circles-in-the-snow

[circles-in-the-snow]

I hate to say it.

I don't think I can stay on tumblr. I just don't feel welcome here as an ecclectic who puts myself into my practise. So many people vehemantly attack me for not being traditional, and if they don't attack me, most of the time they are quiet. They accuse me of things I dont do, like disrespecting religion, and warp my intentions into something negative or fluffy.

I have been attacked for my pizza post.... A post about using pizza in witchcraft made me suddenly a lesser lifeform to someone. (I just appreciate creativity and looking from new perspectives.) A concept best shown in The Hanged Man.

I have been attacked far too much at this point to continue feeling comfortable on tumblr. I've moved on to discord servers and other people who fill my life with joy, rather than tearing it to pieces because they think tradition is more important than treating people with kindness and respect.

This blog will remain up as a reference and maybe I will come back to it someday. But for now, I need the space on my phone for an app that builds me up rather than tears me down.

Thank you to everyone who followed me and I am happy you were able to find joy and fullfillment from my random posts. If you need anything feel free to pm me and I will check in once in a while.

Thank you everyone, and goodbye.

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Hell yeah! I have to try and do some spellwork within games. That would be super fun.

I actually have thought of creating a game where you can have virtual altars and do spellwork using VR. (With options for non VR since its expensive) I think it'd be great for people in the closet or who can't afford a lot of tools and struggle with magick without tools.

Can’t wait to get home and play sims tbh

Wana make Freyja and make her a nice house and leave offerings for her there

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This is an awesome way to explain this.

“Does this count as an offering?”

Obviously I can’t give one answer that works for every person. So here’s just a little thing to help with defining what is/isn’t an acceptable offering to YOUR practice! Just go through and really think about what you believe is the answer to each of the questions. There are no wrong or best answers, it’s just finding what you think for your personal beliefs, which will inform how you practice.

Why do we make offerings?  Do the gods need or want anything from us? Is it to give back, or to further our own connection with them? To please them? What about the act of offerings betters your practice? What role is it filling?

How are the offerings received? Do the gods take the energy from the item? Do they get a copy of it in their metaphysical space? Do they now own the entire item as part of their domain? Do they simply take the item and bless it for us? Is the act of giving/sacrificing something we love to them (saying that we love them more than that thing) more important than the thing itself? Is that sentiment the real offering?  Can I offer this thing in a way where I think they’ll receive it? If you perceive the act of the offering as more important than the actual offering, then offering something you were just going to throw away isn’t as valuable because there’s no real sacrifice. If you view them as wanting/needing nothing, then it doesn’t make sense to throw out something you could just eat. If you view the gods as owning the entire offering, including its physical form, then eating a food offering would not make sense.

ALSO, FOR DEVOTIONAL ACTS….

What do the gods get from a devotional act? Are devotional acts just to help us understand and connect with a deity’s domain better, or do they get something out of it? Is it shaping the world in line with their perceived values? Is it shaping us into better followers? Does it just make them happy to see us doing stuff they like in their name?

What makes an act devotional? Is anything under their domain a devotional act, or do you have to consciously define it as such?  Does the act have to be out of your way (such as volunteering somewhere/something you wouldn’t normally do on your own) or are your usual habits and maintenance (Such as regular hygiene, cleaning, eating food, etc.) acceptable? This comes back to how they receive the offering (is it the act of doing something because you’re dedicated to them valuable, or just the act itself?)  What must be done to make the act a dedicated one? Can it be dedicated after the act has begun? Will performing this devotional act as an offering fulfill the outlines of giving and receiving an offering I’ve made for myself?

If you can answer all of these, then just run through the checklist in your mind when wondering if something counts. “What is it that I’m giving with this? What is it they’re getting from this, if anything? Can this offering be recognized and received? Is everybody I believe benefits from an offering being benefited?”

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Oh no....its a corgi <3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3

The perfect delivery

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That is a fascinating way to do worship and I wonder if you could apply it to spellwork too 

Can’t wait to get home and play sims tbh

Wana make Freyja and make her a nice house and leave offerings for her there

[circles-in-the-snow]

NOTE: Keep in mind that these are all opinions from my own personal path and study, they are by no means set in stone. Feel free to apply your own associations instead of mine. If you associate wands with air instead of fire, by all means use wands for air. My correlations are not your correlations, and this is not me bashing your path or telling you that you are wrong. I am just sharing my grimoire page.

Circles can be as much a part of a spell as anything else. They can be physical, visual, or astral. Astral being debatably visual by some definitions.

Chalk

just a circle of chalk but can be more complex with symbols, runes, and sigils

Crystals

Needs a lot of crystals, but surrounds the area with energy. Would be very powerful

Flowers

Evocative, beautiful. Probably very good for blessings and spells having to do with strong emotions like love and happiness

Salt

DO NOT DO OUTSIDE!! Salt can hurt the fertility of the earth and kill plants.

Good for protective magic or an affordable option

Add herbs to the salt for extra potential

Liquid

Good for connection to water or even as an offering to a god of wine or spirits.

Make sure you have enough!

Warps wood floors, best done outside or in a basement especially in an apartment.

Group

Very powerful, the circle formed by joining hands.

So powerful and evocative that it is popular outside of witchcraft. (Prayer circles, football, circling up in schools)

From personal experience this circle works VERY well on its own without anything else. The power of two people sending out an intention is 10x stronger.

Takes even more focus at least for me

Easier with a tool

Wand: Great connection with fire 

Staves: Great connection with fire and/or Earth

Athame/Sword: Connection with air

Hand: Connection with self/ earth

Takes more focus

Takes practice in astral travel

Infinite possibilities for symbolism and complexity

often can be intuitively made. Perfect when you aren't sure what you want.

I am uncertain how easy it is to use for physical plane effects. Perhaps this circle is better suited to spiritual and emotional needs as well as personal.

It is debatable what circles are specifically used for. Some witches use them towards protecting them from entities. Some say they are used to "create sacred space" defined as sanctifying the space, some say it is a container. I will go over all three.

Some believe that when you do magic you become vulnerable, and so a circle for these people is designed to protect you from negative energy and entities while you work. But this depends on if you believe in negative entities.

This concept is often misunderstood. Most pagans believe that everything is sacred, but some do not. For those who do believe this, there is a feeling that this method is wrong. Everything is sacred, so how can we make something sacred? The issue is not in practice but in definition for many of these pagans. What they mean by "sacred space" is rather creating a safe space, a place where you can focus and work freely without fear.

Though many also consider this to be a cleansing thing, creating a circle of neutral energy that will not be tainted by the energies of the world. The problem with this concept is that, yes it may stay clean while it is with you, but eventually you have to let it go out into the world where it will still get tainted. DON'T HELICOPTER PARENT YOUR ENERGY XD. Jokes aside, having clean energy to work with may be easier for some, so this ideology still has it's uses.

The latter concept is that of a container that can hold the energies you raise. The idea is that it is easier to raise enough energy to fill a small space than it is to raise enough to fill a large space. This too has it's problems. If you need a shit ton of energy, does this mean you need a huge circle?

I believe that it is all of these things.

A circle, first of all, protects from anything that may try to get in. It creates a safe space for the caster, a place where one can feel comfortable and focus on the task at hand.

A circle creates an energy void. Void in my practice is where we draw energy from. So having a circle where I can step into the raw energies of Void is very useful. I can then shape those energies into ones directed towards my purpose.

It also creates a container to work with and shape those energies. Many will say you cannot step out of circle, but while I do believe you may carry the energies you raised out of the circle, I doubt it would be all of it. This is like opening a door into a room full of gas and letting a little bit out. It may have an effect, but it wont release all of the gas. This is why we have the practice of Doors.

A circle I believe can contain a lot of energy, and to make a huge circle that you are trying to fill yourself would be a very long and arduous task. I managed a circle the size of my living room just barely on the night of the last super moon. I could feel the energies in the space, but there were small areas that felt empty. That was a couple hours of work. 

You do not need a large circle to make immeasurable good happen. 

A large circle is best for multiple people who can work together to fill it. Make your circle just big enough to move around in.

Doors are created in several different ways, the only one I know currently is to cut a door with your athame. I'm unsure how this functions exactly yet. I have yet to study this in great detail. For now it’s just best to get in the habit of having everything you need with you if at all possible.

I hope that this is helpful to you guys or enlightening towards how other people practice if you don’t do it the same way as me. Feel free to ask me any questions and if I don’t have an answer that gives me a new reason to study!

Please post your own methods as well! I would love to see how others do it. <3

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<3 @sophililly-shades

[Image description - Images of the demisexual and demiromantic pride flag with the text: If you wanna be my lover you also gotta be my friend. End description.]

Like what I make? Please support me on kofi! <3 https://ko-fi.com/samhannes

[circles-in-the-snow]

Now I don’t always agree with Nightshade, But fuck if I wont share my positive experiences with them. They have given me a community, imperfect as it is, where I can be myself and learn about other ways of doing things. They are the only ones who took the time to explain appropriation to me in a way that respects my PTSD and anxiety. They sacrificed a lot to do that emotionally and I absolutely appreciate that and will not negate the difficulty of doing that, They have been a positive resource for me and my boyfriend. He just started on this path and I have been on it for about half a year. This server has helped me learn so much and has inspired me to do many things. They have been supportive and kind which takes a lot of patience. Being in a leadership role is incredibly hard as one has to put aside a lot of themselves for the betterment of the thing they are running. And I recognize that publicly here and appreciate it.

If you havent already, join nightshade. I’ve run servers and been on many bad and good ones, so I can attest that this one is run well.

Where witchblr failed me, Nightshade suceeded.

Addressing Criticism of Nightshade Network

Normally I do not publicly post about drama that goes on in my server because I feel that it often turns unproductive quickly. However, several people have recently stepped forward to criticize the Nightshade Network on tumblr. Now, I personally have no issue with civil debate and criticism of the Nightshade Network. However, many of the claims made by @thewitchylibrary and others are totally untrue, and I’m here to set the record straight.

Many of the callouts against me are in relation to my mental illness and how that impacts my ability to run the server. I will admit that in the earlier days of the Nightshade Network that I often let my emotions get the best of me. However, to counteract that, I often allow my staff members to handle issues within the server if I feel my emotions are getting in the way. Claiming that I’m “unfit” to run a discord server because I’m mentally ill is totally ableist and ignores all of the steps that I’ve taken to improve myself and how I deal with people.

Yes, we have a participation requirement. And yes, some people aren’t fond of it, but we have this requirement for a reason: we want to make sure the server stays active. While having a large number of users is pretty neat, if more than half of those users never check the server, they make the server feel much more bloated than it is. We do kick inactive users, but they’re welcome to rejoin at any time. There is no punishment for it. And if anyone is unable to meet the requirement but still wants to say, they just have to say so. And being active is as easy as posting 2 links every few months, answering a prompt, or posting a picture of your pet. We also allow people to choose alternative means of gaining participation if they don’t like the listed suggestions.

Next, there have been claims that we are hypocritical in how we deal with terminology in the trans community. This claim is false. We accept all pronouns and neopronouns. The issue in question is that we ask people to use “Latine” instead of “Latinx” because “Latinx” is difficult to pronounce in Spanish. One of our mods, who is a Spanish-speaker, has explained on several occasions that “Latinx” is a very American term and that Latine is a bit easier to use while still gender neutral.

Another criticism thrown against me is that my craft is somehow fake because I started so young. Personally, if that’s what thewitchylibrary wants to think of me, fine. TWL does not know me personally, nor do I think I’ve ever had a conversation with them once, so they are clearly just attempting to slander me at this point in an attempt to discredit me. Yes, I started practicing when I turned 13. Was I great witch at 13? Hell no, but that’s when I started, and I’ve been improving ever since. That is all I will say on that matter because I’m confident in my craft and don’t feel the need to justify it. I truly believe much of this is due to a personal grudge that TWL has against NN, and as such won’t entertain these particular insults.

Another criticism is that NN is not educational. This, I feel, is a conclusion that one can only come to if they do not take advantage of our educational opportunities (our monthly rituals, meditations, classes, study groups, mentorships, etc.) We have many talented and educated practitioners on our server. To deny we are educational is to erase all of their work as well. Everyone who is placed in a leadership role in education is thoroughly vetted to ensure they know what they’re talking about.

These appear to be the main issues at the moment, but I may respond further if the @thewitchylibrary chooses not to speak with me privately and instead wishes to call me out publicly over rumors and drama. I would much rather settle this privately and in a mature way, as I wish no ill-will on the mod of TWL. And to my supporters, please do not send hate to this person.

I will admit that I’m not perfect. My staff isn’t perfect either. But we try our best. We work on a server of 600+ people 7 days a week for free. Sometimes we handle things badly, but we’re constantly learning from our mistakes and are willing to listen on how to improve. Many of these posts claim otherwise, yet the majority of our userbase acknowledges the growth and changes that we have made. If these slanderous posts dissuade you from joining the Nightshade Network, I understand. But please remember that there are 2 sides to every story, and these claims do not represent NN as a whole.

I sincerely apologize to everyone who has had a negative experience on NN. I’m sorry that I haven’t been more receptive to feedback and have allowed my own visions for the server take precedence. I will take this criticism (at least, the criticism based in truth and not grudes or ableism) and use it to improve the server in the future.

If anyone has any questions or concerns about this, you’re welcome to dm me or message a member of NN staff. Thank you.

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I am not telling you to become a robot. I am aware that others do tell you to be a robot and use your feelings against you as a way of avoiding the topic. That is NOT what I am doing. I want to hear you. I want to feel your pain. I want to understand.

I am also not telling you to stop making me feel bad. I am asking you to listen when I say that I am having a panic attack. Panic attacks are very serious. And pretending they dont matter only succeeds in making it worse. 

I have had such a bad panic attack that I threatened the person yelling at me because my anxiety was telling me that I was in danger. This person brought me to this state by continuing to ignore the attack I was having. 

TRIGGER WARNING: SUICIDE

It was so bad that I very nearly killed myself in that moment to avoid being attacked. 

TRIGGER WARNING: SUICIDE

This is how serious this disorder can be. So when I say “Please calm down” Or when I say that “I can’t understand when someone is yelling” I am talking about my disorder, NOT “tone policing.”

Well now you’ve just made me mad. I left saying that “I needed to stop because I was having a panic attack” and I was about to come back and say, “Hey, I’ve taken a moment to calm down, I feel better now and would love to talk to you about this” But no, you just invalidate my feelings and my mental disorder by saying “I’m not responcible” and then block me. In a conversation about invalidating feelings. Good job.

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My asking for things to be calm is not me asking for comfort. It is me trying to deal with my disability. I struggle with thinking. Its part of my multiple disabilities. I have to be calm to be able to process and understand things. My PTSD makes it so that anger causes me to panic. When I panic, I can’t think. When I can’t think, I can’t process your information.  I am not “Tone policing” I am asking for you to not trigger my PTSD. I am asking for you to treat my disability with respect.  I am not trying to disrespect and negate your feelings, so why are you disrespecting and negating mine?

Well now you’ve just made me mad. I left saying that “I needed to stop because I was having a panic attack” and I was about to come back and say, “Hey, I’ve taken a moment to calm down, I feel better now and would love to talk to you about this” But no, you just invalidate my feelings and my mental disorder by saying “I’m not responcible” and then block me. In a conversation about invalidating feelings. Good job.

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Well now you’ve just made me mad. I left saying that “I needed to stop because I was having a panic attack” and I was about to come back and say, “Hey, I’ve taken a moment to calm down, I feel better now and would love to talk to you about this” But no, you just invalidate my feelings and my mental disorder by saying “I’m not responcible” and then block me. In a conversation about invalidating feelings. Good job.

[circles-in-the-snow]

I've been doing a lot of personal growth lately. But I have many things to share with you. When I'm ready I will show you it all. Thank you for your patience in me and my lack of activity.

[circles-in-the-snow]

The world is a little more magickal with you in it.

The world is a little happier with you in it.

[circles-in-the-snow]

Ty so much!

a prayer for hestia

love, make me a magpie, that i might add to my hoard things like green bottles and photographs. may they beautify my life and help me remember. make of my life a thing bound. let the sun tickle me, tickle things that make me. let us tend to the world as our fiery hearth, always tossing more in, doing more than one art. 

may we now and then step in the rain. let it patter our harried heads. then we might notice between everything the strands we tied shaking with wet gems as they catch what falls.

carry our eyes to the pink and green oily film washing away–not to an end. make us collectors of bandaids and shards. we hold the broken remnants like storm drains.

bring to my feet shells with the animals gone as the crestfallen waves blue, though, bear on.

sing the songs of every day: the housekeeper’s salty sweat, the home, its cracks and prints and spots we can’t quite get. and if the creator still creates (in which i put all my faith) then put me gently in my place.

make the drawers and chairs and the cupboards too big. make the singing too loud, too obnoxious. and the cans and the boxes the knick-knacks and lots, the blessings that pour from our dear friends like faucets–let them all be too many in a dwelling this size.

and i’ll wield sharp gratitude to break shells with my mouth, to be born for it all, yoked, wet, and crying, too.

[circles-in-the-snow]

@sophililly-shades

I love you

for insecure angels

your partner still loves you even when they are away.

your friends still loves you even when they are away.

they will sill love you even if they have other friends.

they weill still love you even if you are not okay.

they will still love you even if they don’t reply immediately.

they will still love you even if you don’t reply them immediately.

they will still love you even if they can’t talk in a exact moment.

they will still love you even they are not around you 24/7.

they will still love you even if you don’t love some things about yourself.

“they are not replying!”

MAYBE

they fell asleep.

they are busy.

they don’t feel okay to talk right now.

they had to immediately leave for some reason.

they are studying.

they are working.

they are practicing a hobby.

they forgot to reply by distraction.

THEY STILL LOVE YOU.

“they are distant!”

MAYBE

they are going through a hard time.

they are hurt by something you said or did (don’t get paranoid because of it, try to talk to them).

they are very busy with work or studies.

they are planning something good for you.

THEY STILL LOVE YOU.

“i made a mistake and hurt them.” you can always apologize! everyone makes mistakes.

“they made a mistake and hurt me.” tell your feelings to them.

“they will leave me, i know it.” check if it’s not your paranoid thoughts acting out and tell your feelings to them, we can’t be 100% sure if someone will abandon us.

“they have someone better in their lives.” i personally don’t believe in “someone better”, because we all have good and bad aspects, but it doesn’t even matter if they have someone better, because they are with you because they like you and not because of someone else or whatever.

“i’m not enough.” YOU ARE ENOUGH FOR THEM. THEY LOVE YOU.

“i’m ugly.” YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL FOR THEM. THEY LOVE YOU.

- Everything I said relates to healthy relationships only. I don’t support abusive relationships and please take care of yourself and look for help if you are being abused.

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👉👉 ;3

who else is taking a big sip of

My Significant Other Is Amazing And Im So Lucky to Have Them In My Life juice on this fine tuesday

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Witchblr Variety Challenge!!

Find one person who follows each of these magickal traditions and ask them to give a basic overview of the kinds of things they practice, what gods they follow, If it's closed or open, divination, do they use the term witch? ect. 

Learn 5 or 6 basic beliefs and practices. 

Finding witchy youtubers or bloggers who have posted a video or a post explaining this also counts! If you find a blog that claims to be any of these things as well, feel free to send in an anonymous ask!  

Green Magick  

Death Magick  

Kemeticism  

Hellenic 

Wiccan 

Ecclectic   

Druidry   

Shamans  

Christo-pagan  

Cosmic (moon sun and stars)  

Alchemist  

Angel/demon  

Family tradition (Note: They may not be willing to share everything, be respectful and ask what they can share)  

Voodoo/ hoodoo/ rootwork  

Hearth witch  

Heathen  

Fae Witch  

Celtic Witch  

Wildwood 

One witch who doesn't fit any of these categories 

 What systems did you like and from what traditions? 

 What systems did you dislike and from what traditions? 

 How were each of these individuals the same? How were they different? 

 Any new topics of study that interest you?

Remember to be respectful!! This is for growth and expansion! And to appreciate the vast diversity of our amazing community! <3 It is not to judge or create dissension! Come on! Lets encourage unity this valentines day!