#but having come up through witchblr

[rose-colored-tarot]

I think that a lot of people here, especially beginners, think you HAVE to choose a specific path to take. And that is not necessarily true. You don’t have to only learn one thing or stay within a single tradition. The variety let’s you try out different things, learn what interests you, learn what you’re good at and learn what you want to pursue.

But a path is a path for a reason. A well worn trail through the woods is so because it is used so often. Similarly, picking and sticking to a specific path means there are others with whom you can communicate, some degree of resources out there and, the ability to excel in certain domains. When you do things on your own, sometimes it results in just treading water and not doing the deep dive that would be beneficial (I really shouldn’t mix metaphors like that).

This is not me saying “you must pick a path” or “advanced witchcraft is when you specialize” or even “paths are inherently good”. But I think there has been (especially on tumblr) a shift away from following specific traditions. You pick and choose what interests you and add it to your craft like a magical magpie. Which is fine if you want to be a Jack of all trades. I cannot stress that enough, there is nothing wrong with being eclectic.

But there is merit to finding and sticking to a specific tradition.

[trials-of-a-spirit-worker]

Spirit Work Basics

You voted, I listened. I meant it. So buckle up as we go through the basics of Spirit Work.

I've touched on this on other posts but I'll make a massive post here. This is not going to explain everything and will still be pretty broad. Cause I do not have the time, the knowledge, nor patience to try and explain EVERYTHING.

But I do hope it helps.

Look under the tags advice, spirit communication, spirit work for more detail.

So hello, I'm Sol. I've been working with spirits since I realized I was speaking with them. I had the gift since I was a young child, first spirit I saw being my grandfather on my father's side shortly after he passed away. He was a pastor, supposedly, I was doing the best I could to repeat his favorite verses despite me being a small little shit. I don't remember the verses, I do remember speaking to him a lot however.

Which is where we'll begin, how to speak to spirits.

Maybe she's born with it? Maybe it's insanity~♪

Well, how do we begin with speaking with spirits? There's a number of ways, actually. Some do have the natural ability, like myself but that shouldn't discourage people who are newly trying and don't have that natural affinity for it. Spirits can and will talk to anyone if you open yourself up. Just takes a bit of work. But Sol, you may ask, how do I do that?

If you've been on witchblr for a bit you know what I'm about to say next: Yup.

Meditate.

Now listen, meditation is a way to open yourself up to the spirits around you or just at least signal "hey, I'm open to talk to." It gives you a good sense of your own energy and the energy around you. Meditation doesn't have one look either. A lot of people can't just sit still and kept their legs crossed or be on their knees with their eyes closed (I see you ADHD/ADD people). Hell, my lazy ass will meditate lying down.

Literally the definition of Meditation: to engage in mental exercise (such as concentration on one's breathing or repetition of a mantra) for the purpose of reaching a heightened level of spiritual awareness. transitive verb. : to focus one's thoughts on : reflect on or ponder over. (merriam webster)

It's pretty broad, right? Hell, you can even work out and meditate. I do it all the time. Cause I focus on my breathing and the feeling of energy through my body. Basically you can get creative with it.

While you're meditating, make sure you're feeling your own energy. This can come in a number of ways; waves, your heartbeat, a feeling of something cloaking you etc. While you have that feeling down, envision an opening, whether its a door, or just acknowledging you're reaching out to the other side. Whether or not you get an answer back, you are putting yourself out there and that's half the battle done. Just be sure to know how to close yourself and ward your body. Spirit work and opening yourself like that is no joke and I'd like you to be safe.

To do that, just envision whatever you had opened closed or recede back or whatever you used that worked for you.

Signs to Look for

Some of the more common tells of a spirit hearing and trying to communicate are of the following:

Small echos/voices in the back of your head

Random thoughts that may not be your own

Knocks or things shuffling

Strange dreams

Small phantom touches

Feelings of being watched

And Many More!

"But Sol," some of you might say, "that's really fucking vague and could just be explained away."

Yeah...welcome to spirit work. You thought this shit was easy?!

You have to work on your discernment. It is a skill needed for this type of work.

Seems counterproductive, but it's not! See, if every bump and noise was reported as ghosts or spirits, well...we'd be even less believed than we already are. When doing spirit work, or ghost hunting, you are stuck with the burden of proof and it's a huge burden to have. This is why people ask for repeats of actions, to speak again in recorders and other things. We're asking for repetition, because science is prevalent, especially in spiritualism and occultism. We have to be our own skeptics so when we have something that can't be explained away, we truly have something to celebrate.

Tools on the Job

No one said you had to do this all on vibes. No shame in using tools. I'll more than likely take the time to make specific posts about each tool in the future cause this post is already really long but I'll give you a nice rundown of basic tools.

By the way anyone who tries to shame you for using tools or says "only trainee or baby witches use this or that" are tools themselves (not the good or useful kind) and should not be given the time of day. Tools are fine. Use them for help if you need it because that's what the fuck a tool is for.

Now these aren't all the tools you can use but I'll give you some well known ones. I've seen witches get real creative and it's honestly super cool watching them use strange things that you'd never think about as a witchcraft tool. But that's what makes it so fun.

Tarot cards

Tarot is something I often use. 78 cards all with different meanings. There's many many ways to interpret them and multiple themes that many of them have.

My best advice for these are to just look up the overall meanings both upright and reversed just to have a general consensus of each card. Play around with them a lot, and interpret them the way you would as if you were making a story with them. You can also use them for spirit communication.

Calling forth a spirit allowing them to touch the deck (just leave it for a moment and allow them to influence the deck as it were before doing the spread). Holds a lot of power in your hands but is a little slow.

Pendulum

A pendulum is usually a crystal tied to a string or a chain that can be swung over a board of either yes or no or maybe for its options. Sometimes there is a mock ouija for the pendulum to spell out things as well.

Cool thing about a pendulum is it can be anything that swings if you wish. Some people I've seen take off their necklace and use it as a pendulum just fine. Just have a singular point and you can get to work anywhere with it. Please make sure to ward yourself from invading or malevolent spirits when you do this though.

Lots of pendulum or spirit boards exist and have different templates as well.

This is more of a call and response type of device to use. Especially when you feel a spirit present Still has a fair bit of control in your hands.

Ouija board

The infamous kids game works around the same way a pendulum does, except there is a planchette that slides over the board. This is a call and response based tool much like a pendulum. However, it is a little easier for the ghost to manipulate and control. Which is where all the stupid stories of ghosts completely taking over and fucking up shit takes place. Also, half of the biggest problems are just humans being humans which means victims of groupthink. So... stupidity. Someone freaked so you all freak...the energy gets bad and shit happens. Do your best to remain calm and just work through it.

Also no. ZOZO XOX 2O2O etc does not want your ass. Many spirits claim that shit to get a rise out of you anyway. Guys...no, I swear it does not happen. This is main character energy that none of us have...or want! Even if a demonic entity came in to fuck with you, there are plenty of other ways to do it. Be fucking for real.

Please remain kind and courteous to who you contact. Do not let your paranoia about this tool make you do stupid things. Always say goodbye when you are finished. Try and stay as calm as you can.

Never. Ever leave the planchette on the board unattended. Lest you get an unwanted guest or one that'll overstay their welcome.

Crystal Ball

Crystal Balls are a good way to detect energies. This is normally used in a private setting cause it desires a lot of concentration. Now, I'm admittedly not that knowledgeable in this because I don't use my crystal ball often.

Also, your crystal ball doesn't have to be clear. Mine is obsidian and I love her.

When having your question, focus on it and concentrate. Make sure it is open ended. I mean you can have yes or no, but it's gonna be a bitch to decipher a yes or no answer.

Close your eyes and let the answers come to you in the forms of images and colors and such, examine all you can as just let your intuition work.

Sounds simple but its a rather interesting art form to work on. Symbols and such can confuse you and it's heavy on your interpretation. I'm sure there's books and stuff out there for a general view of this symbol you see might mean this or that but...largely, this is a true test of how you read your intuition.

I'd do it more, if I wasn't closeted and lived with nosy closed-minded people.

C'est la vie.

One important thing though...don't leave your ball uncovered. Especially if it's clear. That's how you end up with burned shit. Those bitches are like mega magnifying glasses. And it happens faster than you think. Science is scary.

Mirror/Water Scrying

Mirror and water scrying is kind of the same as a crystal ball except it's a quicker and often less expensive way to work on your divination.

Some people have a specific mirror that they black out and scry that way. Others have a scrying bowl made for divination alone. It's just as good. You can use any bowl or mirror however. Just be sure to cleanse the area before you start and after you're done.

Some thank the water used for divination before putting it down the sink or in the earth. But that's more of an individual's choice/belief/faith than anything else.

Lots of occultism and spiritualism has a thing with mirrors being portals, openings, etc to the otherside and can bring some unwanted visitors.

And as someone who now sleeps with their mirror facing the wall now, I will say I believe a lot of what people say on that.

I want a goodnights sleep damnit.

Just be sure to cleanse your tools after use. Better safe than sorry.

ETC.

There's a lot of creative ways people can use these tools and magic. So don't think of magic as a recipe for how to be a witch or do witchcraft. That's half the fun of witchcraft.

Discovery.

Finding ways to do things, to hear, to see, to communicate. Yes there are certain tools that work better than others but, we as individual people also work in different ways.

There's a psychic out there who reads asparagus like bones. There's someone who will scry with a puddle on the ground they found. People have their own methods and ways to work their magic and we should learn from them. So if you have some non normal tactic or even something unsual, embrace it to the fullest.

I divine with music. If you ask me it's Apollo's influence. My spirits communicate with music.

When I meet people and get a good vibe on them a song comes to mind, and even if I forget your face, your voice, who you are, that song will remind me what I think of you. Songs pop up in my head when people associated with it are close.

I'm not going to say I'm the only one in the world who does this, cause that would be some bs. But its my tactic and its natural.

Do what is natural for you and not what other witches say you should do.

Even me, I beg you not to try and emulate or follow my advice down to a T if it doesn't work for you. Don't force it to work.

I am just one person, one voice spouting some advice. Take what you can from it, take what helps and work your own path. And then in turn do the same. I'm a path offering person not a director. But that's...just...me...

"But Sol, how do I speak to spirits?"

Talk.

Yeah, that simple. Talk.

This can be in a lot of forms. Some write and burn letters to ancestors, or past family members. Set up a placement for talking to them. Admittedly, a lot of spirit work and communication is experimental. We just warn you over some things because they've happened enough for us as a collective to go ah, a pattern.

I have urns at home so it's pretty easy to say hello in that case.

I am NOT telling you to go into a graveyard and just go wussap. No. Some spirits don't want your tomfuckery. Also if they're feeling really chatty all at once you might get overwhelmed and you will not have a good time. Read the dead room.

Open yourself up. WARD YOURSELF FIRST! PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF THE GODS. But yeah open yourself up. Learn how to open your pathways and close them first. That comes with meditating. Yes, this is why damn near all of us nag the shit out of y'all about meditating.

Just talk and listen. It won't happen immediately. It takes time and a careful ear. Remember signs to look for. You might spot them before you hear them. Small instances of shadows out the corner of your eye. A touch from nowhere, a shiver down your spine. Other things going off or being moved, etc. Slowly, someone or something will receive your message and try to respond in kind.

When you get these small responses, just keep calm and say hello or acknowledge what they've done.

"Oh, someone's here"

"Hello there"

"Are you still here?"

It'll be awkward (try to remember where you are, don't be a weirdo in public), but overtime you'll get better at it.

Conclusion!

Like any skill, spirit communication takes practice.

There are a vast plethora of ways to communicate with tools that I haven't mentioned as well, like automatic writing which is a pretty good beginner way to jump in.

Just have a pen/pencil on paper, write what comes to mind. Its a good way to practice hearing and catching signs as well.

And something I will never stop saying is you don't have to take this journey alone! Especially if you don't want to. Find someone experienced to start this journey with. Someone who calms you, who can support you. Support and asking for help is good. Last thing any of us want is for you to get hurt or scared out of doing this if this is something you really want to do. So call us, talk to us. Confide in more experienced people.

So many times on this site and other places, we are begging to form this beautiful network so we can help one another, give advice, hang out etc.

We are right here, just reach out for us. You'll get a hand back in kind.

[witchcraftingboop]

Another fun thought of the night: Occultblr and witchblr are so so small. No one's copying your path or "cribbing." This niche subgroup of users cycles through the same discussions and interests just like any other on this platform. Ask the fanfic folk or the chronically online or the virtual-only activists. The audience and number of bloggers here is just very small. A good thing to keep in mind with this app is just that the sample pool here isn't indicative of the greater population of real life practitioners; it'll help folks keep a better perspective honestly. You have to download Tumblr first to make it this far, think about that. And that's why I don't usually engage when the same topics come up tirelessly quarter after quarter. A good amount of you argue on an annual basis about Christmas, Yule, and the timing of Winter celebrations. Cue Sid

[musings-on-wisteria]

So, witchblr… I’m a beginner witch (In that awkward phase where I’ve outgrown beginner material but I lack the experience to have any idea what I’m doing?) and honestly, my spirit discernment is… well, it’s not great. When I started working with the spirits who I now consider my guides, my process was less “look around to see what spirits I can find” and more “well, I know a wind spirit is around because Reasons, I thiiiiink a fire spirit is around, and it would make perfect sense for a water spirit to be around, so there’s probably an earth one too, right?” (Elements are my whole deal.) I later concluded that the earth spirit either never existed or was briefly passing through (and I don’t believe I could’ve created a spirit unintentionally or anything). I have many other examples of times when my discernment has been questionable at best, but here’s my most recent dilemma:

In basically every example I can think of, my spirits have never told me anything new. Usually, they will use reference points that I already understand to get their ideas across; referencing media, things I’ve heard other practitioners say, and what have you. This didn’t seem particularly suspect to me at first, as their points usually lined up with what I’d already found to be true, and it makes sense that they’d try to communicate using things I already understand (and plus, my intuition is very, very shitty). I’ve also had more luck understanding them through tarot cards, as they can use the tarot meanings to get through my thick skull- but it’s all still coming out of my brain. They’ve never been able to do something like explain a spiritual concept that I’ve never heard of before, or tell me stories about themselves, or anything like that. Sometimes there are even moments where it feels like their messages are kind of buffering, when I ask open-ended questions, and my imagination will frequently fill in the gaps with their halfhearted approval, even in cases where what I’m asking shouldn’t be hard for them to know if they’re really, for instance, a wind spirit (eg: what’s it like being a wind spirit?). This has caused me to, well, doubt if they’re even there.

Now, there is good reason (in my opinion) to believe that they aren’t entirely fabricated from my imagination like the earth one I mentioned earlier. In the data I’ve gathered over my readings, there are distinct patterns in the tarot cards that each spirit prefers- they tend to have favored suits, favored numbers, that kind of thing. Also, when I take the time to try and connect mentally with them properly, I do feel a slight headache or brain-strain, an indication that I’m spending more energy than I would entertaining myself with a daydream. I’ve also used external discernment techniques to confirm a spirit’s presence- ring the wind chimes, thunder within 30 seconds, that kind of thing. This has somewhat ruled out the idea that these spirits are parts of my inner voice, or something like that, which I did consider. That concept was part of my earlier paradigm (which I’ve now more or less abandoned).

However, it just feels like my spirits- while I sense they’ve got personalities, stories and histories- don’t have much to say, or at least, not much that they can effectively communicate to me. I deeply want to connect with them more closely, to truly listen to them and learn from them, but they’ve been very… noncommittal? Quiet? Non-forthcoming, even when I ask them more directly. I’ve been working with them frequently for over a year now, and I’ve followed most of the advice they’ve given, tried to respect their boundaries, even done devotional activities towards the elements they represent- so it’s confusing to me if they’re simply being cagey. Plus, they’re very supportive.

I’m curious what any other spirit workers out there would recommend, and if any of you have experienced anything similar.

Tagging @stagkingswife @windvexer @coinandcandle @will-o-the-witch but anyone’s perspectives would be useful.

[jasper-pagan-witch]

🔥 Wicthblr in general lol

Hey Runa!

I've never actually followed the witchblr tag, but I'm gonna go with that whole "assuming everyone who practices magic is practicing witchcraft" deal that keeps fucking coming up. I've spoken several times in the past about how that's just untrue.

The assumption that people have to tick certain boxes in order to "qualify" as a witch is annoying. The entire concept of "witch types" that are somehow immutable is also bullshit. Sincerely, a motherfuckin' wizard.

And forcing the Wheel of the Year onto everyone is fucked up. I don't want to celebrate the Wiccan take on old fire festivals, I want to burn shit and steal things and eat DIRT.

Those are just the top three that I got out from just a simple scroll down through the witchblr tag. It's bad, y'all. The "educational" content is vague at best, there are no image descriptions on their images, and I felt more pulled in and fascinated by the posts that were just people's own practices, not trying to be educational.

But maybe that's just me. We all have to start somewhere, I guess.

~Jasper

[myownlittlehell]

⋆｡˚☽🌌☽˚｡⋆ ℍ𝕚 my name is Chai! I made this blog because I wanted to make something online that represented me. Not just my art, but my interests, my spirituality, everything that's me. Because when I think about it, I don't really know myself too well. But with this, I hope things will change. You know the meme I am cringe but I am free, that's me, that's this blog! I feel like if there's a cringe bingo I could fill that bitch up. 𝕀 also just wanted a social media platform that didn't feel like I had to constantly shill for interactions. At this point, I'm going in with the mindset of, if someone sees it, neat, if not, also neat! ⋆｡˚☽🌌☽˚｡⋆

⋆｡˚☽☁️☽˚｡⋆ 𝕊ome things about me are: ⋆｡˚☽☁️☽˚｡⋆

⋆｡˚☽🌈☽˚｡⋆ 𝕀 make art (albeit very slowly) ⋆｡˚☽🌈☽˚｡⋆

⋆｡˚☽🌌☽˚｡⋆ 𝕀 love video games, mostly Nintendo ones (Pokemon and Mario especially) but I'm working on getting a gaming PC together so I can branch out. ⋆｡˚☽🌌☽˚｡⋆

⋆｡˚☽☁️☽˚｡⋆ 𝕀 was HEAVILY into Witchblr and whatnot back in the day, and still practice some spirit work and whatnot despite stepping away from the community. Mostly Pop Culture Paganism and PC spirit work in specific (Oh yeah I told you I'm gonna be cringe on main woah boy). Spiritual stuff really fascinates me, it always has. ⋆｡˚☽☁️☽˚｡⋆

⋆｡˚☽🌈☽˚｡⋆ 𝕀'𝕞 a stoner, mostly an edible user, but I truly believe that marijuana can be beneficial for certain people like it was for me. ⋆｡˚☽🌈☽˚｡⋆

⋆｡˚☽🌌☽˚｡⋆ 𝕀'𝕞 a kinnie, yup. ⋆｡˚☽🌌☽˚｡⋆

⋆｡˚☽☁️☽˚｡⋆ 𝕀'𝕞 in college as an art student, but because I'm unable to drive and a bit broke (disability payments go brrr) my associates is taking…a bit longer than I'd like. ⋆｡˚☽☁️☽˚｡⋆

⋆｡˚☽🌈☽˚｡⋆ 𝕀 know DNI's are kind of a meme, but beyond the obvious DNI criteria of being a semi-decent person on the internet, I do believe that others have a right to criticize what I post, it's a public blog on the internet after all. I truly believe that it is important to not shut out anyone with a different opinion, even if it's not put in the nicest way possible. ⋆｡˚☽🌈☽˚｡⋆

⋆｡˚☽🌌☽˚｡⋆ 𝕋𝕙𝕒𝕥 being said, depending on how I'm feeling I may not be willing to do a typical online debate or whatever. Basically what I'm trying to limit my sperg rambling to is that I'm open to criticism, but I may not always engage with it. I do believe that the meaning of harassment has been watered down a lot and I want to keep an open mind, honesty with one's self was the main reason I wanted to make this blog in the first place, so who am I to try and censor someone else right? Just keep it decent, that's all. ⋆｡˚☽🌌☽˚｡⋆

⋆｡˚☽☁️☽˚｡⋆ 𝕀 guess other things about me is that I'm a fucked up little dude. I've been diagnosed with a lot of shit and it does effect my day to day life. Things like, ASD, BPD, OCD, (a lot of D's) ADHD, Cerebral Palsy, and of course because it's Currrent Year, Depression and Anxiety (especially the social kind). ⋆｡˚☽☁️☽˚｡⋆

⋆｡˚☽🌈☽˚｡⋆ 𝕀𝕗 you made it through my ramblings…congrats! I'm genuinely grateful someone read this, hopefully I don't come off too wierd, but if so oh well, such as life. ⋆｡˚☽🌈☽˚｡⋆

⋆｡˚☽🌌☽˚｡⋆ 𝕎𝕖 live in Hell after all, why not be honest about it? ⋆｡˚☽🌌☽˚｡⋆

[windvexer]

Discernment: Let's Chat About It

My takes are below. Would love to hear more :)

Discernment, to discern = perceiving or recognizing something

Discernment is often presented or implied to be a magical or spiritual skill which allows a magical practitioner to accurately sense and interpret spirits/energies/gods/etc.

But is it?

Discernment is a mundane skill.

For me, the most important concept of discernment is that it's not inherently magical.

Discernment itself is literally just, "ah, I have perceived something." Have you ever played that little game where you look at two similar pictures and find the differences between them? That's an exercise in discernment - developing the ability to recognize what is present or not present.

In the witchblr, discernment usually automatically means discerning something spiritual. This is done through the faculty of psychic senses. Psychism provides sensory input. But just like my eyes can look at the picture game and fail to discern differences, I can be receiving psychic input and fail to discern it.

I don't think just having psychic senses is automatically "discernment."

The other day I was doing a reading for a friend. I tapped in to an intensely emotional thread of energy. I felt totally consumed by this emotion - and I also had no idea why it was happening, where it came from, or what was going on.

I would not have been able to detect this emotional energy unless I had psychic senses.

But at the same time, I totally failed to discern what was going on and what was happening to me. I wasn't able to recognize what was going on; I had no insight into the situation.

I think when people talk about discernment, they are talking about an intersection of both having psychic skills, AND being able to to interpret psychic input accurately.

As another example, over the years I have met amazing psychics and mediums with incredible natural talent. In one situation, a person I knew with spectacular raw skill was conversing with a malicious spirit. This spirit had shown, in my opinion, many obvious signs that they were malevolent. However, the psychic believed that the spirit was their true guide; they were unable to discern any malicious intent.

When I sought out the counsel of a friend with limited psychic skills, but a lot of discernment, that friend was able to immediately point out all the ways this spirit was presenting as malicious.

(If I have known you in the past and you think this might be about you: this exact scenario has happened to me like 10 times so there is a good chance it is not).

The psychic skills part of discernment is something you have to practice & build up to get better at it.

The good news is that you can practice to get better at it. It's under your direct control: if you have the time and energy, significant progress can be made in a relatively short amount of time (I'm talking months, not hours my friends).

There are a great deal of exercises and undertakings you can do to develop psychic senses. There are a heck of a lot of books out there that teach people to tap in to their natural psychism.

Almost all exercises which seek to engage with, feel, and understand energy and spirits will develop this center. I wrote this post about how to start communication if you don't feel like leaving Tumblr.

Resources include:

The Complete Guide to Psychic Development by Cassandra Eason

Psychic Witch by Mat Auryn

Inner Temple of Witchcraft by Christopher Penczak

IMO, a large part of the 'wisdom & application' part of discernment is only going to come through personal development & experience.

This personal development can come through stuff like reading and talking to people doing the kind of work you want to do. IME a very great help is to develop a relationship with a helper spirit who will be able to act as a mentor and guide. But I also think its something that just gets better as you try to become a discerning person.

I don't know if it's as easy to just practice being wise (as one can practice a psychic game). Detecting energies in the moment doesn't necessarily tell you if, in a complex situation, they will end up being good or bad six months down the line. I don't know if I'm over-complicating this aspect, but I do feel as if its something that takes longer to develop.

I do think interpreting information, and then knowing the best course of action once an interpretation is made, is different from being able to gather information. I think that "discernment," as we talk about it in the blr, rests at the intersection between knowledge and wisdom.

I think a majority of people who are confused about discernment and don't know 'where to start' should try studying & developing personal psychism. These "extra senses" are how we gain input from otherworlds.

But I also don't think it's right to promote discernment as purely being about psychic sensing. I think we have to accept that people with psychism can be confused, mislead, or manipulated just like everyone else.

[lexithewitch]

So i’ve got like, a question to witchblr again. Lately I have been thinking about deity worship and maybe finding higher powers to follow. Yet when I do research into things I get hit with a personal wall; I feel like I am not ready to commit to anything. My discomfort kind of stems from being brought up culturally Christian. It’s not that I feel like I feel like I’m carrying The Guilt (TM) about looking into theistic paganism, but that my only frame of reference of devotion, worship, and service comes through a culturally Christian lens, and is why I decided that faith was not right for me.

The question is: what can I do to break down my personal wall, so that I can better immerse myself within source materials and open a personal dialogue within my practice?

[lazywitchling]

how did the player’s handbook shape your witchcraft? i just bought a copy, and now i’m curious what your thoughts are!

This one is maybe a little more complicated than the Tolkien one, so stay with me here. I'll do my best to explain.

For me, luck and chance are kinda 'sacred concepts'. That's maybe not the right term to use, 'cause it sounds borderline religious. But it's important to my worldview.

I'll be real, I just typed out a massive paragraph that absolutely read like the Charlie Day conspiracy board meme, and then I deleted it.

So let's just say this: The odds of the entire cosmos and all of history and humanity lining up exactly as it did to bring you to my inbox today? Well that's a really big fucking coincidence.

A lot of people say that our existence has to be because of some divinity, some higher power, God or gods or The Universe or whatever, because there has to be something bigger than us writing the story, right? There has to be some higher power pulling the cosmic strings, right? Because otherwise, why are we here? Why do we have consciousness? What is the meaning of life? Is our small human existence really just... one... big... cosmic... coincidence?

My answer: Yep! Sheer chance.

"Oh wow, Jes, that's a really dim view of things, isn't it?"

Nope! No no no, because see... "Chance" is not all there is. Because we also have narrative.

I met my best friend through tumblr because she happened upon a blog of mine via the broken tag system of this blue hellsite. Total coincidence, right? Well, yeah. But while our meeting was chance, our friendship is not. I had to place significance on her being in my life. She had to place significance on me being in hers. We happened to cross each others paths via chance, but our narrative, the story we are constantly telling ourselves about our own lives, said "Hey, this person is cool and I want to talk to her more." The meeting was coincidence, but we made it important. We said "This person is important to me, and I am going to make the effort to talk to her more."

What was the cosmic ~*~meaning~*~ of that meeting? Well, nothing, until we gave it one. We made it significant.

idk, I'm thinking also on what ei-len said a while back: "The witch is a component of the spell". This might be a stretch of that quote, but stay with me here. I see a lot of people around witchblr see things that they think are omens, signs, deities reaching out to them, something. And they go ask other witch blogs "I saw a crow on my way to work! What does it mean??" My answer: Nothing on its own, really. But it's not on its own. You saw it. You are a part of the story here too. What does it mean to you at this time? Don't remove yourself from the equation here. A crow on its own is just a crow being a crow. But if you're walking through the park and you're sad and you're wishing for a sign from the universe that everything is going to be okay, and then a crow shows up in your path, and you love crows and they're your favorite animal, and it just happened to show up right when you needed it to... well. That's something special, isn't it? Now it's a sign. It's a sign because you were there! And you are part of this sign, too!

Now what the FUCK does this have to do with D&D?!

Roll a D20. What's it land on? 5. Damn. Roll another one. What's it land on? 17. Ooh yay! Roll another one. Natural 20!! FUCK YEAH!!!

Every single side on that die has the same chance of coming up. You have as much of a chance of rolling a 5 or a 12 or a 17 as you do a nat20 or a nat1. But we (or Wizards of the Coast, rather) have decided that certain numbers mean certain things. We've put meaning to chance. And we use that to create stories, adventures, emotional connections, big epic tales where we're the heroes who save the world.

Your narrative affects chance, it affects what you roll for. And then that roll, the chance, in turn affects your narrative. It shapes your story. And again through the cycle, your story affects chance once again. And on and on and on.

Life kinda works that way too, if you pay attention.

[thevirginwitch]

Meet your witcher!

Hey everyone, it's been a while since I made a little intro post (I haven't made one since the beginning of this blog, actually) so I thought I'd introduce myself, and define my practice a bit more (now that I have a bit of confidence in what I'm doing, and have built up a bit of a following)

The mundane: I'm Virgo, I use they/them pronouns, and I live in Texas with my husband. I work full-time as an AutoCad Technician at a land surveying firm, and right now I'm going to college part-time for land surveying technologies (I'm set to graduate by the end of this year!)

When I'm not working/studying, I'm usually socializing in/moderating Discord servers, playing video games, moderating my husband's Twitch stream, reading, or making various lists.

The magical: I've stumbled through "beginner witch"blr, and I finally feel like I've come out the other side. At the beginning of my journey, I was hell-bent on polytheism - however, I've come to realize it's just... not for me. I grew up atheist, and I don't think that will change. The idea of god/ess worship intrigues me, I love my polytheist mutuals to death, and I have a general interest in Roman/Greek mythology as a whole (perks of growing up as a Percy Jackson kid) - so I may reblog that info from time to time. However, I am not polytheist.

In the last few weeks, I've been researching alchemy concepts, my local (Texas) folklore, mythology, geography, and philosophy (so, essentially, the foundations of witchcraft).

Anyway, I really enjoy being a part of witchblr and engaging in the community here. I've met a ton of fantastic creators and witches, and I love sharing and learning from all of you. My inbox is always open to discussion, suggestions, and questions!

[trials-of-a-spirit-worker]

Spirit Communication for Beginners

Hello there! This is your somewhat bad advisor coming back with some more advice on your spirit witchcraft journey! If you’re curious about speaking to the otherside or just in for some paranormal hoopla....well you made it here. So...Welcome and I’m sorry.

Know Your Vibrations First

You’re gonna hear this everywhere from the witch community. Meditate. So, yeah. I’m gonna nag you about this too. Meditate. Meditation really helps you get to know yourself in a sense. When you slow your breathing, relax and just let your mind go, you start to feel things that you don’t normally feel while you’re buzzing through life. For example, I can feel the sensation of my body working. I not only faintly hear my own heartbeat (I got a loud strong bitch of one)  but I feel my body working, my blood pumping within me. I’m not saying this is what you’ll feel, cause I don’t know you, but you’re going to feel something new, something different most likely. Maybe you’ll mentally picture things better, feel like you’re dropping into something entirely new. Whatever it is, get acquainted with it.

Bonus: Learn how to ground yourself. Trust me. You’re gonna need it. Spirits are exhausting.

Start Off Small

Listen bud, if you’re just starting out on this journey...and you think you can just jump right in with a oujia board on goatman's bridge or some stupid shit like that...well...I’d say you were watching way too much buzzfeed unsolved and Shane lulled you into some cocky ass confidence and he’s gonna get you fucked up.

No.  Don’t fucking do that. By all means, go to a kind of active place, a peaceful graveyard if you’re with some more experienced people. Hell, start with a dead relative! I’m sure they missed you! But don’t think you can just stroll your happy ass up to a haunted asylum and think you’ll be fine. Especially if it’s your first time. I can’t stress how serious I am about starting off small. 

Don’t Deny How You Feel

Not all Spirits are gonna be able to speak to you, or want to for that matter. Some are just fine at making you feel a certain way to communicate. Some spirits have ridiculously heavy presences. That doesn’t necessarily mean they’re bad or harmful. They’re just extremely there. Many are just as cautious meeting new people. Try to keep calm, document any changes and do your best to keep a level head.

Don’t Be Afraid To Go Nope

Spirit work can be overwhelming at times. Hell, I’ve been dealing with this for years and it gets me still. It is okay to quickly (and politely) say goodbye and distance yourself. They can sense your discomfort too. And if they’re nice, they’ll easily let you go, or leave themselves. Sometimes, you have to go nope. I do hope you don’t end up in a more dangerous situation, but if things get bad fast, do not hesitate to say goodbye, turn tail and fuck off. Some Spirits just will not have your shit and you have to respect that. 

Protect Yourself Dammit!

It can’t hurt to have some blessing over you, an enchanted amulet on you. Ground yourself before you work with them. Protect yourself from harmful spirits.There are plenty of protection spells and things all over witchblr. Research is important. Knowledge is power. I know I go for a couple layers of protection before I deal with spirits just because of what I dealt with in the past. Protection is no joke. If you feel like it, keep a flask of holy water on you if it’ll put you at ease. You do not want to be shaky when communicating. 

Politeness is Key

Be nice to the spirits. Just...don’t be an asshole. It’s not that hard. Speak clearly, calmly and just mind your damn manners man. You wouldn’t believe how far that can get you at times.

K.I.S.S.

Don’t do anything fancy especially on your first steps. Just do the basics, you can get fancy with it once you have some experience. Give simple gifts of apples, pomegranates, alcohol if you can legally buy it. Ask easy questions and just get a feel for the spirits around you. 

Don’t Try This Alone

It’s scary doing this on your own at times. So don’t do it. Not if you can help it. Honestly, I wish I had someone to help me with my spiritual communication. Get some trusted friends. Find an experienced person or group to guide you. You don’t have to do start this alone and I would prefer you didn’t.

That’s all I have for you for now. Be careful and don’t do anything stupid~ 

[maddiviner]

Do you happen to know any digital curses?

I incorporate technology into my magic quite frequently, actually! I rarely curse, though.

That isn’t because I fear a “law of return” or am against cursing. I don’t have many people in my life that deserve any kind of curse. I curse rarely, but am not opposed to it.

As luck would have it, though, I do know a method for casting a digital curse. It’s a spell I wrote and cast back in September of 2016.

The original spell targeted a Discord server. You can adapt it to cursing a single person online, too. It’s possible to use in any online interaction.

As I’m sure folks wonder, the Discord server in question no longer exists. It had exactly nothing to do with witchblr, Tumblr, or anyone on here. I doubt any of my readers would know the people involved, even in passing.

The server’s leader was a vitriolic misogynist mage. He ran the place like a cult. To make matters worse, he kept dragging young people (often underage) into his orbit.

I decided to curse the server. I was curious if it would work, and also wanted to destroy that toxic, harmful community. I did see results from my curse within a few short weeks. I wasn’t in the server at that point, so I didn’t have a front row seat for the drama.

I heard that it started with some massive arguments over trivial aspects of energy work. Soon, the owner deleted the entire server in a drug-fueled fit of pique. Someone else tried to remake it, but the new version died on the vine. So, I’d say this was an effective curse!

To begin, you will create a sigil expressing your intent. It won’t be a normal visual sigil, though - it’ll be a verbal sigil.

I can’t recommend using a regular visual sigil to curse anyone online. This is because the person might recognize the image as a sigil. If they’re a mage or witch themselves, they might take evasive action if they realize what you’re doing. A verbal sigil flies under their radar, though.

Verbal sigils are short phrases formed from a statement of intent. They usually read like complete babble to anyone but the caster, but that’s part of why they work - it’s stealthy.

Start by writing out your goal with as few words as possible. It might be something like “CONFUSION AND CHAOS” to cause strife for the person or persons.

It could be “HOPELESSNESS” or any other adjectives that sum up what you’d like to happen to the target. For this example, we’ll use the phrase “SHUT YOUR MOUTH.” This verbal sigil would be useful if your target keeps spreading rumors or something.

Take the phrase and remove all repeating letters. Some people remove all vowels, but I leave them in because it makes the results easier for me to pronounce. With “SHUT YOUR MOUTH,” you end up with the following letters: SHUTYORM.

Now, scramble it a bit, turning it into a completely different three-word phrase. The phrase should be easy to pronounce and read in your mind. It should not include any actual words in the language you’re using for this.

It should, if done right, read as if it could be real words, but at base will sound like gibberish. So, keep scrambling until all the real words are gone. Soon you’re left with something that won’t sound particularly meaningful to you (or your target).

Anyways, back to SHUTYORM. If we play with the remaining letters a bit, we can create something like “SOTH MYRU.” That’s two “words” and not too difficult to sound out in your head.

A single “word” version might be “THUMYOS.” Other possibilities include “THYS MOU” or “TY HOS MU.” Any of these suffice, but we’ll pick “THUMYOS” as our example.

So, in this example, “THUMYOS” will be your verbal sigil. You’ve culled it from your initial statement of intent. The time and effort you put into this will imbue the sigil with power.

I recommend this spell for witches who’ve a strong energy-sensing ability. Sense the way your energy fluctuates when you read the sigil out loud.

If the sigil seems weak or you can’t sense a change, you might want to backtrack and redo it, to create one that works better.

Now, the time comes to cast this digital curse in the form of a verbal sigil. You can do this in several ways, depending on how you’ll be interacting with your target.

If you’re cursing an individual person, all you need to do is fire off the sigil into your communications with them.

For example, if you’re talking to them in DMs or another messenger, type the verbal sigil into the chat. If the person asks what the hell “THUMYOS”, means, make up some nonsense about your cat walking on the keyboard.

Never let the target know that this is a spell, particularly if your target is a mage or witch themselves. If the target realizes what you’re trying to do, they might be able to dismantle the curse or deflect it.

If you’re amenable to voice chat on Discord or elsewhere, you’ll find a far less conspicuous way to cast this curse. Turn on your microphone and whisper the verbal sigil a couple times.

Do this when other people are active on voice chat, or when your target is speaking. That will lessen the chances of anyone noticing that you’re spouting gibberish.

If someone asks what the hell you meant by “THUMYOS,” try to steer the conversation away from it. If possible, make up some kind of excuse (like the stereotypical cat on your keyboard).

You could even say, “Sorry, wrong window,” or “Oops, didn’t know my microphone was on.” Then, pass the sigil off as a video game reference of whatever else you can come up with.

It’s imperative that you disconnect from your target after this. If you’re targeting an entire chat server, that means you’d leave said server. If it’s only one target, stop talking to that person.

Don’t make a giant flounce-y exit. Drift away. You may want to stay in touch to see if your curse worked. Resist that temptation and rely on other people to relay information to you.

You can also adapt this form of sigil for other purposes, like blessing or attraction. Follow the same steps (albeit with a more positive statement of intent). You can even bless websites and blogs using this type of sigil.

I’ll be writing another (shorter) article soon about how to do that. In the meantime, stay safe! Make sure that you’ve thought through possible consequences before casting this spell! Don’t do it on impulse. Blessed be, and I hope this article was helpful!

[witchcraftingboop]

honestly i'm very glad your recent THP posting showed up on my dash this morning. i'm not very active on witchblr or other online occult spaces, so i hasn't seen much content on xoanon/schulke/chumbley/thp/etc. but i took the time this morning to scroll through yours & others comments on them over the years. definitely wish i'd done my research sooner! while i regret spending as much as i have on their publications, i'd much rather have realized their issues than continuées to waste money on them. so thank you, in a rather roundabout way :')

I'm glad our comments were useful! I have quite a few posts about THP/Chumbley and other occult publishers and books, because I know how few and far between the good ones are and how overly hyped a book or company can become due to a scarcity mindset regarding their works. So it's nice to hear that I've contributed at all to peoples' decisions on purchasing from some shady publishers.

Also, while it's really better late than never to find out these sorts of things, whether you still feel comfortable or not purchasing from them is 100% your business and your discretion. Sometimes we take risks with the hopes that the end result will justify it, and if they do, then you're better off than when you started, and if they don't, you're still better off, because people can learn from mistakes just as much as successes. (Take it from those who valiantly sacrificed their peace [I'm exaggerating lol] for a pre-order that will never come and now can warn others against similar mistakes)

[witchy-energy]

It’s Been A While -- Path Update

It’s been a while since I’ve posted on here! 

I don’t think I’ve ever had a huge following on here, but I still get notes on some of my posts on occasion so I figure it’s worth me telling y’all what I’m up to, since I still lurk on witchblr for the information on occasion!

I best identify as an omnist pagan and eclectic witch. While my witchcraft practice is still very much in its baby stages due to my general lack of access to materials, I’ve grown a lot as a pagan who worships both the Hellenic and Norse Pantheons. Below the line, I detail how I began working with each of the gods that are now at the center of my religious practice.

Gods I Work With

Obviously it’s documented on my account that I worked with Apollo and Eos. They are both very special to me, but were mainly present to be accessible to me in the early days of my practice and they’re now not as present. At the moment, I work with three gods: two Greek, one Norse.

Hermes

Hermes was the first to come through after I got back into my practice in college and felt I should reach out to him. I always say that he’s like an older brother who helps me keep my perspective and take care of myself. He’s told me directly that he’s here to help me keep conscious of my mental illnesses, and I can definitely see the effects thereof (I’m now on medication for my anxiety, and on my way to a diagnosis for ADHD). He mainly communicates to me via Lenormand cards, and he’s very direct and loves to call me a child, haha. He’s very important to me and I’m super glad with the relationship we have.

Sif

Lady Sif came into my practice as I reached out to her and started gaining interest in Norse paganism. She is the calming force: there to help me remember that my intrusive thoughts are intrusive and I’m allowed to be proud of what I create. My relationship with Lady Sif is largely UPG, because there aren’t a lot of us devotees out there, and the mythical information on her is supremely lacking. But I love her a lot and I’m so happy that she’s here for me. She communicates best through my opalite runes and through my candle (which I had made custom by my dear friend Kat, MorningstarWitchery on Etsy). My practice with Lady Sif is also somewhat in and of itself an offering to her husband, Thor, who agreed to keep my ex (who is an abusive jerk and the reason my pinned spell of cutting oneself off from abuse exists) away from me as reciprocity for my devotion.

Hekate

Lady Hekate is the only one of my deities to come in without me reaching out. My friend works with her, so I’d done some research into her on his behalf, but they and I were both shook when she showed up in a deity confirmation reading and in readings of my own with a very strong mission for me. She is here to help me dig into my practice, do shadow work, and really focus on self-growth. That’s all I feel like I should tell you. We converse through tarot and I appreciate her presence very much, even if she has the most aggressive energy of the three.

That’s where I’m at so far! Thank you for reading this far if you have; it’s my goal to share more about my practice with Lady Sif in particular, since there’s so little information on her. If you have questions on any of this or parts of my practice I didn’t cover, I’ll answer to the best of my ability!

[cosmictulips]

1 and 19 for the polytheist asks :D

1. Were you born into your faith? If not, how did you discover it?

I was born into a heavy catholic family but was raised southern baptist.

just let that sink in lmao.

My struggle began with literally not understanding the bible lmaooo. I was so interested in the book of... revelations I think it's called that I didn't care for the rest haha.

but as I got older and started doing something called Christian Science, I just got more interested in other religions. to be fair, I never felt good at a church. I never felt like I could connect to God. and I always wondered how Priests would connect to god.

I remember something so fucking stupid that got me on the path to wicca haha. my friend was talking to me in art class and i had drawn like.. the four elements and she was like, oh so you're wiccan and I was like ??? what?

so I started googling it a bit and I found wicca. from there I learned about native american shamanism and for awhile I was like, yea I guess I'm wiccan.

but stranger shit started occuring like seeing spirits and having some funky ass dreams and i was like, wicca isn't answering everything. so I started this witchblog. wasn't good for much of anything it was just holding all the information I was interested in.

I have an older sister who is into chakras and that stuff and by this time I was becoming aware of what closed practices were, how the west ... uses those practices and so I wanted something that was very... cut and dry so to speak. which, I know now I would have to figure out on my own lmao.

but essentially, she ended up giving me my first tarot deck. and I hated tarot. and I was like, okay so I'm not a diviner but perhaps I could write to some sort of god.

so someone... Noonymoon or something, she was giving out these deity readings. and this was backkkk in the og days of witchblr haha. and I was like, I do want to worship a god. but, given my connection to nature I didn't want to be monotheistic. it never and still doesn't seem right to me that one powerful being...rules everything.

and that's when I discovered which gods wanted to work with me. I purposely stuck to Greek because I know their myths well and i love their culture and history.

in hindsight I probably should've chosen celtic LOL. but, it's fine. from there, I just started working out my kinks. like I found a tarot deck I really connected with. I found pendulums I like, and I suddenly didn't feel in pressure -and this is where we cut to the second question-

but yea, I discovered it through some people essentially. through my grandmother mentioning shamanism, my sister telling me to go into anthropology, my old friends telling me about wicca, my older sister who despises but gave me my first pendulum and tarot deck.

and then from old witchblrs who got me thinking haha.

19. How have your Gods affected your life?

well, that's also a funny story.

I asked aphrodite to send me the love of my life. she sent me two men. one didn't care enough and left within a few months. the other used me for two years to cheat on his wife.

and then every man who has sense come in has not been good enough for me. and I wouldn't even have to say it, they did . each and every one of them has told me that I'm above their league. that I'm too good for them and they want me to find me someone in my level.

I asked athena for guidance with school and I would proceed to flunk every fucking semester until I forced myself into a major that is risky but I know I would excel in.

since then I have found so many like minded peers. I don't feel so strange in what I'm doing, and I have basically gotten over my social anxiety.

I ask Hermes ... well. I don't ask hermes, I just ask him to get me to where I need to be safely, and along the way he sends me so many dogs! so many fucking dogs. I love them. I have to scream hermes every time.

I ask Eirene and Soteria to feel safe and at peace with my own body and I feel good about who I am. I ask Enyo and Ares to help me get over my anger issues and not only have I learned to control my anger for the most part but I'm not longer ashamed that I have it. I am proud to be aggressive when I have to be. I am proud to be the protector of my friend group and of what little family I call...family.

they have taught my what it is exactly that I've been feeling for so long. and they taught me to honor my rage but to also let it go.

and I guess in a way, they have all taught me many things. Aphrodite taught me to trust my intutiion and to demand more out of romance. Athena taught me to stop settling for things that don't sit right with me. Artemis has taught me to get out more. to enjoy the nature around me and to just... breathe to put it simply.

Then there's zeus.

he is my father figure to say the least. he... is still very intimidating to me lol and I try to make him proud. he wants me to be sure of who I am before I approach him. and it's funny cause right now I am sure of who I am. I am ALWAYS sure of what makes me me.

but then we talk. and he asks me who I am. he tells me not to be so hard on myself and is there to comfort me when shit gets rough. and suddenly it's like i don't know who I am.

and I think he's the reason why I've been getting into therapy. I've found some great exercises on youtube when it comes to that stuff because I can't afford a therapist right now.

he's made me grounded.

also quick shoutout to apollo for showing me so much classical music. my GODS i love the french horn haha

but yea. for better and for worse the gods are there helping me. and I try to honor them everyday.

[jasper-pagan-witch]

I don't intend to use Witchblr and Wizardblr blog ask buttons like Google, but how do I research crystals for my practice correctly? Because if I type in, say, "clear quartz correspondence " at Google I get Crystal Healing stuff instead of witchcraft or magic, and I wondered how to tell what sources are safe and what sources aren't. Hibiscus Moon Crystal Academy looks fairly good, the author has some scientific knowledge and disclaimers to back her up, but she still mentions healing ( and used the word " tribe " about a social media community: yikes!)

I figured I'd ask the Crystal Wizard, I mean after all, even a Wizard starts somewhere! 🙂

Google does often fail us, unfortunately.

And I have more bad news: There's really nothing good that I've found by going through Google. All of the posts about what crystals can do in magic that I've found have been through Tumblr.

And when I go through my books on crystals (which are, unfortunately, also focused on crystal healing), I have to take a chisel and figure out what the stones can be used for outside of crystal healing just based on what's attributed to them.

The appropriation of chakras and smudging alongside the crystal healing and "raising your vibrations" bullshit has become so baked into resources about crystals that it hurts my head.

Your crystal website might rank a "Yikes" on the Jasper Scale if:

it's littered in appropriated terms such as smudging

it uses the "version" of chakras that was appropriated and made up by white "spiritualists"

it says or implies that crystals can literally heal physical illnesses, mental illnesses, or neurodiversity (I have seen too many "these crystals can cure depression/autism/ADHD/trauma" in my time)

it doesn't come with safety warnings about crystals that are toxic to put in water, put in salt, or handle in their raw forms (i.e. malachite, tiger's eye, galena/galenite)

it says the only way to make a crystal elixir is to put the stone literally in the water (the non-direct method of "just put the stone really close to the container" works just as well for anything you'd need a crystal elixir for, and doesn't come with a risk of poisoning yourself)

it seeks to romanticize or exotify Native American, Asian, and Romani cultures

it uses literal, actual slurs (such as the G-slur for Romani)

And there are more red flags that I'm missing here, but I've been losing a battle against a headache for several days now. Hopefully, this helps you know some of the common red flags.

~Jasper