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1. “Sticks Spire,” Helbeck, Cumbria - 1983

2. “Icicle Spire,” Brough, Cumbria - 1985

Andy Goldsworthy

[houndofhecate]

a new witch oc I’ve been working with lately!

[houndofhecate]

Freyja (/ˈfreɪə/; Old Norse for “(the) Lady”)

A while back  I stumbled upon Elena Skitalets gorgeous rendition of “Freya” and fell in love with her work. :)

Recently, with Spring bringing everything to bloom I finally had a chance to try my hand at bringing it to life, with fun results.

I highly recommend checking out Elena’s work as it’s gorgeous, however sadly seems to get shared around a lot without credit.

https://www.artstation.com/skitalets

Can’t wait to wear this outfit to ren faires once they’re open again.

I hope you all have a wonderful week. ❤️

[houndofhecate]

Inktober Challenge 2018

Day 31 : Hecate

Bonus ♥ : Macaria

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Inktober challenge 2018

Day 13 : Héra

Day 14 : Andromeda

Day 15 : Persephone

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Modern  Egyptian Gods part 2 ^^ Choose your fave~ Modern Egyptian Gods part 1

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Color Palette Challenge #53 - Persephone

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Origins of this song are very pagan-feeling. Great for this time of year - the transition from winter to spring. 

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I’m reading this thing about how farmers in Japan considered thunderstorms to be good luck because they’d make more mushrooms grow so some Japanese scientists created this lil electrical machine that they wheeled through the forest administering shocks to the ground to simulate lightning strikes and the areas that they shocked yielded twice as many mushrooms as unshocked plots of land ⚡️🍄

[houndofhecate]

Spell/Tincture for Dissociative State

(07/20/2019)

Both myself and loved ones suffer from depression, as Ive written about previously on this blog. As Ive had more time in a transition in my life I am trying to do more active rituals and practice of my craft and wanted to build something specifically to address or ease dissociation when it occurs. 

This is not intended to take place of medical or psychological treatment and should only be used in conjunction with the medications and therapy that your medical providers recommend. 

Ingredients: 

Sage - protection, clarity, cleansing

Eucalyptus - clarity

Lion’s Mane (type of mushroom, in this preparation it’s dried) - mental acuity

Cornflower - insight, clairvoyance 

Citrine - cleansing, light

Solvent -  in this case I used high-proof alcohol; if you’re under legal age to access this you can use a cooking oil instead though it will be a different consistency and technically not a “tincture” formulation

Alternates: 

Rosemary - memory, protection 

Clear quartz 

Preparation: 

Gather dried ingredients/dried herbs into a mortar and pestle, crush and grind to good residue; filter through a sieve to remove the larger pieces

Place into mixing bowl with solvent and any ingredients that are oil based (eucalyptus for me) 

Mix well then pour into a small dropper bottle or other small container

Let sit on altar or other sacred space in your home with citrine overnight

Usage: 

If you used food-safe products in your sourcing for ingredients then it can be added (1-2 drops) to a drink or meal; I would recommend it as a brush on the wrists for if you’re experiencing the dissociative state actively and wish to remove yourself from it. Combine this use with your current methods of processing and managing your symptoms that you have found helpful and those that have been recommended by your medical providers. 

Wishing you all the best. 

[houndofhecate]

Also, does anyone have any book or article recommendations on traditional Hellenic death rites? Ideally for the average person, rather than heroes. Your average farmer’s funeral sure didn’t look like Patroclus’, I’m certain.

[houndofhecate]

🌲Homemade pine syrup recipe

A few weeks ago we made some pine syrup. We collected the fresh pine buds in my parent’s garden. I never tried this before, but the results tase good so far.

What you will need?

Fresh pine buds (silver or spurce is the best, try to forage them when they are young, light green)

Sugar

A big jar

Time

After I washed the pine buds I layered them into the jar with the sugar. One layer should be half an inch tall approximately. (Or at least it was in my case)

Then close the jar and all you have to do is just wait until the sugar melts. This can take several days or even weeks. If you want to speed up the process a bit, you can also add 1dl of water to the jar after layering. Mine looked like on the image above after 2 weeks. 

After most of your sugar is melted just strain the syrup and you are done! I don’t really know how long they can last tough. Officially the syrup should be fine up to 3 months if covered. I keep it in the refrigerator, just to be safe. 

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After the rain

Blue poppies in the Valley of Flowers National Park in India (Manoj Kinger)

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✨Walk on the Starline ✨gifs made by me :)

[houndofhecate]

Approach and Ritual for Illness in a Loved One

A friend or loved one being ill is a frightening thing. It can be very challenging to learn how to confront not only the situation that your loved one is in, but also the discomfort within yourself. Often, we feel powerless in these situations and the inability to help in a way that seems clear is stressful and uncomfortable in and of itself. What can you do if someone you love is suffering from poor health? 

First, make sure that your own internal resources are capable of being stretched to address this to the best of your ability. Give yourself time before or after you spend helping to decompress and digest your own feelings about it. Validate your own feelings of fear, discomfort, sadness, anxiety and depression. If you’re feeling like these emotions are overwhelming to you, seek help - a trusted friend or a professional therapist to talk over some of your own distress. If you burn yourself out by never giving yourself time to address your own grief you’ll burn out and will struggle to help anyone else. My experience working in medicine has taught me how important this is. 

I am doing my best My sadness, my anxiety, my fear, my anger are valid My feelings deserve to be acknowledged I will make space for my feelings to allow self-healing

Now, to focus on how to approach the person who is ill. If you are able to, offer to be with them in person or on a  phone/video call and if they want to sit in moment of reflection with them, pray with you or engage in any kind of magick/spellwork with you, make them a part of that process - but only do this with their permission or if they are interested. Some people find this uncomfortable and less helpful. Others may find it gives them a lot of comfort and hope. If you are able to, be present, and listen to their own anxieties and fears. Much of that listening is best if you are actively listening and mirroring them instead of trying to give advice or reassure them that things will be OK. Validate their feelings and thank them for sharing with you. If the person isnt available to engage with you, then you can do a ritual or prayer. (It is often best practice to ask permission before doing anything for someone, so keep this in mind). 

Regarding how to approach ritual/spell or prayer in this arena also needs to be considered. We all want people to “get well” or “get better” but there are many facets in illness that should also be considered. This is especially important for chronic illness - there are always goals that make life easier for people that arent just trying to “make them better”. Some spell-work to focus on that not only emphasizes “getting better” includes

Ease of sleep

Memory assistance (for medications or otherwise)

Easing financial troubles

Offering gentleness/comfort

Pain relief

Feeling supported & validated

An Example Ritual: 

1) Visualize your chosen deities and/or symbols related to health, protection, relief, sleep or courage or whatever else you’re seeking to grant this person. 

Example: Hecate is a goddess of the crossroads and for someone in the shade between life and death, visualizing her or her symbology (including a black dog, snakes, saffron flowers, hellebore, etc) 

2) Make a physical representation of these things, whether it’s actual physical items, a scent you associate with this symbol, a drawing, a stitched sigil, a food item, etc

Example: continuing with Hecate - you can use shed snake skin or shed dog fur, actual flowers or cooking saffron, or pictures of the symbols

3) Arrange the symbols in a way on the floor in front of you that is visually / otherwise appealing. If you can, make it so that you’re seated, standing, kneeling or otherwise facing the direction of who you want to help. You can add in crystals or herbs that fit with the mood of the spell 

Ie. if our devotional to Hecate is for protection and wishing rest for someone, we can add lavender (calm/rest) and nettle (protection) 

4) Speak or write the name or alias of the person you’re trying to help, and state your intentions - reference the symbolism you have collected and spend a few moments reflecting after describing the intended effect of each one. 

Hecate, goddess of the crossroads please help [x] find peace and guidance  May Hecuba, your familiar, offer comfort to [x] (dog) May you help [x] find relief among your garden (hellebore & lavender symbolism)

5) Be humble as you close your ritual, and give yourself some time to reflect on the ritual. 

If you’re able to, continue to check in on whoever it is you are helping. In these days of COVID isolation is unfortunately contributing to making more miserable already terrible medical problems. If the person is able to talk or text and wants company, it’s one of the best things you can offer. 

DISCLAIMER: as a physician I feel it’s important for me to iterate that people who are ill should maintain whatever the medical management currently is. Magick can be a powerful tool but should never supersede regular medical care.

photo by me, magnolia tree in Bronx Botanical Garden

[houndofhecate]

Hairstyles based on those found on mummies and bog bodies :)