#My Practice

[elminx]

Me: I practice secular witchcraft

Also me: in a long-term agreement with the planet Mercury

I'm legitimately unsure if that is a contradiction.

[wytchoftheways]

[winebrightruby]

I'm not Catholic and never have been. What I am, in practice, is New Orleanian, and New Orleans is deeply culturally Catholic (far beyond what the numbers would show. like I didn't realize how pervasive certain things were in Louisiana as a whole until I moved to Alabama and started getting blank stares back).

Tomorrow is the feast of Our Lady of Prompt Succor, so I've just been thinking about her. The two patrons of the City - OLPS and St. Expedite - are both associated not only with providing aid but doing so immediately, without delay or hesitation. The beyond-generous, open-armed approach to helping, giving succor and sanctuary.

And New Orleans has always been that for me. I discovered through years of trial and error that if I talk too much about the minor nice things that happen, they'll stop happening, so I have to be a bit vague here. But New Orleans gifted me a thousand conveniences a day and asked nothing in return but my love, which I was giving freely anyway. It's beyond a joyous experience to live somewhere that you love, and that you can feel loving you back in equal or greater measure, in quantifiable ways, all the time.

She does so much. The incredible sweetness of that city and how much I adore her in return, how everything I ever needed or even wanted in a passing moment, I could just voice and it would essentially fall into my lap. I don't know what to say to people who ask "how did you do [x piece of magic]" because it's like, I asked nicely? Or equally often, I complained out loud because it inconvenienced me? I don't know how to replicate that without the years of devotion, piety, bribery, and adoration.

But anyway, Our Lady of Prompt Succor. Over 30 years I lived in Louisiana. For 12 years I lived in New Orleans or the swampy depths of further-south Louisiana. And she's been there for me with every request, prayer, tearful plea, every single thing. So tonight and tomorrow I'm feasting Our Lady; I'm thanking the mother of New Orleans for all the times she's been my mother too, shooing inconveniences out of my path and giving me that thing I wanted just because I said I wanted it. I love you, I love you, I love you.

[studies-in-heathenry]

The ritual I do most often is offering the first serving of whatever I made to a guest. If we have a physical guest over they get the serving but if we don’t have anyone over it goes to a non-physical guest. Most of the time for me that is Njordr but I’ve also given it to land spirits and occasionally other gods as well.

[fragmentedhekatean]

wonder how many of us on the Death Work/Witch Path struggled with abandonment and betrayal. there's a certain element of a death of trust that haunts us. I haven't ever literally died but I feel as if parts of me have died over and over again bec I was left alone, I was abandoned and made to feel small and like I had to make up for being me

death has surrounded me and chipped at me for years. It's no wonder I have found so much peace and comfort from deities who have walked hand in hand with death and chaos

there's a loneliness in death I understand and working with the dead and death gods feels less lonely and like I'm helping people make sure they're not forgotten too

[aesethewitch]

A list of witchy shit I'm bringing to my friend's new apartment for various spellwork:

Tarot and oracle decks

Chalk

My working journal, spell book, and pens

Loose white paper, colored paper swatches

Candles and their holders

Consecrated lighter (a new one for her to use, not my existing one)

Libations (for spirits)

Libations (for us)

Web ward

Extra twine

Rosemary vinegar cleansing spray

Luck oil

Cinnamon muffins (snacks and spirit offerings)

One basil plant from my collection of volunteers

Jar of bubbles

All-purpose travel witching kit

Ritual knife

GTFO stick

......probably something else I'm forgetting about

We're going up Friday, so I have... quite a bit to put together before then, lmao. But it's possible! Most of this is already good to go, it just has to be packed away. Some needs refilling (travel kit, bubbles, cleansing spray), and some has to be made from scratch (web, luck oil, muffins, stick). It's just a matter of getting up and getting to work!

[farsailing]

Finally got my main shrine set up at the house!

Top row:

Assorted offering bowls, candles for Hera and Zeus, and a peacock feather for Hera

Left side:

Top nook is for the Twins, but I’ve only just started adding them more to my practice, so there’s not a lot

Bottom nook is for Hermes

Middle cabinet:

Candles/incense and travel shrines I wanted to make years ago but never finished. Going to be finishing those this year :)

Right side:

Top nook is for Aphrodite and Adonis

Bottom nook is for Demeter and her Daughter

[lady-pandora-heinstein]

This evening I helped like 5 foreign people take a bus to the airport, made them find the bus stop and get tickets.

Felt like a mix of Hestia (as welcomer of people into the oikos, in a large way) and Hermes (friend of man)

[musingmelsuinesmelancholy]

Bonne fête de la Sainte Jean Baptiste!

The Saint John (wolastoq) river being important to both my quebecois and maliseeet ancestors makes this time of year very….interesting haha

One of the names for my father’s people was “people of the beautiful river” (wolastoqiyik)

(((Excuse my shitty french haha)))

[thehazeldruid]

Got a ways to go and stuff to dig out of boxes still but it feels good to have my altar back up again.

[thebraided]

Finished weaving and sewing my bandana! It’s been washed and is currently being blocked, so it’s not *completely* finished in this photo, but I’m super proud of it. Once it’s done blocking it will be a devotional veil to Kirke and Telegonos, to wear specifically for Them. All of my other veils are all purpose, so it’s nice to have something specific :)

My technique definitely needs a lot of work, but each piece was better than the previous and I learned a lot trial and erroring my way through it, especially with the finishings. I’ve already started weaving my next experiment and I can’t wait to learn more!

[elminx]

I am doing some kitchen witchery today with sugar and now my entire kitchen is sticky. Ironically this is designed to be generally cleansing, but, not like this, I grumble to myself as I scrub every surface.

[wytchoftheways]

[winebrightruby]

Beltane is one of my favorite days. I'm not even going to touch on the historical authenticity/blurriness because I don't care. I like bonfires and sunny afternoons and the heat when I run and clover blooming everywhere. The honeysuckle and magnolias are blooming and I can smell them from the sidewalk.

The otherworld shimmers, today of all days. Everything flowers. The streams and rivers speak with glittering voices. Everything is sweet and bright.

[river-in-the-woods]

One of my favourite spirit work moments, one that really solidified my faith in my spirit court, was summoning an Earth-aligned spirit and asking her to help me get to know what Earth energy feels like.

The spirit herself always came across rather tacit and reserved, so I wasn't expecting much. I'm also usually not spiritually sensitive at all.

But anyway, I did the invocation, visualised the spirit, made my request.

A few seconds later, my body felt so heavy, as if it had suddenly doubled in weight. I was sweating, feeling the density of Earth in my body. It reminded me of the feeling of depression, actually, just being physically and emotionally weighed down from within. Which has some interesting implications on elemental healing.

It sounds like a bad time but I was honestly mind-blown, totally impressed, having the time of my life 😄

Since then, I've noticed, when I touch the ground with my hands, I can feel something – maybe it's Earth flowing into my body (though it doesn't feel heavy, more... tingly). It kind of feels like I've tapped into a circuit. Perhaps, with more practice, I can make myself a part of the land and get a better sense of everything around me.

[ocean-not-found]

Hail to the Lady, Hail to the Lord, Hail to the Divine Androgyny.

To the Male, the Female, and the ALL.

To the God and Goddess.

Hail to Their many blessed names.

Of birth; Mary, Gaia, Pan, The Theketos.

Of death; Santa Muerte, Hades, Mary Magdalene.

Of rebirth; Zagreus, Jesus, Dionysus, Persephone.

Praise be to Them all, on this sacred night.

Where the veil is thin, and we invited our lost ones to come eat with us. Where we mourn the dead. Where we rejoice in rebirth and weep at the miracle of the earth coming anew.

Thank you for reading. Praise also, to the holiness inside you❤️