Agathis Felis

By which I mean, asks used to be WAY more of the tumblr economy. They used to be more common to send, and receive, and see. They were integral to the collaborative, forum-like behavior of old tumblr communities, not even to speak on the HUGE number of ask-blogs that used to exist to only be interacted with in ask-form.

Working on a long infusion tea blend for inflammation. Pictured: goldenrod, blackberry leaf, selfheal, american plantain, yarrow and wood nettle.

Goldenrod = stiffness support

Blackberry leaf = tissue-toning support

Selfheal = restorative, cooling support

Plantain = soothing and balancing

Yarrow = circulation and stiffness

Wood nettle = nourishing, mineral-rich foundation

Still very much in an experimental stage—first cuppa was definitely bitter and medicinal. Not at the point of posting a recipe until I see if it does anything. We’ll give it a week or two.

that way we know we’re from tumblr without revealing anything

I’m just going to say this to strangers until i find a tumblr person

must keep reblogering!! Im going to be so suspicious if any one tells me this now!

Remember the answer is: I stole them from the president.

Since I don't have an altar anymore I decided the best way to keep my tools around me was to make a witch box!

I bought a cheap wooden box from a craft store and varnished it, then cut up an old sweater for the pocket.

It holds like a suitcase so I can easily transport it :)

I keep in it a fire safe dish(important), a pair of charcoal tongs (is that what they're called?), candles, pens, lighter, spoon, key, and I need to add scissors to the collection (arguably one of the most important witchy tools ever), twine, paper, my divination tools, bell, crystal shards, and eGG CARTONS.

So now I can witch in any part of my house :) even outside thoidhavetogetovertheanxietytowitchoutsidefirsthaha

Oh no! Lmao this is difficult 😂

So...I'm kinda old. The books and primers I began with, the ones that are my favorites? They're old. And I haven't read a starter 101 book in a very long time.

These are a few I feel sort of comfortable tossing out, but you'll have to keep in mind that several of them are quite old, with out of date history, or other issues. However, if you're looking for books on how to begin practicing:

Paul Huson - Mastering Witchcraft

Doreen Valiente - Witchcraft for Tomorrow, Where Witchcraft Lives

Roger J. Horne - Folk Witchcraft, A Broom at Midnight

Aidan Wachter - Six Ways, Weaving Fate

Jason Miller - Real Sorcery, The Elements of Spellcrafting, Consorting with Spirits

Draja Mickaharic - A Century of Spells, Spiritual Cleansing

And these are just a few books on Witchcraft, there are so many out there now. Good books, bad books... but if you can walk away from a book with some new useful piece of tech, then I call it a win. And things are going to change over time as you find something to really dig into and get invested in. For example, if I were to list some of the books that have completely shaped my practice, it would go something like this:

Tain Bo Cuailgne (The Cattle Raid of Cooley)

Cath Maige Tuired (Battle of Magh Tuireadh)

Dindsenchas (Lore of Places)

Labor Gabala Erenn

Traces of the Elder Faiths of Ireland - W. G. Wood Martin

Carmina Gadelica - Alexander Carmichael

The Denham Tracts - Michael Aislabie Denham

The Fairy Tradition in Britain - Lewis Spence

Visions and Beliefs in the West of Ireland - Lady Augusta Gregory

Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland - Lady Wilde

Gaelic Incantations, Charms, and Blessings of the Hebrides - William MacKenzie

Irish Witchcraft & Demonology - John D. Seymour

The Darker Superstitions of Scotland - Graham Dalyell

Folklore of Scottish Lochs & Springs - James M. MacKinlay

The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns, and Fairies - Robert Kirk

The Fairy Faith in Celtic Countries - Walter Evans-Wentz

Celtic Curses - Bernard Mees

Celtic Cosmology - Jacqueline Borsje

The Celtic Evil Eye and Related Mythological Motifs in Medieval Ireland - Jacqueline Borsje

Elf Queens and Holy Friars - Richard Firth Green

Elves in Anglo Saxon England - Alaric Hall

Cunningfolk and Familiar Spirits - Emma Wilby

Scottish Fairy Belief - Lizanne Henderson

Visions of Isobel Gowdie - Emma Wilby

Between the Living and the Dead - Eva Pocs

Fairies, Demons, & Nature Spirits: Small Gods at the Margins of Christendom - Michael T. Ostling

The Sacred Isle: Belief and Religion in Pre-Christian Ireland - Daithi O Hogain

Irish Superstitions - Daithi O Hogain

Healing Threads - Mary Beith

The Festival of Lughnasa - Máire MacNeill

Locating Irish Folklore - Diarmuid O Giollain

A Handbook of Irish Folklore - Sean O Suilleabhain

The Silver Bough - F. Maire McNeill

New Perspectives on Irish Folklore - Estudios Irlandeses

Myth, Legend, & Romance - Daithi O Hogain

The Festival of Brigit - Séamas Ó Catháin

The Encyclopedia of Psychoative Plants - Christian Rätsch

The Encyclopedia of Aphrodisiacs - Christian Rätsch

The Witch's Garden - Harold A. Hansen

Medicinal Plants of the Pacific West - Michael Moore

Medicinal Plants of the Desert and Canyon West - Michael Moore

Pharmako/Poeia, Pharmako/Dynamis, Pharmako/Gnosis - Dale Pendell

Magical and Ritual Use of Herbs - Richard Alan Miller

The Witching Herbs - Harold Roth

... and that's not even close to comprehensive. I've read more shit than I will ever remember. And that's not counting the years I've clocked on Google Scholar, duchas.ie, academia.edu, jstor.com, the Palgrave Witchcraft & Magic series, etc etc...

But you'll notice that most of these books aren't specifically about witchcraft. In fact, most of them are folklore and superstitions, but they contain a wealth of information when it comes to magic and witchcraft, as well as building your own seasonal ritual cycle.

I'm obsessed with gardening systems that utilize rainwater without the use of barrels or cisterns. My ultimate fav is using bioswales to catch and filter stormwater on the street.

Fun addition: Dams that utilize trees to catch dirt/ stop erosion, and prevent disaster that can come from broken dams.

SUSTAINABLE URBAN DRAINAGE! SUDS!

We need more of them, in the right places!

Also, using these to reduce stormwater loads in storm events, particularly in places with combined stormwater and sewage systems, could/would be helpful at reducing river discharges of raw sewage. (If climate change is factored in at system level cos more rain in less time needs to be accouted for at rhe large scale designs...)

Getting to work on garbling and putting up the St. John’s Eve harvest. Pictured: clustered mountain mint.

i was asked to detail my process in crafting a witch bottle, commonly referred to as a baneful ward in some witchcraft spaces - while i will not be divulging my personally chosen ingredients, i will give you the basic rundown.

as a primer, check out my protection and warding masterpost.

witch bottles typically involve two vessels - one to hold taglocks that represent a target, aka, the things or people you want to protect (you, your pets, your family, your belongings, etc.) plus benefic ingredients, and another to hold baneful ingredients that act as a barrier of protection surrounding the target/s. think of the outer jar acting as a shield for the smaller jar (you know, the one that represents the things you hold dear). the easiest (and safest) way to do this is probably with glass jars which are more durable than plastic, cardboard, paper, or cloth especially if your baneful ingredients contain sharp objects - place a small jar affixed to the inside of the large jar either with hot glue or glue dots. add personal taglocks to the small jar and seal it with wax. add baneful ingredients to the large jar - set a black candle on the top of it to melt down and hopefully seal the entire jar but if that doesn't work then just drip wax on and around the lid.