#finding sources

[magickkate]

What is a “Reliable Source” in Witchcraft?

In witchcraft, a reliable source is one that presents information accurately, ethically, and with transparency about its origins, especially when it comes to spiritual practices, cultural elements, or historical claims. Reliable sources respect traditions, differentiate between personal experiences and established practices, and avoid harmful or misleading generalizations.

They may include well-researched books, culturally rooted practitioners, reputable blogs, historical texts, or experienced teachers who are transparent about their influences and lineage. In a path as personal and eclectic as witchcraft, reliability doesn’t always mean objectivity. It means being honest, thoughtful, and context-aware.

Why Use Reliable Sources in Witchcraft?

Reliable sources help you avoid misinformation, harm, or the accidental appropriation of closed or sacred cultural practices. They also help you grow more confidently and ethically in your craft by giving you a clear understanding of where practices come from and why they are done a certain way.

When you’re first starting out, it can be tempting to grab info from the first Tumblr post or Pinterest infographic you see. But not all sources are created equal. Some oversimplify, misrepresent, or combine traditions without context. Building your foundation on solid knowledge means you’ll be better equipped to shape your own path without disrespecting others or relying on fluff.

Reliable sources also help you separate trends from tradition, and your own intuition from misinformation. Learning where to look, and who to trust, can empower you to study with discernment rather than overwhelm.

Beginner Tips

• Start with books. Especially those that cite their sources, include bibliographies, or clarify which traditions they come from. • Learn the difference between UPG and tradition. UPG (unverified personal gnosis) is personal spiritual insight. It’s valid, but shouldn’t be confused with historical or cultural fact. • Follow practitioners with transparency. If someone explains where their practices come from and how they learned them, they’re often more trustworthy than someone who claims universal knowledge. • Beware of absolutes. Anyone who says “this is the only right way to practice” or “all witches do XYZ” is usually not a reliable source. • Check for cultural context. If a practice is closed (like smudging with white sage in Native traditions), it’s important to understand why and find alternatives that respect that boundary. • Use academic or folklore sources. These won’t always apply directly to your modern practice, but they help you understand where things come from. • Look for communities with healthy discussion. Reddit threads, Discord servers, or Tumblr spaces with respectful disagreement are great places to test ideas and learn from others.

Cautions and Ethics

• Avoid closed practices unless invited. Some spiritual traditions are not meant to be used outside of specific communities or initiations. Research what’s closed, what’s open, and what’s sacred. • Watch out for plagiarism. Some blogs and books copy others without credit or context. If someone’s writing feels vague or stolen, check for original sources. • Respect lived experience, but contextualize it. Personal stories can be powerful, but remember they’re not one-size-fits-all. • Avoid appropriative sources. Be cautious with sources that present cultural practices without explaining their origins, especially if they monetize them. • Don’t treat spiritual info like trivia. “Fun facts” without depth can be misleading. Dig into the why and how behind practices. • Stay skeptical of TikTok trends. Quick videos may spark interest, but they rarely give enough background to be truly reliable.

How to Incorporate Reliable Sources into Your Practice

• Create a vetted resource list. Keep a list of books, creators, and sites you trust and refer back to them. • Take notes. Jot down sources in your grimoire so you can remember where you learned something and double-check later. • Fact-check before you use. If you read something new (especially a spell or correspondence), try to confirm it from at least one other reputable source. • Ask questions in community spaces. Learning from others can help you develop discernment and notice red flags. • Stay curious. Witchcraft is a lifelong path. Being open to learning (and unlearning) is one of the most important skills you can develop.

My Experience and Notes

When I first started, I pulled info from everywhere: Tumblr, Pinterest, TikTok, witchy forums, you name it. And while some of that was useful, I also absorbed a lot of fluff and misinformation. I didn’t know which herbs were safe, which correspondences were modern versus historical, or what traditions I might accidentally be misusing.

It wasn’t until I slowed down and started reading books, joining respectful communities, and double-checking things that I really began to feel confident in my practice. I also learned the value of humility, of knowing that I don’t know everything and that it’s okay to grow over time.

One of the most empowering shifts in my journey was learning to say, “I’m not sure. Let me look that up,” instead of pretending I had all the answers. Witchcraft thrives on curiosity, not perfection.

⸻

Anything I missed? Add some tips and more info below!

Anything you’d like for me to cover? Send me an ask or a message!

[izz-ler]

So I need help from the art history side of tumblr rn, I’m writing a really important paper(like fail or redo the year kind of paper) and it’s about the historical evolution of the paintbrush, HOWEVER that specific topic is turning out to be almost impossible to find some reputable sources that don’t cite back to itself(looking at you Britannica). I don’t know if it’s bc I don’t know how to look up stuff properly or if it’s just a really niche subject(you’d think it would be just as discussed and researched as paints, but apparently not, at least not what I can see)

If anyone is an expert in the field or know of a paper or could just help me out with some decent search words and terms and also good source finding sites I would be incredibly appreciative! I’m kind of in a panic rn bc my teacher is threatening to fail me if I don’t find something decent, like yesterday..!

[ren-shonen]

Tools for Finding the Source on That Cool Art

If anybody is wondering how I have been finding the source posts on the art I've been reblogging recently, I make significant use of Google Image Search (GIS) reverse image search tool at https://images.google.com/ - where you upload an image that the search engine then uses as the search term to pull up pages that have that image on them. (Google Lens can also work in similar fashion.)

To make this faster, I use a browser addon called Search by Image by Armin Sebastian (in Firefox, but it's also available for other browsers and for mobile) which lets me just right-click on any image to pull up a GIS reverse search for it. It also will search other image search engines such as TinEye (which will sort by age, among other things).

Sometimes it takes following a few links to be able to find where someone has credited the artist by name, and that will then allow me to search for the artist's profile(s) directly. Twitter itself has a particularly robust internal search engine that allows you to search all posts by a particular account using keywords, date ranges, tweets containing links or media, etc., though you have to be logged in to use it (and Twitter is extra-borked right now, of course).

I also make significant use of an auto-translate addon called TWP - Translate Web Pages by FilipePS - very handy when search result pages are in languages I don't speak.

(I don't have the energy to write up further tips or find a proper tutorial to link, but if you've got other resources that might be useful, please feel free to add them!)

[slumbering-shadows]

let's march with mama (x)

[troutreznor]

anyways op had me blocked when i wanted to reblog this photo set and they didn't have a source on their post either so yknow i will provide for us all <3

Lil Nas X for The Neighborhood Talk

[adobe-outdesign]

recently I discovered that Kawayoo, one of my all-time favorite Pokemon TCG artists, has some art of Loudred floating around and it's the best thing I've ever seen

[sammick]

pookies covered in blood 🤤

[osheamobile]

Keep seeing the (extremely correct) posts about keeping your stuff on physical media - CDs, DVDs, blu-rays, books, etc.

And yes, 100%, do not get rid of your physical media in favor of streaming. I did some of that about a decade or so ago before I learned better and there are books and CDs I now need to find again.

But something that I see a lot of people dismiss is that the digital versions are more convenient. Taking ebooks to travel is so much better than taking up half your backpack, having digital music is genuinely better than swapping out discs

The thing is, it's not mutually exclusive. Rip your CDs and DVDs but keep the discs - you can toss the cases in favor of more condensed storage and leave them in your closet until you need them again. Strip the DRM from your ebooks - you paid for them the same way you'd have paid for physical paper tree-based versions - and burn them to CDs as well for safekeeping.

You can play MP3s just as easily as Spotify in cars and in much the same way, and you can stream movie files from your computer to your TV just as easily. Tech can be both convenient and for personal preservation - you can do both.

Keep your physical stuff because streamers can just get rid of anything at any time, but you absolutely can keep the convenience of the modern digital era at the same time.

I spent several months last year digitizing the roughly 1200 discs that we've accumulated for the past thirtyish years - music, movies, TV - and it was not only the most fun project I took on, it's been the most rewarding because we have movies that aren't available to stream. But I can stream it to my TV with director's commentary any time I want.

[visit-ba-sing-se]

me when i have to put proper citations: ugh this is so annoying who even cares what i do in the footnotes

me when i can't find a source because it hasn't been quoted correctly: i am going to track down the authors and they will answer to me. i will find out who caused this suffering. there will be blood.

[bugthingsdaily]

today's bug thing are these robot bugs!

[beifongkendo]

Totoro explores the world of woodblock prints ❄️

[backpackingspace]

okay so post epic odyssey where odysseus and Penelope have surfaced from their room finally and he and diomedes are catching up I'm imagining the conversation going something like this

Odysseus: so then I gave up being merciful and became the monster.

Diomedes:....you tried being merciful?

Odysseus: Yes?

Diomedes: you did? You tried being a good merciful person? You?

Odysseus: Yah okay fuck off it was polties dying wish. I had to try.

Diomedes:.....90% of the war crimes in the Trojan war were suggested, planned out, and carried out by you. We literally stoned to death the guy you had a personal grudge against. We framed him for treason and stoned him to death. 70% of why Athena liked you was because she thought she knew all the ways to kill someone and then you'd suggest something insane and I'd see her taking notes. You literally gave Ajex a psyoctic break just being yourself.

Odysseus: shut up

Diomedes: I'm not wrong. Did you tell Penelope about your attempt to be a good person?

Odysseus: What? Of course I did. I told her everything.

Diomedes: did she laugh?

Odysseus:...shut up that's not the point

Diomedes: she did didn't she!!!

Odysseus: ANYWAY eurylochus wasn't appreciative of my return to monsterhood and he started causing problems so I

Diomedes: killed him? Yah saw that coming. No shit. I'm so shocked.

[nightmarereverie]

Circa 1900, Bat in Flight with the Man in the Moon brooch. Made by Unger Brothers, USA. ❤︎₊ ⊹

[moonyswarmsweaters]

Remus: how did Reggie first came out to you?

Sirius: well there were always signs, but when he really did, he did it by giving me a bunch of blue cupcakes and a greeting card that said "it's a boy!"

Remus: That's cute

Sirius: It was NOT cute!

Sirius: I thought he was pregnant.

[dollywons]

✩ 𝒅𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒔 ✩

♥︎. ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧⋆ ˚｡⋆ 🎀

ミ★ ⋆. ೃ࿔*𓍢ִ໋✧˚.🎀༘⋆ 📷 ⋆ 🌸˚｡⋆୨୧⋆ ˚｡⋆

♬ 📷 ⋆ ˚｡⋆౨ৎ˚ ⋅˚₊‧𐙚‧₊˚ ⋅

[corkinavoid]

DPxDC Ignorantia Neminem Excusat

(Ignorance excuses no one, lat.)

"Commissioner."

Jim Gordon doesn't jump. They are years and years into this rodeo, he's stopped actually jumping at Batman's silent approach a long time ago. Yet, Bruce still notices the way his shoulders twitch just the tiniest bit, and his hand makes an aborted motion to his gun holster. Still got it.

The man turns around. Bruce can see the 'must you always do that?' in his slightly narrowed eyes. He presses his lips tightly together in order to not smirk: Batman doesn't do that, even if it's admittedly funny to see the seasoned Commissioner get spooked every time.

"There's a kid that wants to speak with you."

Bruce frowns. A kid that warranted a BatSignal? Not that he minds, but this is highly unusual for several reasons; however, Jim is not the kind of man that would fall for puppy eyes of any level, so it must be something more important than an autograph session or a victim of any of the recent cases.

Besides, the way Commissioner worded it implies that the kid, whoever they are, requested Batman specifically.

"He is a hacker," Jim puts both his hands in the pockets of his coat — he is either cold or uncomfortable, and Bruce highly suspects it's both. What's more, he starts to understand why. "I'm sure you're aware we were trying to track the person responsible for the few recent cyber attacks on GCPD servers," Jim glances at him, and Bruce nods. He is aware, yes, but the case was low-priority — it wasn't even an attack, really, someone just accessed the system foregoing the passwords and clearance levels, went through a few files, seemingly at random, and did a fairly decent job of hiding their traces. Bruce would have even thought it was Tim, if this happened a few years ago, when the boy was just learning the ropes.

Commissioner sighs and looks away, "But when we brought him in, the boy said he will only speak to you, and none of us have been able to make him say a word since." He pauses, a grim kind of expression on his face, "This was six hours ago."

Bruce is grateful for the way his cowl hides how his eyebrows raise. There are hundreds of scripts officers, detectives, and social workers can use to establish contact. Quite a lot of them could be attempted in the span of six hours.

Whatever the kid wants to tell him, Bruce decides it's worth a try. If not anything else, he can at least admire the sheer stubbornness.

—×—×—×—

The kid sitting in the interrogation room looks... younger than Bruce expected. Fifteen, maybe sixteen. He is dressed like any other homeless kid in Gotham — a hoodie and a jacket over it, jeans that look a size too big on him, sneakers with mismatched shoelaces — but he clearly hasn't been out in the streets for that long. His hair is braided into cornrows, and it looks professional, even if the roots have grown out so now it's just messy. What's more, he is missing that telltale wariness in his posture that Bruce has seen in every other street kid that has been brought into a police station. They always slouch and curl into themselves.

This boy is sitting with his back straight. Yet, there's a tension in his body that Bruce can only associate with a battle stance — give him the slightest reason, and the kid will lunge.

He steps into the room.

The boy — he hadn't given a name, and there wasn't a single ID on him — zeroes on him instantly. His eyes are a very pale, almost translucent green: a rather strange feature for a black-skinned person, genetically speaking, but Bruce doesn't dwell on it. Yet.

But then, the face recognition program comes up empty.

As in, 'there's not a trace of this person's prior existence' empty. Not a single camera footage, no records or reports of missing, no pictures, no social media, nothing. Bruce frowns.

"Hi," the kid says, his voice raspy, "My name is Tucker Foley. According to the government, I don't exist, so if your recognition program doesn't find anything on me, that's why."

Bruce doesn't say anything. Tucker wanted to speak with him, and previously, he was only merely intrigued by that request. However, as of right now, he wants to hear everything the kid has to say before asking any follow-up questions.

Because that always present, cautious and bordering on paranoid voice in the back of his mind tells him he is about to get into something way more serious than he expected.

Tucker moves — he kept both his hands on the table, palms open and visible, but now he closes one into a fist. Although, before Bruce can react to it, he opens it again. A small, the size of a flash-drive, dimly glowing green object rests inside.

"Do you know what this is?" The boy asks. He hasn't looked away from Batman's face once; Bruce is not even sure he blinked at all since he entered the room. Come to think of it, even with his tense, rigid posture, Tucker is too still, almost unnervingly so.

Bruce glances down to the boy's hand.

"Yes," he answers curtly, and there it is, the smallest shift in Tucker's face: he clenches his jaw like he's trying to hold the words inside his mouth. Bruce doesn't like it.

"What is it?" Comes the next question, but it's not curiosity that prompts it. It's a test of some sort. Bruce likes that even less.

"A power source," he decides on a neutral answer, not entirely certain what the boy is expecting to hear.

It seems to be a wrong answer because for the first time, Tucker's emotions slip from under his mask, and he takes a sharp breath in, looking like Bruce had just slapped him across the face. It lasts only a moment — Tucker closes his eyes for a moment, slowly exhales, and speaks again, calm and focused once more.

"And what exactly powers it?"

It's an important question, judging by the desperate, searching look in Tucker's eyes. His hands are not shaking, and there are no visible signs of distress, but for some reason, Bruce just knows that the boy's whole life seems to depend on the answer.

But.

"It's classified." Bruce doesn't take his eyes off the boy, but he still fails to see when he gets to his feet; the movement is quicker than the blink of an eye. All he knows is the aftermath of it, the screech of the chair legs on the floor and the loud slam of Tucker's palms on the table.

"Fuck the classified!" The boy yells, his face twisting in an awful mix of anger, hurt and a broken, terrified sort of hopelessness that almost breaks Bruce from the inside. "I need to know what they've told you, I have to- Tell me you think it's just a battery! Tell me you've never broke one to see what's inside, tell me you believe in science! They've showed you the research, didn't they?" Tucker's voice, so agonizingly different from the composed way he was talking before, breaks into a sobbing, almost hysterical laugh. His pale eyes are wide open and almost panicked, searching Batman's face for something he is not sure he can find.

"Tell me you've never seen one being made," this time, the boy doesn't yell, he whispers, his breath hitching and his knuckles white. "Please," he adds a moment later, and Bruce knows this kind of plea.

It's the plea of someone who is begging for the world to have mercy on them. A plea of a boy standing on their parents' grave, a plea of a man kneeled in front of his son's corpse.

Bruce swallows the bitter taste on the back of his tongue and takes a step closer. He sees the boy in front of him lean back and bend his knees, like bracing for impact, but he answers before any more misunderstandings can occur.

"I have seen the research. It provided enough information that I've never investigated further," he offers, and Tucker's shoulders slump like months and months of living in a constant state of fight-or-flight leaving his body all at once. Then, the boy's hands start trembling just slightly.

"Really?" He quietly asks, his eyes still glued to Batman, and there it is, the hesitant, uncertain hint of hope in his voice.

Bruce suddenly feels like not only this talk will be much, much worse than he ever feared, but also like in the end this will be another one of the things he will be blaming himself for. Things he could have prevented if he just tried a little harder.

"Really," he nods, taking a seat opposite from Tucker. "So explain what I've missed."

The boy keeps looking at him for a few more seconds, like trying to x-ray his thoughts for any sign of a lie. But then he blinks — for the first time, maybe — and rubs his face with his palm before all but dropping back in his own seat.

"Okay," he breathes out, evidently trying to collect himself and go back to the strong, focused self, "Okay."

[ part 2 -> ]