because I felt like finding out how many there are. Decided to make it into a rec post so enjoy.
All Night (magic and monsters in a world that’s half day, half night. still in the very beginning. I’m not into it yet… because there’s not much to be into this early… but the concept is intriguing. updates very rarely)
Always Raining Here (dumb gay teenage romance. the angst is not melodramatic and it’s very funny. cn for romantic pushiness and attempted sexual assault. (I will spoil you on this: the romantically pushy protagonist does not assault the love interest and does not remain pushy over the course of the comic. I’m not about that life.) usually updates about once a week?)
Apothecia (short horror comic about a girl and the alien monster she finds in the woods. it was experimental practice for the author and artist’s planned long-term webcomic, so it’s got issues, but it’s also got lots of gross fungus in it and the alien’s voice was great. cn for body horror and semi-graphic violence. complete.)
Ava’s Demon (kids and demon hauntings and cults… IN SPACE. the art’s gorgeous, there are animations, and even though the format makes plot progression slow I am confident in the direction it’s going in. cn for graphic violence and body horror. updates Mondays and Thursdays)
Bad Machinery (detective kids solve paranormal mysteries! good characters and good humor. the author stopped writing it after the last case and is instead writing Bobbins, which I couldn’t get into, so no update schedule. he could go back to bad machinery at any time though… this is what I keep telling myself)
Best Friends Forever (dumb gay teenage friendship; great characters and well-done angst. not really a comic anymore, more like an illustrated screenplay? but it started as a comic. cn for bullying and body image issues. updates infrequently, but each time with a whole chapter.)
Black Brick Road (dark oz reimagining with great art, based on the books. lots of flash games. generally creepy but I can’t think of any specific warnings so you’re probably good. updates on Sundays)
Brainchild (a college senior and her “hallucinations”. still in the very beginning. cn for… body horror, I suppose, but like. the cool monster character design kind that is not very horrifying at all. updates on Sundays)
Cucumber Quest (bunny kid wants to go to magic school, but his weird jerk of a dad makes him save the world instead. very cute and funny with great characters. doesn’t have a set schedule but updates frequently, at least twice a week and sometimes more)
Demon Street (kid enters a world of demons and discovers other kids that have been drawn there as well. I’m not really into it but I’m ready to be convinced if it picks up. updates Mondays and Thursdays)
Freelancer (sci-fi comic about a girl who’s trying to become a Space Freelancer but is impeded by her own lack of experience and inability to follow orders. not into this one yet either but it’s still in the beginning. updates Mondays)
Granted (a girl finds a genie in her phone and, after wishing for adventure, is whisked off to a fantasy land where she intends to use her genre-savvy for good. probably. still in the very beginning but the characters have already caught my attention, which is nice. updates on Fridays)
Helvetica (what happens after death? your skeleton names itself and goes to live in a bustling metropolis of other skeletons. very cute. updates on Sundays)
Homestuck (four kids play a game based on The Sims that ends up destroying the world and sucking them into paradox space. great characters and insanely complex plot. I’m not gonna try and think of all the content notes that could apply to homestuck–if you’re easily upset by abuse, kids acting and talking like stupid kids, and/or kids dying in messy ways, it’s not for you. on hiatus but is suuuper long)
Hotblood! (gay criminals, one of which is a centaur. Good Art. updates Tuesdays and Thursdays)
Love Me Nice (in a world where humans and ‘toons coexist, a children’s cartoon TV star struggles to live up to his father’s legacy. very bouncy art and complex characters; I believe the artist has said that she’s writing the comic to express her mixed feelings towards the animated entertainment industry, especially giants like Disney, and I find that really interesting. updates “when possible”, I haven’t been following it long enough to say how often that generally is)
Monsterkind (a human social worker goes to live in a district of disenfranchised monsters. character-wise I am mostly just fond of the protagonist Wallace, which is unusual, but the monster designs are nice and the plot is engaging now that it’s picking up. updates Tuesdays and Fridays)
Octopus Pie (slice of life about Eve Ning and her friend group that alternates between hilarious and depressing, ridiculous and very real. updates are variable but frequent enough)
Oglaf (fantasy sex comedy! REALLY FUNNY. cn for graphic nudity/sexual activity, obviously. updates on Sundays)
Paranatural (a kid moves to a town full of ghosts and spirits and a truly astonishing number of puns. great characters and REALLY FUNNY. updates Tuesdays and Fridays)
Sfeer Theory (a lab assistant at science-magic university catches a guest professor’s attention with his innovative methods. meanwhile, revolution. very good art and intriguing characters. on hiatus)
The End (aliens accidentally abduct a group of people at a sci fi convention while trying to preserve the human race. I’m gonna be honest in that I’ve forgotten a lot of what happened up to the chapters where the focus switched to characters I prefer, but I can solidly recommend the alien worldbuilding. updates Tuesdays and Fridays)
The Fox Sister (a woman hunts the nine-tailed fox that killed and replaced her sister. I like the focus of this comic, and as the artist is the same one behind Sfeer Theory, the art is very good. cn for graphic violence. on hiatus)
Today Nothing Happened (a page-a-day journal comic that the artist started as a school project but then continued because she enjoyed it. a casual, fun, chill comic in which you can expect a lot of DnD. complete.)
Todd Allison and the Petunia Violet (mystery drama set in… 20s Melbourne I think?? in which the protagonist just wants to prove she’s independent and maybe find out more about her mysterious neighbor, but is drawn into a tale of terrorism and murder. very expressive art (the collage chapter covers are like DAMN) with great characters; Petunia is a serious sweetheart. cn for semigraphic violence. used to update monthly but the host site went down and I literally just now found out about the new, incomplete site that has all the chapters on it. happy unbirthday to me)
Tripping Over You (teenage gay romance, with less emphasis on the getting together than what comes after getting together. cute, but I have to admit I used to be more engaged than I am now. updates Mondays and Thursdays)
Trying Human (aliens–the UFO, probing-abductees kind–are real, and the protagonist has been being abducted while her boyfriend goes to work for Area 51. nice art; the artist is going through and redrawing for a SECOND TIME, which is dedication. but I’d say the appeal is more in plot than character for this one. cn for messing with people’s minds and sexual assault/creepiness. updates once a week to once every two weeks)
Unsounded (a tailed girl and her magic zombie bodyguard travel undercover across the magnificently thought-out world of Kasslyne. great cast of characters and great plot and SERIOUSLY AMAZING worldbuilding. cn for graphic violence, violence against children, and sexually threatening behavior towards children. I am serious about these. updates Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays without fail <3 <3 <3)
Witchy (in a world where magical ability is equal to hair length, a girl whose hair is crazy long hides it to keep from being drafted. not into it yet but the art is great. updates once a week)
Dark Horse Comics Lady Killer mini series (compiled into a perfect bound graphic novel edition) is written by Jamie S. Rich and Joelle Jones, and masterfully drawn by Ms. Jones herself.
The gritty (and bloody!) story deals with a Mad Men era suburban Seattle housewife who’s actually a CIA assassin.
Artist Joelle Jones explains how she playfully put together a series of vintage ad mockups while doing research for the project, shown above (with additional hand lettering by Crank). The mini-series is a dark delight, just as these playfully grim ads are. This isn’t a comics blog, of course. And Rich and Jones’ mini series won’t be for everyone. But the art is still terrific, and those ads are fun. The illustration style and typography is strictly now, but the coloring and general ‘feel’ are pure retro. And we’ll admit it: We love retro, and get a real kick out of seeing contemporary tweaks and twists of vintage 20th century design, illustration and photographic tropes. Check out more of Jones work at joellejones.com.
1) I’m gonna need to get this comic, I can tell
2) You know how some times you can get like prints of vintage magazine ads for home decor? I NEED THESE IN THE EXACT SAME FORMAT SO I CAN FRAME THEM ALL OVER MY APARTMENT
Hi friends, I would really appreciate it if you guys could spread the word about this! I have a friend who writes, and she wrote a YA story that is LGBTQA fantasy called “The Ghost Dragon’s Daughter” that you can download for free on Smashwords. Just take that to check-out and put in this coupon (YH72M), and you’ll get a nice story to read!
Reblogging for anyone who might not have seen! It’s valid for a month or so. Please spread the word and download a copy yourself! She would greatly appreciate it.
Look, I made a thing! Please click the link above to read part 1 of the comic that’s been consuming all my drawing time for the past few weeks. *looks around nervously* I hope people like it???
And, um, if you do like it, would you please consider reblogging it? Then other people would be able to see it and they, perhaps, might like it too and wow that would be really amazing! And I would be eternally grateful! Don’t you want my eternal gratitude? *makes puppy-dog eyes*
Also, I’m entering this into a competition, and the competition is partially based on reader response. If you have the time, it would mean the world to me if you would help me out with this. Pretty please? If you’d like to help, could you please:
Rate the comic (you’ll have to log in, but it’s really easy to do since you can use your facebook or twitter account)
Congratulations, you should now be up to date with Overwatch lore.
You want more?
Lorewatch (the playlist is backwards, so you have to start from the bottom) Shortwatch (In depth analysis of every Overwatch animation) Comicwatch (In depth analysis of every Overwatch comic) FailCraft (Lore, Story, Easter Eggs, and Map Guides) Overwatch wiki Google spreadsheet (Timeline etc.)
Heyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy. It’s been like 500 years, but look I made this collage of books I read this year. As the only goal I made (i.e. read more) and kept for 2017 I’m pretty proud of myself, so I’m putting it here. I started off with a goal to read 10 books and kept adding five each time I hit that goal until I got to 50. I ended up reading 57 books in 2017 and as someone who loves to read, but has been reading an average of about 5 books a year for the past few years I’m really happy about it. I did see a tweet from someone who read 200 books in a year and while maybe one day I’ll get there, I’ve set my 2018 goal to a more realistic 50 books. Happy reading!
Hello! I have now read over a hundred Bull/Dorian fics and would love to share my favourites with y’all (I’ll probably make similar fic recs for other DA pairings eventually). Some of these are criminally under-kudos’d or lack comments, so if you can please leave the authors some! They definitely deserve it! Also this got pretty long so I’m putting most of it under a cut!
“So, he claims to be a time traveller,” Cullen said, slowly and with obvious disbelief.
“Would anyone be able to tell me what day it is?” Dorian asked.
“He’s obviously a spy,” Cassandra replied.
“I hope it’s not the third,” Dorian muttered.
Dorian has been living through his own personal Groundhog Year and he’s finally decided to tell everybody. It doesn’t matter though, this run’s a wash anyway.
[this is literally my favourite Adoribull fic of all time. Like. I think about it constantly please please read it]
When a spell convinces Bull that Dorian is a danger to the Inquisition, Krem is forced to try and keep Bull from killing Dorian until he can dispel the magic.
[if I’m in the mood for angst this is my go-to fic. I ADORE Krem protecting Dorian from Bull because Bull lovesDorian, and Krem would never let Bull destroy himself like that. It’s just. Yes. Yes to all of it]
Mahanon wants nothing more than for the men he’s in love with to realize that he’s in love with them, and hopes that a long journey to the Hissing Wastes might help sort things out between them.
Getting thrown off a cliff was not part of his plan.
[okay so technically this one is Bull/Dorian/Inquisitor but GUYS ITS LITERALLY PERFECT ITS THE BEST DRAGON AGE SERIES IVE EVER READ IM OBSESSED WITH THE CHARACTER DYNAMICS I KNOW IM A SLUT FOR POLY BUT PLEASE READ THIS ONE - you won’t regret it]
[id: screenshot of a tweet that reads: ‘read the Black Anarchism Reader, learn about african american anarchism/indigenous anarchism/asian anarchism and unwhiten your idea of “anarchism”.’ below is a link to the Black Anarchsim Reader, and then a commenter has left a link to a resource focused on Indigenous anarchism, centered on people Indigenous to so-called canada. end id]
In spirit work, we often connect with the spirits that have crossed over and are present in the physical world. However, there are also ways to cross over into the spirit world and connect with spirits in their home environment.
Pathworking
As I mentioned in a previous post, a pathworking is a specific type of meditation where you go on a psychic journey, but are still anchored to your physical body. It’s sort of like dipping your toes into the spirit world.
There are two important elements to a pathworking: a clear entrance/exit point and a way to retrace your steps. Pathworking journeys are typically cyclical — there is both a journey out and a return where you go back the way you came. This makes it easier to fully return your consciousness to your body, and failing to do so can cause you to feel disoriented upon the return.
Your entry/exit point can be absolutely anything, but common examples include a door, a gateway, a tree (or sometimes The World Tree), a cave/tunnel, or a natural landmark like a beach or mountaintop. What’s important is that it’s recognizable and easy to find your way back to.
If you want to try pathworking, make a rough “road map” of your journey beforehand. This doesn’t have to be super specific, but it should contain the following: a goal for the pathworking (such as to connect with a certain spirit), an entry/exit point, and a general idea for the route you’re going to take. If you’re worried about getting lost, author Thea Sabin recommends using “the Theseus trick.” Like in the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur, you can tie a golden thread or rope to your entry point and the other end to your astral body. If you get lost, you can follow the thread back.
Pathworking is fairly beginner friendly, and I highly, highly, highly recommend starting with pathworking and becoming comfortable with this method before trying astral travel. Even for more advanced witches, pathworking is often a better option than astral travel because it’s less involved and requires a little bit less effort. I personally prefer pathworking for most situations.
Performing a Pathworking
Before you begin, establish a clear goal for your pathworking and write out a rough “road map.” At the very least, you should know what your purpose is, where your entry point is, and how to find your way back.
Begin in a dark, quiet room. Cleanse the room by burning incense, diffusing or spraying essential oils, or using a ritual broom to sweep out old energy.
Find a comfortable place to sit or lie down and begin meditating. You may want to play meditation music, practice breathing techniques, or use some other method to help you reach a meditative state.
Once you reach a meditative state (you should know what this feels like if you have experience with meditation), see yourself standing at your entry point. This is your entrance to the astral realm.
Set out on your pathworking.
When you are ready to leave the astral realm, you will need to find your way back to your entry point. Once you reach your entry point, it should be fairly easy to return to your body.
Once you’re fully present in your physical body, use your favorite method to ground yourself.
Write down everything you experienced during your pathworking in a journal.
Astral Travel
If pathworking is dipping your toes into the spirit world, astral travel is diving in the deep end. Also called spirit flight and hedge riding, astral travel includes actually sending your soul/consciousness out of your body and into the spirit world. As you might guess, this is more complicated and requires more effort than pathworking. For this reason, astral travel is not beginner-friendly. If you are completely new to meditation, witchcraft, and spirit work, it’s best to learn to pathwork before you attempt astral travel.
A word of warning: you may want to avoid astral travel at times when you’re in a very vulnerable or volatile emotional state. Some days you just aren’t up for it, and that’s okay. On those days, a pathworking or another form of spirit work may be a better option.
Triggering Spirit Flight
In astral travel, a trigger of some kind is used to help disconnect the soul from the physical body. Common triggers include drumming, special music, shaking a rattle, chanting, and dancing.
You can find shamanic drumming tracks on YouTube that can help you achieve astral travel. If you find that repetitive motion helps you trance out, you may look into getting a small drum or rattle to play.
Animal Guides
In many cultures, those who travel into the spirit world do so with the guidance and protection of an animal spirit. From the Norse fylgja, to the shamanic power animal, to the witch’s familiar, history is full of examples of these types of guides.
Before you begin astral travel, do a pathworking to meet your animal guide. It’s important to note that you aren’t choosing an animal guide — only meeting one that has always been with you. Your guide may be an animal that you like or identify with, or it may not. When I first began experimenting with astral travel, my guide was a coyote — an animal I had never identified with before, but who I learned was deeply connected to my inner self.
It’s important to always have your animal guide with you when going on astral journeys, as they are an important source of protection and power. They may also literally guide you to the things you need to see and the spirits you need to meet.
Flying Ointments
Historical accounts describe witches using “flying ointment” to help them achieve spirit flight. These traditional flying ointments contained toxic and/or hallucinogenic plants like belladonna, datura, henbane, mandrake, and opium poppies. For obvious reasons, most modern witches do not use these herbs.
Please do not try to create your own flying ointment with poisonous plants. If you’re a true traditionalist and feel like you just have to try a historically accurate flying ointment, Bane Folk Apothecary sells several. Bane Folk is run by Sarah Anne Lawless, a kickass witch who knows her stuff and produces safe, medicinal products inspired by traditional flying ointment formulas. I am usually very pro-DIY, especially when it comes to witchcraft, but this is one case where it really is best to defer to a professional.
To create a modern, non-toxic flying ointment: heat eight ounces (or one cup) of poppy seed oil over low heat on the stove. Once the oil is warm, add 2 ounces (or ¼ cup) of beeswax into the oil. (Use carnauba wax for a vegan alternative.) Take the mixture off the heat, and allow it to cool off a bit. Once it has cooled (but before it’s begun to solidify), add nine drops each of mugwort essential oil, star anise essential oil, and peppermint essential oil. Pour the mixture into a mason jar and seal tightly. To extend your ointment’s shelf life, add a few drops of Vitamin E oil and store in the refrigerator. If you don’t have access to essential oils or prefer a more traditional method, you can buy dry herbs and infuse them into your oil instead — to do this, crush up 2.5 ounces (or 1/3 cup) each of dried mugwort, star anise, and peppermint and add them to a mason jar; add enough oil to the jar to cover the herbs completely, with about an inch of oil above them; seal the jar and place it in a sunny window for 2-3 weeks to infuse; and finally, strain the herbs out of the oil with a mesh sieve or a cheesecloth. You can then add your Vitamin E oil and beeswax to create an ointment.
This modern recipe does not contain hallucinogens, but it does contain plants that are commonly used in magic to increase psychic abilities and aid in astral travel. You can say an incantation over this ointment while making it to add some extra magical potency. Applying the flying ointment can also become a sort of ritual that prepares you for spirit flight by helping you slip into a more spiritual head space.
Performing Astral Travel/Spirit Flight
Before you begin, know why you are journeying to the spirit world. You should always have a clear goal for your astral journeys.
Begin in a dark, quiet room. Cleanse the room by burning incense (mugwort incense aids in astral travel), diffusing or spraying essential oils, or using a ritual broom to sweep out old energy.
Use your favorite method to ground yourself.
If you are choosing to use a flying ointment, rub it on your skin now.
Hold a protective item in one of your hands. I like physical items for protection during spirit flight, because they can ground you and help you find your way back to your body. Examples of protective items include a sprig of rue, a piece of iron, or a protective crystal like black tourmaline. If you ever feel scared or uncomfortable during your journey, you can bring this object into the astral realm to protect you. It will also keep your body safe while your consciousness is occupied.
Start up your trigger, whether this is drumming, rattling, dancing, etc.
Allow yourself to drift into a trance state, and then to disconnect from your body.
Call your animal guide to you.
Set out on your journey in the spirit world.
When you are ready, feel yourself returning to your physical body. Allow yourself to come back slowly — don’t rush it.
Ground yourself. One good way to ground after astral travel is by eating a snack.
Write down your experiences in a journal.
Resources:
Wicca for Beginners by Thea Sabin
Southern Cunning: Folkloric Witchcraft in the American South by Aaron Oberon
Hedge Riding by Harmonia Saille
“How to Make Herb-Infused Oils for Culinary & Body Care Use” and “How to Make Herbal Salves” from the Mountain Rose Herbs blog
Ok, so I get a lot of shit for calling low level spells weaker or low level, so here’s a guide to actually crafting powerful spells.
What you need to know right off the bat is that you’re layering powers on each other, and if you draw on more powers, you generally get better results. Now, there is some level of balance to this, as doing too much can muddle the intent of your spell, but the “too much” threshold is going to be something you learn to use intuition to find for yourself.
So, let’s begin! Here are components of your spells to layer on top of each other
The most basic, your ingredients: what are the correspondences of your oils, waters, herbs, candles, and stones?
The time you do it: what day are you doing it? What phase is the moon in? Where are the planets? What day of the week are you doing it?
Location: Are you doing it in the woods? Near a river? Can the light of the moon touch you? What cardinal direction are you facing?
Visualization: While I don’t believe intent alone is the driving force behind all magical works, that doesn’t mean mental pursuits during your spell work are worthless. Visualization can be an incredibly powerful layer in your spells. What does the magic you’re controlling look like? What is it doing?
Who you call on: Will you petition deities, spirits, ancestors, or fae for power? How will you do this?
Symbols: What shapes are your stones? Did you use runes or alchemical symbols? Did you make a sigil? How are your symbols incorporated into the spell?
Energy: Where are you getting the power for the spell? Yourself? The earth? A charged crystal? The spirits you petitioned?
Repetition: How many times has this spell or ritual been done before? An old spell has a lot of power behind it due to the sheer amount of times it has been used. Additionally, how many times do you perform an action or speak an incantation in the spell?
Incantation: what are you saying? Are you speaking to an entity or the earth itself? What language is the incantation in? Is the language related to who or what you’re petitioning or is it just the language it was first written in?
Numbers: How many ingredients are you using? How many times will you perform an action? How many crystals/flowers/spoonfuls/candles/etc will you use? Numbers have correspondences.
Colors: Colors have correspondences too. What color is your candle? Your ink?
Tools: What tools are you using? How have those tools been powered or charmed? What have you used them for previously? How old are they? What energies power them?
Traditions: What traditions are you using? Where did the correspondences you use come from? If you’re mixing traditions, do those traditions mix well? I do some amount of brauchery, and it doesn’t play well with other traditions.
Order: What order do you do things in your spell? Which way do you stir? Do you petition spirits before the spell or during it?
And finally: intent and will. Yes, I’m not a fan of this stuff because tumblr sees it as the end all, be all. However, your intent will guide the way the spell goes, and your willpower is going to get you through anything tricky. YOU have to have the power and knowledge to make the spell work. If you’re in a place that is specifically yours (like your house) you have sovereignty and your willpower will decide whether or not entities in the area respect that sovereignty. I could talk for a long time on this but I won’t because this passage isn’t the whole point of the post
To conclude:
Hopefully this illustrates why a cup of tea isn’t the greatest spell when it only includes ingredients and maybe some intent. I know I probably didn’t get every component you can add to a spell, but hopefully I got most of it.
DoNOT cast spells for positive effects that involve:
Burning a picture of yourself*
Burning a piece of paper that anywhere contains your name*
Burning a piece of hair or other taglock*
*Unless you really know what you’re doing
I don’t know how sigil culture got people to think that burning anything = sending it off for spirits, but NO. Across pretty much every magical practice, burning involving a person = destruction. Burning as a means of generically sending things off is mainly used for offerings.
On a similar vein, do not cast spells for positive effects that involve taking a human figure and ripping up, burning, submerging in soil or water, or doing anything else to that figure that would maim or kill a real human. (unless you really know what you’re doing)
Remember the Law of Similarity. Destruction of an image = destruction of the thing itself.
I’ve left a group over this one. Though it was drowning not burning. To get rid of negativity in the group, we were supposed to make poppets of ourselves and then make a paper boat and put the poppets in the river. Where the river would carry them away as they sank. And drowned.
I said no. This refusal created more negativity. Okay, I may have also said something like “I don’t know what Ophelia shit you’re up to here, but I’m not doing the spell.” Which probably caused more negativity because the reference was probably went over some heads. But…
You do not create representations of yourself and destroy them. If anyone who thinks they should teach witchcraft or lead a group tries to get you to do that, you have every right to leave. Or to severely question what they think they’re up to.
(Need to get rid of negativity or excess energy? Get a good size rock. Not a fancy crystal, just a hunk of basic rock. Hold the rock and let your energy flow into it. Then put the rock outside on the ground and the energy will flow into the earth. This transfers the energy without destroying anything. I know witches who have a specific rock just for this purpose.)
I can’t believe they wanted you to make a poppet of yourself and sink it. Besides the environmental impact, based on what materials used put in the river, this feels more like a curse than a remove negativity spell. Did the person who put the spell together want yall to be miserable together, stuck in a river? What happens when the river floods…. I love the Ophelia comment because definitely that feel.
I like the rock idea, I’ve done this with negativity, with harmful spirits too. If you really want it gone gone for good, that’s when you throw that rock in the river that contains your negative energy, etc.
New witches, if you do not curse personally remember to research into what cursing holds! This is exactly why.
You can definitely make poppets of yourself for positivity but you should never EVER destroy or harm those poppets unless you have already removed all connections to you from them - or else you are essentially unintentionally setting up yourself for the possibility of allowing some very negative unexpect outcomes to rear their heads into your life.
Remember the aspects of cursing and what different steps in cursing means to avoid doing that to yourself.
Actions to avoid doing to yourself or a poppet of you (this includes anything with your name or photo or other taglock unless you are doing very specific spirit work contracts but that is a whole different thing):
1. Burning: burning brings not only destruction it is often done to poppets and items of people to represent anger, hateful energy, bringing complete chaos and ruining good things that they have. In cursing you burn poppets of others as one of the more severe types of curses and often to get very large outcomes.
2. Submerging in Water: as discussed above this represents drowning which isn’t literal in most cases but often represents anxieties, sinking emotions, flooding or drowning someone with negative emotions or misery, losing control of one’s life and paranoia. Drowning is usually connected to extreme punishment connected to another’s emotions and their own self-views.
3. Burying: burying a poppet represents caging, confining, repressing and smothering them. It can also be used to ‘bury a person away’ or toss them out of your life. Doing this to something strongly connected to you outside of a properly made witch’s jar or well researched ritual is not only environmentally bad if its not made out of safe materials but can repress yourself from achieving goals, reaching milestones or succeeding in things you do such as trying to improve upon something.
4. Cutting/Slicing: never cut or slice a poppet meant to represent yourself! This represents pain, bringing old wounds to the surface and suffering. I’ve seen way too many younger communities try to say cutting up something with your face or name on it is letting go - it can be but not in this context. Cutting things like strings, ribbons, tangled up knots, etc is much safer and proper without risk of the above.
5. Tying, Knotting, Hanging: using thread, ribbon or anything else to bind up a poppet or photo even if its in a pretty bow is the same actions done as in binding spells - which are meant to restrict and immobilize others. Make sure you do not hang your poppet especially not by the neck or limbs for this can also represent suffocation (usually not literally but emotionally or socially) and removing someone’s ability to protect themselves and making the vulnerable.
Remember intent only goes so far! You can put as much intent as you want into things but that doesn’t always ensure that they will happen - do your research! Research what correspondences are to everything you use, make sure any actions you are using are not going to counteract with the spell or worse possibly ruin the whole spell and make sure you are well researched in self poppet and taglock work!
Note: all craft is different, everyone walks their own path, just research before you try to tackle things that may go against what you are trying to do. As said intent only goes so far. If you are certain that you have a safe method for anything above and have done it before thats great! this is intended for witches who are new, finding their footing and may not realize how to properly protect themselves or master their craft yet. All craft is valid! We just want to make sure people do it safely and know the basics before they jump into things they aren’t prepared for
Hey everyone! This is my list of resources I have made over the course of the existence of this blog, pertaining specifically to death witchcraft and spirit work. (EDIT: I also added divination because it is such a vital part of my own practice) I hope it helps some of you, and provides a resource for you to use! I’ve also thrown in my death work stuff as well. These posts are all mine, coming from separate blogs at times ( @shipping-the-gods,@the-daily-diviner, and @tarnished-headstone (@witchthatiam/@lonesome-bones are the names of this blog from a while ago)); none of these blogs are active. The only blogs I am active on are @shroud-of-roses and @breathing-in-gilded-dust (dodekatheism blog).
Please note you can do these three practices individually, I just choose to put them together for my own personal practice! Pick what you like and use it if you desire.
@academicdisasterfic is the master of the prompted microfic. the thought of getting a random prompt in my ask box and then absolutely nailing the execution of it gives me fits of anxiety, but he does it with incredible precision. my favorite has to be this one where remus and draco have a discussion about being trans; it simply took my breath away.
i know i mentioned it before, but it bears repeating: his letters in transition series with @ihopeyoubothstaysafefromharm is the most special thing on tumblr. the posts make me take a good, hard look at myself every time they come out, and my heart simply bursts when I read the pure, honest beauty that joy and rooney have chosen to share with us. again, words are failing me but I had to try.
random superlatives and recs:
took my breath away: like the sun came out// E // 3K // Drarry // i can pretty safely say that i’ve read hundreds of stories about harry and draco falling in love but this one felt particularly special and sweet. it’s the conversation, the “‘Look at me,’ Harry breathed. ‘I’m always looking at you.’” moment where harry realizes what’s happening and how deep he is and my goodness it’s just perfect.
for a fic tagged PWP it is incrediblysweet:Keep Me Here// E // 7K // Harry/Teddy/Draco // not that PWP and sweetness are mutually exclusive by any stretch but my goodness the feelings are just gorgeous.
“Overall unhinged but in an awesome way”: Sourdough// M // 17K // Drarry // I love how harry and draco are with each other in this fic. rooney’s tagline on tumblr “i write stories about odd people finding love and happiness” really resonated for me as an odd person, and I love how he (and harry) handled draco’s agoraphobia with grace and care. such a sweet, fluffy fic; would read again and again.
heartbreakingly beautiful story about Big Love:Crawl Back Into Your Open Arms // E // 5K // Drarry // love Rooney’s magical theory in this, so smart and devastating. I loved his Draco, with his huge terrifying love and his unwillingness to settle and his wanting to save Harry and knowing when to walk away. thank you, rooney, for that ending. I needed it.
I’m saving this for Christmas because I want to read it when it’s snowy and cozy and I can’t wait:A Melody of You and Me // E // 64K // Drarry // so like, not to wish away 2022 by any means but I’m pretty excited for it to be december.
rooney, i feel pretty lucky to get to be in your orbit and hope to get to know you better. i hope you’re having a great day.
for more info on mutuals march and/or to figure out why the hell I just wrote an ode to you, check out this post.
Protected by her love of horror movies – especially the ones where the masked killer seeks revenge on a world that wronged them – Jade Daniels, an angry, half-Indian outcast, pulls us into her dark mind when blood actually starts to spill into the waters of Indian Lake.
Fleeing from the strict religious compound where she was raised, Vern, in the safety of the forest, gives birth to twins. To keep her small family safe, she unleashes incredible brutality far beyond what a person should be capable of.
Returning to her hometown for a plantation wedding, Mira is forced to acknowledge her history and save herself from what is to come as slaves who were tortured mercilessly roam the land seeking revenge on the descendants—the wedding guests—of those who tortured them.
This reimagining of the classic gothic suspense novel follows the experiences of a courageous socialite in 1950s Mexico who is drawn into the treacherous secrets of an isolated mansion.
An abandoned mansion, its foundations resting on the bones of a bride, is the perfect venue for a group of thrill-seeking friends. Reunited to celebrate a wedding, their fun night quickly spirals into a nightmare as secrets get dragged out and relationships are tested. And lurking in the shadows is the ghost bride with a black smile and a hungry heart. She gets lonely down there in the dirt.
Pairing:Geralt x Jaskier Warning(s):semi-public sex (ish) Rating:explicit
Fic Summary: Geralt and Jaskier have been together for a little while, but Geralt isn’t ready to go public with their relationship. Jaskier is happy to wait, only being in a keep full of Witchers makes some things more difficult to do when you’re trying to keep a relationship secret.
Geralt has yet to mention their relationship to his brothers. At first, Jaskier had understood completely and been happy enough to let Geralt tell them when he’s ready. But what he hadn’t taken into consideration was the heightened senses of witchers and how that affects him.
But it’s been a week now and Jaskier has spent every night since in Geralt’s bed. Which means he hasn’t even been able to jerk off for days and it’s getting frustrating. Only adding to his frustration is the fact that Geralt likes to wake him up by kissing him every morning, a gesture that Jaskier adores right up until the moment his prick tries to get involved.
Because as much as he promises he can be quiet, Geralt won’t fuck him. Something about pheromones or his scent or something, but Jaskier is losing his mind. Whoever decided to dangle Geralt in front of him like this and then say don’t touch should truly be punished.
So Jaskier has taken to picking up solo chores so he doesn’t have to worry about anyone calling him on his unusual frustration. Tonight, he’s volunteered to do the dishes on his own, and while that in itself sparked confusion amongst the Witchers, Jaskier has shrugged it off, saying he was cold and the warm water would help.
He shoos each of them out of the kitchen when they come in offering to help and he’s finally gotten everything washed when Geralt sneaks into the kitchen and creeps up behind him.
