snowyrestingnearwillowtrees

[snowyrestingnearwillowtrees]

it's ok music will save me

[snowyrestingnearwillowtrees]

Popping in to say that I hope everyone had a happy solstice! 🧡☀️

[snowyrestingnearwillowtrees]

LITHA

DATE: June 20th-22nd

ZODIAC: Cancer and Leo

SYMBOLS: sunflowers, fire, sun, shells, mirrors, solar cross, oak trees, and spirals and circles.

INCENSE AND OILS: sandalwood, myrrh, frankincense, lavender, lemon, orange, mint, rosemary, cedar, and ginger.

SPELLWORK: empowerment, vitality, healing, renewal, honouring nature, and celebrating the sun.

ANIMALS: horses, cows, dragonflies, bees, butterflies, robins, eagles, wren, and snakes.

COLOURS: yellow, gold, orange, red, green, and white.

FOOD: fruit and berries, vegetables, grains, honey, dairy, mead, wine, juices, and frozen treats.

DEITIES: Aphrodite, Gaia, Freyja, Sol, Lugh, Sulis, Apollo, Oak King, Belenus, Brigid, Danu, Hestia, and Ra.

HERBS AND FLOWERS: sunflowers, St. Johns wort, lavender, chamomile, calendula, rosemary, mugwort, lemon balm, vervain, yarrow, honeysuckle, and basil. 

CRYSTALS AND STONES: sunstone, citrine, tigers eye, lapis lazuli, pyrite, carnelian, ruby, periodt, amber, and quartz.

[snowyrestingnearwillowtrees]

Offerings: What's, How's, When's, and Why's

Below are some of the most common questions regarding offerings!

Disclaimer: Long post. This is based on my experience and research. I don't claim to know the absolute truth.

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TL,DR: A lot of things about offerings are flexible, subjective, and depend on culture, personal beliefs, and mundane constraints. While there are general considerations and guidelines, you will always have to do deeper research in order for the offerings to fit what you are doing and what is within your reach.

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Why make Offerings?

There are many ways to see offerings and it can vary depending on personal beliefs and religion. Some of the most common reasons people make them:

Energy exchange: you give something to receive something. This can be seen as payment, fair trade or as a way to keep balance.

Thanksgiving: you give offerings as a way of giving thanks

Honoring: you give offerings as a way to pay respect

All of the above

When to make Offerings?

It is advisable to make offerings whenever you are doing spiritual work with any kind of spirit. You can make the offering before, during or after your work.

You can also make offerings a standalone thing for praising, honoring or thanksgiving spiritual beings.

What happens to the offerings? "Why do spiritual beings need food"?

Spiritual beings also use energy. Just as you use energy to do any activity, spirits also use energy for their own purposes. When you make an offering you are offering them energy, just as when you eat you are fueling your organic needs.

If you are asking a spirit to help you they may even use the energy from your offerings to fuel the magic needed for what you asked.

They don't need energy to live like we do (they don't die), but we all use energy in some way for some purpose. When you give proper offerings, aligned with the energy you need and the type of work, you can make your magickal workings stronger and develop deeper bonds with the spirits.

The spirits are not going to literally eat food you give them, but you may notice changes in "how it feels/looks like" that are subtle.

For example, when I was a child my parents pointed out that when flowers (such as a rose) are used in strong, successful magical workings they dry after a while but the petals don't fall. It tends to preserve its original aspect.

Of course, it's not an exact science, but you may observe some weird things.

How long should I leave offerings out?

Depends. Some rituals and traditions may ask you to leave them for a few days, some are to be consumed during or after the ritual. If not specified you may leave them for a day or dispose of them the next morning. Non-organic offerings may stay at the altar indefinitely or for long periods of time before being dispatched.

How to dispose of offerings?

This varies with culture and religious beliefs, so look for what was traditionally considered respectful. However, it's also important to take into account your reality, and if you are in doubt you can try to ask the spirits themselves what is the ideal way of disposing of them.

Some cultures bury their offerings. For example, in hellenic paganism it is (traditionally) believed offerings to chthonic deities should be buried and never eaten.

Some cultures don't mind you eating and/or drinking the offerings yourself after the rite is done. In Kemeticism (again, traditionally) eating offerings is preferred as to not waste food. If you are under financial constraints and cannot afford to throw away food this can be a good way of giving offerings while also avoiding waste. Of course this only applies to edible offerings, eaten right after you are done with your ritual. Please don't ingest anything that could be spoiled, illegal (such as underage alcohol consumption) or toxic.

Leaving it in a clean space in nature. This can be controversial and/or illegal depending on where you live and what you are disposing of, so make sure to get that checked out. In some cultures it is traditional to dispose of offerings even if they contain non-organic matter, but I advocate for only disposing in nature organic, non-toxic offerings. Times have changed, nowadays we must be more responsible of what we throw in nature and the effects it can cause.

An alternative to disposing in nature is to dispose of it on garden plants, if you have them, or re-use what would be wasted in some way. This can be an option for smaller offerings and folks with location restraints.

Dispose of them in the garbage. This can be controversial but I don't see it as an issue. If someone has something that makes the other options impossible or a big hassle, should they just not give offerings? I personally don't think so. Anyone is welcome to disagree, but respect the reality of other folks.

Non-organic, devotional offerings may also be kept in your house or garden in a dedicated/sacred space.

Offerings can also be burned. Always be careful handling fire, be aware of accidents and make sure to do research about what you are burning since some things can release toxic chemicals when burned.

Side note on eating offerings: Some spiritual beings like to share food and drink with you as a way of bonding and celebration. In some cultures, it is traditional to share in food and drink for specific rituals. It also may not always be appropriate to eat food on certain occasions.

What to offer?

The most traditional offerings are that of food and I personally like these the most. However, offerings are not restrained to that! You can even give them a more devotional meaning by, for example, offering an action, a song, art (poems, pictures, dance, etc), incense, a candle, water, or your time and energy.

Some offerings are pretty generalist and work for a lot of stuff, such as water, candles, bread, flowers and fruits. You can use these when you are short on supplies or when you are not entirely sure what you should offer.

But ideally you will want to offer something whose energy aligns with your purpose and the spiritual being you are working with. For example, you could offer lilies or white roses if you are doing work associated with peacefulness, but if you want passion you might want to pick red roses and cinnamon instead.

There will be times where you will have to improvise. You don't have to go without giving an offering just because you don't have exactly what you wanted to use. Yes it's better to have everything aligned, but sometimes you may feel the urge to do an offering at an inopportune time and you'll need to be flexible. This is why it's always good to have some generalist ingredients laying around.

How to make offerings?

Again, this can vary with culture and religion. You will have to find out what is the best way for your culture and beliefs.

But if you are unsure, here is a general setup:

Gather your offerings and everything you'll need for what you're doing.

Ideally cleanse and protect yourself and the environment you're in. If you have a space dedicated for offerings it's even better.

Remember you can give offerings before, during or after spiritual workings. Know at which point of the process you'll make the offering before you get started.

When you are ready to make your offering, start by saying a prayer and/or saying a few words. Try to tune in with the energy you are making the offering for. Here you can declare why you are making this offering and what you want (if applicable). Remember offerings have many uses, so here you can give praise, express your thanks and/or petition something to the forces you are making the offering for.

After making the offering you can meditate and try to tune in with spirits and what they feel. You can try talking to them. You can also carry on with whatever you planned to do.

Finish your ritual in a way you see fit and thank the spiritual beings involved.

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Final considerations!

Please, PLEASE make sure what you are offering and disposing of is LEGAL to acquire and dispose of.

Be conscious about the environment .

There needs to be a balance between honoring tradition and your reality living in the modern era.

To give offerings is to give energy. Make sure you are "feeding" the right spiritual beings, and not just being exploited for energy. Protections first, offerings later.

Be mindful of any potential accidents, especially concerning fire, children and pets. Be careful with potentially toxic offerings accessible to children, pets and wildlife.

Thank you for reading and best of luck in your practice ♡

[snowyrestingnearwillowtrees]

happy litha (summer solstice / midsummer) to all witches and regular folk !!

blessed be ⛧⃝ ❤️

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾𖤓 ⋆⁺₊⋆

[snowyrestingnearwillowtrees]

Civilian surveillance

[snowyrestingnearwillowtrees]

[snowyrestingnearwillowtrees]

my first god's eye!

i only had red and white yarn, but I think i did pretty well!

may everyone have a blessed litha!!! ☀️

[snowyrestingnearwillowtrees]

how do y’all manage to pray without saying i love you a million times

[snowyrestingnearwillowtrees]

[snowyrestingnearwillowtrees]

Why are you using chatgpt to get through college. Why are you spending so much time and money on something just to be functionally illiterate and have zero new skills at the end of it all. Literally shooting yourself in the foot. If you want to waste thirty grand you can always just buy a sportscar.

[snowyrestingnearwillowtrees]

almost the end of spring. thank you for the beautiful spring you have given us <3.

Offerings for the lovely Persephone - one for being the Queen of the Underworld, and another for her being the Goddess of Spring 🫶 I love her duality

[snowyrestingnearwillowtrees]

!!VITAL SAFETY INFORMATION!!!

On the off chance anyone sees this before going to a protest: I've been seeing people say "sit down if you see someone not being peaceful so organizers can handle the situation."

do not listen to ANYONE that tells you to do this. EVER.

Intentionally or not, the person who told you that could get you or someone else killed.

NEVER sit on the ground in the presence of a police line. You are a sitting duck for the cops to aim less lethal munitions at you. They don't care if you are harmless. They will aim 40mm munitions designed to bounce and hit your legs directly at your head at point blank range because they think it's funny, and if you're not wearing a good helmet, you will die. I've seen it happen.

A sitting person is also an invisible obstacle for squad cars and cops on horseback. They will trample you on purpose, don't give them a way to do it on accident.

NEVER sit in the middle of a large standing crowd. You could be trampled in SECONDS. Visibility is extremely low when 1000+ people are packed into a small space. If any sort of action kicks off and people start moving frantically, they won't see you and you'll be trampled. I'm talking crushed bones, concussions, and worse. You also function as a weapon because people will trip over you and hurt themselves.

NEVER make a protester in a crowd more obvious to the police, especially if they are committing a crime, especially in a climate where people are being disappeared into government black sites, especially in a situation where that person is likely to be brown, black, undocumented, etc. This is life or death. This isn't about whether or not you agree with their action. Put your ego away.

NEVER trust unnamed and unaccountable organizers (IE every one of them you do not personally know) to handle "security". This is how movements are infiltrated and neutralized. You don't need cops in the movement to abolish cops.

We protect us. Respect a diversity of tactics. Be safe. Trust each other.

[snowyrestingnearwillowtrees]

Israel took a shit in Iran's front yard. They should go pick it up themselves instead of telling the US to do it.

[snowyrestingnearwillowtrees]

the helpol community genuinely needs to chill the fuck out.

you don’t need money to worship

you don’t always need to be perfect

you can talk to the gods whenever you want

you can believe what you want to believe

you can worship however you want to worship

stop policing the practice of others. it’s not fun, it doesn’t make you smart, it just makes you mean.

[snowyrestingnearwillowtrees]

okayyyy i'll do this thanks for tagging me, @whimsy-ollie

a - yes, happy and sad about it

b - no besties

c - no crush

d - dino plushy

e - nobody. 😭

f - don't facetime

g - no besties

h - no

i - i love nighttime, the moon, but i'm afraid of the dark.

j - anyone who looks prettier, or does school better than I.

k - no

l - g

m - don't have one

n - snowy

o - skip

p - haven't tried either, so (bubble) tea. 🍵🧋

r - asking how someone´s day was.

s - skip

t - nice, empathic, funny, etc.

u - skip

v - ...no

w - EVERYONE HATING ON ME AND THINKING I AM UNWORTHY, OR EVERYONE GONE ON THIS WORLD. 😭

y - too many. i eat anything and everything except seafood.

i have zero other friends on tumblr other than ollie, soooo no tags.

Tag game mayhaps? Ask game?

(From a irl)

Mine below

No

The 7 people I have on snap lmao and that’s it

My bf

Yes and several stuffies

Poe and some friends

Main gc Poe my parents prob

Idk duck Poe Elle?

No

Uh idk

My brother??? Idk randos

Nope

My bf

Skip

Skip cus personal

Skip

Come

Skip

Skip

Idk tbh not anything really

Idk

Skip

Spiders

Yogurt? Pretzels

[snowyrestingnearwillowtrees]

one of my feather babies decided to take a swim today

of course they decided to eat it up like a photoshoot — i’m a proud dad for that

(of course she has to dry off like the little princess she is)