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[witchyphoebe]

Happy Mabon!

Today, this is the day where night and day duration are exactly the same :) It's the autumn Equinox, also called Mabon for us, witches. On this day, I invited my husband's family. Yesterday, I was a little stressed because making lunch for 11 people, some who are vegetarians, some other who hates vegetables, it's kind of stressful ^^' I was unable to sleep until, at one point, I realized it was Mabon, and I can get that opportunity of that family moment to celebrate Mabon! I immediately found peace and could finally go to sleep! A good meal, some nice wine, grapes and some seasonal vegetables, happy food makes happy people! This day was really successful and I really liked the way I celebrated the beginning of the automn. Happy Mabon to everyone, and peace on all of you, dear witches <3

[witchyphoebe]

Happy Litha!

It's time to celebrate the sun, its power and its warmness! I'm a little bit late, because this year, it was around the 20th of June (~10:30 pm in France), and I didn't have time to connect here to write this post ^^' This time of year is the well-known summer solstice when the day is the longest of the year. Every ancient people celebrated the Sun, throughout gods or the fire, saying thank you for the harvests to come. It's also the start of the shortening days. For this solstice, I went to a restaurant preparing meals just with local and seasonal food, including edible flowers from their garden! I wish you a very happy Litha to you all!

[witchyphoebe]

Happy Beltane!

Spring is already here, but on those days around the 1st of May, we celebrate Beltane, the new flowers opening, the sun starting to warm us. I still consider mylself as a newbie as a witch. But, for this celebration, I decided quite easily what to do: I gave away some old stuff from my kitchen, I cleaned et threw away some old unused stuff, with the help of my soon-to-be husband. It's always refreshing to do that. I feel almost like a new person, with a new space to fill with all my love and my magic. So, I wish all of you witches a very happy Beltane! <3

[witchyphoebe]

Happy Ostara!

Ok, I'm quite late on this one ^^' I didn't have time to come here on the 20th of March. I was wondering, - as I am still a new witch - what to do during this equinoxe. Should I dance in my garden? Should I cast a spell following my spontaneity? Ostara has passed and then I realized I did my own "witchy" celebration. On that day, it was sunny, I was remotely working. And after my lunch, me and my soon-to-be husband went to our garden, we unfolded the deckchairs and enjoyed the sun and its benefits! I think realizing that we can be witches through those tiny happy moments with Nature is quite important! And that won't stop me from probably casting a new spell for this new season coming ^^ How about you? How did you celebrate Ostara?

[witchyphoebe]

Happy Imbolc!

It's almost time for Imbolc, the celebration of Nature's renewal, and of Brigid, for those who work with deities.

As a newbie witch, that's my first Imbolc. I red stuff about the gaelic celebration called Imbolc or Imbolg also known as Saint Brigid's Day. It was probably used for christianization to celebrate what we call in France "la chandeleur", the candlemas, 40 days after Christmas. We do like to eat crêpes in France for this celebration. I still don't know how I'm gonna celebrate Imbolc, but I'm sure I will find a nice way to celebrate life and Mother Nature waking up from those cold times. As a kitchen Witch, I'm guessing it's gonna manifest throughout my recipes ^^ And you, how are you gonna celebrate Imbolc?

[witchyphoebe]

Happy Yule!

My first Yule as a witch! I wish everyone to get rid of negativity and bad things to fill your life with hapiness and joy as Nature fills herself with life and longer day light from now on <3 I'm not sure what ritual to accomplish for this longest night of the year, so I'm just gonna think about what I want next, and what I want to get rid of. And maybe light a nice candle :)

I have a friend who celebrates the winter solstice, and read a story for his children: It's in french so I'm gonna translate it in english, sorry if it's not like the one you would know in original english ^_^' (The french version is below the english version for those who can understand)

The Sun Bird

Once upon a time, there was a bird whose feathers were made of light.

When it crossed the sky, its spread wings lightened the world, and all the trees from Earth felt the soft warmth of its breath on their leaf.

It was named Sun bird.

Every day, the Sun bird circled the globe.

Trees were waiting for its arrival every morning, at dawn, and saluted its departure, every evening, at twilight.

When Sun was on the other side of the Earth, night fell and trees slept.

The Sun bird only lived to offer everyone its light and its warmth, but through the years, it got more and more tired.

"If I land just for one moment, said Sun, what would the trees become on the other side of Earth, too long deprives of my light?"

So, it kept going.

The more its trip kept going, the more distant its warmth became, and the days kept getting shorter and shorter.

Trees saw their leaf turning yellow, red, then fall, and snow covered their branches.

Soon, the nights seemed endless, and everyone were asking themselves: will Sun rise tomorrow?

One day of December, exhausted, the Sun bird landed on top of the only tree on Earth whose branches weren't bare: the fir.

As its last feather lights were fading out, Sun saw for the first time sky turning black and covered with many little sparkling lights.

And the tree said to the bird:

"Today, you are weak, because I fed from your sparkle during the whole year.

Today, rest under my branches, sheltered from the wind and cold, and tomorrow, the lights from your feather will come back, and with it the soft warmth of your breath, and trees will find their leafs back."

That's why, every year, when nights get longer and longer, kids decorate a tir tree hanging sparkling ornaments on their branches, and place at its foot, star-shaped biscuits

and a small glass of Calvados.

They know that during the longest, the coldest and the darkest night, Sun is resting.

And if we are lucky, maybe the bird will land on top of our tree, and maybe we will find, at the foot of our tree, in the morning, some light feather, and gifts left by the bird.

For it is from the embrace of bird and tree that the seasons are born, and that night comes after day, and day comes after night.

************** French Version below *****************

L'oiseau Soleil

Il était une fois un oiseau dont les plumes étaient faites de lumière.

Lorsqu’il traversait le ciel, ses ailes déployées illuminaient le monde, et tous les arbres de la Terre sentaient sur leurs feuilles la douce chaleur de son souffle.

On appelait cet oiseau Soleil.

Chaque jour, 
L’Oiseau Soleil faisait 
le tour de la Terre.

Les arbres guettaient son arrivée le matin, à l’aurore, et saluaient son départ, le soir, au crépuscule.

Lorsque Soleil était de l’autre côté de la Terre, la nuit tombait et les arbres dormaient.

L’Oiseau Soleil ne vivait que pour offrir à tous et toutes sa lumière et sa chaleur, mais à mesure que l’année avançait, la fatigue le gagnait. « Si je me pose, ne serait-ce qu’un instant, disait Soleil, que deviendront les arbres de l’autre côté de la Terre, privé trop longtemps de ma lumière ? » Alors, il continuait.

Plus son voyage durait, plus sa chaleur se faisait lointaine, plus sa lumière se faisait pâle, et plus les jours se faisaient courts.

Les arbres voyaient leur feuilles jaunir, rougir, puis tomber, et la neige recouvrir leurs branches.

Bientôt, les nuits semblèrent interminables et chacun se demandait : Soleil se lèvera-t-il demain ?

Un jour de décembre, épuisé, L’Oiseau Soleil se posa au sommet du seul arbre sur Terre dont les branches n’étaient pas nues : le sapin.

Alors que s’éteignaient ses dernières plumes de lumière, Soleil vit pour la première fois le ciel devenir noir et se couvrir d’une myriade de petits points scintillants.

Et le sapin dit à l’oiseau :

« Aujourd’hui, tu es faible mais je suis fort, car toute l’année je me suis nourri de ton éclat.

Aujourd’hui, repose-toi sous mes branches, à l’abri du vent et du froid, et demain la lumière de tes plumes reviendra, et avec elle la douce chaleur de ton souffle, et les arbres retrouveront leurs feuilles. »

Voilà pourquoi, chaque année, lorsque les nuits s’allongent, les enfants décorent un sapin en accrochant de brillantes décorations à ses branches, et posent à son pied des biscuits en forme d’étoiles

et un petit verre de Calvados.

Ils savent qu’au cours de la nuit la plus longue, la plus froide et la plus noire, Soleil cherche le repos.

Et si nous sommes chanceux, peut-être l’oiseau se posera-t-il au sommet de notre arbre, et peut-être trouverons nous au matin, au pied de notre sapin, quelques plumes de lumière, et des cadeaux laissés par Soleil. Car c’est l’étreinte de l’oiseau et de l’arbre que naissent les saisons, et que la nuit succède au jour, et le jour à la nuit.

How about you witch community ? What do you do for Yule ?

[witchyphoebe]

Dancing like no one can see you

I love to dance. But it's been many years since I haven't danced. It's been 2 or 3 days I also haven't got time to practice a little magic. I wanted to do something for once : I wanted to practice a ritual by dancing, letting me be transported by the music and my emotions and feelings to do my ritual. So I listened to Loreena McKeenitt (very witchy music, IMHO), and started to feel posessed by the music and danced. While dancing, I tried to keep in mind what I wanted to accomplish with this ritual (I have some weight to loose ^^). And I really enjoyed it! Very liberating, I felt really free and connected with the universe by doing it. It has always been said in witchcraft, what matters is not how you do it, but the power of your visualisation. I found my way to do it : dance. You can find your own way to practice magic. <3

[witchyphoebe]

Please Reblog is Your Blog is Safe for Non-Binary People.

If my mutuals can’t rb this then we can’t be mutuals

[witchyphoebe]

Connected Witch

I've been looking for nice witchy apps to help me daily with my practice. I've been waiting for that new Apple app, being like a diary, called Journal.

Finally with the 17.2 public beta of iOS, I have the Journal App from Apple. Very simple but very effective, I can write my thoughts of the day. Within few days, it gives you ideas on what to write like "What's the most positive thing that happened to you last week?". I'm really enjoying this app ! Best part is that it's strictly private, it's never shared on iCloud, juste saved on your phone. And you can protect it's accessibility with Face ID. I also use Agenda App, only available on Apple devices, but also really cool. You can write stuffs with due dates (or not), have tags to store your notes. I use it for creative idea but also for witchy things like intention notes or sensations notes (that's how I named it ^^).

And for the moon, I use an app called in french "Lune" (basically "Moon"). You can see how is the moon any day any time, its distance from us, and some astrological stuff too if you into it :)

That's pretty much all I'm using (I also use the very well known Notion App, but mostly to write stories or organize my life ^^). How about you? Which app do you use as a witch?

[witchyphoebe]

Have a wonderful Samhain/Halloween everyone <3

[witchyphoebe]

Lightning a candle can be the easiest thing to begin with when you want to cook with magic ✨

I love having my lighted candle near me when I cook ❤️☺️

[witchyphoebe]

Can totally relate to that. I would like everyone reading me to pay special attention to the part about meditation. It took me about 20 years to realize I simply cannot sit and close my eyes and meditate. No. It gives me nightmares. But, I have many ways to relax by focusing on one activity : mostly, it's reading! But, it can also be doing a puzzle, watching fully your favorite tv show, take a bath and listen to a podcast, whatever makes you feel good! And that's ok! Meditation can have many forms, and it's up to you to find out which one is best for you <3

ADHD Witch Tips

We need more adhd witch tips so here, have these. These are the things I have learned and seen done over the past 3 and a bit years of practicing witchcraft. As always, if you have anything to add, please comment them and I'll add them to the list with credit to you and a link to your blog!

Make witchy playlists with intention. Music is the most accessible way of doing magic in my opinion, especially if you're using spells that already exist. You can listen to these while working, traveling or just doing things around the house. If you sing along then you're adding to the manifesting power of the playlist!

Use really large spell candles so that you don't have to make a new one everytime you want to do a spell. I used to have 1 really big protection spell candle that I would light daily. Not having to make a new candle every time made me so much more likely to practice

Learn to meditate. I know, I know, hear me out. This is less of a witch tip and more of a mental health thing. You can meditate while colouring in, listening to music, cleaning, going for a walk. You don't have to sit down with your legs crossed. Mediation is an important skill that none of us do regularly enough.

stop caring about aesthetics. Are they nice? yes! absolutely! but unless it makes you more likely to practice then it's not worth it. caring too much about how your craft looks can also lead to burn out.

Be aware of your energy levels. Burn out is a serious issue among the neurodivergent witch community. Rest and pacing yourself is just as important as actually practicing.

Audio books <3333333

Try to combine your hyperfixation and witchcraft practice. This could mean using sigils in fanart or dedicate your writing to a deity.

Use hearth craft as a way to motivate you to clean your home or to cook meals/eat.

Have affirmations on your phones home screen so whenever you unlock your phone you reminded of your intentions

[witchyphoebe]

French newbie witch (newbie as a witch and in tumblr :)). Here to share magic, spread happiness and joy with respect for everyone. <3