Volatile

So I finally finished this. 

One of my favourite Rowaelin moments in Queen of Shadows. These two warm my heart so much. 

Aelin, Feyre and Bryce - TOG, ACOTAR and CC

I had a late night thought about how fandom has idealised some characters to the point where they are so far removed from the actual book they might as well be a completely different character. To me, Aelin is one of them.

This idea turned into a sketch that turned into two... and it will probably turn into more so stay tuned 💕

Characters inspired by Aelin and Rowan from Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas.

𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘮…

𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐝𝐬 𝐝𝐚𝐦𝐧 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐠𝐨𝐰𝐧.

🎨: @spearthymint

Commissioned by me

books I’ve read in 2024 📖 no. 028

A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L. Jensen

Cover illustration I did of Danielle L. Jensen's upcoming book 'A Fate Inked in Blood', for Del Rey

I'm a simple artist, you hire me to draw a beautiful woman with long flowing hair, and I'm happy as can be! I had lots of fun working on this! 😊

The Morrígan

Celtic goddess of war, fate, the cycle of life and death, rebirth, sovereignty, wisdom, prophecy, destruction, bloodshed, fertility, and fresh waters

The Morrígan (also called Morrigu) has her name translate from Irish as ‘Great Queen’. This name is a key to her nature, showing that sovereignty and queenship are core aspects of her identity and power. Though some scholars have given the name an alternate etymology, translating it as ‘Phantom Queen’. As one of the Celtic sovereignty Goddesses, The Morrígan has an association with the land itself, and the rulership and protection of the land and its people. A recent belief has risen from Wicca claiming that The Morrígan is a triple goddess, but this is not so and is inaccurate to her myths. The Morrígan has several goddesses who work alongside her, but none represent the stages of one’s life, and Morrigan only appears elderly when she is presenting herself as a death omen to warriors.

The Morrígan is deeply associated in her source lore with incitement of heroes toward glory in battle, with the granting of victory, and with their deaths; in her own words, she says to the great hero Cú Chulainn, “I am guarding your death”. In battle, she takes part in the action primarily through the use of sorcery, Druidic magic, shapeshifting, terrorizing the enemy, and giving aid and strategic information to her people. She shapeshifts into many forms in her tales, including crows, ravens, cows, wolves, and eels. The Morrígan also appears as a sexual figure, offering victory and prophetic aid to her chosen war-leader. She also fulfills important roles with regard to poetry and prophecy, giving poetic incitements to the heroes of the Tuatha Dé Danann to rise to their hour of need, giving prophetic pronouncements of victory or of doom on the eve of decisive battles, and announcing the victories and the tales of great deeds afterward. She was also believed to hold the power over life and death, being able to revive fallen warriors in order to allow them to fight again.

The Morrígan is part of a group of goddesses who share similar roles: Badb Catha- the Battle Crow of destruction, Némain- frenzy and terror, and Macha- the land, fertility, protection (it is theorized that Féa was included as well). It is said that The Morrígan was so terrifying in battle, that her shrieking war-cries could frighten her enemies to death. Though despite her bloodlust and terror, The Morrígan is also deeply protective and strives to teach her followers courage, independence, and enlightenment. She is passionately heroic and never backs down, causing her to seem utterly fearless in any challenge.

In my experiences with this goddess, she is very queen-like, elegant, cunning, sarcastic, and intense. She has a deep strong energy that is also sensual and her warm, shadowy presence embraces everything around her. The Morrígan speaks in a low but sometimes commanding voice that can be intimidating to some, but she means well and is immensely wise and compassionate. Though she wishes to guide her followers to their highest potential to show them their strength, she will not hold your hand since she expects independence. Although she can be more gentle depending on what each devotee needs. She is a mysterious and fiery mother who defends all who are in need, though her wrath is not to be taken lightly. Though when at peace, Morrigan enjoys wandering the forests while lost in thought, often wearing a black dress. Appearance-wise, she has come to me in the form of a woman in her early thirties with very long black hair, piercing eyes, pronounced cheekbones, and wears either dark armour or dark clothing with raven feathers attached at her shoulders. 

| Symbolism of The Morrígan |

Crows/Ravens

Cows

Wolves

Horses

Eels

Vultures

Swords

Shields

| Some of her epithets |

The Great Queen

The Phantom Queen

The Washer at the Ford

Lady of the Waters

She Who Calls to Battle

Raven Queen

Far-Seeing Sorceress 

Bringer of Courage

Protectress 

She Who Makes Armies Tremble

Forteller of Doom

Foremost in Battle

| Offerings |

The thing is, we change. We are not the same person we were five years ago. Hel, a lot of us are not even the same people we were last week. We change, and our beliefs, favourites, thoughts and the way we see ourselves changes with it. 

The same is true for our witchraft, religion and spiritual beliefs. This is why I have a list of question that I like to answer for myself every couple of years. I first started this when I came across a list of questions by Juniper from Walking the Hedge (site no longer in use) in 2008, yes, over ten years ago. Every few years I filled in the questions and looked back at the answers I gave before. Some never changed, some changed quite a lot. 

When our coven started a new lesson plan, I gave out the list of questions as well. We sealed our answers in envelopes and plan to fill them in again, once we finish our lessons. Then open the envelopes and look at the answers side by side. To see how we have changed. 

I looked at the list last week and found it actually lacking a bit. The questions were very deity- and spiritual based, so I was missing some more questions about my personality and witchcraft. So I decided to make my own list of questions! 

Since I wanted to make this more a weekly journaling/grimoire prompt for myself I put together 52 questions. These can be answered weekly (maybe every year) or you can work through the list in one go and repeat that every few years or so. 

Some notes on the wording: I consider myself both a witch and a pagan, but to keep it easier to read I only used wording like “witch” and “witchcraft”, they can however be substituted for “pagan”, “paganism” or even “my path”, should that fit you better. When I talk about “sacred space” this can both mean a ritual space like a temple or casting of a circle, but also just your home or outdoors witchy environment.

I’d love it if you would tag anything you feel comfortable with posting online with the tag #writeyourwitchcraft!

What draws me to witchcraft?

How do I see the divine?

What in witchcraft makes me happy?

Do I want to follow a path that has to do with a little nature, or a lot of nature?

What areas of witchcraft would I like to learn more about?

Where do my witchy talents lie?

What kind of deities, if any, do I want to honor?

How do I believe magic works?

Simple or elaborate spells/rituals? Why?

What are my views on cursing/hexing?

Do I want to practice something similar to my ancestors?

What are the basic morals and ethics I feel I should live by?

What in nature am I drawn to; the ocean, animals, the trees, etc?

Which (witchy) holidays, if any, would I like to celebrate and how?

How do I believe divination works?

Would I like to work with a group some of the time, all of the time or not at all?

Which aspects of witchcraft appeal to me most, which the least?

What do I believe happens to us when we die?

How do I see mythological creatures?

When do I feel most magical?

How much is witchcraft woven into my daily life; is this too much, too little or just enough?

What kind of witch do I feel I am?

Which texts/quotes best describe my current path?

Do I like research and gathering info, or do I like things handed to me?

Which things about witchcraft worry or scare me?

What is my favourite element?

How do I see gender (roles) in witchcraft?

Am I interested more in magic, or spirituality?

Do I like to be told how to do things, or would I rather figure it out on my own?

What rules, if any, do I live by when it comes to witchcraft and magic?

What do I gain from witchcraft and magic?

Formal or informal rituals/spells? Why?

What subject do I love to study?

What is my favourite type of magic; candle, sympathetic, sigils, etc?

What would my perfect witchy day be like?

Would I want to be dedicated/initiated?

Who do I honor (ex: deities, ancestors, myself, etc), and how do I, or would I like to, honor them?

How do I create a sacred/witchy space?

What do I believe is needed for a succesful spell/ritual?

Which cultures do I draw from in my witchcraft?

What is my learning style; books, websites, videos, more hands-on?

What, if anything, in my mundane life influences my witchcraft?

What are my hobbys, how do I (or can I) incorporate them in my witchcraft?

Where do my non-witchy talents lie, how do I (or can I) incorporate them in my witchcraft?

What would my dream witchy life look like? What steps can I take to work towards it?

What would my dream sacred space/witchy home look like? What steps can I take to work towards it?

What symbols correspond with me; runes, animals, flowers, gemstones, etc?

Am I an open and proud witch, or do I (need to) hide my craft?

What are my favourite witchy items/tools; divination tool, ritual tool, décor, clothing, etc?

What is holding me back in my craft?

What is my pre-spell/ritual routine?

Sigil: “Through stress and struggle, I am rewarded with wisdom.”

“My efforts bring me happiness and security.” A sigil requested by one of our followers.

For an introduction to creating an activating sigils, visit our DIY guide here: http://sigildaily.com/activating-rituals/

Daemonism is the act of cultivating your subconscious, or subsets of your subconscious voice in to a mental characterization by assigning it a name, and form. Dæmons are connected to, and are like imaginary friends, but that represents the hidden, and suppress parts of you. They are not separate from you, but are simply another part of you that is hidden, but now is allowed to express itself through a certain persona. Dæmons act as mental companions, friends, the voice of reason, and the devil’s advocate in your mind, and can play a very important part in your life. Somebody that has a dæmon, and practices daemonism is referred to as a dæmian.

The word dæmon comes from the Greek word “daimon” meaning spirit, divinity, god. or supernatural being. When we are using the word dæmon in daemonism we are not referring to spirits, or hellborn demons, and are much rather talking about the concept of dæmons as they appear in daemonism. In order for the word dæmon not to be confused with the other form of the word demon, the word dæmon will usually be pronounced as “Day-mon”. The reason that they are call dæmons in daemonism is, because of dæmianism’s connection to the series His Dark Materials, and is sort of a tribute to the concepts seen in it. His Dark Materials was a trilogy of fantasy novels, and a movie in which daemons were literally physical manifestations of a person’s soul in animal form. This helped to popularize the practice, and the terminology of daemonism. This practice is also connected to the work of psychologist Carl Jung who thought we could learn a lot from listening to our inner voice of our subconscious. He gave us the concept of the “shadow” or “shadow aspect” which were suppressed aspects that everyone possess. Another thing that he gave was the concept of the animus, and the anima. The animus being the hidden masculine part of us, and anima being the hidden feminine part of us.

You will usually choose to have a dæmon, and from that then you can go looking for your subconscious side to unlock it, and give it a name, and a form, so that you can make it your dæmon. Dæmons can also be brought up because of stressful times, and that starting process can begin your journey into dæmianism. The dæmon is a piece of your inner voice, and exist only within your mind. It will first start out as just that little voice that shows up from time to time, but as you acknowledge it and give it its own personality, name, and form, it will eventually become something much greater. It will be an aspect of your subconscious, that is usually hidden from you that you will get to learn more about because of your personification of it. Imaginary friends a lot of the time are also considered to be dæmons, and are usually the first experiences a lot of people have with their daemon. Daemon’s are always with their dæmians, and can never be separated from them, because they are a piece of their subconscious. Dæmians will usually only have one dæmon, though multiples have been reported at times. The dæmon most of the time will take an animal form. It is said this is done because it is usually easier to connect to an animal as a companion than another human, and the animal form will usually symbolize something, that can tell you alot about the daemian, their personality, and the hidden side of them. This is because it is connected to your subconscious, and it will take the form of that best symbolizes the hidden form of yourself based on your knowledge, and experiences.

Once you start working with the dæmon, the demon will eventually reach what is called a settled form, and will have all of its attributes, personality traits, gender, name, and other traits pretty locked into place, if their daemian it’s fixed into their adult personality. This is because the subconscious, and suppressed parts of a child’s experience are a lot more likely to change then an adults, but changes do sometimes occur in certain circumstances. Usually between the ages of 13, and 20 is the time when your demon will be more settled in a specific form rather than the unchanging, and unpredictableness of the younger children’s dæmon. Big life changing events can usually switch the form of the dæmon, and may even change its personality, but these events have to be very impactful, and significant.It has also been noticed that a dæmon will usually have the different, or opposite gender than their dæmian. Dæmians with dæmon that are the same gender are in the minority. Dæmon, and their dæmians also usually have personalities that work well together, and are not too different, and are not exactly the same. Your demon does not automatically start with a name, but it can be given one by you or it will tell you something that fits it from your subconscience. The demon will always have choice in the naming and it will usually come out to something that is pretty unique, and personal.  This name can also be use in order to separate your voice from their voice, by referring to their voice as the name.