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Shoutout to all diviners for being rad

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Black Salt

Hi guys! Today I want to share with you how I make my Black Salt! I’ll show you step by step with pictures! Long post!

So it’s finally October! I love loveeee October! Fall is my favorite season, and I’m super excited because this month is full of unique astrological events that make it even more special! I’m making this black salt because I’m gonna use it in some spells and rituals during Mars opposition (13th), new moon (16th), the orionidas meteor shower (20/21st), and of course the blue moon (31st).

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

- Sage (protection and banishing properties)

- Peppermint (healing and good luck)

- Rosemary (protection of the mind and spirit)

- Red rose petals (love and passion)

- Sargassum (summoning powers and banishing)

- Black pepper (protection from evil and negativity)

- Sea salt (protection)

- 4 small size shells (intuition, sensitivity, clarity, and insight)

- Sea salt (protection)

- 1 medium size shell

- Black candle

- 2 vials or jars with cork

- Your cauldron

STEPS

1) Cast a circle

Using the sea salt, make a magic circle to bless your ingredients. Light the black candle on top and place everything in the center. Repeat these words moving your hand on top, deosil:

“Clean above, so as below. Cleanse these materials for positive to grow”

Repeat as needed.

2) Rose petals

Put the petals in your cauldron and grind them as you go. You don’t have to make them so small in this step.

3) Peppermint

Add the peppermint the same way you did with the rose petals.

4) Sage

Add the sage to your cauldron, and proceed to grind everything inside. Make sure almost every petal and leaf is as tiny as you can. I used a long white quartz to grind them.

5) Fire

Light a match and burn all the herbs inside your cauldron. Don’t worry if the fire in the match extinguish, leave it inside. Light another match and continue. Use as many as you need. Make sure they burn along with the herbs.

6) Rosemary

When almost all of your initial herbs are burnt, add the rosemary to your cauldron. Make sure to mix it with the other ashes, and light it all up again. It might take a while for everything to burn completely, but be patient! You’re making a powerful witchy tool.

7) Small shells

I’m not gonna lie, this step is kinda hard, lol. When the fire extinguished add the four small shells and crush them while mixing them in your cauldron. I recommend using thinner shells, if you use thicker ones, it will take hours to crush them. But choose the shells you desire.

8) Sargassum

Add the dried sargassum into your cauldron. This are really easy to grind. I collected a jar of sargassum a while back on a trip to Cancún. If you live near a beach or you’re planning a trip, make sure to collect some algae.

9) Black pepper

Using the medium size shell, pour the pepper into your cauldron, Cush them and mix everything together. If you don’t have the whole pepper, use the regular crushed kitchen one!

10) Salt

It wouldn’t be Black Salt, without actual salt, right? Add the blessed salt into your cauldron and continue with the crushing and mixing process. I Alsop like to add the salt I used to cast the circle to give it more protection properties. 

(I forgot to take a picture of this step, lol. Sorry guys)

Pour your mixture into the jars and there your have it! Witch salt! Now you can use your black salt in your upcoming witchcraft for this month or whenever you want to use it! I really hope you liked it and found it useful!

Image source: My camera

Blessed be,

- May

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Hekate and the Major Arcana, created by me

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“The womb of Persephone swelled with living fruit, and she bore Zagreus the horned baby, who by himself climbed upon the heavenly throne of Zeus and brandished lightning in his little hand, and newly born, lifted and carried the thunderbolts in his tender fingers.”

—

Nonnus, Dionysiaca

THIS IS SO CUTE T_T

(via oncebittentwiceborn)

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“And he will come to know Dionysos,

son of Zeus,

true and consummate god,

god of the intensities or terror,

god of the gentlest human peace.”

anne carson, bakkhai

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Oh great one,

Cthonio

I have known you before and I will know you again.

May our meeting be in my bliss.1

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Vegan mushroom bolognese with smoked tofu

Vegan mushroom bolognese with tofu is a deliciously hearty main that will satisfy vegans and non-vegans alike. It’s meaty, full of depth of flavour and easy to make. http://www.lazycatkitchen.com/vegan-mushroom-bolognese-smoked-tofu

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Check out this story about Oya that I found in the Umbanda. Obaluaye who governs over the dead that Oya seduces into teaching her the secrets of the kingdom of the dead. In the Umbanda he is king of the Earth. I strongly feel also resonates with Beelzebuth as he also rules over infectious disease and healing. 

The Myth of Iansã and Obaluayê

One day Iansã left for the kingdom of Obaluayê in order to discover its mysteries (and also to know his face, known only to his mothers, Nanã and Yemanjá ).

Arriving at the Obaluayê kingdom, she asked how the lord of the Chagas was doing and, promptly, he asked what she wanted in his kingdom. Iansã then said that he would like to be his friend, to know and learn its mysteries and that to prove his friendship and honesty, he would dance for him the dance of the winds.

For a long time the Orixá danced for him, but was not able to move him or attract Obaluayê’s attention. He never had a relationship with anyone and Iansã tried to learn his secrets anyway, so he told Orixá everything he learned from each king.

After his insistence Obaluayê asked if she really wanted to learn and said that he would teach her how to treat the dead. For a while Iansã was reluctant, but her desire to learn was so great that she ended up being guided by her instincts and learned to live with the eguns (the disincarnated spirits) to control them, and to be able to learn what she wanted.

Another version of the myth says that Iansã became the Lady of Eguns, being the only one - besides Obaluayê - who has power over the dead and who does not fear them after seeing him at a party.

When he arrived from a trip in the village where Obaluayê was born, he saw that a party was taking place with the presence of all the Orixás, but he did not feel free to participate because his appearance was unpleasant in the eyes of people and other Orixás.

Resentful and willing to participate, he peeked through a crack, until Ogum, when he realized his pain, covered him with a straw suit that had one capable of covering his ugly and sick face. Thus, she invited him to enter and to enjoy the celebrations and celebrations.

With great shame Obaluayê entered but nobody approached him, no woman asked him to dance. Iansã, who accompanied everything, took pity on Obaluayê’s sadness and approached him, blowing his straw clothes with his wind.

At that moment, Iansã’s gale caused Obaluayê’s wounds to jump upward and turn into a shower of popcorn making everyone discover that he was in fact a beautiful and charming young man, thus being acclaimed for his beauty. .

Out of happiness and gratitude, the Orixá of diseases and the dead, in return, shared with Iansã his mysteries, knowledge and his kingdom. And the Goddess danced with joy to show that she possessed powers over spirits.

And that was how Obaluayê and Iansã became friends, and reigned together over the world of spirits and the dead, being the only ones who have the power to open and close the doors between the world of men and souls.

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A Brief Word about Familiars

I received a question yesterday asking for books on familiars. I found I could only recommend one - a high-quality, dry, academic text that costs about $40. So I tried to find posts about familiars here on Tumblr.

I wish I hadn’t. I was like…

But then I took a moment and decided to write a little blurb to set the story straight.

So let me start by saying that this is not the core of my practice. I have a familiar spirit. I will not talk about Him at length here for reasons you can probably gather. We do stuff together. Not that much stuff together, over all. But I know a few things about familiars so let’s do this.

Despite the popular conception here on Tumblr, familiars are not pets. That is, they are not physical animals you can buy at an animal shelter or a pet store. Your cat is not a familiar. Your dog is not a familiar. Your chinchilla/snake/tarantula/lizard/whatever is not a familiar.

A familiar is a nonhuman spirit acquired by a witch. It may take the guise of a human, an animal, or an otherworldly being. Though it may occasionally resemble an animal, it is not, strictly speaking, an animal. Gaining a familiar was often part of the initiation process. When it was not part of initiation, obtaining a familiar sometimes mirrored the initation process in that it was often done through a major spirit (i.e. the Devil) or through another witch.

In times gone by, having a familiar spirit was one of the criteria for being a witch. According to the Witchcraft Act of 1604, possessing or communing with a familiar spirit was a crime punishable by death. It was one of the major markers of witch-dom.

During the New England Witch Hysteria, sightings of familiar spirits were used as evidence against the accused parties. Tituba, in her confession, claimed that the witches of Salem used a variety of familiar spirits to cause harm to others. These spirits included black dogs and foxes, as well as a hog and most notably, a yellow bird. During the trials, the afflicted girls of Salem Village claimed to see a yellow bird that bit and attacked them. Tituba also claimed that the accused Sarah Osbourne possessed a creature unlike anything seen on this earth. Her familiar spirit had a woman’s head and wings.

In the early modern period, these spirits would have been given to witches by the Devil as part of their pact with him. Modern witches working in the traditional paradigm who wish to acquire familiars would be wise to seek his wisdom on the subject.

Familiar spirits were said to pass along family lines, too, as was magical capability in general. It was fairly common, in Salem and abroad, for the family members of witches to be accused of witchcraft themselves, namely the daughters and husbands of accused witches. A witch, according to the belief of the day, could gift her familiar spirit to her daughter or to another family member. This is another way to obtain a familiar spirit.

Most of the witches I have spoken to have obtained their familiars through others. Emma Wilby describes another way witches obtained familiars - sometimes they just pop up. A witch will be traveling through the country or will be in a moment of great need and a familiar will appear to help them.

So what do familiars do and why would you want one?

A familiar can act as a witch’s servant. If you wish to harm someone, you may send your familiar (perhaps in the guise of an animal) to attack them. Been attacked by a crow? Hounded by a black dog? Scratched by a strange cat? Could be a familiar. This prevents the witch from getting her hands dirty. If the witch appears as a spectre, sitting on someone’s chest, it is immediately obvious who is causing the attack. If a witch sends a yellow bird to bite her victims, there is room for doubt.

Familiars, being spiritual beings themselves, possess a magic all their own. They can lend their assistance to magical works. Like any other spirit, they can put their power into a spell. Without going deep into the subject, some familiars are more, well, familiar with certain kinds of magic than others. They possess both knowledge and power.

According to Emma Wilby, the use of familiar spirits is linked to the reminents of shamanic practice in early modern Europe. If we accept the idea that witches “flew” via shamanic journeying, the popular image of the witch flying with her cat-familiar makes sense. The familiar spirit can protect and guide the witch through the spirit world. Being a spirit itself, this is terrain the familiar spirit knows. The familiar spirit is not just a helper, but also a teacher.

Familiars can do pretty neat things, too. Despite its flaws, the popular series “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” shows this fairly well. When Sabrina is in trouble, her familiar spirit, Salem, protects her. A familiar spirit can also act as a witch’s protector. They can devour curses and ward the home.

Familiars do require upkeep and regular offerings. Historically, these offerings would have been blood. When initiated, witches were given witches’ marks. These sometimes acted as teats from which spirits could draw blood from the witch. Blood (of any kind) is a good offering. In modern times, a bit of wine or milk often suffices.

One kind of familiar I do not wish to discuss here (because this post is already waaaay longer than I intended) is the plant familiar. Plants (especially mandrakes) can work like familiars. Do a Google dive. You’ll find something.

So that’s the tea on familiars. In summation,

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gentle touches. sleeping with earrings on. carrying coins in your pocket just in case. the way dogs in the street smile up at you like they can smell him on you. black leather. pomegranates. homemade protection oils. anything that shines only when you look at it just right. the rush of joy you feel when something connected with him is mentioned in regular society. singing to yourself in small quiet moments. don’t have plants? you do now. roses on your porch, herbs in your kitchen, cypress sapling on your patio, pomegranate seedlings gently pushing their way up. all the roots reach down to be closer to him. your shadow work journals strewn out on the shelf next to your bed, the map of your own underworld. days sober. the way everything in the room, now fleeting and ephemeral, turns toward him, the eternal. the brush of your consciousness past something bigger, older, wiser. the  s e n s i t i v i t y. the way his name sits so firmly in your heart and so unsteady in your mouth. whenever you say his name in the upper world you must defend him. rapist? monster? tyrant? the way he first appeared like he was going to seize you and drag you off but then didn’t. how his first task for you was to stand up to him. the way innocuous things turn out to be deep and serious weeks later. staking the cypress sapling and tying it back with twine so it can grow tall and proud for him. being responsible with all your resources because that’s how he would treat them. his steady hands. the way you change and grow with him beyond all limits you thought you had. you are mine which also means I am yours. cups of black coffee poured out over the edge of the patio, each cup marking another day of devotion. downtown trips to the library to find obscure classics journals with fleeting mentions of him. the way the escalators in the la public library feel like going down down down down down and how everything you’re looking for is at the bottom. the way he doesn’t seem bothered by menstrual blood, shit, rot — anything a human body does. how heraclitus said that in the eyes of the gods all things are beautiful. the way socrates wasn’t afraid to die because he knew he was going to “that good and wise god.” the way your raised-catholic self sometimes fears there is a terrible price to be paid for following him, but then the opposite keeps happening. the way everything in you rises to attention for him, YES, i am here, i am listening. the sense of his smile. the way everything around him pulls in closer and deepens.

–wrote this about my own experiences, thought it might resonate with others. <3

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Altar Ideas

Hades - Cornucopia  - Silver/Gold dollars - Raw Gems/Minerals - Skulls/Bones - Mint - Daffodils - Poplar  - Screech Owls - Black Ram - Pomegranate - Asphodel Flower - Photos of passed loved ones - Pendulum (or preferred method of spirit communication) - Seeds - Candles (Black, silver, gold, red) Altar Ideas Amphitrite - Aphrodite - Apollo - Ares - Artemis - Asteria - Athena - Demeter - Dionysus - Hades - Hebe - Hekate - Hemera - Hephaestus - Hera - Hermes - Hestia - Khione - Nyx - Persephone - Poseidon - Selene - Zeus

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Epithets of Hades

I’ve noticed that there aren’t many posts concerning epithets for Hades, and certainly no comprehensive ones, so I thought I’d make one. This is Hellenism focused, so all will be applied to Hades, even though the Latin ones would traditionally be for Pluto. Latin epithets are marked as (L). I translated some of these into more concise titles that convey their implications, and notes are made as necessary. Sources are at the bottom but are not linked so that this will still show in tags. I hope this helps everyone!

Related to his role as ruler of the underworld:

Hades Chthonius - Hades of the Underworld

Hades Polyxenos/Polydegmon/Polysêmantôr Aidonius - Hades, Ruler/Host of Many

Hades Pasiánax - Hades, the Universal King

Hades Adesius - Hades of the Grave

Hades Zefs Khthonios - Hades, Zeus of the Underworld

Hades Larthy Tytiral (Etrurian) - Hades, Sovereign of Tartarus

Hades Ánax - Hades, the King

Hades Polydegmenos - Hades, He Who Welcomes All

Summanus/Manus/Mantus (L) - Hades, Prince of the Dead

Niger Deus (L) - Hades, the Black God || Hades of the Infernal Regions

“Zeus of the Departed”

“The Other Zeus”

Related to his roles concerning death:

Hades Nekrodegmôn - Hades, Receiver of the Dead

Hades Agesilaos - Hades, Who Calls Man To The Underworld

Hades Nekrôn Sôtêr - Hades, Saviour of the Dead

Hades Hesperos Theos - Hades, God of Death and Darkness (for those who believe he and Thanatos are the same deity)

Related to his role as controller of the earth and its resources:

Hades Ploutos - Hades of Wealth

Hades Khamaizilos Dios - Hades of the Earth (“where he likes to be” is implied)

Hades Theôn Khthonios - Hades, the Terrestrial God

Tellumo (L) - Hades, Who Provides to the Creative (denotes creative power of the earth’s resources)

Tellus (L) - Hades, Who Provides for the Productive (denotes productive power of the earth’s resources)

Altor (L) - Hades, Who Nourishes

Other:

Hades Hagesilaos - Hades, Leader of the People

Hades Eubuleus - Hades of Good Counsel || Hades, the Consoler (supposedly references death as the end of sorrows)

Hades Adámastos - Hades, the Unconquerable

Hades Aidis - Hades, the Unseen

Hades Aïdonefs/Aidoneus - Hades, the Singer || Hades of Nightingales || Hades of Sleep || Hades of Light || Hades of Poets || Hades of a Girl

Hades Amenthes (Egyptian) - Hades, Who Gives and Receives

Hades Axiocersus - Hades the Shorn (he was depicted without hair where this was used)

Hades Clymenus - Hades, the Renowned

Hades Euclius/Eucles - Hades of Good Report/the Famous/of Good Fame

Hades Agetes/Hegates - Hades, the Conductor

Hades Moiragetes - Hades, Guide of the Fates

Hades Orkos/Orcus - Hades of Oaths, Hades, the Avenger of the Perjured

Hades Opheius - Hades, the Blind || Hades of Prophecy (as the blind augers of Messenia we’re dedicated to him)

Euchaites - The Beautiful-haired One

Rusor (L) - Hades, to Whom All Things Return

Salutaris Divus (L) - Hades, Restorer of the Dead

Saturnius (L) - Hades, Son of Kronos

Uragus (L) - Hades of Fire

Urgus (L) - Hades, Who Impels

Operatus (L) - Hades, the Concealed

Februus (L) - Hades, To Whom Purification and Sacrifice Is Offered

Hades, the Good and Prudent (not historical, but reflects how he was seen)

Negative (but everything can be twisted sometimes):

Hades Agesander - Hades, Who Carries All Away (this references the Persephone myth; included because it exists but I’m not sure you’d want to use it)

Hades Clotonius - Hades, the Infernal

Hades Stygius - Hades the Hateful

Feralis Deus (L) - Hades, the Cruel God

Hades Agelastus - Hades of Melancholy Countenance

“Hades, the Tearless”

“Hades, the Implacable and Adamant”

Given by Poets:

The Grisly God (Homer)

Ruthless King (Homer)

Infernal [Zeus] (Vergil, he said Jove)

Stygian [Zeus] (Vergil, same as above)

Sources:

Hellenic Gods (dot Org)

Brown, Robert (1844). “The Religion of Zoroaster Considered In Connection With Archaic Monotheism” (also known as Wikipedia citation)

The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization

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“And Gabriel caught me up, as a leaf caught up by the wind”

— Book of Enoch

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“Venus eclipsed— enraptured by the evening, glimpsed by the morning, an Earthen queen of adamantine desire wielding hidden knives. Untamed, uncaged, fierce Protectress of her Plot.”

Datura inoxia blooms in my garden.

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"We, Pomba Giras, are the true and pure stimulus, where we act in the capacity of the human being to support himself, to assert himself in his strengths and beauty, we stimulate all the obscure senses that exist within a woman and a man, so they can follow their walks in search of dreams and ideals. We stimulate all the senses that make humans see and put into practice all the virtues that exist in their nature. Daily we try to help humans who say they are without strength because they have been betrayed, abandoned and exhausted, who lost their love, lost their direction and encouragement, and are lost in abysses for living due to selfish and vain feelings, when the difficult thing is to make them realize that this false love never belonged to them. yes, he lives within each one of us, that yes adds up to other loves, which gives us the feeling that we have found a great and unique love, it is worth fighting for, daring and preserving. " - Pomba Gira Maria Quitéria

“Nós, Pomba Giras, somos o verdadeiro e puro estímulo, onde atuamos na capacidade do ser humano de se auto sustentar, se auto afirmar em suas forças e belezas, estimulamos todos os sentidos obscuros que existe dentro de uma mulher e de um homem, para que possam seguir suas caminhadas em busca de sonhos e ideais. Estimulamos todos os sentidos que façam com que humanos enxerguem e coloquem em práticas todas as virtudes existentes em sua natureza. Diariamente tentamos ajudar humanos que se dizem sem forças porque foram traídos, abandonados e esgotados, que perderam seu amor, perderam seu rumo e estímulo, e se perdem em abismos por viverem em função de sentimentos egoístas e vaidosos, quando o difícil é fazê-los perceber que este falso amor nunca lhes pertenceu. Mas o amor próprio, esse sim mora dentro de cada um de nós, esse sim soma com outros amores, o que nos dá a sensação de termos encontrado um grande e único amor, por ele vale a pena lutar, ousar e se preservar.” - Pomba Gira Maria Quitéria

Créditos na imagem

#Laroyê #PombaGira #MariaQuitéria #Exu #Mojubá #Médiuns #Mediunidade #Guias #UmbandaEuCurto #UmbandaMinhaFé #UmbandaFéDivina https://www.instagram.com/p/CG4vTJpHeoK/?igshid=d7a6nnp2ny2z