thesecondspell

[thesecondspell]

01 August 2025 ~ First Day of Djilba

There was very little rain as we moved into Winter, but we've started to get a bit as we move into Djilba, though the cold nights are often so still and silent.

I've seen a lot of baby snails so far. I like snails. And the Sourgrass and Miniature Daisies are growing, and some are beginning to flower. The Popcorn Tree finally lost all its leaves. And the Lacebark Elms and Black Poplar have decided to keep a lot of leaves this year, but they still sound different in the wind.

Magpie (koolbardi) nesting season approaches. Those few weeks can be a scary time of year. But it can be worth it to hear all the magpies singing in the following few months.

[thesecondspell]

30 July 2025 ~ Recent Reads Stack

Kinda forgot I wanted to have a visual record of the books I've read. Instead of regular individual book posts, I think I'll just do intermittent book stacks.

I think these are some of the fiction books I've read this year. One-hundred percent thrifted. I'm really enjoying lighter/shorter vintage stories. And reading only what I can find at secondhand stores. I don't want trees to die just so I can read something new. I feel the universe wanted me to read these.

Elves & Fairies was gorgeous. Ophiuchi Hotline and Have Space Suit were fantastic. Starlight Crystal was awful, but I loved it.

I'm currently reading White Fang and The Wizard of Oz, so I guess I'll update with another stack in a few months.

[thesecondspell]

28 July 2025 ~ Blank Wall Allergy

I developed an allergy to blank walls - desensitised only by visual chaos.

I'm not entirely satisfied with all the elements, but I used wall tack instead of double-sided tape so I can move things around as I collect more art. An evolving project.

Reminded me of being a kid in the 90s, sticking Power Rangers and Tomb Raider posters on my walls. I may have to obtain some of these for nostalgia’s sake.

[thesecondspell]

25 July 2025 ~ Xmas in July

It's Xmas in July! Which isn't all that zany when you live in the Southern Hemisphere, and it's usually the general Winter/Yule season anyway.

But, just for fun, this is Stirling. Named after the only mountain range in Western Australia where snow is actually possible this time of year.

I have never seen snow. Stirling has never seen snow. But, somehow, we both remember it.

[thesecondspell]

20 July 2025 ~ National Moon Day

It's National Moon Day (National Moon Night?), so it's the perfect time to introduce Cavor - named after the scientist of the same name in H G Wells' The First Men in the Moon.

I've just finished reading it for the first time in my life. I was enjoying the zany adventure with its wondrous discoveries and exciting encounters, but then, ouch, that ending… So depressing and horrifying.

Poor Cavor. Poor poor Cavor.

[thesecondspell]

17 July 2025 ~ Burl Returns

Burl is back from his adventures, with another delivery of enchanted artefacts.

[thesecondspell]

14 July 2025 ~ Triple Apple

Clones! Lemon knew those Greys were up to no good!

Thanks to my partner for finding me two extra Apples at thrift.

[thesecondspell]

11 July 2025 ~ Winter Moon

Moon is still there even when all you can see are the clouds.

Too cold. Too rain. A warm and cozy observance for this Full Moon.

[thesecondspell]

09 July 2025 ~ The Ghost Dairy Farm

There's a dairy farm been established somewhere in my imagination canon. But the cows are ghosts. And the farmers sell ghost milk.

Farming couple Warden and Bonita, with daughter Aya, their cow Milkshake, dog Price, and… and… WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?

Oh, that's Speedy - farmhand and space demon. Fair enough. I love a family photograph.

[thesecondspell]

07 July 2025 ~ Fortune’s Favour

Elowen and Orynn return with some good luck gifts for our secondhand magic shop. Citrine for wealth, manekineko for fortune, daruma for aspiration, elephant for wisdom, and turtle for long-lasting success.

[thesecondspell]

05 July 2025 ~ Pet Remembrance Day

I owned a cat once. His name was Tarra. We thought he was a girl. Turns out he wasn't. But the name stuck. He was an orange tabby that wasn't at all spicy. Just a big fat lazy chillin boy.

Tarra brought home a stray cat for us to adopt (Ebony). He'd sit under the lawn sprinklers in Summer. He'd meow at my bedroom window coz he knew I was the only one who'd get out of bed in the middle of the night to let him in. He got run over once, survived, had his broken tail amputated, and became a manx. His birthday was one day before mine.

But then he got cancer. Or so kid me was told. He was sleeping a lot. He was only six years old. He got put down. A lot of our pets got put down during the reign of my childhood SA-er. I try to tell myself it’s all coincidence. Nothing good comes from going down that rabbit hole. But I loved my cat. And if I ever live in a place that actually allows pets, I'm getting an orange cat again, and its name is going to be Tarra.

[thesecondspell]

04 July 2025 ~ Full Circle Aphelion

On this day, one year ago, I made my first post on this account. I feel that is something to acknowledge. I didn't know where I was going when I started this mental health journey, and I still don't, but going I am.

[thesecondspell]

02 July 2025 ~ World UFO Day

Lemon feels that letting all these Greys in is a bad idea.

[thesecondspell]

30 June 2025 ~ Gaia's Tooth

My partner called this crystal a tooth. I think it is.

[thesecondspell]

27 June 2025 ~ Echoes and Embers

This is a collection of trinkets from my own personal history that recall memories, stir nostalgia, or evoke emotions. These are my echoes and embers.

They range from childhood to nowadays; from good times and bad. But they are all precious to me, and will go with me to my end.

Perhaps, one day, I'll make some little trinket-of-the-week type posts where I explore these moments, so, even if for no other reason, my future senile self can look back on this visual diary, and say "Oh, yeah. I remember that".

[thesecondspell]

25 June 2025 ~ A Gravity Ritual

A miniature grounding ritual for this Moon cycle. Anxiety is flinging me between exercises and responsibilities; trying to find something solid to hold on to, when, I think, what I really need is to just sit still for a spell.

Western Australia is abundant in iron ore and compounds, so I've created this mini haematite-and-pyrite stack to anchor me to it. The glass hexagon represents my anxiety (hopefully) being weighed down.

I enjoyed this little creation. I've made a mental note to look for more flat crystals for future stacking rituals.

[thesecondspell]

24 June 2025 ~ Dandi

Today is World Fairy Day, and so it's the perfect time to introduce Dandi.

Dandi comes to us from the hands of her previous owner where her wings were broken off. A fairy who can't fly! She was bullied so much! She almost began to believe she had no worth without her wings.

But now Dandi is here, and she has the support and space to start healing from this trauma. Though she is still a little hesitant allowing others to get too close in fear of getting hurt again - emotionally, physically, spiritually - with their help, she is beginning to learn that she can continue moving forward even without the need to fly.

Small steps, Dandi. You are whole in every way that matters. You are safe, and most welcome here.