Witch Stuff Goes Here

For any new heathens out there or those looking to get into heathenry: the Asatru Folk Assembly is an explicitly bigoted group. Racism sexism homophobia transphobia, you name the bigotry, they support it. Steer as clear of it and anyone who supports/follows it as possible. The same goes for the Odinic Rite, and many affiliated groups.

These two groups also have a code of ethics they developed called the Nine Noble Virtues. Anyone who pushes these ideas, especially the versions specifically created by these groups, is supporting white supremacy.

Having been pagan and polytheistic for about 7 years, I can attest to these tips’ efficiency:

Pinterest is your best friend when it comes to devotional art

But don’t ever trust a single line of information on there.

Casually call out or whisper a deity’s name when something makes you think of them, so you can invite them to witness it!

If someone asks too many questions and you don’t feel like “coming-out” as pagan, tell them you’re ~more spiritual than religious~ and they’ll act like they get it.

Write your own prayers who tf cares

Playlists playlists playlists

I’m serious, even the simplest stuff people would label as “aesthetic” works well when you’re on a busy schedule but you want to stay casually connected to your faith.

Even in secular US culture, we don’t truly acknowledge other things. Figures like Santa Claus and the tooth fairy are ultimately gimmicks to entertain kids with. Cryptids, ghosts, and UFOs are considered “paranormal,” and thus treated as speculative phenomena rather than things we could form relations with.

Yeah, Odin is said to only live from mead and everybody drinks mead in the myths, but Mead was simply a common drink in that time, especially since it was mixed with water to not get that drunk before the evening. You also do not nourish the gods with your libations.

De-Alcoholized stuff or Malt-beer is in my opinion the closest alternative, but Milk, Water, Juice are valid libations.

I consume a very small amount of alcohol on special occasions. For health reasons I am not able to drink like the rest of my friends and family. And guess what, the gods understand and don't force those offerings from me.

I have learned to love (and brew!) a good mead, and I quite enjoy ciders, but even so, part of their value to me is that they are a taste-based sensory cue to a more mindful headspace. I have rarely in my life consumed an entire serving of an evening.

Now, I don’t shame others for drinking in moderation if they enjoy it, of course - it not being to my personal taste is just that, personal. But respect for the substance and its powers in its own right is as important to me as respect for the ancestors, the landspirits, the plantwights and animalwights. I would no sooner waste the efforts of the bees and yeast than I would the efforts of the gods.

I collect honey varietals because I value the unique flavors of individual pollens and collections from distinct regions of wildflowers. A selection of different, rich honeys mixed as @queenofswords suggested above can be a worthy round of tastings in their own right, just as you might with wine!

But also, having the Gods in my everyday life means I share what I’m actually having, whatever that is. And yeah, sometimes that’s pouring out a sip of my Starbucks, dammit, because it’s me that’s sharing, and this IS my life.

IMHO there is no food you can’t reasonably share with the Vanir and Aesir. Anything that isn’t local or historical to Northern Europe is at the very least Njordh’s to ship where he pleases, or Odin’s to wander and trade for. Because really, we aren’t obliged to only do what the ancestors would have done back then. We are to look at what they would do today if the traditions had been continuous.

Seek not to follow in the footsteps of the ancients. Seek what they sought.

I'm rebuilding/reworking my own grimoire atm and, in poking around for inspiration here and there, I've seen a bit of a trend regarding indexes and tables of contents.

A lot of posts for Beginner Witches have looong lists of things you Absolutely Must(TM) include in your grimoire. These read almost like a super extensive syllabus that covers what seems like every topic under the sun, and are, quite frankly, completely unnecessary.

This is a friendly reminder that you don't have to include anything in your grimoire that you don't want to.

Not interested in astrology? No problem. Don't include it.

Don't work with herbs or crystals? Why spend time writing notes on them, then?

Don't celebrate Wiccan holidays? No need to include info on the Wheel of the Year.

etc etc.

Part of the reason why I never finished my last couple grimoires were the fact that I felt pressured to write extensive entries on things I wasn't interested in, or on things I already knew and thought redundant to include. I had dozens upon dozens of unfinished pages, and the knowledge that I was expected to write things on each of them filled me with such anxiety and dread that I just... stopped opening my notebook up altogether.

This time around, however, I'm taking a different approach to my grimoire. I have limited time and energy to commit to my craft, and I'd rather not spend it on shit I didn't really care about. In my new grimoire, I have not and never intend to include notes on the 'basics', or overviews of every pantheon and every deity, or summaries of the different types of witches or spells or what have you. I'm including only what I think is important to me.

Your grimoire is supposed to be your personal journal, documenting not only the things you've learned but the things you're actually interested in. That doesn't mean you shouldn't do research -- it's very important to expand your education, especially regarding different worldviews and outlooks to your own. But!!

Observe which plants grow in your area.

Find out which are native and which are introduced.

Observe when they flower, seed, and die off/go dormant.

Observe the weather patterns. When does it get warm? When does it get cold? When do you get the most rain? Etc.

Observe what kinds of bugs you have. Observe when they appear, mate, die off, etc.

Observe what kinds of birds you have. Observe which are migratory and which are not. Observe when the migratory birds appear and leave.

It's not a matter of if this kind of thing will happen, but when. Even if you're doing your very best to research reliable sources as exhaustively as you possibly can, you can be certain that somewhere along the way, you'll absorb something like this. No one is immune. This won't make you a bad person. It's not like you misinformed yourself on purpose, much less went out there with the intention of harming someone or misrepresenting their practices. It's not like the people giving you bad information told you "hey, guess what, I'm a hateful shithead and I'm lying to you." You just didn't know, that's all. Nobody can know everything, not even the most well-read scholars. While being wrong isn't good, it's also not a moral failing. What's important is that you acknowledge that you were wrong, and accept this as an opportunity to learn and grow. It's the most anyone can do, and if someone tries to make you feel bad about being wrong in the first place, don't listen to them. (Being right doesn't inherently make someone morally superior!)

I'm neurodivergent and i experience really intense burnout. I get to a point where I struggle to even get out of bed, take my meds, remember to drink water, let alone practice. But, when I want to practice i have a list of things i can usually do. Everyone's experiences with burn out/low energy are different so this list may not apply to you, and that's okay. Take what resonates, leave what doesn't and i hope you enjoy my silly little list :)

create a playlist and infuse it with an intention. eg, a money spell playlist filled with songs about wealth.

draw sigils with soap when in the shower. (you can also use a wet wipe if you can't shower)

found some juice? give it a little shake and use the ingredients as a spell.

have food that has grains as ingredients? wow! an abundance spell!

the classic add intention to your tea and coffee.

bind your hair. for me with is as simple as putting my hair in a ponytail.

watch a witchy video. while not technically practising witchcraft, sometimes all you need is to sit back and relax to connect with your practice.

when I have a decent amount of energy I'll grab a large pillar candle and carve sigils into it. I use it as a long-term spell; all I have to do to activate it is light the candle. I like to light one of these spell candles when I'm having a bad day.

if you're religious, pray. Even if you're lying in bed. Even if you haven't showered in a week. If it makes you happy and you can, do it

burn some insence! it smells good, you don't have to really worry about forgetting about it, it's good for cleansing. it's great!

take a nap with some crystals. any restorative crystals or calming crystals work great! just make sure that they aren't geodes or roughs. i'd hate for you to hurt yourself while sleeping.

if you don't have any crystals for your nap, set an intention instead. please let yourself rest.

Charge the water in my watter bottle (sun water for my daytime water & moon water for my bedside glass. You can also use minerals to charge it or use distilled rainwater)

Put intentions into tea or make tea potions (if I need an extra focus boost bc #/adhd I’ll put a bit of basil & lemon into some tea or have basil lemonade. Then stir it clockwise while thinking of your intention)

Write sigils on your schoolwork (for focus maybe. I wrote one on my math note package that meant “I understand math”)

Put glamour sigils on makeup (esp good if you have a femininity sigil for trans women or a glamour sigil/spell. You can write it on the back of makeup or carve it in. If you carve it in eyeshadow: the sigil loses its charge once you work the makeup until it’s been ground away. In Lipstick: carve it on the side & once you use the lipstick past the base of the sigil, it has lost its power & you need to make a new one. You can also do this with soap!)

Sew sigils onto your clothes (sew a masculinity sigil onto your binder, or one for good health & breathing)

Hold minerals in your bra/binder (I’m heavy chested so I can hold them in my binder but if you’re small chested you can only hold them in your bra once you take off your binder for the day. They can encourage health, fertility, masculinity, whatever)

Write the names of saints into sigils to ask them to intercede for you (If you are like me & you get travel anxiety, write “saint christopher” into a sigil & charge it with safe travels. St Christopher will help charge that sigil & he will always be present with you when you bring your sigil on your travels. If you’re trans, gnc, or any queer subtype, you can write st joan of arc into a sigil & charge it with intentions she can help with. St Dymphnea I think is how you spell it but yeah st dmphnia is the patron saint of mental illness if you want her help with that. (edit: also patron for victims of !nc*st, anxiety, & sleep issues I think. Spelled dymphna?) St michael the archangel can help you fight your battles (spiritual or otherwise), st kateri tekakwitha is the patron saint of north american indigenous ppl & ecology… you can find a ton of patron saints)

Say grace before (& after) eating (this can be a prayer or you can bless your food. If you’re not christian like me & you don’t have any other deities then you can thank the universe maybe, or thank the food itself. You might also offer to share it with a deity if you’re a hellenist & not with a cthonic deity)

Meditate on your walk (I have adhd so I like to do a walking meditation. It’s much better than a sitting meditation. You can meditate on/about the walk, or you can meditate while walking)

When you say “thank god” you should mean it (I was walking the other day & didn’t know there were stairs. I somehow didn’t fall. Some ppl would say “thank god” but I actually made the sign of the cross & thanked him/them)

Bless your medication (you can do this every time you take it/every day or you can do it when you get your prescription filled. You can also charge it.)

EDIT: I JUST FOUND OUT YOU CAN ADD INTENTION TO BRUSHING YOUR TEETH AS A SPELL/RITUAL???????