sunbathedboy

[sunbathedboy]

(Croakswell. Found near the cedar roots.)

[sunbathedboy]

While cleaning out my room I found a paper that my therapist gave me some time ago to deal with obsessive and intrusive thoughts. Sorry the paper is a little crinkled and stained, but I figured I’d post it in hopes that it will help someone like it helped me.

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Works that Aren’t About Witchcraft that Enhanced My Practice

What’s on this list? This list features anything that I found useful to my practice that aren’t necessarily about witchcraft, magick, etc. This includes works and resources regarding ecology and conservation, mental/cognitive health, slow living/lifestyle, anti-consumerism or minimal consumption, and spirituality that isn’t specific to witchcraft. These things have very much intersected with my practice, as I think a healthy land and a healthy mind lend themselves well to my craft.

I intend to update this list as I recall or stumble across things that I find useful to my practice.

Books:

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer: At this point, Kimmerer is a mandatory read. In Braiding Sweetgrass, she shares her story of connecting to the land via her work and experience with plants.

Bringing Nature Home by Douglas W. Tallamy: A detailed examination about how we can all make a difference by planting native plants, even if it’s just in a planter on our balcony. This is largely U.S. focused but I’m sure other places can benefit from information on how indigenous plants impact their ecosystem. It’s a fascinating, informative, and very positive read.

The Sustainable(ish) Living Guide by Jen Gale: A lot of the info in this is very UK-focused. I’m not in the UK but found the information widely relevant nonetheless, though some of the resources did not apply to me (but I found some similar resources in my areas with a search).

The Nature Fix by Florence Williams: An investigation into how imperative nature, and being in nature, is for our mental and cognitive health.

Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming by Stephen LaBerge, Ph.D. and Howard Rheingold: If you’re a witch, you may already lucid dream. But, either way, learning more about it is worth it. You’re bound to learn something new.

The Re-Enchantment of Everyday Life by Thomas Moore: A VERY good read. Thomas Moore details all the ways that we can look at life through an enchanted lens. Even with the little areas of life that we take for granted.

Scarcity Brain by Michael Easter: An informative and helpful examination of how everything is designed to steal your attention, and how to help yourself unplug and resist the cravings and bad habits that your brain is so addicted to.

The Enchanted Life by Sharon Blackie: A lovely work on how to enchant your life, and why it matters.

Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics by Dan Harris: An incredibly practical and grounded guide to mindfulness and meditation that strips meditation of its horrible marketing and lays bare the essentials.

Coyote America by Dan Flores: A weird choice for my weird list. This is a wonderful book about coyotes, their history, their folklore and myths, and their magnificent resilience. It has helped me better understand my landscape by helping me understand one of its most prominent creatures: The Coyote.

The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking: Another obligatory read! This book is quite popular, for good reason. It provides insight into the Danish phenomenon of “Hygge” which, perhaps, has been a little over-used and perhaps even appropriated. However, there are great insights into how you can create memorable and convivial moments.

Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker, Ph.D.: Fixing your sleep can absolutely aid in your practice!

Never Home Alone by Rob Dunn: As an animistic witch, I believe that everything is, in a manner of speaking, “alive.” This book covers a much similar truth… the fact that you share your home with other living creatures. Your house is alive, with everything from bugs to bacteria, and this book explains why that is probably a good thing.

The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell: Mythologist Joseph Campbell is a necessary (if flawed) read for anyone interested in the topic of mythology. In spite of the flaws of his works and studies, they still remain a great source of food for thought.

The Head Trip by Jeff Warren: An intriguing and humorous look into consciousness and it’s altered states…

Natural by Alan Levinovitz: A book breaking down how the marketing term “natural” doesn’t necessarily mean good or safe.

A Life Less Throwaway by Tara Button: Another great look at practical sustainable living.

Resources:

The Old Farmers’ Almanac: The classic almanac! They have bountiful online resources, such as weather forecasts, solar/lunar forecasts, planting/gardening guides, and more. They still sell physical copies of the almanac every year. I get a copy by subscription and review it to help me anticipate and observe the wheel of the year. The books have a lot of (hilarious) ads, though.

Meditation apps or recordings: There are so many out there right now and some of them might not be great, but it’s ultimately a great resource for developing meditation skills through guided meditation. Understandably, not everyone has the means to buy meditation app subscriptions. Double check to see if your healthcare covers the costs of any apps, if your library does, or if your place of work does. Alternatively, there are lots of free meditation recordings out there on every audio streaming service and YouTube.

The National Audubon Society: I use their field guides often in my hiking. They have ample resources for birding, conservation, and more. Consider getting involved in your local chapter! Please also read this important article from J. Drew Lanham.

Home Grown National Park is a movement that encourages you to plant native! The site is a U.S.-based resource that will help you identify, find, and plant native plants in your own yard, and encourages people to create a native landscape that helps our pollinators!

MY LOCAL LIBRARY! Especially their online resources. Look at YOUR libraries!

Refill Directory and Litterless have lists of refill/package-free stores by state.

A Drugs Interaction Checker that I utilize to double check any new herbs I’m trying just to ensure they don’t have any KNOWN interactions with my meds. PLEASE READ: This is not the end all be all to consuming ANYTHING safely. Please consult your doctor(s) before consuming anything new or unfamiliar.

ATU-Index that you can actually look through!

Merlin Bird ID is a great resource for identifying birds from bird song!

Stargazing apps and star charts! There are too many to choose from.

Content Creators:

Naphtali Rosenberg is a great source of ideas and guidance regarding journaling and information consumption. I’ve actually used some of his videos for help with my grimoire.

Science Vs. Podcast is unfortunately a Spotify exclusive, but they do deep dives into popular trends and ideas and holds them up to the light of science. I firmly believe that it is imperative that we, as witches, learn media literacy and hold science as a primary vehicle of truth.

Pathways with Joseph Campbell is a podcast where every episode is just one of Campbell’s lectures. Unfortunately, most of his lectures were free and available on demand, but the Joseph Campbell Foundation has since been charging money to buy the lectures (and it’s stupid expensive). This podcast, however, is free.

Bernadette Banner is a historical fashion YouTuber. Sounds irrelevant to this post, but she has inspired me to really reevaluate my relationship with fashion by making thoughtful choices and avoid the overconsumption that can be so tempting. Anything that grounds me and my lifestyle is intangible to my practice.

Caitlin Doughty or Ask a Mortician is a great and informative YouTuber that really helped me address death in a humorous and informative way.

[sunbathedboy]

Back with some more Italian folk magic thoughts and recommendations

I believe the spirit of my Nonna was reaching out to me recently as I was decluttering in my efforts to spark change in the new year. I went through some boxes in my basement and came across her old chaplet rosary and several holy medals she kept and immediately felt a sense of immense comfort after a stressful week. Her rosary, though beautiful, is a precious and fragile heirloom and while I would love to use it in my day to day practice, I fear it’s too delicate to carry around. So for now, I will put her rosary on my altar and give it a special place.

The chaplet rosary did give me inspiration though. I’ve found in moments of intense anxiety and dysregulation I need an external means of grounding. In college I used to carry around prayer beads and say meditative chants when I was overwhelmed to keep me in the present. I’ve since lost those beads and have reconnected to my folk practice, finding that praying the rosary has a similar effect for me. After rediscovering my Nonna’s chaplet I decided to craft my own 2 decade rosary I could cary with me. Granted, I’m not really Catholic anymore and consider myself mostly secular (though I heavily resonate with animism and ancestor veneration), the rosary feels like more of an emotionally and culturally significant tool for me as opposed to a religious one.

I used sodalite beads for my rosary to help promote emotional balance. As I crafted my rosary I thought about my Nonna and my memories of her, as well as my intention of inner peace, protection, and blessing. As I worked I burned loose rose and mugwort incense to invite out the divine energy of the Madonna as well as increase the power of my intention. It was a very meaningful and personal process, but one I would recommend if you’re so inclined. Since creating this chaplet rosary I’ve carried it with me to work in case I need that external grounding. It’s given me a sense of ease and a deeper connection to my Nonna ( who I miss very much).

I try to remember to post about my reconnecting journey and folk practice every once in a while— though my last post on the topic was 6 months ago. I’ve come across more resources recently that I would highly recommend for others interested in learning about Italian folk magic that were not included in an older post I made. These are more recent publications and are more accessible than some of the academic sources I shared. These first is an academic text but it’s one I thoroughly enjoyed. Italian Witchcraft and Shamanism: The Tradition of Segnature, Indigenous and Trans-Cultural Shamanic Traditions in Italy by Dr. Angela Puca. It’s an enlightening and incredibly well researched read. She also has a YouTube channel where she discusses her work. I highly recommend checking it out.

I’d also like to recommend Della Medicina: The Tradition of Italian-American Folk Healing by Lisa Fazio for my more herbalism and green witchcraft inclined practitioners— though there’s plenty of in depth info beyond herbal remedies. I’d rate this one a 10/10– it’s super thorough and incredibly interesting. It feels like the perfect blend of academic and layman information. I really appreciated this book and it deserves some more love!

[sunbathedboy]

happy indigenous peoples day! remember that no matter how respectful, without contacting tribes and being in the culture, there is no respectful way to engage with an indigenous deity!

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ur body remembers u were supposed to be an animal

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Visited god tonight (the frogs living down at the river bank). They sure had a lot to say.

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chic spice jars out in the kitchen. use colourful pots and hand painted bakeware. take out the fine china. serve water in a pretty pitcher. coffee in mismatched mugs. fresh flowers, monogrammed napkins, and candles. breathe beauty and character into your home. don’t wait for the special occasions!

[sunbathedboy]

I just tried this very simple tarot spread for myself, and it read me to filth, so I made this real quick on canva to be able to post it here and save it for later. You're free to try it!

This is loosely based on the associations for each direction in my practice.

1. In the center, will give you an outsider's perspective on your current standing, (trying to be objective when your vision is clouded) 2. laid across it, will give you an outsider's perspective of your problem , (again, trying to get a more objective view) 3. South shows you the foundations of the problem (and what you should probably want to walk away from), 4. West shows you your internal landscape, emotional and mental, what the "fog" clouding your thoughts is made of, 5. East is where the sun rises and will give you the tools to dispel the fog, to clear your mind and move forwards, finally 6. North tells you where your focus should be, what you should be looking forwards to, your lighthouse to a safe harbor.

You could add a 7th card if you really want to know the outcome of the situation (that is, a vision of what the outcome will be if you follow this advice) but it's entirely optional.

[sunbathedboy]

Source | https://www.instagram.com/mariathearcane/

Happy banishing spells, lovelies! Send that harmful energy to the curve.


It’s important to add each plant and material with intention! And I recommend researching why each plant is used in this particular spell so you understand these amazing plant allies better and are able to connect better with their energy.


Also! New Coffee Talk episode dropped today for @coffeeandcauldronspod !

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🌞Working With The Sun Source | https://www.instagram.com/mariathearcane/  🌞I am a big fan of working with the sun’s daily energy, unlike the moon, it repeats a constant cycle daily. It rises, finds its way to the top of our skies, and then makes its descent to welcome the moon.   🌞When it comes to spellwork, in my personal practice, I like to concentrate on manifesting quick and fiery energy. Spellwork I need to be done now, with quick results. If I need bigger results or ones that are longer-lasting I may work with the days of the week’s correspondences in conjunction with working with the sun.  🌞Sunrise | Intention setting 🌞Sun’s ascent into the sky | Growing and cultivating energy 🌞High Noon or when the sun is the highest in the sky | Larger spellwork and protection spells 🌞Sun’s descent | Slowing and releasing energy 🌞Sunset | Cleansing and throwing things into the void for renewal/fresh start

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Portals in Portland 🌀🌲

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The Swallowhead Spring

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Greenbelt by RetroApollo

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there is warmth in the air , if you find yourself in the right place .

[sunbathedboy]

Natalie Diaz