A ‘Season 2’ of the Burn the Witch manga is happening (thank you Kubo-sensei!) and the 'Season 1’ volume cover image!

JP Blu-Ray Cover Art and illustration cards of Burn the Witch; releasing on December 24th for $95

Burn the Witch #2

Burn the Witch #1

Potions go boom

As I’m sure everyone has noticed. Valentine’s Day is coming. Please be careful of love magic. That is to say, don’t force it on anyone or be careful of it being forced on you. Love magic as a concept is great, especially self love magic! Yet, love magic that forces the will of others or is done without consent I can not stand by.

Do some self care, and be with those you care for no matter how you love them. Make some good luck for them and yourself. Remember consent is important! Have a lovely and safe Valentine’s Day.

diaryofabadwitch:

Sigil Sunday! A simple one for these trying times.

“I am well”

Hello my witches!

I have seen this a few times, and I worry for you all. It’s nothing really bad. But, when you are learning something it’s fine to read off of social media, or a particular book, or an article. Just read off more than one source.

Someone may have misinformation that someone else has corrected in another source. Or there are more ways than the way you were shown by one source. Yes, learning from other people is fantastic! I love it. Just do your own research as well.

I’ve seen people say some very wild things due to not doing their own research. One person told me that a girl died by touching a Tarot Card when that was not the case at all. Tarot Cards don’t kill.

So please, go and learn. But, also look into things personally too. This includes my own posts. I show some ways of doing something, but I can never include every way of doing something. After all what if a way that works best for you isn’t one I have shown.

Though also, feel free to ask me to show things different ways. I’m happy to show or talk about another way. Or suggest something to be posted on! I’d be happy to talk about it.

A Happy Imbolc to All that Celebrate it!

As we know, I love to be helpful and help people learn. I want to learn with you guys, and grow as a person. Grow my knowledge and craft. It’s in my name and everything.

But I see a lot happening that I feel shouldn’t, and I should talk a bit about it. You don’t have to fit a cookie cutter stereotype to be a witch. I have seen people so cruel to those of us that are ourselves, and what are we if not ourselves?

So here we go!

Witches are notCookie

Cutter Sugar Cookies

• You don’t need to have a special specific religion. Especially Pagan. Not all witches are Pagan, or even believe in religion. I’ve met so many people who are witches with so many religious views. Pagan, Christian, Jewish, Atheist, Hindu, Buddhist, Agnostic, etc (sorry if you weren’t listed these are examples and I can’t listen every single one ). Pagan is a generalized term anyways that can cover many religions though it can be a religion in and of itself. Some people like prefer that as their label. But Witchcraft isn’t just for one religion.

• A specific gender is also not needed. Male, Female, Genderfluid, Trans, Non-binary, you name it there is a witch of that gender. It isn’t specifically only for Females, Males, or anyone else. This like I said with the religions is for anyone. We are all witches, no matter what gender or label we choose to have. No gender is specifically stronger than another, some just have more experience as knowledge. Also worth mentioning that there is no specific gender label. All witches are witches.

• You can be a witch no matter what your lineage, ethnicity, or race. Your blood is yours, your looks are yours, nothing can stop you from being one (though I do understand it can limit the closeted witches). Don’t listen to people who say otherwise. Your skin colour can’t stop you, your ancestry can’t stop you. You are perfectly you, and if you want to be a witch you can. Your path is yours to make.

• Witches come in all ages! You don’t have to learn since you were a child to be a witch. You can begin at any stage in life. Younger, or older! I’ve seen many witches work together to learn. Teens and adults, children too. Additionally, you also don’t need to come from a family of witches to be a witch. Everyone should have a choice in what path they follow.

• Witches live everywhere. Cites, rural areas of all types, islands. They have big yards, little yards, no yards, etc. Houses, apartments, trailers, cabins, shelters, boathouses, etc. They are in every country! No one specific area is a witch area. Witches are universal. Someday they may even be on moons or other planets! No one can stop a determined witch!

• Beginner witches. No any witches for this matter, your label is yours to decide. Beginner witches if you want to be called baby witches do it. I hear a ton of hate against the wording and it’s ridiculous. Be a baby witch. Dance in the rain. Be you. Call yourself a technology witch if you like that label best and it fits your idea of who you are. Call yourself seven different types of witch mixed into one big label if you want them all. You do you!

• Not all witches like plants, dirt, or animals. Some witches have allergies and can’t work with certain things. There are witches that don’t want to do hexes or curses too! Your comfort zone is important. Don’t do things you don’t want to. Not all witches need to do every little thing every other witch does. Constantly going far out of your comfort zone can be unhealthy. Leading to a lot of anxiety and self doubt. Yes, going out of your comfort zone can be good, but it can also be bad.

• You don’t have to learn constantly and do witchy stuff everyday. Everyone moves at their own pace so there is never a “fall behind” chance. You can’t fall behind in something you teach yourself to do! Or if you’re learning from someone else it’s still good to move at a comfortable pace. Everyone has things to do! It’s okay. Plus, there is always a need for personal time to yourself not doing witch things.

• Maybe you don’t have time to do witchy stuff a lot, or can’t do big things a lot. There are plenty of little things if you want! There can be a lot of self doubt when you never have time. But, not constantly doing witch stuff is okay. Yes it can slowly become a part of everyday life anyways, but you don’t have to constantly go out of your way to do witchy things. You can be a witch and still not constantly work the craft! But, if you want to do witchy things every day there are plenty of little things to do anyways!

• You don’t have to have all the tools others have and use. You don’t need to use Tarot Cards, Pendulums, a Staff, Caldron, or any of that stuff if it isn’t for you. Your craft is yours, what you use and do is up to you. Just like other people’s craft isn’t your choice or path to decide. Some witches work only with energy and intent. Others like going all out and using lots of tools.

• That’s another thing, expenses. You don’t need to buy expensive things to be a witch. You can make a lot of the stuff yourself, or find it. Getting a cheaper version you like better than a higher cost one? Great because you like and picked it. Witchcraft is a lot about intention and using what you have. Swapping things out, and about having the knowledge to do it. You don’t need this exact thing from this exact place harvested at this exact time, you can use this other thing you picked outside on the side of a road with the same purpose as that original thing. But, on the other hand if you want those pretty expensive things, like for example statues, go ahead. No one can stop you besides yourself and the amount of money you want to spend. You don’t have to only use cheaper or handmade things.

• You don’t need to be naturally gifted either to be a witch. Some naturally gifted people don’t even become witches. You don’t need to be able to see auras, feel energy, or be prophetic to be a witch. Witchcraft is knowledge, not always automatic talent. Learning to do things is just as good as being able to do them instantly. Don’t think you can’t be as good a witch as a witch naturally talented with an ability. We are all great, we are just good at different things.

• Doing deity work is not required! You can work the craft without picking a deity, or even work with multiple. Your path is your path. If you aren’t comfortable with deity work you don’t have to do it. Or maybe you are scared of it not working out. You don’t have to continue working with them if it isn’t working out! You can just thank them and go your separate ways. At least knowing you can stop may help you feel a bit braver!

• If you want a big altar, that’s okay. Some people have an entire room dedicated to the craft. Maybe you want a small altar, great make a little one that can fit on a little shelf or maybe inside a cabinet. Traveling altars are great, good for if you want an altar you can carry around with you to practice anywhere. Want a digital altar, that’s fine! Compile your witch stuff into nice folders and have a nice background or make a Tumblr for it. What about a drawn altar (an altar that is on a piece of paper and designed however you want)? Do it, show me them! Love yourself and your art. Don’t want an altar at all? You don’t really need one, it isn’t required. It’s your choice.

• Your aesthetic is yours to pick. You can be the stereotypical witch if you want, or go more forest friend. Maybe you want cute, or sparkly. Maybe dark, or spooky. It’s your choice, you can do what you want. I really really want to make this known. I keep seeing “witches aren’t cute/can’t be cute”, and “witches can’t look like All Hallows Eve witches”. You can look as you please, it doesn’t affect your witchcraft how you dress daily. Your clothes can affect your happiness, and if you’re happy then that’s what matters!

• Please don’t gatekeep, anyone is welcome to try the craft and decide themselves if this is for them. It won’t make you any less a witch. Yes, there are occasionally some odd apples, but who isn’t odd. Gatekeeping stops people from joining, and with that what’s the point? Witchcraft is to be shared. Please don’t force anyone in or out of the craft, it isn’t your choice to decide.

No witch is the same. Everyone’s paths and needs are different. We all do different things, we all have our personal limitations and boundaries. We can’t generalize witches as one specific type of thing. We aren’t cookie cutter sugar cookies. We are a community. We need to stop the hate, and be more welcoming. Help correct misinformation, help boost those others have put down. Band together, be ourselves.

Witchcraft is so many things. Love, and self care. Knowledge and facts. Intuition and creativity. Using what we have, orcan get ahold of. Witchcraft is us, magic connects all our hearts at least a little bit. We are a group. Together we can be truly ourselves. Happy, or sad. Mad, or calm. Whatever we are we have each other.

I ended this on a bit of a rant, or maybe this whole thing is a rant full of frustrations on the hatred people spread. On the gatekeeping. But, maybe someone will see this and feel free to become who they want.

Love,

Sweater

What’s a witch that doesn’t share their knowledge after all? -Sweater

A Little More About Sigils

After you have had practice you’ll have full opportunity to play around and try new things. The few methods I showed are not all the methods there are. You can make your own methods too.

You’ll be able to draw them with more of a flow, or add more finesse! Adding extra curls, dots, and dashes as needed. Really getting creative and connecting to your magic.

Getting your own style, or researching other methods if those don’t work for you. Different lexicons, different symbols.

I wish you all the very best of luck with your work and Sigils!

Method Five-

Cross Pull Apart

This one is very similar to our first method of the pull apart, but this one is built off of a +.

You will do as we did the first time.

Write your intentions clearly, remove your vowels and doubles, and then pull apart your letters.

This time the only difference is you have a premade + you build off of, like so-

Method Four- Doodles

This is a very simple way for some, not everyone though. You can do this one a few ways.

You can just scribble or doodle until lines and shapes begin to pop out for you, then you redraw those lines/shapes. Moving them around until your sigil really feels as it should be.

You can also draw little images of what you feel correlates to your intentions. Such as a potted plant or blooming flower for a plant health sigil.

Or use premade witch symbols and mold them into a sigil with your intentions.

Just like the other methods my example is “My Spells Manifest”.

Method Three- Circle Chart

This is different from our other chart system, as this has no numbers and go directly onto the chart.

The outer circle has thirteen letters, A-M. The second circle is eight letters, N-U. Final circle has five letters, V-Z.

Like our other examples the example is “My Spells Manifest”, I did one with and one without vowels.

The second is without vowels, the third is with vowels.

Method Two-

Charts and Points

As before we clearly write our intentions. Focusing on our intentions as we write them an create our sigil. This one we build a chart. Some popular charts are Numerology charts, such as the Pythagorean or Chaldean Charts. But you can just pick a number and write the alphabet following the numbers if desired.

You’ll dot out the same number of points as numbers in your chart. The Pythagorean Chart uses nine, so you’d use nine dots for example. You’ll chart your Sigil by connecting the dots along your letters.

Like my first example, this is an example of “My spells manifest”.

The first photo is the Pythagorean Chart without vowels. The second is the Chaldean Chart without Vowels, and the third is the Chaldean Chart with Vowels.

After drawn you can erase the numbers and points as desired so it looks more clean.

You are only as limited as your chart.