thar be witches afoot

This is what originally turned me away from Wicca (among other reasons). So many books, blogs, and other resources seem to have so much built-in misogyny that it boggles my mind.

It's part of why I hate the invention of the "Mother-Maiden-Crone" archetype so much.

No, Hekate is not MMC. She is a powerful force of sorcery and liminality. No, the Morrigan is not MMC. She is a Goddess of bloodshed, mercy, and power.

Reducing such multi-faceted entities, such influential spirits, down to the box that patriarchal systems tried to fit them in is so disrespectful.

Freya, Frigg, Aphrodite, Hekate, Athena, etc. Do many Goddesses have aspects of fertility, nurturing, parenthood? Yeah, they do, just like Zeus, Ares, and Njordr. Is that all they are? Is that even the core of what they influence? Not always.

very gentle yoga

you feel like shit (a self care guide)

disability accessible recipes

tips for baking with brain fog

stretches made more physically accessible

adjust your posture

the nine delights

different ways to rest

in-depth self care assessment

what to do when you've had a bad day

gentle ways to get back on track

how to feel your feelings

Steller's Jay

Of course we're modern educated people who don't believe in fairies

“Before I consent to your wish, I shall require three things - a dress as golden as the sun, another as silvery as the moon, and a third as glittering as the stars; and besides this, I shall require a mantle made of a thousand skins of rough fur sewn together, and every animal in the kingdom must give a piece of his skin toward it.”

[…] In the night, when every one slept, she rose and took from her jewel-case a gold ring, a gold spinning-wheel, and a golden hook. The three dresses of the sun, moon, and stars she folded in so small a parcel that they were placed in a walnut shell; then she put on the fur mantle, stained her face and hands black with walnut-juice, and committing herself to the care of Heaven, she left her home.

- The Princess in Disguise

—–

Intent: To protect and disguise oneself from those who mean to harm you.

Materials:

Empty walnut shell, in halves

A piece of your own hair or a nail clipping

Small patchwork cloth bag

Glue & rubber band

Herbs: Dogbane, Hyssop, Basil, Heather, Juniper Berries, Poppy Seeds

Ideal Timing: Full Moon, for protection, but can be performed anytime.

Obtain an empty walnut shell. You can use the shells off of the whole bagged walnuts that most grocery stores carry in the produce section. Try to crack the walnut so that the shell comes away in two halves. This makes reassembling it for the charm much easier.

Mix the following herbs together in small pinches:

Dogbane - for disguise

Hyssop - for warding off harm

Basil - for general protection

Heather Blossom - for warding off assault

Juniper Berries - for secret-keeping

Poppy Seeds - for invisibility

Carefully stuff the herb mixture into the two empty halves of the walnut. Use little dots of glue to help the herbs stay in place. At the very last, add a strand of your hair or a nail clipping. Line the edges of the shell with glue and carefully fit them back together. Wrap them with the rubber band to keep everything in place until the glue dries.

Once the charm is dry, place it in a patchwork cloth bag. You can purchase one or make it yourself. It only has to be large enough to hold the walnut.

Hold the bag between your palms and say:

I garb myself in many skins To keep harm out and safety in I place the truth within this shell Now guard my life and guard it well

You can either carry the bag with you whenever you feel you need protection, or you can hide the bag in a wooden box if one is available.

- From The Sisters Grimmoire: Spells and Charms for Your Happily Ever After, © 2017 Bree NicGarran

Want more fairy tale spells? Check out the masterpost here and visit my shop for spell kits, books, magical powders, and more!

dublin city university has asynchronous courses that run regularly on futurelearn, starting with irish 101 and going up to 208 (you might have to wait a little while for 101 to come around again because they don't all run simultaneously). they're a pretty good intro with more grammar explanations, written exercises, etc. my biggest issue with them was motivating myself to actually put the time in, because i found it tough to get through all the course in the amount of time i had available to give to them, but they're probably the best free online resource i know of, especially because they do have people there to answer questions and explain grammar

there are also various online courses on zoom etc but those tend to cost money. i do think after a certain point it's worth trying to get in an actual class (in person or online) for the conversation practice if nothing else, but something like the futurelearn courses is a good stepping stone to get going

The book series Gaeilge gan stró is also a great resource to work through at your own pace and comes with CDs of audio exercises. (though one copy I got from the library had some scratches so I missed out on a few of those exercises)

while we're on the subject of podcasts/audio learning, here's raidió fáilte's "foghlaim" playlist, which includes the audio for the buntus cainte course (but ulster irish rather than the one you'd typically get on the CD with it)

also here's a site with the "irish on your own" / now you're talking course from the 1990s. this starts from first steps.