge the jar by leaving it out overnight again, or make a new jar with a new wish.
I don’t have a lot of time to set up a party like I usually do, so instead I plan on making these cookies and taking them to my friends and family on (or near) the equinox! Of course I plan on offering some to the Deities and house spirits as well.
In a stand mixer, beat the butter, lavender syrup and vanilla extract until creamed.
Add the sugar and salt and mix until combined.
Scrape the sides of the bowl, getting the mixture back into the center, and add flour while beating on low.
Add the earl grey, scrape the bowl again and mix until combined. It’s will be crumbly, not a cohesive dough. This is good!
Take out the crumbly dough and smush the crumbly bits together to shape the dough either into a rectangular prism or cylinder , wrap in plastic and chill for at least an hour, or until firm.
Preheat the oven to 350F (177C).
Cut ½ inch thick slices of the cookie dough. You’ll have little rectangles or circles depending on how you shaped the dough.
Place these sliced cookies onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, making sure they are at least an inch apart.
Create a pattern on top if you’d like.
Bake for 10-15 minutes, making sure to rotate the baking sheet in the oven halfway through.
Move the cookies to a cooling tray if available, otherwise you can allow them to cool on the pan.
You can change the additions to this as you like, maybe make some chai shortbread cookies or another tea! Maybe matcha? The possibilities are endless!
Tips:
Add a tsp of lemon juice instead of earl grey to make a great springtime desert!
Use a toothpick, fork, or skewer to make designs on the top of the cookies.
Use Lady Grey tea instead of earl grey to create Lady Lavender cookies!
