Pinned
Hail and welcome! The intro blurb at the top of the page tells you a bit about me but I wanted to get a little more in depth about the blog. My goal is to make my little corner of the internet here as safe and welcoming as possible, so I wanted to make some disclosures and set some boundaries. (Please read, especially for personal policy regarding minors!)
Got carried away with this one, lost focus and been all over the place. Trying to get back on track. This the weekly rune from 2 weeks ago.
Hey idk you but you are loved.
If you see this rn its Freyja's will that you know you are loved and seen and you just have to accept that.
Trust me, she told me personally that she wants you to remain positive in your plight.
special reminder that sacrifices take many forms and don’t always require the death of something necessarily.
We live in a capitalistic society where money directly correlates with survival. Spending your hard earned money on supplies or offerings is most definitely a valid sacrifice. Most people do not have the means or skill to go out and properly/respectfully offer up an animal. The action of hunting, slaying and recycling is not relevant to most modern people anymore. We don’t hunt in fields anymore, but we do hunt for bargains at the grocery store. We do labor at our jobs for money. We exchange that labour for produce, meat, fruit, veggies and cream. Don’t feel like you’re cheating by offering a store bought steak to your deities just because you didn’t personally butcher the cow yourself. This all still counts even if it seems non traditional.
Time is a sacrifice. Dedicating hours to creating a piece of art for your deity, a song, a poem, or studying with them can count as a sacrifice of time. Time is a form of currency. Every living moment you spend honouring your Gods is a sacrifice.
Emotional turmoil or struggle can also be considered a sacrifice. Doing intense shadow work that brings you to tears but also allows you to overcome your struggles can definitely count as an emotional sacrifice, or a sacrifice of self comfort.
Working out and training your body is also a sacrifice of comfort, you’re literally offering pain and struggle up to your Lords as proof that you are willing to overcome adversity to become stronger and healthier. That is a sacrifice, one that most people (myself included) have a very hard time preforming.
A lot of our relationships with our deities revolve around transactions, giving offerings for example in exchange for blessings. Remember that even if you don’t have something physical to offer right now, there are always things that can be sacrificed or offered to the Gods that go beyond the physical. When we willingly put ourselves through strife in an effort to make positive changes in our lives we are making sacrifices. A part of us must be killed to create space for something new. Your Gods see your efforts and cherish them, do not underestimate their value.
I second this with addendum that sacrifices shouldn't be made at the expense of your health and wellbeing. Sacrifices need to be of importance and have meaning, yes, but working out to the point of extreme exhaustion isn't healthy. Spending hours in prayer and ignoring your other mundane duties and self-care all the time isn't healthy. Putting yourself through emotional struggle that leads to trauma isn't healthy. You have to be alive and well to offer anything to the gods or other spirits. Offer gifts with value and meaning for you. Don't put yourself in a precarious or unhealthy space. <3
[[before you expand: LONG text post!!]]
I got diagnosed only a couple months ago, but I have been practicing witchcraft for a little bit now. So in retrospect, here is stuff that I realized I have been doing to cope the whole time, and some new things I'm tinkering with :) Please feel free to leave your own tips or thoughts!
Just do not promise to give daily offerings! JUST DON'T DO IT. If you struggle with upholding a regular routine, do not promise gods or spirits you will uphold a routine for them. You should only promise things you are confident you can deliver. ((If you identify as a beginner witch it's my personal belief that you should not be promising anyone anything.))
Rigid routine is not the only way to get regular experience with magic, build relationships with gods or spirits, or improve in your craft! You simply do not have to promise yourself or anyone else that you will do X actions at Y times.
Maybe there are some really important things in your practice that you want to do on a regular basis. Maybe these are things like:
Instead of saying "I'll do shielding for 5 minutes every day after breakfast, then of course my offering ritual-", you can put a streamlined (short, easy) ritual together where you do all four of these things at once.
Then, slot this streamlined ritual in before most practice activities. Like:
Or, use it as a sort of 'generic' access point of connection and perform this ritual:
Instead of forcing important actions into routines that may be hard to follow, find a way to carry these actions around with you in an accessible ritual, like carrying snacks around in a bag. This way you can use other exciting activities, or other life events, as a reminder to practice your ritual of important things :)
Maybe you have alarm blindness, forget to do divination, forget to check in with spells - so asking for omens can be a huge help. They are spontaneous messages that catch your eye. Helpful!
Solid black pigeons mean a spirit wants attention. Seeing your favorite tree species means a spell was successful. Three gray dots means a spell failed. The scent of cinnamon buns means fortune is headed your way.
Perform a ritual announcing your chosen omens to the Powers That Be. Invite those Powers, Yourself, Life, the Universe, and Everything to send you true, accurate, and helpful messages through these omens.
Working with omens in this way is a skill that evolves over time. Your personal omen system will evolve over time if you use it. Think of it as another form of divination!
(Tip: Combine symbols with colors for an advanced system that's easy to remember. Oak trees are prosperity, but black means slow movement, red means powerful, and white means failure. After a spell you see a plumbing truck with a red oak tree logo; powerful prosperity. Etc.)
Employ foresight and:
Spell for people that will remember they want to deal with Monica (they will also be working with wards, divination, and subtle cunning): "Stop Monica at the front desk from assaulting me with her dark energies, or else limit how much of her energy can reach me."
Spell for people that are going to completely forget this is an issue they can take care of and won't do another spell on it for maybe 18 months: "Stop Monica from assaulting me with her dark energies, or reveal to everyone in the office her dark nature, but if neither of these things is possible, change something in the office so that we never interact again."
Poor plan: "And when this vessel runs down I will recharge it with the waxing moon as I stand under the orange tree-" More tenable plan: "And when this vessel runs down let it drink energy from my altar; let it take up any energy that suits it; let it feed on what is available to it, according to its needs."
This folds in real nice with a personal omen system!!
Use a combination of colors, established symbols (planetary, alchemical), and personal symbols to develop a visual conlang that helps you keep track of what things are.
Build a system that makes intuitive sense to you, perhaps folding in with your color correspondence associations, magical headcannon, or any other mnemonic device:
Your personal visual language will gain its own power over time if used regularly, in the way that egrigores or sigils can gain power if used consistently over time :) It can become a real magical tool, not just a mnemonic device!
When you conjure/talk to/pray to gods, spirits, or anything, address the fact that your communication/rituals/etc ARE going to be sporadic. Explain yourself and ask the spirits to extend understanding.
If the way you talk to yourself about your path sounds like someone struggling with unhealthy dieting, maybe it's time to readjust.
"I just need to do my daily offerings, on schedule, for two weeks. Then I will have earned researching tarot spells."
Maybe it's not a good idea to intentionally include witchcraft in a cycle of reward and denial that will ultimately drain joy from the process until your passion is a withered husk.
Witchcraft isn't going to force your brain to change any more than Stardew Valley was going to force your brain to change. Or that time you got super into succulents. If your time spent studying wool quality in heritage European sheep breeds didn't cure your disorder, witchcraft won't either.
Witchcraft, I think, deserves to be something that is a part of your joy - not a part of a system of stressful attempts at making yourself into someone you're not because "real witches" all do such-and-such routine (I assure you, they do not) so you must force yourself to do it too.
(Incidentally, if you have a 'streamlined ritual for the important stuff' and it becomes a barrier that prevents you from practicing, then maybe that's not a good idea for you - or maybe it's not as simple and streamlined as you need it to be)
There is SO MUCH to learn in witchcraft. It's never-ending. The more you learn, the more doorways open for you with more things to learn behind them.
You know yourself better than I know you. Maybe wanting to slow down and engage in your focuses in a new way is the goal. Of course, listen to yourself first!
But if you have a temporary burst of energy and focus to learn a new skill, and learning that skill won't require you to make unhealthy personal or financial decisions, why not just lean into it and explore it moment by moment, wherever your interests take you?
I think you'd probably learn a lot more doing and undoing 20 glamours in a week, because you're freaking out about how fucking cool it is, than if you practice 1 basic glamor exercise once a day because that's what real disciplined witches do, and then 11 days later you forget it once and never do it again and now your interest has faded because glamouring is just another boring chore.
Feeling anxious or guilty over whether or not you're supposed to be taking certain actions is NO FUN.
It is much less fun if you don't actually know how often you need to do these things. Then it's just all guessing, all the time, and nothing is ever good enough.
If at all possible, avoid putting yourself into a situation where you feel that you are supposed to be doing something responsible in your practice, but you're never sure exactly what it is.
Spend some practice time, learn some skills, and make notes, to discover whether or not you do have any minimum engagement requirements in the style of practice you want. And most importantly, having clear 'deadlines' so you don't have to keep guessing at what you're forgetting about this time.
Hey, don't be afraid of things that challenge your faith. Seriously, don't.
Either they'll give you a new perspective on things, or you'll become more secure and confident in your current beliefs. But avoiding the hard questions leaves you in an echo chamber with half-baked ideas and an insecurity in yourself. Step out of your comfort zone so you have room to grow.
Loki's been sending me on this kind of journey a *lot*, and as emotionally tumultuous as this process can be at times, I have always found it to be worth it. I always promote a healthy dose of skepticism and an open mind when it comes to spirituality. I can struggle with it, don't get me wrong, but I ultimately believe it's good to really check in with yourself every so often and contemplate your core beliefs and values.
Loki with his children - Hel, Fenrir and Jörmungandr from Norse mythology. Art in limited palette.
I absolutely adore this ❤️
Today I ask Thor for strength.
When my pain is overwhelming and I feel like I can't go on.
Even if I can't do what I promised him I would as a devotional act (gym and training)
Even if I can't barely go on my daily doings.
Even if all I can do is cry in silence.
I ask my Father for his strength to carry me.
For great is his might.
Hail Thor.
Hey friends. I know this happened a while ago, but with various other things happening in my life there is a very real chance I may remove myself from socials. I will be thinking on this and make an official post if/when that is what I decide to do. I hate everything about this but it may be in my best interest to do so.
me when my deities put me through difficult shit to grow as a person and get out of my weird mental state when it's literally what I asked them to do: girl no way you're doing this to me rn bffr 🙏🏻
For a moment I couldn't tell if Othala (their guide persona) was actually Odin, but he was a distinctly different and grumpy old man (who also happened to be wearing the stereotypical grey wizards outfit I frequently see Odin wear). He was sitting, slouched at a desk in a classroom, where he was looking at Nazi symbols laid over a world map. Like they were places where their ideology had taken hold. He was angry with how he's been treated and misused and how that's affected the rest of the runes as well.*
I asked him what he's really all about. He stood up from his seat and showed me a family tree that morphed into a person. He said he (othala) is a reminder of the ancestors, of all who live within me (us/humanity), and the ørlög they collected and passed down to me. It is my decision to pick up my family's mantle and continue it or take it in a completely different direction. He said all lineages pass down great love and some great messes that must be dealt with. But it is not about manifest destiny or anyone being greater than anyone else. Claiming one's birthright is about accepting the line that cultivated the ørlög you possess and making it your own. And remembering that you are an ancestor of those yet to be (even if you're not a biological ancestor to them).
It was a truly deep, meaningful energy and message, and there is extremely good reason to be upset about how this meaning has been corrupted by white supremacists. There's something so beautiful and important about remembering our connection to what was, is, and will be. It's so unlike any sort of supremacy culture that intentionally severs connections and seeks to eliminate so many lives that we are/can be connected with.
As I was writing this in my journal, I got the sense that Odin sees the runes themselves as a birthright.** Something to be passed down. Something that he sacrificed himself for that they might be passed down to others (like ørlög for humanity) so their power and magic can be claimed. Not just the Elder Futhark alphabet, but all language - written, spoken, or signed. It is our birthright to use words and communicate, to express ourselves and affect change. It feels quite fitting to end these meditations with this message from Othala and Odin - a reminder of this birth right of expression and connection, and to appreciate the runes (and all languages) that came before us.
*He was referring to multiple runes, not just othala, being seen as hate symbols. Also worth noting that if you see othala with little "feet" on it like this in relation to any person or group, you are absolutely dealing with Nazis and should run the other way.
**I followed this meditation up by talking with Odin, and he very much confirmed this. He reminded me that the tools of all languages are always here for us to utilize.
The tides have calmed and we're able to more safely come up for air and find our way to the shore for some respite. There may have been some gnarly waves crushing and tossing us about last week (or even longer), but the ocean ebbs and flows as usual. Floating to the surface is made easier. Taking time to breathe in full, deep breaths is possible - we're not just gasping for air between giant waves anymore. We can float on the water's surface and let the waves carry us in to shore. Or we can swim with the calming currents to our safe nearby lands. Either way, we are able to relax and release some tension. No more fight or flight this week. Just breathing, taking some time to ground and center, come into our bodies, and feel the natural flow of life's energies all around us. This time is necessary for recovery and growth. Don't take it for granted. Really let yourself sit on the shore and breathe. Soak in the sunlight. Feel the sand or rocks beneath you. Feel your lungs expand. Let every moment nourish your being. Don't worry about the crashing waves that might come or return. Be in the moment and enjoy the fresh air.
At the Comic con in Brussels earlier this year, I got to meet the great and lovely @strijkdesign. Her illustrations and talent blew me away and I had to ask her for a portrait of Sigyn. I think this might be one of my favourites, in all honesty! Simply amazing, I have no words. Thanks again for this masterpiece!! <3
Hail, Lady Sigyn.
Question everything you read here. Use your critical thinking skills. Is what you’re reading true to your practice? It might not be, even if it’s true to the practice of the person sharing. The fact of the matter is that witchblr is just a bunch of people sharing their UPGs (unverified personal gnosis, for those who don’t know). Take what applies to you and discard the rest. Everyone’s practice is different and that’s beautiful! But that means what anyone here says is not universal
Also no one here is the authority figure on witchcraft, and if they’re pretending to be, RUN!!!!!
So yeah, take everything here with a grain of salt. That includes me. That includes those more widely known witch blogs. That includes every single one of us here
But also just because something isn’t true to you does not mean it isn’t true to the person sharing it. Don’t go attacking others because your UPG contradicts their UPG
A good reminder for me, and about me for my followers! 😊
Rune Meditation - Dagaz
I first saw the rune spinning, like an hour glass being flipped over again and again. Dagaz as a guide appeared to me as an old man with a very long and very straight white beard. (In retrospect reminiscent of the concept of Father Time.) He said he (dagaz) is all about time. Time is always moving forwards. It never stands still. I watched a sunrise and a person running, but the person looked like they were frozen. But Dagaz showed me how even when we think time is standing still it is actually still moving - the "frozen" runner was simply moving at a speed imperceptible to my human eyes. He said time is what we perceive it to be, so we can often be unsure of where exactly in time we are. I saw an image of a clockface on a school wall, remembering the feeling that one minute in class could feel like an eternity, while an hour of lunchtime conversation felt like 2 minutes. But he said there is always dawn. There is always old making way for the new when things (time) are always moving. Some may take more time than others but everything comes to pass at its right time.
The primary point of interest for me was perception. Dagaz is one I've always associated with cycles, which predicates that you can see a cycle in progress. But sometimes you can't see that cycle at all, or you can't tell where in that cycle (or when) you are. It's as much about stopping to observe and recognize the cycle as much as it is being in it as it progresses. "There is always something new."
Hey I have a question
I feel like there's a lot of saneism directed towards the spiritual and especially polytheistic communities, mainly in regards to any communication one might have with spirits or deities etc.
As a relatively new pagan myself, I'm having a bit of trouble unraveling that in my own mind and accepting my own experiences as anything more than coincidence for fear of "sounding crazy". I'm wondering if perhaps you have any advice or recommendations as someone who seems confident in their spirituality enough to discuss it online? I would appreciate any wisdom you have to share
Hello! I have ADHD and have struggled to type out a coherent answer that doesn't stray too far off topic, so I hope I actually answer your question. (Though do not hesitate to follow up if you need!) This is all how I see things, so feel free to take what resonates and leave the rest. :)
I have spent lots of time myself wondering if my beliefs or experiences sound "crazy" to others for any number of reasons. I have depression and ADHD, I know plenty of atheists who think religion is not necessary, and I carry religious trauma from the Christianity I grew up with.
I've recently had an experience that made me doubt so much of the work that I've been doing over the past year and a half of my life. But something that I've been coming back to over the past week or so is that everyone, no matter their beliefs, will always see things differently than you. Even the people who agree with you on something or have a shared experience are still having their own individual experience with it that is unique to them. This is not a problem, but we (in the general sense) like to make it one and insist there is One Correct Way to do, hear, or experience spirituality or any of its many facets (like receiving messages from deity, for example). Part of my own work this past week has been starting to unravel some of that thinking in myself. Between being raised in a religion that insisted their beliefs were The Truth and having serious rejection sensitivity, I recognize that I sometimes feel the need to assert my "correctness" out of fear that I'm wrong and will be looked down upon for being so. But the truth is, as far as I can tell, there is no one correct way to have faith or generally do any of this stuff.
All that to say, as difficult as it may be at times, it's important to recognize that no matter how truly unique our experience is, it is still valid. No one but you knows what you experience. Only you know what it is you truly believe, and that belief shapes your understanding of your experience. What matters at the end of the day is what it all means for you personally (and that you're not actively and intentionally harming others). Other people have their own experiences and their own beliefs that shape their understanding of things, and to them your experience might sound "crazy" (whether saneism is a clear contributing factor or not). If it feels real and right and true to you, then hold on to that. Your path and your experience doesn't have to make sense to everyone, nor does it need everyone's approval. Like I said, I've recently been shaken up (which I think we admittedly do sometimes need to reassess our values/beliefs every so often), so it's a bit of a constant battle to really believe that deep down. But I know that is ultimately what I believe. I know what my experience is and I'm happy to share it with people on the off chance it resonates with them and we can connect over it. And if it doesn't, it doesn't. Sometimes it hurts, but if Loki has taught me anything it's that being true to who I am is the greatest thing I can do in this world that loves to change us into something we're not.
I am not always confident, and it's ok if you're not either. That doesn't mean your experience isn't real. The best we can do is work through the baggage and shadows getting in our way, follow our intuition, and be our truest selves. Whether this was helpful to you or not, I do sincerely wish for the best for you and I'm happy to chat anytime. <3
