sephoneshighlady - Tumblr blog

[sephoneshighlady]

Witchcraft Book Recommendation Lists

(Reposting again bc tumblr turned off the reblogs on the original wtf. From an answer to an inquiry in the witchcraft tags. Decided to repost for anyone else who might need it.)

Here’s the post I made with recommendations for green witchcraft and plant magic. The list includes magical resources and accompanying practical texts on botany, herbology, and medicinal plants.

Here’s the post I made with recommendations for general witchcraft study, including practical sources on the history of modern witchcraft. (In particular, I recommend Margot Adler’s “Drawing Down The Moon” and Ronald Hutton’s “The Triumph of the Moon” for information about the modern movement.)

Here’s a recent photo of my personal library, if you’re looking for a general list of titles to check out.

Here’s the post I made with a list of JSTOR articles I’ve found that relate to witchcraft, witch trials, folk magic, occult beliefs, superstition, and the history surrounding all of them. It’s not exhaustive, but it’s pretty comprehensive.

And here are a couple of masterlists of podcast episodes that deal with witchcraft, witch trials, the history of witchcraft-related beliefs, and resources for fact-checking and debunking misconceptions and misinformation commonly found in witchcraft spaces.

(Also I have published a few books on practical secular witchcraft, if you’re interested….)

You can also find additional recommendations in the "book recs" and "witchy books" tags on my blog.

Hope this helps!

(If you’re enjoying my content, please feel free to drop a little something in the tip jar or check out my published works on Amazon or in the Willow Wings Witch Shop. 😊)

[sephoneshighlady]

Divination with DnD Dice

There seemed to be enough interest in the DnD Dice Divination system that I decided to go ahead and write it up. I couldn’t fit it all on here though so I might be making more posts in the future about it. I’ve included the most important stuff here to get started. 

I’ve included a zine to download and print off if you want to take it with you. I actually recommend the zine, it’s a better format than what tumblr would let me put together. 

Please consider tipping me and definitely credit me where you can. 

I know there are other systems out there and I don’t have a monopoly on dice divination but this guide did take a lot of time to put together and is built on my own collection of frameworks, meanings. 

Dice sets can be picked up for cheaper than most basic tarot decks making the barrier to entry lower. My goal was to create a system that could get a similar level of complexity of information to tarot and oracle cards. I found in test readings, I could get roughly the same as I would get from a four card reading. So it’s a good start! 

It’s my mission to make divination more accessible, tipping me helps me devote more time to this.

Zine: https://www.scribd.com/document/380692727/Divination-With-DnD-Dice

If Scribd gives you trouble try here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/21613135

Read description for printing directions or it might not come out right. 

If you can’t print it off, the same information is included below the cut.  

Hope someone finds this useful! 

Keep reading

[sephoneshighlady]

Please retire the "we are made of stardust" phrase I am so tired of it

[sephoneshighlady]

Magical Powder Recipes

A collection of some of my original magical powder recipes.

All-Purpose Cursing Powder

Bree's Banishing Powder

Clean House Powder

“Eye of Sauron” Revelation Powder

Heal Thy Heart Powder

Hexbreaker Powder

Inspiration Salt

Lucky Day Powder

“Outta My Way” Powder

Peacekeeper Powder

Persuasion Powder

STFU Powder

Traveler’s Luck Powder

Truthfinder Powder

For those of you who may not be able to find herbs locally, here are some online suppliers who consistently have affordable and high-quality products.

Penn Herb Co. - Bulk herbs, spices, and botanicals - including over 400 wildcrafted herbs, gathered from the United States and worldwide. Single ounce packages are available. Excellent source for powders.

Starwest Botanicals - Bulk herbs, spices, oils, and teas. Good amount of organic and Fair Trade products, as well as supplies for holistic medicine and tea-making.

Mountain Rose Herbs - Bulk herbs, spices, and sundries. Also carries organic products and essential oils, and has link to schools that offer courses in herbalism and herbology.

Bulk Apothecary - Bulk herbs, spices, and oils, in addition to materials for the home production of soap, candles, wine, and beer.

For more recipes to fill out your potion kit, you can check out Pestlework: A Book of Magical Powders & Oils. (Available on Amazon and in my shop!)

If you're enjoying my content, please feel free to drop a little something in the tip jar or check out my published works on Amazon or in the Willow Wings Witch Shop. 😊

[sephoneshighlady]

Eda's Love Scrying Potion : TOH

Hey Howdy Folks, here's another POP spell made witchy! I've tried to stay true to the recipe above but I took some liberties so make the spell more accessible for modern witchcraft. This spell also follows acultomancy, which uses 21 needles to interpret a message when the water is moved.

Materials:

Honey (any kind) for love

Lemon/Orange juice for creativity and energy

Tears as a taglock for yourself or others

Scrying Oil (optional. Might drop my own recipe if yall want xx :))

Needles. If you have a deranged mother, use sewing needles. If not, toothpicks will also work fine, but be sure to use a shallow bowl as they float

Traditionally, Acultomancy requires 21 needles. Thats extra. If you want to be extra, use 21. I'm only gonna use 11 cause I don't want the whole damn pincushion rusty.

Preparing your scrying mix:

mix honey, lemon juice/orange juice, and mint tea with water

Add tears or a scrying oil.

Stir clockwise four rotations with intent

now add your needles. I recommend metal needles or scolecite pricks as they sink in water.

Stir with intent and document what figures you see your needles form.

[sephoneshighlady]

Hi!! I need some help!! I'm redoing this (for obvious reasons)

But wanted to know if I could get constructive criticism/tips on what to add/replace and if I should use a diff quote and if so which one

[sephoneshighlady]

The Evermore Grimoire: Magic Powers

Chaos Magic is the power to utilise chaos-related magic; a type of magic that taps into and exploits the chaotic forces of the universe. Thus granting the wielder chaotic magical powers and a mastery of spells that are capable of warping, manipulating and/or reconstructing reality and probability as well as the very fabric of existence. At this power’s full potential it can cause total chaos and destruction to the cosmos, even rewriting entire multiverses on a whim, making the wielder virtually omnipotent. However, if left unchecked, they can lose themselves to the very chaos they’ve invoked. The only known current being in existence to wield the power of chaos magic is the Scarlet Witch.

[sephoneshighlady]

Hi! I’m pretty new to witchcraft so this might be a stupid question, but is there a difference between chaos magic and LOA? I’ve heard that chaos magic operates based on the practitioner’s belief (I could be wrong), and to me that sounded quite similar to LOA. Again, I could be completely wrong and have a misunderstanding of it, but I was just wondering if there was a difference between the two.

Here's the key to any of this:

Law of Attraction says that every thought you have - every single one - influences what happens to you. Did you accidentally think something bad? Bad things are going to happen, and you deserve it. It's passive, and it's constant. It effectively states that bad things happen to people because they didn't think right, and that people who have things are inherently better people (because if they weren't, why would they have those things?).

It's so gross.

Any kind of magic, chaos or otherwise, on the other hand is an active task. The act of casting the spell is a choice, and the things done outside of that magical act are not a factor.

That's the fundamental difference.

[sephoneshighlady]

When it comes to my spiritual practice, I’d rather be inconsistent but sincere than consistent but empty.

[sephoneshighlady]

I want to make people see how much has been taken away from them.

Did you know that there are dozens of species of fireflies, and some of them light up with a blue glow? Did you know about the moths? There are thousands of them, bright pink and raspberry orange and checkerboard and emerald. They are called things like Black-Etched Prominent, Purple Fairy, Pink-Legged Tiger, Small Mossy Glyph and Black-Bordered Lemon.

Did you know that there are moths that feed on lichens? Did you know about the blue and green bees? The rainbow-colored dogbane beetles? Your streams are supposed to teem with newts, salamanders, crawdads, frogs, and fishes. I want to take you by the hand and show you an animal you've never seen before, and say, "This exists! It's real! It's alive!"

There are secret wildflowers that no website will show you and that no list entitled "native species to attract butterflies!" will name. Every day I'm at work I see a new plant I didn't know existed.

The purple coneflowers and prairie blazing star are a tidepool, a puddle, and there is an ocean out there. There are wildflowers that only grow in a few specific counties in a single state in the United States, there are plants that are evolved specifically to live underneath the drip line of a dolomite cliff or on the border of a glade of exposed limestone bedrock. Did you know that different species of moss grow on the sides of a boulder vs. on top of it?

There are obscure trees you might have never seen—Sourwood, Yellowwood, Overcup Oak, Ninebark, Mountain Stewartia, Striped Maple, American Hophornbeam, Rusty Blackhaw, Kentucky Coffeetree. There are edible fruits you've never even heard of.

And it is so scary and sad that so many people live and work in environments where most of these wondrous living things have been locally extirpated.

There are vast tracts of suburb and town and city and barren pasture where a person could plausibly never learn of the existence of the vast majority of their native plants and animals, where a person might never imagine just how many there are, because they've only ever been exposed to the tiny handful of living things that can survive in a suburb and they have no reason to extrapolate that there are ten thousand more that no one is talking about.

It's like being a fish that has lived its whole life in a bucket, with no way of imagining the ocean. The insects in your field guide are a fraction of those that exist, of all the native plants to your area only a handful can be bought in a nursery.

Welcome to the Earth! It's beautiful! It's full of life! More things are real and beautiful and alive than a single person could imagine!!!

[sephoneshighlady]

General Advice for Beginner Witches

A brief masterpost of some of my advice posts for beginner witches and the episodes of my podcast dealing with the same. (There is UPG here, particularly where marked, as I base a good deal of my advice on my own experience and observations of other witches.)

Hex Positive Podcast Episodes

Hex Positive, Ep. 04 - Advice for Beginner Witches (July 2020)

Hex Positive, Eps. 6-7 - Come In For A Spell 1 & 2 (Sept 2020)

Hex Positive, Ep. 12 - Witching From The Broom Closet (Jan 2021)

Hex Positive, Ep. 24 - Warding A Witchy Home (Dec 2021)

Hex Positive, Ep. 27 - When Inspo Takes A Holiday (March 2022)

General Tips & Advice

I Feel Like I Might Be A Witch...But I Don't Know

I Have Mental Health Issues - Can I Still Be A Witch?

Can I Still Be A Witch And Use Magic If I Take Medication?

How Do I Teach Myself To Believe In Magic?

How Does Magic Work? (upg ahoy)

Will I Be Possessed Or Haunted If I Try Witchcraft?

What Are Some Things I Can Do To Get Started?

How Can I Start My Practice If I Don't Have Tools Or Books?

How Do I Organize My Study Materials?

How Do I Contact A Deity?

How Do I Worship My Deity If I Can't Have An Altar?

Tips On Working With Deities And Spirits (here be upg)

My Intuitive Spark Feels Low - How Do I Get It Back?

I'm In A Slump - How Do I Get Out Of It?

I've Reached A Stopping Point - What Do I Do Next?

My Candle Is Flickering - Does It Mean Something Bad?

How Do I Make A Magic Circle For Spellcasting?

What Happens If I Get Interrupted While Casting A Spell?

Do I Need To Maintain Positive Vibes For My Spells To Work?

What Should I Do If I REALLY Want To Hex Someone?

How Do I Know / What Do I Do If I've Been Hexed?

How Do I Become More Skilled And More Powerful?

How Do I Know When I'm Ready For The Next Step In My Practice?

Additional Tips For Developing Your Practice

Witchcraft Exercise - Quantifying Your Craft

Witchcraft Exercise - Dig Through The Ditches

Witchcraft Exercise - The Book of Lessons

Witchcraft Exercise - Home Brews

Tips on How to Visualize and Construct Basic Wards

Practicing Your Warding Technique

Cleansing Before Warding / Warding A Shared Space

Refreshing / Patching Existing Wards

Non-Appropriative Herbs for Smoke-Cleansing

Smokeless Cleansing / Other Methods

Recommended Reading & Book Suggestions

[sephoneshighlady]

—persephone icons. ( ch. 206 )

reblog if you use.

[sephoneshighlady]

Bealtaine (Beltane)

"Bealtaine" is the Irish spelling and is pronounced as "byal-tin-ah".

"Beltane" is the Anglicised and is pronounced phonetically.

When is Bealtaine? 1st of May.

What is Bealtaine? It is a Celtic fire and fertility festival that is also known as “May Day”, “Samradh”, and “May Eve”. It marks the coming of Summer.

Traditionally, jumping over a balefire during this festival is said to ensure protection over the forthcoming year - this may be where the “naked-pagans-jumping-bonfires” stereotype comes from.

Bealtaine is opposite Samhain in the Wheel of the Year, and just as they are opposed in position, they are opposed in celebration. Samhain is a festival that in many ways, celebrates death, whereas Beltane is a celebration of life.

• BEALTAINE CORRESPONDENCES •

There are many traditional activities associated with Bealtaine, such as bonfires, Maypoles and feasts, but if we’re going to be realistic, many of us can’t weave flowers into our hair and raise a Maypole in our village square.

Here’s some correspondences and associations that we can realistically work with:

• COLOURS:

Green.

Pink.

Yellow.

Red.

Brown.

Light Blue.

Lavender.

• FOOD:

Seasonal spring vegetables, such as cabbage, asparagus, radishes, onions, and potatoes (UK).

Sweets, such as chocolate, pastries and honey.

Spiced foods, such as ginger and peppers, incorporate the fire element of the festival into celebrations.

Aphrodisiacs, such as oysters, asparagus, nutmeg, and vanilla, incorporate the sensuality and fertility aspect of the festival.

Maybowl (a.k.a., May Wine), is a beverage that is typically made specifically for Beltane. Alcoholic versions of this beverage usually use honey mead or a sweet wine for a base, and non-alcoholic versions may use ginger ale. [Wine & Champagne based Maybowl Recipe]

• INCENSE:

Scents associated with Bealtaine are usually wild, earthy, and are often considered to be sensual.

Vanilla.

Cinnamon.

Patchouli.

Rose.

Lilac.

Oakmoss.

Sandalwood.

• FLORA:

Traditional flowers include: Hawthron, Rose, Sweet Woodruff, and Pansy. Others may include: Bluebell, Marigold, Primrose, and Daisy.

• OTHER TOOLS:

Other tools may include candles, a ritual knife, a brazier or cauldron.

• DEITIES & ENTITIES:

Celtic:

Óengus.

Rhiannon.

Aos Sídhe.

Others w/Shared Associations:

Bast.

Artemis.

Diana.

Flora.

Faunus.

Pan.

Bacchus.

Hera.

Cernunnos.

Eros.

• OTHER ACTIVITIES:

Flower Crowns: Flower crowns are a discreet, pretty and very fitting way of celebrating Bealtaine. If you make your own, use flowers that symbolise the festival - if you can. If you are using artificial flowers, focus on the colour correspondences instead. Red is a biggie as it can represent the fire and/or fertility element.

May Baskets: Traditionally, May Baskets were given to women from men (every woman in a household would get one), and they would be filled with sweets and flowers.

Bonfires: **Only if you have a safe outside space.** Bonfires are a simple way to honour this sabbat. They represent fire (you know, because they are fire), they cleanse and they bring protection. They also bring people together, and it is common to accompany the bonfire with a feast of seasonal foods.

[sephoneshighlady]

Don’t try to become the girl of anyone’s dreams. Become the woman of your own dreams. Nurture the little girl you once were and make her proud. Nourish the goddess in you. Find the muse in yourself and love her fiercely. Build a deep love for yourself.

[sephoneshighlady]

🏛Hellenic cheat sheets🏛

In construction

Here are some cheat sheets with general information about the Greek Gods which you might find useful in worship but not only!

There is plenty of information I did not include. These are just simple cheat sheets. I could not fit everything in there but this might come in handy if you’re just starting out or want to get to know the Hellenic Gods.

For more information about them, I highly recommend you check out the websites or books I listed in sources!

PSA: Some of the things listed in offerings and associations section are more modern, thus could be regarded as UPGs/SPGs

⚡ The Olympians ⚡

Zeus

Hera

Poseidon

Demeter

Athena

Apollo

Artemis

Ares

Hephaestus

Aphrodite

Hermes

Hestia

Dionysus

Mount Olympus - Home of the Gods

Hyperborea

🦴The Underworld🦴

Hades

Persephone

Hekate

Hypnos

Thanatos

Erinyes

House of Hades & the Afterlife

🌱 Minor deities & daimones 💫

Nemesis

Eris

Phobos & Deimos - bonus info

Eros

Nike

Asklepios

Pan

Iris

Aristaios

Amphitrite

Thetis

Hebe

Priapos

Mousai [Muses]

Moirai [Fates]

Charites [Graces]

Anemoi [The Winds]

If you like my content consider supporting me on: https://ko-fi.com/screeching0wlet

[sephoneshighlady]

Valentine’s Witchery

Witchy things for everyone on Valentine’s day, not just the hopeless romantics! (More related masterposts linked at the bottom!)

Last updated February of 2021, please inform me of broken links via askbox!

Correspondences:

Flowers: Roses, jasmine, lilacs, daisies, marigold, most flowers!

Spices and Herbs: Vanilla, lavender, chamomile, pepper, basil, cinnamon, bay leaves.

Crystals: Rose quartz, pearls, opal, citrine, jade, clear quartz. 

Incense: Amber, cherry, jasmine, rose, sandalwood, ylang-ylang [X]

Glamour:

Aphrodite glamour water

Siren’s lipstick spell

Eye catching glamour spell

Glamour solid perfume

“Life of the party” glamour charm

Attracting Romance Spells:

Simple love attraction spell

Spell to attract love into your life

To attract a kind person for a relationship

Love spell for a third party

Love drawing bath soak

Romance Tarot Spreads:

Valentine tarot spread (3 card)

Love tarot spread (4 card)

What are the chances here? (6 card)

Anti-Romance Spells:

Ice queen breath spray 

To repel an unwanted lover

Love repression spell

Anti-lust spell

“Cover My Ass” Anti-Harassment Charm

F*ck off… “leave me alone vibe” glamour

For the Brokenhearted: 

Mend the heart spell

Spell for emotional healing and moving forward

Forgetting that ex spell

Simple spell to heal the heart

Selkie spell to ease heartbreak

Heal your heart potion

Self Love Spells:

Lavender self love jar

Self love spell

A simple self love spell

Self love bath

Self love bath spell

Self Love Tarot Spreads:

Beautiful you tarot spread (3 card)

Self love spread for V day! (6 card)

Self love spread (7 card)

These lovely masterposts:

themanicnami’s list of love spells

sylvaetria’s list of magic for strengthening romantic bonds

urbanspellcrafts’s list of heartbreak-related magic

orriculum’s valentine’s day masterpost

[sephoneshighlady]

2022 Witch's Calendar

For all my witches out there, here's a handy list of the 2022 dates for the major holidays, full and new moons, and special events. I've listed my sources at the bottom. Dates and times for all events are calculated for Eastern Standard Time, USA, Northern Hemisphere. Adjust for your location as needed. Enjoy!

WOTY Holidays and Solstices

February 1-2 - Imbolc

March 20 - Spring Equinox / Ostara

May 1 - Beltane

June 21 - Summer Solstice / Midsummer

August 1 - Lughnasadh

September 22 - Autumn Equinox / Mabon

October 31 - Samhain

December 21 - Winter Solstice / Yule

Full Moons

January 17 - Wolf Moon ♋️

February 16 - Snow Moon ♌️

March 18 - Worm Moon ♍️

April 16 - Pink Moon ♎️

May 16 - Flower Moon ♏️

June 14 - Strawberry Moon ♐️

July 13 - Thunder Moon (aka Buck Moon) ♑️

August 11 - Sturgeon Moon ♒️

September 10 - Harvest Moon ♓️

October 9 - Hunter's Moon (aka Blood Moon) ♈️

November 8 - Frost Moon ♉️

December 7 - Cold Moon ♊️

Fun Fact: The title of Harvest Moon is given to either the September or October full moon, whichever falls closest to the autumn equinox. In 2022, that month will be September.

New Moons

January 2 ♑️

February 1 ♒️

March 2 ♓️

April 1 ♈️

April 30 ♉️

May 30 ♊️

June 29 ♋️

July 28 ♌️

August 27 ♍️

September 25 ♎️

October 25 ♏️

November 23 ♐️

December 23 ♑️

Special Events

April 30 - Black Moon & Partial Solar Eclipse (10:42pm EST)

May 16 - Total Lunar Eclipe (12:11am EST, coinciding with zenith)

June 14 - Supermoon

July 13 - Supermoon

October 25 - Partial Solar Eclipe (11:01am EST)

November 8 - Total Lunar Eclipse (5:59am EST, coinciding with zenith)

SOURCES:

Inverse - Full Moon 2022 calendar: Dates, times, schedule, and names for the brightest nights all year

Astroseek - Full Moons 2022 & New Moons

The Pagan Grimoire - The Wheel of the Year: The 8 Festivals in the Wiccan Calendar