briarswitching

[briarswitching]

✨✨✨✨✨✨Clairvoyance✨✨✨✨✨✨

[briarswitching]

Hey gang, for those of you who reached out wanting to know more about the Scottish historian who did the deep dive into how Scottish identity got co-opted by the KKK and why a lot of things like “Scottish Pride” days are actually racist rallies in the USA, the name of the full documentary is “Who Put The Klan Into Ku Klux Klan” with Neil Oliver.

If you’ve got Amazon Prime it’s available on Prime Video. It’s also available to rent on YT for what looks like $1.99, though I am sure those of you who are more resourceful than I am might be able to find it elsewhere for the low low price of free.

Fair warning, it does deal with the events of the Charleston church shooting, and Neil also talks with some members of the church which is quite an emotional and heartbreaking moment. It also contains imagery featuring the KKK which can be disturbing. There is absolutely zero glorification of the Klan or anyone associated with them, past or present and any sort of “oh but the Scots had it rough coming here too” gets absolultey fucked right out the water as being absolutely abhorrent and despicable. It is depicted as the vile and evil blight against humanity that it is, and Oliver makes no attempt to hide his horror, rage and dismay when dealing with certain interviewees, though he does remain comendably calm and doesn’t just haul off and punch the guy, even when you can tell he really wants to.

So yeah. There’s some links and details for y’all.

[briarswitching]

Lightning at Sellicks Beach by N.Agostini Photography

[briarswitching]

What Makes a Reading Good?

Alternate title: How Can I Be Confident My Readings Don’t Suck?

This is mostly written with tarot in mind, but I think the sentiment can apply to any type of in-depth divination or metaphysical readings. Here’s some things to look for in readings, and if you are charging a set price for your own readings, things to demand from yourself. 

The information provided in a reading should be…

Relevant to the querents’ needs. If somebody comes to you asking about a specific question or topic, the reading should be designed to reflect that. This may mean using a different spread or focusing on details of meaning more relevant to the question than the traditional baseline meaning. (Example, if a querent is asking about money and I’m picking up signs of a new romantic relationship coming soon, it shouldn’t turn into a love reading. Rather, how might entering a new relationship affect ones’ finances?)

Abundant. Anybody can go online and find a random tarot card picker with a general description or some key words. If you’re providing a compensated service, your interpretation should have more meat than that. Allow yourself to explain your thought process or speculate on a deeper meaning, instead of regurgitating key words. After all, that speculation and personal insight is what they’re paying you for, otherwise they’d just find the bot! (For reference, I’m trying to give each of these points about the same amount of depth I would want to see in a really good tarot reading for each card.)

Nuanced. A lot of us are afraid to get into the details and specifics of an answer because we’re afraid of being wrong, so we just stick to being vague. Throw that out the window. Right now. Being specific HELPS your reading be more accurate, believable, and helpful, because if we’re too conservative with our details it gives the querent nothing to grab onto. Go for the specifics, the details, the things that make the querent say, “okay, I know exactly what that’s talking about.” (Example, what sounds better: “There’s conflict in the future” or “There’s conflict here, my gut says probably butting heads with an authority figure you’ve known for a while. Neither of you is right or wrong, but you’ll just keep wasting your time if you don’t compromise.”)

Understandable. Keep in mind that most of your querents will probably not practice the service you’re providing, or if they do they may just be beginners. Don’t shroud your reading in convoluted, arcane talk. If you can, explain some of how you’re getting the answers you getting. That doesn’t mean divulging secrets to your practice, but something like, “These runes are so close together, which to me means they’re working together, and the synthesis of their meanings could mean X.” Really helps a querent feel involved and more confident in your skills as their interpreter. 

Applicable. Give the querent knowledge they can walk away with. If you’re doing all of the above steps this is probably happening anyway, but it’s important to keep in mind. You should always be able to answer the question: “What is the best next step for the querent to achieve their goals, once they leave this reading?”  What can they do right now to develop themselves, prepare for success, repair that relationship, etc? Do they have a game plan? Basically, they should be able to take the insight you have provided them with and apply it to their life in a productive way.  

I hope this helps some people assess their own readings, and gives new diviners a better idea of what they should be going for! Did I forget anything important? Let me know your thoughts! 

[briarswitching]

questions from the forest 🍃

antlers 🦌 - if you could change anything about your appearance without worrying about judgement, what would you change?

moss 💚 - how would you describe yourself?

toadstool 🍄 - what is your favorite place to relax?

lichen 🌲 - what do you like to collect?

bog 🌾 - where would you most like to live?

dirt 🍂 - do you take care of any plants?

frog 🐸 - name 3+ things you like about yourself 

wildflowers 💐 - how do you like to dress?

roots 🌱 - describe your favorite memory

clover ☘ - have you ever found a four-leaf clover?

rainwater 🌧 - what’s your favorite sound?

fen 🍃 - do you have any goals for the future?

thicket 🌳 - how close do you live to a forest? have you ever explored it?

mist 🌫 - what’s your favorite kind of weather?

fern 🌿 - if you were any kind of plant, which one would you be?

[briarswitching]

Long Time No See

☼ A Welcome Back ☼

For those of you who don’t know me: Hi, I'm Briar! I’m a pagan witch and I’m making this post as my welcome back to the tumblr community. 

I made this blog back at the start of 2017 and it was the first public display of my practice. I had found a wonderful community of both witches and polytheistic friends, most of whom seem to have deactivated by now, and grew a tremendous amount. However, as I entered university everything in my faith took a back seat to the rest of my life. Now, in 2020 that is going to change! I’m looking to renter the community and continue growing.

I’ve been practicing magic into my faith for almost seven years now and so I’d like to think I know a thing or two. That said I am not a teacher and everything I say on this blog is likely rooted in my own personal experience. That’s how I tend to work most effectively, taking scaffolding from established sources but then tailoring it to my own practice. If there’s anything I talk about what you want to hear more about or are confused about then please feel free to ask, I just want to preface everything with my own personal bias. 

☼ What exactly is it I practice? ☼

Slavic/Baltic Polytheism

Celtic Polytheism

Written Magic (Spells, but also written offerings and musings)

Energy Work

Divination (Primarily Tarot)

Cosmetic Rituals (Hair braiding, oils, and general beauty)

Dance Magic

Sigil Making

Blood Magic

Crystal Work

Cooking Magic

Vulture Culture

Candle Magic

If anything I’ve listed above interests then you then please follow, or if you post about anything related reblog and I’ll check you out! If you want to find more about me you can find an about page on my blog.

If you’re interested in the music I’m listening to as I get back into things (if you stick around you’ll I’m very attached to music) then you can find that Here.

[briarswitching]

Bold the types of spiritual work you do or have done

Let’s all feel a little proud of everything we can do. It’s amazing.

Healing

Acupuncture | Acupressure | Akashic Healing | Aromatherapy | Astral Healing | Aura Healing | Brennan Healing | Bioenergy Healing | Breathwork | Chakra Healing | Cranio-Sacral Therapy | Elemental Healing | Energy Medicine (Donna Eden inspired) | EFT | Healing Touch | Herbal Healing | Holistic Healing | Intuitive Healing | Lunar Healing | Nutritional Healing | Polarity Healing | Pranic Healing | Psychic/Energy Surgery | Quantum Touch | Quigong | Reiki | Restorative Touch | Shamanic Healing | Sigil Healing | Solar Healing | Sound Healing | Theta Healing | Other

Magick

Black Magick | Blood Magick | Celestial Magick | Chaos Magick | Crimson Magick | Elemental Magick | Nature Magick | Necromancy | Psi Magick | Satanic Magick | White Magick | Other

Divination

Austromancy | Automatic Writing | Channeling | Crystal Scrying | Fire/Smoke Scrying | Full Moon Water Scrying | Intuitive | Lithomancy | Numerology | Ogham | Oracle Card | Osteomancy | Palmistry | Psychic | Pendulum | Runes | Scrying | Spirit Boards | Tarot Card | Tea Leaves | Water Scrying | Other

Readings

Akashic | Dream Interpretation | Energy | Karmic | Oracle Card | Past Life | Soul Mates | Spiritual Visage | Tarot Card | Twin Flame | Other

Other

Astral Projection | Astrology | Aura Work | Aura Poisoning | Blood Work | Clairaudience | Clairvoyance | Cleansing | Colored Light Work | Creation Energy | Destruction Energy | Dimensional Travel | Energy Absorption/Psychic Vampirism | Energy Purification | Entropy Manipulation | Emotional Manipulation | Hypnotism | Intuitive Writing | Intuitive Drawing | Law of Attraction | Ley Lines | Lunar Work | Meditation | Psychic Manipulation | Shielding | Sigils | Solar Work | Spirit Summoning | Tantra | Trance Work | Yoga| Zen | Other

Bold the types of spiritual work you do or have done

[briarswitching]

The Alexandria Archives

We are a growing community of magic practitioners whose goal is to learn and to educate! We welcome anyone and everyone to join, regardless of experience level! We offer several opportunities for our members to be involved in the community with prompts, classes, events, and rituals. Members can participate in, as well as teach and host, events and classes. We have a variety of channels, including some that are role-locked for Intermediate/Advanced Practitioners and Practitioners of Colour.

Our regular events include:

   📚 rituals for each sabbat    📚 full moon and new moon rituals    📚 a solar ritual every month    📚 classes taught by our intermediate and advanced members    📚 a monthly Witch n Stitch creativity project    📚 a bi-weekly psychic’s parlour where anyone can practice divination    📚 a bi-weekly server-wide challenge for our members    📚 several beginner’s prompts and creativity prompts

Our friendly community encourages you to join! Spots are limited to keep our community tight-knit, but we may revisit how many spots are available.

This server is 18+, LGBTQ+ inclusive, and accepting of all religions and backgrounds. Bigotry in any form is not tolerated.

Come join us at https://discord.gg/DJ8nm2J !

[briarswitching]

Fairy Glen, Scotland - by Joe Purmal

[briarswitching]

Ancient fairy wells in Croatia.

Wells named by old Croats Rajčica, are as its name in Croatian says a little haven, hidden deep in old hills of Dalmatia.

Location itself is part of Croatian national heritage surrounded by untouched nature.

Location is surrounded by numerous legends, most prominent one is that water from well is enchanted, and that stone circles made by Gods create energy that attracts fairies.

[briarswitching]

Luke Hillestad (@lukehillestad)

[briarswitching]

“Circe” (1889), Wright Barker (British Painter, 1864-1941) 

Oil on canvas 138 cm (54.3 in); 188 cm (74 in) Cartwright Hall Art Gallery, Bradford, UK

[briarswitching]

fungi illustration by Beatrix Potter

[briarswitching]

Recipe via Herbal Academy: 

1 cup red clover blossoms 1 cup red raspberry leaf ½ cup hibiscus flowers ½ cup dried orange peel

Directions

Mix the herbs and store in an airtight container.

To make herbal sun tea, add ½ to 1 cup of the blend to a 1-quart mason jar. Pour the water over the herbs and let sit in the sun all day. Strain & enjoy.

This tea lasts 2-3 days if refrigerated

https://theherbalacademy.com/herbal-sun-tea/

[briarswitching]

rowan: protection / magnolia: a love of nature / verbena: an enchantment

secrets series

[briarswitching]

good questions to ask tarot

in my opinion you can ask the tarot anything, but here are some ideas for those who don’t know where to start

Love/Relationships:

- What kind of partner would be best for me?

- How will I know when I’ve found the right person?

- Is my heart ready for a relationship?

- Is the person I’m interested in right for me?

- Is there anything I need to know about the person I’m interested in/dating?

- Are there any red flags in my relationships that I’m oblivious to?

- Is the person I love deceiving me in some way?

- What purpose does this relationship serve in my life? 

- How can I build more emotional intimacy between me and my partner?

- How can I attract love into my life?

- What’s the biggest obstacle in my relationships?

- What stops me from getting emotionally vulnerable with my loved ones?

- How can I be more sensitive to my loved ones needs?

Career/Life Path

- How can I become more open to understanding my life’s purpose?

- What would be the result of pursuing the career I have in mind?

- What should I do to figure out which career path is meant for me?

- What obstacles do I need to overcome in order to achieve my goals? 

- Are the goals I’m working toward right for me?

- What can I do right now to better align me with my life’s purpose?

- How can I unlock my hidden talents?

- What skills do I possess that I can utilize to get closer to my goals? 

- What’s the best strategy to advance in my career path?

Feeling Stuck/Depressed/Anxious

- What is the root of my emotional turmoil?

- Why am I still carrying this emotional baggage?

- How can I let go of emotional burdens stopping me from being my best self?

- What is the reason that I feel stuck and directionless right now?

- Where can I find my next new adventure?

- Why does _________ bother me so much?

- What can I focus on to clear my mind of what’s weighing me down?

- What action do I need to take to be more emotionally balanced?

- How can I find what makes me happy?

Relationship Troubles or Break-ups

- What is the root of the problems in my relationship?

- When did these problems start to cause conflict?

- Should I try to stay and work things out or should I just move on?

- Is my relationship causing more harm than good?

- I know this relationship is bad for me but I don’t know how to leave. What should I do?

- What purpose did this relationship and its ending serve in my life?

- What was I able to learn from this experience? 

- How can I ease my mind and let go of my grief?

- Why did this break-up have to happen? 

Spirituality

- How can I become more aligned with my spirituality?

- What purpose does spirituality serve in my life?

- What does my higher power look/feel like?

- What does the universe want me to know right now? 

- How can I open myself up to receive messages from the universe and/or my higher power? 

- How can I gain more awareness of my subconscious mind?

- What’s blocking my intuition?

- How can I become more in tune with the universe’s vibrations?

- How can I find my spiritual purpose in my life?

- What action can I take to strengthen my spirituality?

You!

- What’s something unique about who I am?

- How can I gain more awareness of my identity?

- What best describes my personality?

- What is a trait that others can see in me that I’m oblivious to?

- What kind of hidden talents do I possess?

- How can I unlock my true passion?

- How can I be more confident in my self-expression?

- What’s a good way to learn to express my true emotions? 

- Where do you see me in the future?

- What do I still carry with me from the past?

[briarswitching]

Garden witches, green witches, healers and anyone who uses herbs in their practice...

This is a really good, comprehensive list of edible flowers. It has a vivid description each plant’s taste and how to use and harvest as well as including which parts of the plant are inedible (x)

Here’s a great free ebook on cooking, brewing and blending herbs (x)

This website has fantastic gardening advice. Just search for a plant and it will tell you how to grow it, what grows indoors, pest, solutions, trivia and much, much more. (x) And it even has an edible gardening section (x) plus an indoor section if you don’t have a garden (x)

If you have any other resources, feel free to add them to this list.