We're all casual here.

These personal correspondences are taken from my own grimoire. I encourage anyone to make their own correspondences for anything, but I hope this provides at least some kind of insight or ideas. 

Numeral Major

The base numbers are 0-9, thus after 10 numbers will take on the properties of all of these numbers at the same time. The first number is like a leader, the main component of the meaning. The second number is a secondary trait in addition to or in compliment of the first. So on and so forth.

Self, center, ego, loneliness, selfishness, destruction, spirit, leadership, egotist, domineering

Unity, duality, emotion, relationship, romance, division

Family, togetherness, rivalry, happiness, expression, imbalance, obstacles, hurdles, scattered, unfinished

Order, authority, practical, management, dominated, brutality, authoritarian figure, power hungry

Social, horizon, vision, versatile, resourceful, religion, impatience, restless, lack of reason/logic/sense/knowledge

Intuition, passion, emotional, art, nurturing, sympathetic, unwanted attention, stolen love, lack of passion

Methodical, ability, independence, intelligence, studying, suspicious, hidden motives, lying, gullible, taken advantage of

Wisdom, surety, direction, good, judgement, decisive, stress, not thinking clearly, materialistic, impatient, oppression

Self, introspection, observation, selfless, creative, possessive, moody, careless, unwanted memories

0. Eternity, extremity, liminality, beyond, excessive, nothingness, less, death, as is, simplicity

A number in a secondary position gives the first number purpose. A third number gives it reasoning. A fourth gives it expression, and so on, a fifth gives it practical use, and so on. These meanings are the above expressions, minus one - where a second number in an expression give the first number purpose, as the number 1 expresses purpose. 

A number on it’s own simply is. _ is a single digit number that is (0). _ _ is a two digit number that gives more center and purpose (1). _ _ _ is a three digit number that gives reason and intuition (2), and so on. The number 64, for example, begins with (6) and is given orderly and managed purpose (4). 

Numeral Dice

D20

Each Number resides over an aspect and a duality of that aspect.

Odd-Active ; Even-Passive

Inspiration vs Ego ; Self

Mystery vs Duality ; Union

Creation vs Initiation ; Center

Authority vs Domination ; Emotion

Society vs Belief ; Reason

Passion vs Love ; Intuition

Will vs Leadership ; Ability

Surety vs Consequence ; Wisdom

Introspection vs Introversion ; Shadow

Renewal vs Cycle ; Change

Compassion vs Courage ; Energy

Sacrifice vs Balance ; Sense

Transmutation vs Ending ; Action

Restraint vs Mastery ; Comfort

Pleasure vs Counter-Culture ; Satisfaction

Destruction vs Violence ; Challenge

Courage vs Hope ; Choice

Anxiety vs Illusion ; Discernment

Expression vs Extroversion ; Influence

Absolution vs Rebirth ; Limitation

D4

Immediate relations; positive & negative; singular; what affects you directly; fate vs choice (wyrd & orlog)

singular, goal, negative, sorrow, self

plural, goal, positive, joy, others

plural, learning, growth, positive, self

singular, troubles, soul, spirit, negative, others

D6

Insight, advice, immediate actions, availability, who you affect

odds - negative - no ; even - positive - yes

The strength of yes/no can be added on by how many of an odd or even number there are, as well as by how large that number is. 6 is a very strong number and may outweigh 1, but 5 has a chance of being equal to 6 in terms of positive vs negative, yes vs no. 

Self, ego, emotion, drive

Calm, movement, strategize

Communication, struggles, attitude, hardship

Sensitivity, acquisition, habit, learning

Leadership, new, pathways, openings

Resolve, resolution, ending, change

D8

Fortune, social, immediate results, happenings

Perseverance, hindrance, new beginnings

Romance, love, emotion

Separation, casualty, leavings

Sensitivity understanding, wisdom

Gain, prosperity, money, fortune

End, transformation, resolve

Cleansing, protection, shielding

Infinite, loop, warning or blessing, continuation

D10

Pathway, journey, work

Success, pathways, opportunities

Entrepreneurship, partnership, stability

Take more initiative, stuck, room for growth

Aggression, troubling, circumstances

Gain, prosperity, opportunities, accomplish

Passions, expense, work, patience

Studying, patience, hard work

Impatient, stress, obstacles, obscurity, judgement

Introspection, careless, warning

Finality, ending change

D12

Relationship, romances, friendships, family, peers

Ego, self, positive light, balance, singularity

Emotions, romances, care, nurturing

Communication, peers, friends, play

Hardships, argumentative, troubles, brutality

Reason, logic, think, expression

Patience, frailty, tread carefully

Health, organization, wealth

Bonding, unity, intimacy

Negativity, lack of morals, standstill, travel

Ideals, public image, future goals

Society, social cause, open minded

This elder was burned alive because he was accused of being a “Witch Doctor “

He was actually a Traditional herbalist Trying to preserve the Maya Culture. The Governments and School System and churches in much of Latin America push this Narrative that it is Bad to be Indigenous that it was Satanic. This was Taught to the indigenous people so that they can chase the fantasy of being “ Latinos or Hispanics “ from the Colonizers. Hundreds of years of Mental Manipulation is to blame as well as a corrupt government.

People South of the Border are still being Murdered for there traditional and belief system. THIS IS EVIL!!

So I urge you to donate in support of our relative who was unjustly murdered out of ignorance.

***Warning: This is a very long post***

So I just sent in my application for a new apartment today, and I realized an hour before work that I never did any type of magick to make sure the application got approved! With basically no time left before I had to leave for work, I was panicking because my likelihood of being approved is pretty if-y. Then, it dawned on me: I could make a sigil. 

Today reminded me of how much I love sigils. They’re really one of the quickest and easiest types of magick, yet they yield some of the most incredible results if utilized effectively. I realized, though, that I don’t have a post about them anywhere on this blog! So here goes. 

What is a sigil? 

A sigil is essentially an energy that has been converted into a drawing. You begin with an intention (ie: “My application is approved”, “I receive a large sum of money this week”, “I am safe and protected”, etc.). Then, you use your subconscious mind to shape that intention into a symbol. The symbol can take on any shape, any size, any color, any complexity or simplicity. Once you have crafted the sigil, it contains the energy of your intention. It can then be carried, burned, inscribed, worn, or any number of other actions which allow the sigil to attract your desire to you. 

How does it work? 

Everything in the universe is energy, in all planes of existence. The lower you descend through these planes, though, the more dense this energy becomes. In our physical world, energy is so dense that it presents the illusion of matter, of physical substance. 

Your conscious mind operates in this physical world, where energy is very concrete. This part of you is rational, cognizant, and usually in control of your actions. This is the part of your mind that moves through the world on a day-to-day basis and allows you to function as a member of society. Because this part of your mind is so caught up in your physical existence, though, it isn’t really able to perceive metaphysical energy. It buys into the illusion of physical substance, of matter, and prevents you from completely connecting energetically with everything around you.

Your soul, on the other hand, is a part of you that operates in higher dimensions where energy is very fluid. It completely disregards the illusion of physical substance and recognizes that everything around you truly is just energy. This is the part of you that creates art, that can feel love, that crafts your intuition, and that can manipulate the energies of the world around you.

Your subconscious is a special part of you, though, because it exists somewhere in between, mediating between your conscious mind and your soul and linking the two together. Your subconscious mind is therefore able to translate your thoughts and intentions back and forth between matter and energy, allowing you - among many other things - to perform magick.

In the case of sigils, your conscious mind creates an intention. Let’s say, “I need a new apartment.” You then take that intention and translate it into the language of energy using any number of techniques that harness your creative subconscious. When the process is finished, you have a unique symbol which represents that intention and contains its unique essence. You have essentially ‘converted’ your desire into a magickal energy. 

How do I make a sigil? 

There actually is no right or wrong way to create a sigil. When you are sitting in class or at work, bored out of your mind, and you start to doodle in the corner of a piece of a paper - you are creating a sigil. Your subconscious is taking an energy that your soul perceives somewhere and is expressing it in the form of a drawing. The process is as natural to us as breathing, really. Because everyone’s mind is unique, though, it will take some trial and error to figure out which method works best for you. 

1) Some people enjoy a very raw method. 

This involves a lot of practice with meditative states of mind. Essentially, you begin by breaking out a pen and paper. Stare at the blank paper in front of you, and hold your intention in your mind. Mull it over in your head. Truly try to visualize yourself accomplishing this goal. Then, when you feel that the intention is secure in your mind, pick up the paper and just begin to draw. Create squiggles or broad strokes, straight lines or nonsensical swirls. Do not think about your actions: just allow the pen to glide across the paper wherever it wants to go. 

Eventually, you’ll reach a point where the drawing feels ‘complete’. Once you reach this point, put the pen down and examine the drawing. Study each individual part. See what pieces you like and what pieces feel a bit off. Then, pick the pen back up, and re-draw your sigil. This time, though, tweak it to be slightly more pleasing. Fix the details that feel off. Repeat this process of redrawing and refining it until the whole thing feels ‘right’. The final product is your sigil. 

2) Some people prefer a more structured method. 

With the previous method, you are essentially plucking the sigil straight out of your subconscious with no assistance. For some people (including myself) this method can be effective but VERY time-consuming. I also have ADHD, and so it can often be difficult to invent a sigil from scratch - especially if I’m under stress or pressure. 

Therefore, I personally prefer this structured method. I know I’ve heard of this before from some source or other, but I’m unsure who originally invented it. I do know, though, that it is discussed extensively in The Chaos Protocols by Gordon White, which is where I was recently reminded of it. That’s a phenomenal book, btw, if any of you are interested in exploring practical chaos magick. 

Basically, this method allows you to tap into your creative subconscious while still giving your conscious mind enough of a task to keep it preoccupied. 

Begin by writing out your intention. This should be a complete sentence written in the present tense and in active voice. I have a new apartment. Large sums of money come to me. I am safe and protected. 

After writing down a phrase you feel comfortable with, cross out all of the vowels. Then cross out all of the multiple copies of letters. You will use what is left - a string of consonants - to create your sigil.

Ex: (Intention) I AM SAFE AND PROTECTED

(Remove vowels) M SF ND PRTCTD

(Remove double consonants) M SF ND PRTC

The final string of consonants to be used is then: M S F N D P R T C 

Once you have your string of consonants, begin arranging them into different shapes. Feel free to invert them, flip them upside down, stretch and contort them, overlap them, or whatever feels right. For your first draft, just try to figure out where each of the letters goes relative to the others. Create a diagram where every letter is used. Don’t worry, this first draft won’t be pretty, and it won’t feel complete. Just try to make it satisfying to you in that every letter is where it should be. 

Then, in your second draft, redraw the sigil. Stylize it this time, however. Allow the concrete shape of the letters to fall away, and tweak the details to make it feel pleasing. If a line would feel better as a curve, change it. If this piece should be longer, change it. If this part would be better with three dots and an arrow above it, change it. Keep refining it with however many drafts it takes until the sigil feels ‘right’. 

3) Some people prefer something different altogether.

There are an infinite number of other ways to create sigils. These are just two of the most popular that I’ve encountered. Some other very notable mentions include: 

Using a Sigil Wheel - Create a circle that is subdivided into 26 sections; label each section with a letter. Then, create an intention phrase. Once you have your phrase, take a pen and place the tip on the section of your sigil wheel that corresponds with the first letter of your phrase. Then, trace a pattern across the wheel from letter to letter, following the order of letters in your intention phrase. The final assortment of lines serves as your sigil. 

Using Kamea - Kamea (defined very loosely) is a Middle Eastern type of planetary magick. Basically, the belief is that every planet in our solar system has a spirit - a consciousness - attached to it, which can be appealed to for specific blessings. A ‘kamea’ is a unique square grid of numbers that is specifically designed to tap into the energy of each planet’s consciousness. Using different methods, a sigil can be crafted by using the numbers on the kamea, allowing you to tap into the energy of that spirit for help. I’m unsure of the methodology, but I’ve also heard of kamea’s being created for specific elemental energies as well as deities. 

Using Runes and Bind Runes - I have not used this process myself because I haven’t worked extensively with Germanic and Nordic magickal systems. However, I do know that this is a very popular type of sigil magick, especially on tumblr. Runes are a type of language originating in Germanic and Nordic cultures several thousand years ago. They are one part literary system, one part magickal system. I don’t know the full mythology, but I know that in some beliefs, the runes were created by Odin after receiving inspiration from the source of all things. Each rune is a vastly complex magickal energy which represents an energy current in nature. These runes can be utilized individually or in conjunction with each other (known as a bind rune) for a plethora of purposes, including in sigil magick. 

How do I activate and use a sigil? 

The final important step in sigil creation is activation. Once you have translated your intention into a magickal symbol, you have to imbue it with a magickal charge so that it can begin attracting your intention to you. There are literally dozens and dozens of different ways to activate a sigil. Whichever one you use will depend on personal taste more than anything else. 

Meditating with the sigil and charging it with your energy the old-fashioned, chaos magick way

Leaving it out in the sunlight or moonlight 

Letting it sit near some plants

Imbuing it with crystal or herb energy

Passing the sigil through smoke

Focusing on the sigil during orgasm

Literally any other method you can think of - there is no wrong way. 

After the sigil has been activated, it is now charged and ready to do your bidding. This is where different schools of thought begin to break away from each other. No one can completely agree on the BEST way to use a sigil, so experiment, and see what works for you! 

Some people believe you have to burn/rip up/destroy the sigil after activating it, which will release its energy and allow your intention to manifest. 

Some people believe you have to hold onto the sigil and feed your energy into it until your intention manifests.

Some people believe you have to put the sigil somewhere that you can see it everyday, but in order for it to manifest, you have to wait until - one day - you forget what the sigil was even originally for. This belief suggests that, once you have forgotten the sigil’s purpose, its energy has left the piece of paper and is now actively manifesting in the real world. 

Like I said, see what works best for you, because there really is no wrong way to perform this kind of magick. Make it personal to you! Give it your own style. And have fun with it, because this is definitely one of the types of magick that really allows you to express your creativity. 

📎 Paper clips - Paper clips are made of steel, which is mostly iron, so it can be used as a substitute for iron or iron shavings. Cut one up and put it in a protection powder. Or, you can bend it into a shape (like a sigil) for a simple window protection spell. Paper clips are known for their elasticity and tension, making them great for change spells, friendship spells, or even curses. They can also connect certain things, or make chains. On a practical note, paper clips can be bent into mini candle holders.

💌 Tape - Tape can obviously be used for bindings. It can also be used for invisibility spells or glamors, if you cover a certain word or object with tape. Using tape on a poppet may help protection or healing, but only for a little while.

✏️ Pencils/Pens - These uses change based on color. However, all of them can be used as wands, or to amplify a spell. You may bless or enhance a pen by washing it with a soap or tea, or cleansing it in incense smoke.

📑  Staples - Also made of steel, staples can be used for wards and bindings. Any spell involving pain can include staples. When you staple, you instill pain; when you remove a staple, you heal. They can also connect certain things, and are good for knowledge or love spells. 

📌  Thumbtacks - These are great for protection jars, banishing spirits and, of course, curses. To see through certain situations, you may use a thumbtack to poke through a paper or bag, representing clarity. However, be aware that clarity obtained this way may not come pleasantly.

📝 Sticky notes - Sticky notes have more flexibility than regular paper, in that you can attach them. Use sticky notes for sigils on the go, or stick several sheets of sticky notes together in order to represent layers. If you would like to expand your knowledge, reveal a secret, or even divine, you can write on the top sticky note with a colored pen that matches the intent. Then place a drop of essential oil or moon water on the top note, and see what shapes it forms in the bottom notes.

✒️ Highlighters - Highlighters can be used similarly to pens. They also add extra light and glow to a design, which amplifies a spell’s power.

🔗 Rubber bands - You’ve probably used rubber bands before to wrap up baggies and such. In magic, they can represent tension, flexibility, binding, or releasing emotions. Stretch a rubber band between two poppets (or other symbols of people, like apples) to represent tension between two persons. In the same way, you can also use rubber bands for love, passion and lust spells.

✉️  Envelopes - Envelopes represent anything that encompasses, compresses, or confuses a person. Open envelops or write inside of them for inner clarity. Seal the envelope for anything you want to forget, trap, or hide. You can also use envelopes to hold herbs as a discreet form of witchcraft.

❌ Erasers - Obviously, erasers can help banish or hide things. They also work for invisibility spells, and release a ton of energy through friction. You may want to consider writing a sigil on an eraser, and then erasing it until the sigil wears off. 

✂️ Scissors - Scissors can act as a magical knife for those who do not yet have one. Scissors can disconnect and cut off regrets, guilt, persons or memories. Scissors can also be used to carve into candles.

📏 Rulers - If you’re into number magic, a ruler is the tool for you. Imagine drawing a symbol in the exact dimensions of a number that corresponds to your intent! 

A quick note: Please don’t send me asks relating to weather magic. It is an interest of mine but I am not comfortable teaching others yet. I’ll link some helpful blogs at the bottom!

To bring…..

Sun:

Sun invitation (in winter)

A spell for sunshine

Chants to bring the sun

Sunny day charm

Sunny weather travel spell

Springtime sun spell

Quick sun spell

Warmth:

Warm weather chant

Sun spell to bring warmer weather

Good weather spell

Spell for warmer weather

Rain:

Rain summoning spell

Rain summoning spell jar

Rain calling chant

Rain-bringing chant

To bring rain to a region

Heavy rain spell

Quick and easy rain spell

A summers rain

Cold:

Chant to bring cold weather

Cold weather spell

Snow:

A spell for snow

Chant to draw snow to you

Holiday ornament snow spell

A snow day incantation

Make it snow spell

Snow spell

Snow spell

Clouds and Fog:

Chants to bring fog + mist

Chant to bring clouds

Fog calling spell

Wind:

Wind charm

Chant to make it windy

Calling a strong wind

Whistling up a wind

A storm:

Thunderstorm spell

Long distance storm calling

“Song of storms” enchantment

Spell to bring up a storm

Storm calling incantation

Summon a storm spell

To raise a storm

To Banish:

Spell to weaken a hurricane

Anti-hurricane spell

Charm to seal up a storm

Spell to halt a storm

To lessen a storm

Protective storm ward

Spell to ward off rain

Stop the rain incantation

Untie the wind

“I’m tired of this heat” spell

Other:

A collection of spells + sigils

This post with even more spell links and resources for beginning weather magic

Some tips + Part two

Bedridden witch: Weather edition

Helpful blogs:

@rainy-day-witchcraft

@stormwaterwitch

One of the main industries still supporting lawns is chemical pest control companies, and they’re also responsible for the insecticides that crashed the bird populations in the 40s and 50s as well as a lot of what’s killing bees and butterflies now. The herbicides they produce specifically targets “bad” plants like dandelions, buttercups, and clovers, which are plants bees rely on for early spring feeding. Grass is just grass; it would be great for feeding small mammals if people would let it grow more than three inches, but they won’t.

Lawn tearing is a hugely involved project that has pressed my entire household to the limits of our disabilities, however.

For most people, the best choice is “overseeding.”

This is a technique wherein you acquire enough seed for the replacement ground cover to do the entire space 2-3 times, and seed the lawn area thoroughly enough that the grass simply cannot compete with the sheer number of other plants.

To learn about local ground covers and flower mixes for your area, try contacting the farmers associations and agricultural boards nearby. FFA and the 4H are both happy to provide this info.

To buy the seed in large quantities, be prepared to shop from a farm supply chain. While flowers will usually need to be purchased from a garden supplier, ground covers such as clover and rye are best bought from the fallow field or grazing pasture sections of farmer supplies. This will ensure you get the large quantities needed for over seeding at the lowest possible price.

White clover in particular is native to give swaths of the US and Canada (please check your local area though), and for lawn replacement over seeding, you want 10lbs of seed per acre.

If you have pulled your lawn, you can get away with 5 lbs per acre.

Mix in a local wild flower collection with your cover clover and you’ll have a flower field yard that is truly spectacular in short order.

If you’re not at risk of fines or eviction for having ground cover over 6 inches, then you can simply aerate your yard, throw down the flower seed, and let it go wild.

If you have the time and patience and energy, a more traditional lawn replacement- one more closely reassembling the neighbors lawn and garden rather than a wild lot - will be “xeriscape” areas made with local species. Xeriscape is a style of yard designed to use no irrigation, while still remaining pretty, alive, fertile and active. Most tea and culinary herbs grow very well in xeriscapes, but fruits and vegetables tend not to get enough water to produce well.

If you have a way of irrigating, such as large rain barrels or a cistern, a high water table, a stream spring or pond on your property, or just regular and thorough soaking rain interspersed with strong sunlight and sun exposure, a fruit and vegetable garden is very rewarding as well, but it will require constant maintenance that your xeriscape or flower field will not.

If you get Heritage flowers that will reseed themselves, the flower field will require effectively no maintenance after planting. A xeriscape should be touched up every season, or thoroughly pruned and maintained once a year.

An edible garden, however, is an often daily commitment.

The easiest place to start is local berries. Whatever berries grow (or grew) wild in your area. Berry bushes are extremely low maintenance, but when they fruit, you should try to pick the fruit relatively quickly. Otherwise it will draw ants, flies, and other unpleasantries to your yard and, if the bushes are near the house, into your home too.

The next lowest intensity plants would be fruit trees and fruit vines. Again, these need to be determined by your climate. In Florida, for example, oranges and passionfruit are great choices. In Pennsylvania, apples and grapes will do better.

Run the vines along the property fence if you have one, or trellis them up a sun-facing wall of your home.

Fruit trees need full sun exposure, and have very individual planting requirements based on the age, type and size of the tree. The store where you purchase the tree will provide you with detailed information.

As for more traditional vegetable garden content, all of it will be more work and commitment than the fruits listed through here, but the easiest place to start is with vining vegetables such as cucumber and squash. Leafy greens, tomatoes and tomatillas are also very beginner friendly!

However, greens grow best in the cooler, dimmer early spring and late fall seasons.

Onions and potatoes that went to sprout in your kitchen will grow easily, but getting a good harvest from them is more tricky, so leave that until your second year when you are more confident in your skills. That said, potato and onion flowers are quite pretty, so feel free to let them grow!

If you’re interested in a good reference book for designing and dealing with an eating garden as a yard replacement, Half Acre Homestead is a hugely valuable book.

For xeriscapes, because they vary so hugely by location, you’ll want to stick to local information sources : your local gardeners guild, the future farmers association, 4h, and the local agricultural oversight board. All of these people are hugely passionate about plants and the environment, and will be invaluable resources.

Additionally, they will know who has the best rotten hay and animal manure for mulching and composting.

Visiting natural history and art museum. Not only for the spirit work (museums are surprisingly rife with spirits) but also the reflection on the objects themselves that are imbued with death energy due to their age.

Kitchen witchcraft with fermentation. I’m talking both home starters/yeasts and drink based fermenting! The process of encouraging fermentation is literally a controlled necromancy if you think about it! Also your own fermented product will be excellent to use in spellwork!

Upcycle crafting! The process of reusing items in a new way that you already had or seeking out items to use instead of letting them become trash is also working with death energy!

Playing death related games or watching movies with friends and family. Death witchcraft tasks and energy work doesn’t have to look witchy! If you have a weekly or monthly hangout where you play tabletops like Betrayal at House on the Hill or even online games. Or watch documentaries or movies with loved ones that related that totally counts! Especially as a lower spoon option.

Drawing or photographing abandoned buildings/architecture. So often people forgot that the decay of manmade objects and places do hold death energy and weight. Tapping into this side of death witchcraft can be an interesting experience.

Visiting a 24 hour store or restaurant in the middle of the night. This is a personal experience of mine but that quiet low level liminal space energy is such a similar transitional energy as to help you grow your experience and sensing of death energy. Also walking through a store at 3am is a good time to practice a walking meditation or some simple spirit communication without too much trouble. Just have your headphones in for an excuse!

Learning to maintain your own compost! I’m hopeless with the green thumb side of things myself but I still have composting I do for my yard in general. My wildflowers and natural growth is lovely because of it! The cycle of your kitchen supplies life and decay is such a simple and deep way to access that death energy and maybe even work your way up to having that green thumb! Also using this compost in spellwork will pack a punch!

oh man i get lots of questions on this and the answer is that there are like, a few books on general botany, but from there it depends on what you’re interested in, and in my opinion half of the battle with that is 1. getting the basic knowledge of advanced-ish biology in general to have a basis for it (which many good into botany textbooks will provide in the opening chapters) and 2. knowing which search terms to use to find what you’re looking for. botany as a field is a lot more than just identifying plants; if you want to learn how to identify plants specifically, you want to go looking for plant systematics stuff, or alternatively, floras (more academic) or identification guides (more accessible), which will be different depending on your region!!

that being said, i know i’ve recommended this on here before, but by far the most accessible basic botany text i’ve ever read has to be Life Processes of Plants by Arthur W. Galston. because this one was produced as part of a set of natural history books by the scientific american library, it’s written in a pretty readable style, and although i don’t think it’s as comprehensive as what you would get from a Real Botany Textbook(tm) he does a good job of giving advanced-ish biology context when it’s needed, mostly while talking about molecular stuff, which is soooooo important to understanding ANYTHING about botany, trust me on this one. that being said, it doesn’t go into much detail about plant diversity at all, so again, not perfectly comprehensive, but you know.

(Also, side note about Arthur W. Galston; he was a botanist who was interested throughout his life primarily in how plants respond to light and chemicals. when he was a grad student, he did his thesis on a chemical called 2,3,5-triiodobenzoic acid and its effects on soybean flowering, and recorded and published how it seemed to defoliate the plants at a high enough concentration. this is a completely normal and reasonable thing to study and, quite literally, i cannot stress enough, is no different than the kind of thing botanists studying plant responses research today, because plants are surprisingly chemically complex organisms and it’s just kinda endless in that regard....except that while the Vietnam war came along and the British and US militaries were looking for ways to thin out the Vietnamese jungle, they decided to use his very specific plant research to make the infamous chemical agent orange, which knowingly decimated the environment in Vietnam and, as we now know, causes severe health problems in people who are exposed to it and continues to affect survivors today. not expecting his very specific soybean research to be used by the US military for committing like, you know, war crimes, and obviously finding it really goddamn vile in general, Galston then spent the rest of his life as a bioethicist in addition to being a botanist, and contributed heavily into putting agent orange out of use while he was a professor of botany at yale. the book jacket just gives a blurb saying he was a professor of botany at yale, which again is like, true, but holy shit dude.)

aside from Galston’s book, Raven’s Biology of Plants is a good more traditional textbook. lots of editions of this one, and i’ve seen multiple people swear by it. i got an old edition of this at a half priced bookstore when i was still in high school, and i remember being kind of annoyed that it kept going over exactly what i was concurrently learning in AP biology, which in retrospect is like...actually a very good thing to have going on, lmao. this one is pretty comprehensive and covers a wide range of topics.

the other one that deserves a mention is Asa Gray’s Manual of Botany. this one is VERY OLD and hasn’t had a new release in half a century or so if i remember correctly, but it’s notable because for a long time it was THE textbook of botany. like through the 1800s and half the 1900s. it’s definitely...antiquated compared to our modern understanding of botany, but you can see how things kind of started out, and more striking is seeing what hung on; mostly a lot of like, names for parts and types of flower arrangements and cell types and stuff. looking back through my copy, which was surprisingly easily obtained and is REALLY old to the point where it feels just a little sticky when you touch it (copyright page says 1887), a lot of the first few chapters aren’t too different then what i was taught this past semester in plant systematics in terms of naming basic plant anatomy stuff (petioles, racemes, stipules, carnivorous leaf shapes, types of leaf margins, basic cell types, stuff like that), which is interesting. definitely wouldn’t like, rely on it solely to do botany things today, but something to be noted. my uni’s library has a copy along with a lot of other stuff Asa Gray wrote, which were along the same lines depending on what they were written on.

How is our relationship right know?

How can I improve our relationship?

A message you got for me

Get a copy of the map of your area. Not a country map, a state map, or even a county map. Your area. You can print off a Google map if a commercial version isn't available.

Take the map with you everywhere you go. Make notes on it of things you notice - does one area feel different to you? Does a tree live among many dead ones? Do you see the same cat sitting on the same fence post at the same time every morning? Where do bees live? What crossroads catch your eye? Is there a cemetary?

Pentagram style ceiling hanger. Great way to charge moon water for spells.

⛄What is the Holiday Divine-A-Thon?

The Holiday Divine-A-Thon is a one of a kind charity divination marathon event that will be hosted by @nightshadeandroses on a private Discord server specifically for the event.

To gain access to the Discord server and participate in the event, you simply have to donate *any* amount to one of our selected charities and share a screenshot of the receipt with one of our Staff members.

Professional tarot readers, rune readers, astrologers, and more will be joining together to offer each donor one free reading with the option to purchase additional readings (including readings at discounted prices) once they have gained access to the server.

⛄When is the Holiday Divine-A-Thon?

December 14-15, 2019. If we get enough diviners in different timezones, we may even be able to go for a full 48 hours!

⛄I'm a professional diviner. How do I volunteer my services?

If you are a professional diviner and want to get involved, please DM me on tumblr with a bit of info about you, what types of readings you'd like to offer for the event, and any examples that you can share!

⛄Which charities will this event support?

Planned Parenthood

The Trevor Project

Panda Paws Rescue

A donation of $1 to one or more of these charities will grant you access to the server and one free reading!

If you have any questions for this event and would like to get involved, please DM me!

(6/7) gothic americana tarot spreads, inspired by this post 

Who is behind you?

1. ghost: advice from past  2. nature: advice from the earth 3. gods: advice from the gods or your inner self 4. ancestors: advice from your ancestors 5. savior: advice from the dead

appalachia | north east | midwestern | pacific northwest | southwestern | southern | deep south

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