acutewitchcraft - Tumblr blog

acutewitchcraft · 1 month ago

Text

🌙 How To Build An Altar That Feels Like Home

When I built my first altar, it looked like a sad thrift store shelf, mismatched candles, half-melted incense sticks, a chipped mug standing in for a chalice. I was so desperate for it to look witchy, like the glossy photos in books. But it didn’t feel like mine. It felt like a stranger’s stage.

It took me years, and many messy, candle-wax-soaked attempts, to realize: your altar isn’t an Instagram post. It’s a heartbeat. It’s your magic’s nest. It should feel like home, because it is one.

Here’s how I’ve learned to build an altar that breathes with you, one that feels like warm floors, familiar shadows, and the exact right hush of your spirit.

🕯️ 1. Know What An Altar Really Is

Strip away the fancy words: an altar is just a sacred spot. It’s where you gather your power and your gratitude in one place.

It can be as humble as a windowsill or as grand as a dedicated room. A shelf, a table, a box, all that matters is intention.

Think of it as a tiny crossroads: your body, your spirit, and your magic meet there. The rest is just trimmings.

🌿 2. Start With What Calls You

Forget the shopping list that says you must have a pentacle, a wand, a chalice, this and that.

Ask: what do you reach for when you feel witchiest? A candle that smells like your grandmother’s kitchen? A stone you found at the river? A jar of salt?

Your altar is not a museum. It’s a nest of meaning. Let it be ugly at first. Let it be real.

🔮 3. Give It a Heartbeat

I always tell baby witches: your altar’s alive if it changes with you.

Maybe you set it up on the floor for a spell, then move it to a shelf when you get a cat who loves knocking things over. Maybe you swap the flowers every season. Maybe you leave offerings that rot a little, because magic is not sterile.

Mine has bits of charred candle wicks, a cracked seashell, and a scrap of cloth from my mother’s apron. I clean it, but I don’t bleach it of history.

🗝️ 4. Make It a Conversation

An altar is not a monologue. You don’t just speak at it. You speak with it.

When you light a candle, linger. When you place a new object, ask it, “What do you bring here?” Listen. Maybe you rearrange things when they feel stale. Maybe you sleep with a stone under your pillow before giving it a spot on your altar, so it knows your dreams.

This is the bit the books forget to tell you: your altar listens back.

🌙 5. Protect It, But Don’t Police It

It’s good to cleanse your altar, blow off dust, pass smoke over it, ring a bell if it feels heavy.

But don’t let perfectionism be your deity. I once wasted hours agonizing over where to put a feather. It’s a feather, Nyra. Spirits don’t care if it’s center-left or right.

Your hands are sacred. Trust them.

🕸️ A Few Simple Ideas To Try

Place something that represents each element, but only if it feels real to you. A rock, a candle, a cup of water, a pinch of salt.

Add one thing that smells good. Scent ties your spirit to memory.

Leave an offering to your guides or ancestors, even if it’s just a whisper of thanks.

Keep a tiny cloth or broom nearby to sweep off old energy when needed.

🌒 A Final Whisper

Your altar is not a shrine to aesthetics, it’s a mirror for your spirit.

Build it slow. Let it shift. Let it hold your tears, your giggles, your burnt matches and hopeful wishes.

One day you’ll sit at that sacred little corner, a mug of tea in hand, and think: This is mine. And it will hum back: Yes. And I am yours.

— Nyra

#witchy things #reblog #huh...

637 notes · View notes

acutewitchcraft · 5 months ago

Text

Why You Should Learn Multiple Divination Methods

Divination is a powerful tool for gaining insight, guidance, and clarity in life. While many practitioners have a preferred method, learning multiple forms of divination offers unique advantages and deepens your spiritual practice. Here’s why expanding your divinatory skill set is beneficial.

Different Tools for Different Questions

Each divination method excels in certain areas. By knowing more than one, you can choose the most effective tool for each situation, for example:

• Tarot provides in-depth storytelling and psychological insight.

• Runes offer direct, ancient wisdom with a no-nonsense approach.

• Pendulum dowsing gives quick yes/no answers for direct guidance.

• Scrying (mirrors, water, flames) connects you with visions and subconscious messages.

Having multiple techniques allows you to select the best one for your needs.

Cross-Validation for Stronger Readings

Using multiple forms of divination to confirm a message strengthens its reliability. If tarot, runes, and pendulum dowsing all point to the same answer, you can be more confident in your reading.

Adaptability in Different Environments

Some divination methods require more space or time than others. Having multiple techniques lets you practice divination anywhere, for example:

• Tarot and runes are great for detailed readings but require physical tools.

• Numerology or astrology can be done mentally when you’re without tools.

• Pendulums and scrying can be subtle enough for on-the-go divination.

Deeper Understanding of Symbolism and Intuition

Each system has its own symbolic language. Learning multiple forms of divination enhances your ability to recognize patterns and messages from the universe. For example:

• Studying astrology deepens your understanding of tarot’s planetary influences.

• Learning numerology helps with interpreting numbers in divination spreads.

• Scrying sharpens your intuitive abilities for other methods.

The more symbols and correspondences you understand, the stronger your divinatory skills become.

Personal and Spiritual Growth

Every divination system has its own philosophy and historical roots. By exploring multiple methods, you:

• Gain a broader perspective on the unseen forces in your life.

• Connect with different spiritual traditions and expand your knowledge.

• Strengthen your intuitive and psychic abilities through diverse practices.

Enhanced Connection with Spirits and Deities

Some deities or spirits prefer specific divination methods. Expanding your knowledge allows you to communicate more effectively with different energies.

• Hekate is often associated with scrying and key-based divination.

• Odin, a god of wisdom, is connected to the runes.

• Mercury/Hermes aligns with dice and lot casting.

• Many demons are associated with divination practices, such as Gremory, Dantalion, Flereous, Delepitore, and more.

Having multiple methods lets you tailor your practice to your spiritual allies.

Avoiding Divination Burnout or Bias

Using only one form of divination can sometimes lead to mental fatigue or a fixed perspective. Switching between different methods keeps your practice fresh and prevents over-reliance on a single tool.

Knowing multiple forms of divination makes you a more well-rounded and adaptable practitioner. It strengthens your intuition, deepens your spiritual connections, and gives you access to the best method for any question or situation.

Types Of Divination

#reblog #divination

187 notes · View notes

acutewitchcraft · 5 months ago

Text

tips for adhd witches!

[[before you expand: LONG text post!!]]

I got diagnosed only a couple months ago, but I have been practicing witchcraft for a little bit now. So in retrospect, here is stuff that I realized I have been doing to cope the whole time, and some new things I'm tinkering with :) Please feel free to leave your own tips or thoughts!

At all costs, avoid promising gods and spirits that YOU WILL uphold a rigid routine.

Just do not promise to give daily offerings! JUST DON'T DO IT. If you struggle with upholding a regular routine, do not promise gods or spirits you will uphold a routine for them. You should only promise things you are confident you can deliver. ((If you identify as a beginner witch it's my personal belief that you should not be promising anyone anything.))

Delete from your mindset that all witches are supposed to uphold rigid routines.

Give yourself breathing room: if you want to give scheduled offerings, maybe do one on the full moon. Or, plan it to coincide with other activities that interest you, and that you're likely to show up for.

Unless you have a few hours a week to devote to your practice, you should probably not be dedicating yourself to doing daily anything.

Rigid routine is not the only way to get regular experience with magic, build relationships with gods or spirits, or improve in your craft! You simply do not have to promise yourself or anyone else that you will do X actions at Y times.

Instead of having "do X for Y minutes on Z days" routines, try developing a streamlined ritual you can fit in anywhere for the really important stuff.

Maybe there are some really important things in your practice that you want to do on a regular basis. Maybe these are things like:

Quick personal shielding

Acknowledging and honoring spirits

General offering

Prayer for guidance

Instead of saying "I'll do shielding for 5 minutes every day after breakfast, then of course my offering ritual-", you can put a streamlined (short, easy) ritual together where you do all four of these things at once.

Deep breaths, acknowledge and honor the spirits, ask for assistance in raising a shield, offering excess raised energy to them, and praying for guidance in the upcoming task.

It should take maybe like, 2 minutes tops.

Then, slot this streamlined ritual in before most practice activities. Like:

Before other energy work

Before divination

Before spellwork

Or, use it as a sort of 'generic' access point of connection and perform this ritual:

When you shower, to calm down from the day

When you're on transit to prepare for the upcoming day

When you're feeling grateful and want to share the moment with the spirits

When you're feeling sad and need support

Instead of forcing important actions into routines that may be hard to follow, find a way to carry these actions around with you in an accessible ritual, like carrying snacks around in a bag. This way you can use other exciting activities, or other life events, as a reminder to practice your ritual of important things :)

Build a clear system of omens for yourself. Omens can intrude on your daily life and get your attention.

Maybe you have alarm blindness, forget to do divination, forget to check in with spells - so asking for omens can be a huge help. They are spontaneous messages that catch your eye. Helpful!

Research cultural omens

Research omens in your magical tradition

Journal and brainstorm personal omens

Write out, for yourself, a short list of personal omens.

Solid black pigeons mean a spirit wants attention. Seeing your favorite tree species means a spell was successful. Three gray dots means a spell failed. The scent of cinnamon buns means fortune is headed your way.

Perform a ritual announcing your chosen omens to the Powers That Be. Invite those Powers, Yourself, Life, the Universe, and Everything to send you true, accurate, and helpful messages through these omens.

Working with omens in this way is a skill that evolves over time. Your personal omen system will evolve over time if you use it. Think of it as another form of divination!

(Tip: Combine symbols with colors for an advanced system that's easy to remember. Oak trees are prosperity, but black means slow movement, red means powerful, and white means failure. After a spell you see a plumbing truck with a red oak tree logo; powerful prosperity. Etc.)

Build all your spells, rituals, and everything with the foresight that you are probably going to forget about it or not return to it for a long time.

Employ foresight and:

Encode retirement/shutdown functions into your spells!! Do you want the spell to burn out completely and leave the vessel hollow so you don't have to deal with the vessel later on? Specify that! Do you want the spell to go to 'power saver mode' and hibernate so you can save the vessel and recharge it later? Specify!

ENCODE OMENS INTO SPELLS TO REMIND YOU TO TAKE ACTIONS! "This spell brings me financial benefit, and when it runs low, I will see my omen of slow growth - a solid black tree."

Assume that you are going to completely forget that you're able to take care of this problem, so encode the spells assuming you will never remember to deal with this again:

Spell for people that will remember they want to deal with Monica (they will also be working with wards, divination, and subtle cunning): "Stop Monica at the front desk from assaulting me with her dark energies, or else limit how much of her energy can reach me."

Spell for people that are going to completely forget this is an issue they can take care of and won't do another spell on it for maybe 18 months: "Stop Monica from assaulting me with her dark energies, or reveal to everyone in the office her dark nature, but if neither of these things is possible, change something in the office so that we never interact again."

Assume you will forget about individual spells, that you will accumulate way to many spells than you can individually attend to, and that you may never take final steps like cleansing and deconstructing old spell vessels.

Build a spellcasting altar, or a spell recharging altar, where you store up all your vessels. Recharge them all at once, as often as you remember to.

Poor plan: "And when this vessel runs down I will recharge it with the waxing moon as I stand under the orange tree-" More tenable plan: "And when this vessel runs down let it drink energy from my altar; let it take up any energy that suits it; let it feed on what is available to it, according to its needs."

Focus on learning how to tie spells to external energy sources so they will stay charged for way longer.

For easy deconstruction, set blanket conditions for every vessel that it be undone and the magic erased if you take a simple action. This is called a kill code. You bake it into spells and it makes deconstruction way easier.

Try developing a barbarous word of undoing and using it every time you want to undo a vessel or a spell; this word will gain power and can become very helpful in other ways.

Once again, plan spells with the foresight that it will be difficult/unlikely for you to re-engage for formal deconstruction procedures. So, anticipate your future needs during spellcasting: "And if I ever open this jar and take out the things inside it, let this spell be released and return to the earth, let it fade away without trouble and nourish anything around it as fallen logs nourish the forest floor." This way, you know that if you accidentally forget about a spell or just take it apart, the magic already has instructions to safely dissipate and you don't have to worry.

Develop a visual language to remind you of what collected objects and spell vessels are.

This folds in real nice with a personal omen system!!

Use a combination of colors, established symbols (planetary, alchemical), and personal symbols to develop a visual conlang that helps you keep track of what things are.

If applicable, decorate or modify spell vessels so you can tell at a glance what the spell is for (violet symbol of Venus next to a paw: a spell to improve relationships with the spirits that help you with psychism)

Build a system that makes intuitive sense to you, perhaps folding in with your color correspondence associations, magical headcannon, or any other mnemonic device:

All the spells in jars are protective

Everything that's tied into a witch's ladder is about prosperity

If it has a red X on it, that's a hex

If it has a 7-pointed star, it involves your dragon guide

If you store it in a bag that has blue on it (blue print, blue button, blue tie-string) then that object is related to cleansing

Your personal visual language will gain its own power over time if used regularly, in the way that egrigores or sigils can gain power if used consistently over time :) It can become a real magical tool, not just a mnemonic device!

During spirit work, just clearly communicate that your sporadic presence has nothing to do with your dedication 🤷

When you conjure/talk to/pray to gods, spirits, or anything, address the fact that your communication/rituals/etc ARE going to be sporadic. Explain yourself and ask the spirits to extend understanding.

Some spirits/gods/etc are going to demand regular routine. AND IF THEY EXPECT THAT, then you guys need to get on the same page ASAP as to whether or not that's possible.

Spirits can be incredibly forgiving and understanding, but unless you tell them why you are sometimes around and sometimes not, they do not necessarily know what's going on.

Your spirit guide may have not read the DSM-5. Obelon the Fox-Man might not be up-to-date with the 2025 diagnosis criteria for ADHD, and Obelon might not recognize that you are struggling with a disorder that can mimic inattentiveness. Obelon might be asking why you appear to be so enthusiastic, and yet only call for him once every 5 weeks.

Just explain!! Explain what you are comfortable explaining. Give them reassurances and ask them to not misinterpret your ability to be present.

At all costs, avoid making your path a carrot that you dangle in front of yourself to try and force yourself to fix your brain through sheer force of will.

If the way you talk to yourself about your path sounds like someone struggling with unhealthy dieting, maybe it's time to readjust.

"I just need to do my daily offerings, on schedule, for two weeks. Then I will have earned researching tarot spells."

Maybe it's not a good idea to intentionally include witchcraft in a cycle of reward and denial that will ultimately drain joy from the process until your passion is a withered husk.

Witchcraft isn't going to force your brain to change any more than Stardew Valley was going to force your brain to change. Or that time you got super into succulents. If your time spent studying wool quality in heritage European sheep breeds didn't cure your disorder, witchcraft won't either.

Witchcraft, I think, deserves to be something that is a part of your joy - not a part of a system of stressful attempts at making yourself into someone you're not because "real witches" all do such-and-such routine (I assure you, they do not) so you must force yourself to do it too.

(Incidentally, if you have a 'streamlined ritual for the important stuff' and it becomes a barrier that prevents you from practicing, then maybe that's not a good idea for you - or maybe it's not as simple and streamlined as you need it to be)

STOP trying to build a static path. Lean into temporary hyperfixations.

There is SO MUCH to learn in witchcraft. It's never-ending. The more you learn, the more doorways open for you with more things to learn behind them.

This is not college, you do not have to declare your major. You don't have to wait to decide on your 'magic specialization' before you start learning.

This is not college, you don't have to take semesters of boring general ed classes before you're allowed to start studying what interests you.

Unless you are getting into very serious initiations, learning stuff, advancing your skills, and building your path is not going to shut doors and prevent you from getting into something else.

If something excites your interests, GET INTO IT! Don't force yourself to ignore what you're passionate about because you think serious, responsible witchcraft is supposed to be rigid, boring, and tedious. (It isn't!)

Avoid declaring your major. As in, maybe the idea of energy glamours is super exciting, so on day 1 you create a lesson plan that will realistically take you 70 weeks to complete. Based on your history, is it reasonable that you will maintain this specific interest in glamours for over a year?

Avoid making lesson plans that intentionally slow you down and make shit boring for no good reason. If energy glamours interest you, are you (*scrolls up*) using energy glamours as a carrot to force yourself to engage in a tedious magical workout routine? Is the reason the lesson plan takes 70 weeks because you decided to spend weeks slowly moving through each phase so you have time to spam energy work exercises?

You know yourself better than I know you. Maybe wanting to slow down and engage in your focuses in a new way is the goal. Of course, listen to yourself first!

But if you have a temporary burst of energy and focus to learn a new skill, and learning that skill won't require you to make unhealthy personal or financial decisions, why not just lean into it and explore it moment by moment, wherever your interests take you?

I think you'd probably learn a lot more doing and undoing 20 glamours in a week, because you're freaking out about how fucking cool it is, than if you practice 1 basic glamor exercise once a day because that's what real disciplined witches do, and then 11 days later you forget it once and never do it again and now your interest has faded because glamouring is just another boring chore.

Invest some time and energy into figuring out exactly what your bare minimum of responsibility and upkeep actually is.

How often do you need to recharge your wards to keep them functioning normally?

Once you've explained your own needs and limits, how often do your spirits actually request offerings?

Are you 100% sure the spirits you're working with expect offerings in the first place?

Are those offerings expected to be physical, or do thoughts and prayers suffice?

How often should you perform a personal cleansing to keep yourself feeling magically refreshed?

Feeling anxious or guilty over whether or not you're supposed to be taking certain actions is NO FUN.

It is much less fun if you don't actually know how often you need to do these things. Then it's just all guessing, all the time, and nothing is ever good enough.

If at all possible, avoid putting yourself into a situation where you feel that you are supposed to be doing something responsible in your practice, but you're never sure exactly what it is.

Spend some practice time, learn some skills, and make notes, to discover whether or not you do have any minimum engagement requirements in the style of practice you want. And most importantly, having clear 'deadlines' so you don't have to keep guessing at what you're forgetting about this time.

#reblog #witchy things

772 notes · View notes

acutewitchcraft · 5 months ago

Text

I don't know what hashtags to put for this D:

#I've been working with him a lot #it's just...really nice to rest and rely on them #reblog #art

37 notes · View notes

acutewitchcraft · 5 months ago

Note

sometimes I feel bad about banishing spirits from a new space because its like. they were here first. maybe I'm the evil spirit for kicking them out of their home like some kind of settler. is there literally any merit to this worry or is it simply anxiety and overthinking getting the better of me?

This is an interesting way of looking at the process of claiming a space and banishing spirits, and it certainly is a good idea to be consciously decolonizing our thinking whenever possible.

However, in the context of most homes (I assume that's what you're referring to), they probably haven't been around long enough to really build up a strong ancestral energy presence. The land the structure is built on might have residual energy, but whether that rises to the level of a conscious entity is a debatable topic and depends on your own background, the history of the site, and the entities which could be argued to be present. (See Also: Genius Locii, land spirits, elementals, fae, etc.)

And even assuming that is 100% possible, there's the additional layer of how often it happens and how many / what type of buildings it affects. Really more of a question for spirit workers and hardcore animists in that case, cause you're getting into philosophy and a lot of conflicting theoretical ideas.

And yes, to answer the back half of the question, I DO think that some of that is anxiety and overthinking putting a word in.

If it helps, you might look at the cleansing and claiming of a new space as less of a fire-and-brimstone banishment and more of a notice of new occupancy. "Hi it's me, I live here now, this is me putting up new drapes and changing the locks, as all new tenants do. Previous residents sentient enough to notice are kindly asked to either go to the place best suited for them or remain here peacefully. If you can do that, then we'll get along fine. Hope you like the new decor!"

If you regularly engage in spirit work, you can go a step further and invite any peacefully-remaining spirits to use your pre-existing system of communication to alert you of danger, provide small requests, or help out with the household. Think of it like asking the neighbors what day the trash goes out and occasionally borrowing a cup of sugar. Giving them a little honorary spirit house or symbolic place to live can be a nice gesture. (I've done this for household spirits before.)

Hope this helps!

#reblog #spirit work #hchehchd omg?

151 notes · View notes

acutewitchcraft · 6 months ago

Text

As much as we should all be wary of fearmongering in spirit work spaces, it's also good to remember that not every spirit is kind.

It's fearmongering to act like there's ten million evil spirits all trying to hurt you specifically at all times.

But it's true to state that there are malefic entities out there that do want to do harm. It's just that most cases, it's not some super personal plot against you by all of the spirit worlds.

Yes, sometimes we piss off spirits and they want to hurt us in return. Yes, sometimes spirits have motives and plans for us that are unkind. Yes, sometimes we do just plainly get unlucky and interact with a less than kind spirit through no fault of our own. Yes, entities that will pretend to be other spirits do exist. Yes, entities that mean very, very serious harm do exist.

But by doing spirit work, you're not signing yourself up for a constant uphill battle against ten million tricksters, you're not putting a giant target on your back that makes every spirit in a ten mile radius want to kill you.

And the worst case scenarios are typically few and far between. Yes, I believe people when they say "A trickster pretended to be Apollo and tried to kill me in a car crash", but this isn't happening to every single person who puts a toe into spirit work.

To do spirit work is not the open invitation to suffering at the hands of spirits. As well, if the world was truly full of that many malefic spirits, they would not wait for you to start doing spirit work to hurt you. They'd just start as soon as they found you.

It's also good to remember that these spirits don't, in my experience, tend to be well liked by other, kinder spirits. My spirit guides loathed, still loathe, the spirits haunting me and did everything in their powers to help me deal with it, especially as these spirits often did pretend to be Them. So if you are dealing with these spirits, you're likely to have kinder spirits very willing to help handle the situation with/for you.

The world is not as scary, cruel, and evil as some spirit workers like to imply it is. And frankly, I think this stance is bad for many reasons, including that it scares away people from beginning spirit work themselves.

But, spirits are truly broad and vast in how they behave. There are still less than savory spirits out there. Just because there's less than some people claim doesn't mean there's zero total. The horror stories about hauntings and negative run-ins and everything like that exist because these less than savory spirits do exist. Just... not to the same degree as the fearmongering says.

Do what you need to feel and be safe. If you feel you need to/should always vet your spirit guides before talking to them, do so. And you should, honestly, have some kind of protection in place regardless of if you've had a personal run-in or not.

Just remember, not every spirit is kind, but not every spirit is cruel.

#reblog #spirit work #pretty much this

223 notes · View notes

acutewitchcraft · 8 months ago

Text

The birthday candle burned with a huge flame so fast that the heart couldn't keep up with it, and the heart stem made a 360 degree turn while burning, so I think he was happy with it.

Also, I give my offerings and respects for many deities (they're all equal to me spiritually) but Seth is the only one who insists me to always take a bite/sip from the offering before giving it to him.

#anecdote #reblog #spirit work #deities #i love this! it's really neat

196 notes · View notes

acutewitchcraft · 8 months ago

Text

I honestly thought that my spiritual practice involving minecraft was just not gonna be in the future for me since I was unable to find a place for it in the way I've been working at the moment

but weeks ago I was hit with this heavy sense of homesickness and that sense of desire for a home

one that reminded me of a hardcore world that i had worked on and developed with one of my spirit companions, and now recently I was introduced to the concept of a forever world, a long term world

I'll share what I can about it, no doubt it'll gradually become too personal to share all aspects of it, but I'm looking forward to it

#acute chatters

0 notes

acutewitchcraft · 11 months ago

Text

Moving out and finally being able to overt with my practice is...very strange

I've spent about 8 years dealing with ways to hide and practice and there's still that urge to hide my stuff, still scared to be seen and told off

It's a learning process

#acute chatters

2 notes · View notes

acutewitchcraft · 1 year ago

Note

do deities often make the first move? it feels like every other baby witch is being reached out to by Hades or Loki or someone, but I haven't heard shit from any deity or entity...

do i just not have enough talent?

This is what I call "chosen culture:" the YA novel trope were an average person is going about their life until they are Called by a Higher Power, Chosen by a force which marks them as Special and marks the end of Act 1, launching them into the next phase of their life.

I think the association you bring up between a person being talented and being chosen by a god is sort of horrifying. The implication to me is that witches and pagans are like chattel on a playing field, the most talented of which are desired to be "picked up" by certain gods. If that's the game the gods are playing, I'm out.

And I'm sorry if you've been made to feel that way. It kind of really sucks if you've been made to feel like a passive princess in an ivory tower, combing your hair and waiting for a god-knight to come choose you.

"But all the other princesses are getting chosen 🥺" Let them be chosen. Leave the tower and come live with me in the forest instead.

In the forest, things do not choose us. We choose them.

Why be a witch in the first place? Why would anyone want to do this? For me, it's liberation and power. I'm in it because I'm done with other people making choices for me. So why would I ever wait for a god to make choices for me? Why would I let them?

How antithetical is it to liberation to wait to have your leg pissed on by a passing god claiming neophytes? How disempowering is it to think you're not supposed to be making the first move?

It's a genuine question: Why would you let a god or spirit make this decision on your behalf?

Do you have enough talent to attract the interest of preternatural talent managers? Who cares? Fuck them if they don't think you're good enough for them. Come into the forest, where talent doesn't matter. Here, we choose what we want and we work for it. We take it and claim it as our own.

Here, we are our own gods. We do the choosing.

Your decisions matter. Your decision to wait to be chosen marks you out on a different path than a decision to make the choice. One does not need to immediately settle on which path to walk, but it is perhaps wise to be cognizant that they take you to different places.

#witchy things #reblog #i wish someone told me this when i was starting out #but lessons learned #can't be helped

370 notes · View notes

acutewitchcraft · 1 year ago

Text

Something I wish I was told as a young witch:

Correspondences are the most potent when it resonates with your meaning and your reality.

Yes, every old dusty grimoire says that we use the new moon for manifestation.

Every popular new age author since the 80′s says that rose quartz is used for love magic.

A lot of witchcraft bloggers say to use green candles for money magic.

But:

If your spirit tells you that the new moon is going to benefit your divination rituals that night? Trust your intuition.

If you pick up a rose quartz, and that stone tells you that it wants to help you feel protected? Listen to it.

If you associate other colors with money because your country’s paper currency isn’t green? Use the red, blue, yellow, or other color candles.

Collective correspondences are useful and have weight to them, but nothing is more effective than your own instincts.

Learn to trust your intuitive gifts, babes.

#witchy things #reblog

2K notes · View notes

acutewitchcraft · 1 year ago

Text

There are a handful of relatable posts around about how beyond a certain level one's practice becomes too personal to want to post about on social media (not to mention a lot of times the entities you work with would not be cool with you sharing everything), which is definitely true for me as well.

However, I find that there's a whole other class of stuff I don't feel comfortable posting about: the stuff that seems so wild that I'm afraid it would come across as crazy or made up, or else involves practices that might seem questionable to some*. I myself question if some of this shit really happened, so the knowledge that this blog is followed almost entirely by other occultish blogs isn't much of a consolation.

TLDR: witchposting = comfy and fun being the least bit vulnerable about my actual experiences = horror

*obligatory disclaimer that I don't mean the practices are "questionable" in an appropriative or harmful way

#witchy things #yeah...it be like that #reblog

178 notes · View notes

acutewitchcraft · 1 year ago

Text

New Age Manifesting vs. spellwork manifesting

New Age (law of attraction! karma punishes your enemies for you! activate your chakras to limit 5g interference! your thoughts are reality! starseeds!) has a concept called manifesting.

Within the realm of practical sorcery, we also use the word manifesting.

But these two words mean different things, and I think it can be really confusing. So I'm going to try and take a stab at delineating these concepts. Especially the sorcery portion is based on how I see people using the word.

New Age: Manifesting is a part of New Age dogma. It's a religious belief with various factors at play. In New Age,

Manifesting is the belief that you are able to bring things into your life only using the power of your thoughts.

Your thoughts must be positive.

Your thoughts must be aligned with your "true purpose" or "highest calling."

Negative or unhappy thoughts may limit your ability to manifest.

Your personal level of spiritual development will limit how well you are able to manifest.

Manifesting is often an ongoing process, akin to a spiritual or holy state of mind that should be maintained as often as possible.

In New Age, "I manifested that" = "I wanted that, and I believe I got it because I am spiritually worthy."

In other words, manifestation is a grading of how close you are to fulfilling your "true purpose" in accordance with a living and benevolent universe. The better you do at upholding tenants such as Positivity and Living Your Truth, the more the universe rewards you.

(Please note that having an inborn purpose, being rewarded for aligning to an inborn purpose, and that the universe is capable of such a thing as co-creation are also just beliefs)

Sorcery: Manifesting is a technical term referring to whether or not a working of magic has influenced our world.

A spell or any working of magic is referred to as having been manifested when its influence has become apparent.

A working has manifested whether or not the manifestation was in line with the spellcaster's intent. "I cast a banishing spell on my boss, but when it manifested I just lost my job instead."

A working is manifesting when the spellcaster is confident the working is underway or when early signs of influence become apparent. "I think my money spell is manifesting - I got a call from the bank saying they're looking into those charges."

In sorcery, "I manifested that" = "I cast a spell for that and I believe the spell worked."

Unlike the New Age concept, sorcerous manifestation usually does not refer to the process of creation, but rather the end results of a prior working.

However, I also sometimes see New Age manifestation adopted as a style of sorcerous spellwork.

In other words, people who ostensibly do not practice New Age sometimes work with a style of magic they call "manifesting," which seems to mostly refer to thinking about a desired goal very intensely with the intent that their will becomes reality.

This practice seems divorced from New Age concepts such as positivity and the law of attraction.

In sorcery, other words are sometimes used instead of manifestation. Conjure is relatively common ("I conjured that money"). Plain language is also sometimes used ("my working was successful." "My spell got me what I wanted").

#interesting thoughts #reblog #witchy things

1K notes · View notes

acutewitchcraft · 1 year ago

Text

witchcraft things

that didn't work for me

and why

- kitchen witchcraft

i love cooking and i love working with plants, however incorporating spells into my food didn't work for me. i got way too distracted by the spell part, that i completely forgot to make the food taste good. and as much as i love magic, it took the fun out of cooking for me. because now, cooking wasn't something fun where i could experiment with flavors and textures, it was something i had to put thought into beforehand. and i like to be spontaneous with my cooking.

- protection spells

protection spells seem to be the most important part of the witchcraft community. and i do think it's important to know how protection magic works, but it's also very unnecessary to have protections up 24/7 if you're not famous or have many enemies. i tend to forget about my protection spells, so they just sit on my altar, untouched for months and i forget to make new ones. hasn't hurt me so far tho, so i'll be saving those up for when and if i actually need them.

- casting a circle

not gonna lie, i tried that once and never again. it felt so pretentious to me.. like i was in Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. and not in a good way. i stumbled across that practice on witchtok first, that was when i thought i was wrong for practicing my way and not how other people said i should. i don't think casting a circle is a bad thing to do, but it absolutely is a bad thing to do for me.

- bowl spells

bowl spells are one of my favorite kinds of spells because they're interactive. you put things in, you take things out. the energy doesn't feel stagnant and the spell is always working it's magic as long as you interact with it. ....but unfortunately my adhd made it very clear to me that those kinds of spells aren't something that works for me. i forget about them 5 minutes after i made them and they never get interacted with, so they don't do much of what they're supposed to. i would definitely recommend them to people who remember to take out and put in stuff tho, because the concept is great.

- scrying

gods, did i want that to work. divination is my favorite kind of witchcraft and i'm great at it! so when i learned about scrying, it was something i immediately got interested in and tried. i tried fire and water. fire worked a bit better, because the flames are dancing and water is reflective. that meant for me, i was always seeing things in it that were physically there, and couldn't concentrate on the scrying part. honestly i don't really remember why the fire method didn't work out, but i assume i got distracted really fast or lost in my thoughts.

- veiling

veiling can be done for many reasons. mine was, that i wanted to use it as a way to protect myself from all the different types of energy in public places. every person has their own life, with their own problems and their own current state of being. and since i have social anxiety, i thought veiling would be worth a try so that public places perhaps wouldn't get overwhelming as fast. well, that backfired because before i could try it, i realized i was trans and the head covering made me feel very dysphoric when i tried it on at home. i never tried again after that.

- ancestor work

i lost someone really close to me in early 2020. she wasn't a blood relative, but she was my dad's best friend, our landlord (who lived in the same house as we did by the way) and she saw me grow up since i was a baby. i was so desperate to try and talk to her. i tried to reach her myself, i asked other witches for help, but it never worked. after a while i decided to let her be, because the constant getting my hopes up and then being disappointed didn't help my mental health. i just wanted to know if she was okay now, but i think i just have to trust that she is. as for my other ancestors, i don't know anything about them and i am not really interested in finding out. i wasn't close with any of my great grandparents because we saw each other about once a year until they died. they didn't do anything wrong, but i don't want to force a connection.

- dragon work

damn. i really love dragons. all my life and with all my heart. and i truly believe that they are out there (not physically, like dinosaurs were, but in a similar way the gods are out there). i've done a lot of research on the topic, but my mental health got in the way. i don't have the concentration to reach out to them, nor will i be able to dedicate a specific amount of time to them regularly, which i feel like they won't like. i will try again when and if i get better, but until then it goes on this list of witchcraft things that didn't work for me and why.

#ohhh kind of want to do this myself #witchy things #reblog

671 notes · View notes

acutewitchcraft · 1 year ago

Text

On what I'm going to call "peer positioning" in witchcraft, and the scary empowerment it can bring you

I think a lot of people who get into witchcraft have a problem with being able to see themselves as peers & equals to the powers they cultivate around them.

I see this most often discussed when it comes to gods. "Just because your god asks you for something doesn't mean you need to do it!" Etc. I think we've all heard that.

But today my thoughts are on the tarot, and how some people seem to treat tarot readings as "the truth" or "the answer" that then must be followed, even if they (the living, breathing, human practitioner) don't really agree or don't really want to do that.

I'm really big on the analogy of a witch as a monarch, and the concept of various powers (like gods, spirits, tools, and spells) being counselors in the throne room.

In this context, it's easier to adopt the mindset that all of these powers have their own personalities, abilities, and goals - and that they can & will provide conflicting information when you ask for advice. (Especially ancestors - so opinionated!)

Imagine Captain Picard sitting in the meeting room with Geordi, Riker, and the rest of the space nerds.

Captain Picard is like, "the power core is failing and the away team is stranded on the planet. I think we should use the nebula to hide until the Gromflomites stop searching for us." And then Geordi is like, "but Captain, the engines would never make it! We have to go rescue the away team immediately!" And Captain Picard is like, "damn... Wow. I really wanted to go to the nebula, I thought it was the best choice :/ but if you're saying we literally don't have to worry about the Gromflomites..." Then Riker is like, "Captain, no. Geordi isn't saying the Gromflomites aren't a problem, he's just expressing his top concerns as Chief Engineer." And then Picard is all, "oh, so... this is conflicting information? Did that mean I did a bad reading on Geordi, or that negative spirits are stopping me from being able to communicate? Is Riker possibly a trickster?"

If you're captain of the ship, monarch of the kingdom, (etc.), then it might be important to ask yourself:

Am asking for input from my counsel of allied powers, and then making choices for myself?

Or, have I inadvertently signed over my decision-making process to these powers?

And I think it all kind of comes back to "peer positioning," or, witches being able to develop a spiritual framework within which they are equals to the powers around them.

Since beginning practicing witchcraft in earnest, I have often demanded a course of direction. Instead of asking, "how do I accomplish this?" I would ask, "what do I do?"

And the answer was the same every time, deeply infuriating, but also very scary: "Do whatever you think is best."

I think that's the problem of being the captain of the ship. Once your counselors are done giving their input, you are the one who has to make the final call.

Lately I've really been on a kick about witchcraft as a path of empowerment, and I think that viewing spiritual input as just that - input - is a vital part of the process.

Even if you are a true-blue believer in the magical power of tarot, tarot is still just one counselor sitting in your throne room.

Even if you have tutelary spirits, guardians and guides, gods and angels, providing blessings and support - they are not sitting at the head of the table.

You are.

I think that a framework of allied powers as peers and equals is relatively basic, and does have its flaws. But I also think it can be helpful in a variety of ways:

It can provide a system of understanding why allied powers can give conflicting advice, or even seemingly bad advice that doesn't align with our personal desires.

It can provide a tool for processing spiritual input.

It helps restore a sense of personal authority to a practitioner.

It can help a practitioner reclaim control of a path that's grown a mind of its own.

It aids in practicing that most oppressive of skills - liberated autonomy.

I just think it's something to consider. At the end of the day, most of us have probably got to make our own calls.

[I'm making this post because in the past few months I've been helping witches consult the tarot, and they've been giving feedback like, "so this is what I should do, right?" or, "what is it telling me to do?"

I can basically see the huge reblogs where people are explaining that a period of time where they signed complete personal autonomy over to their god was the most empowering and spiritually electric time in their lives,

and I want you to know, I'm not speaking about vows and oaths made to entities that gives them control over your life. I'm talking about situations where witches put down their autonomy so they can have both hands free to shuffle tarot.]

#oh! I've felt this #reblog #witchy things

400 notes · View notes