Skyler

tell the cops nothing

tell the paramedics everything

Metawork Terminology Series: [ Energy Work ] [ Astral Work ]

These definitions are not put forward as the only possible meanings, they are simply based on my own experiences and personal definitions. Like my other two posts, there are no citations because these definitions are based on my own experiences and may or may not describe the experiences of others.

BASIC SPIRIT TYPES & CLASSES

Spirit - An organized cluster of energy with at least some level of sentience that has an energy body and in most cases also an astral body. Spirits generally do not inhabit physical bodies unless they are possessing an entity with a physical body, are attached to a vessel, or are reborn as a spirit incarnate.

Vessel - A physical container that helps a spirit manifest on the physical plane.

Spirit incarnate - Any living being with a physical body (usually a human being) whose energy and astral bodies would be classified as a non-human spirit. This most frequently occurs as the result of a non-human spirit being reincarnated as a human, which is how the spirit became incarnated in a physical body.

Spirit species - A variety of spirits who all share many common traits in their general appearance, energy signatures, and other features. Spirits of the same species will generally be able to produce offspring that carry most of the same traits as their parent(s).

Class of spirit species - A broad grouping of many spirit species that are interrelated in terms of their energies and morphological features. They may also possibly share cultural, linguistic, political, regional, and other commonalities.

Deities - A class of spirits who are powerful beyond the scope of most other spirits and who have control over forces in a specific area or the entire universe on a macro scale. (friendly reminder: these are all my personal definitions, not universal ones)

Nature spirits - A very broad class of spirit species that relate to the forces of nature. I consider plant spirits, tree spirits, fae spirits, land spirits, and many elemental spirits to all be types of nature spirits.

Fae (faeries) - The faefolk are a sub-class of nature spirits. The many different fae species have a wide diversity of outward appearances, but they are all distinguishable by the common aspects of their energy signatures that every fae species shares. Fae energy is a specific combination of nature and pure magic energy. Some live on Earth’s physical plane while others reside in any of the many different fae realms across numerous astral planes.

Land spirits - A sub-class of nature spirits who are very closely associated with a certain territory and primarily live to protect that land.

Night spirits - A class of spirit species that are aligned with the nighttime. They are often classed as “demons,” but many are actually just various species of nature spirits. Usually but not always quite dangerous.

Parasite - A class of spirit species who are energy feeders and prey on certain entities as their hosts. Often warded and protected against.

Human spirits (ghosts) - The deceased spirit of a human being. All human spirits are a part of one single spirit species.

Ancestral spirits - A class of spirits who are the ancestors of an entity either from that entity’s current lifetime or across other lives. Typically, the terms “ancestral spirits” and “ancestors” refer to a person’s human ancestors from their current lifetime.

Twin flames - Two entities with energy signatures that are identical, almost identical, or so interrelated in some fashion that they clearly are two halves of a whole. Twin flames being reborn during the same lifetime seems to be rare.

SPIRIT WORK

Metawork - The practice and discipline of the three highly interrelated fields of energy work, spirit work, and astral work.

Spirit work - The practice and discipline of sensing, interacting with, or commanding spirits. A sub-field of metawork. This is not necessarily a type of witchcraft, but can be referred to as witchcraft when spirit work is incorporated into someone’s witchcraft practice. Closely associated with hedge craft. Many other types of magical traditions that are not forms of witchcraft also include spirit work.

Ancestor work - The practice and discipline of working with ancestral spirits. A sub-field of spirit work.

Conjuring - The act of bringing a spirit to a specific location. Conjuring encompasses a wide variety of different methods which can range from voluntary such as using a beacon of energy to request a spirit’s presence to involuntary which magically force a spirit to manifest at the target location.

Banishing - The act of sending a spirit away from a certain area (the opposite of conjuring). Banishing techniques can be voluntary such as communicating or negotiating with a spirit for them to leave or involuntary when magical methods are used to forcefully remove the spirit against their will.

Binding - The act of using magical means to control a spirit’s behavior in some way. Binding is frequently used to ensure that a spirit remains connected to a vessel, but it can also be used to keep a spirit in a general location or prevent them from transgressing certain predetermined rules. It not uncommon for binding to be completely consensual between spirits and spirit workers.

Possession -  When a spirit inhabits and/or takes control over a physical body that is usually controlled and inhabited by someone else. To some, this term implies that a spirit with harmful intentions has forced control over a human being, but in many religions, spirit possession is welcomed and invited. Whether or not being possessed by a spirit is a negative thing usually depends a lot on the specific context and the spirit involved.

Spirit adoption (reverse adoption) - When a spirit wishes to become a spirit companion or live and work with a spirit worker and voluntarily chooses to do so. Adoptions are often facilitated by a spirit adoption center or shop.

SPIRIT ROLES

Spirit spouse - A term usually used to describe a human spirit worker’s spouse who is a spirit or a deity.

Spirit companion - Any spirit and spirit worker who have established some kind of meaningful relationship and who wish to use this term to describe that relationship.

Spirit guardian - A spirit who has taken on the role of protecting something or someone. I typically use this term as a generic way of describing a spirit who spends a lot of time and energy looking after a person or another spirit. It is not uncommon for people to have spirit guardian(s), and sometimes a spirit companion may also wish to act as as a guardian.

Thoughtform - Any spirit who was created by a spirit worker through magical means (whether purposefully or accidentally). “Tulpamancy” comes from the Tibetan word tulpa that relates to practices within Vajrayana Buddhism, so this is not a secular spirit work term that is appropriate for general use.

Felicity’s story was set in the beginnings of the American Revolution, and addressed the conflict that she faced when her loved ones were split between patriots and loyalists. It also covered the effects of animal abuse, and forgiving those who are unforgivable.

Samantha’s stories centered around the growth of industrial America, women’s suffrage, child abuse, and corruption in places of power. Also, it emphasises how dramatically adoption into a caring family can turn a life around.

Kit’s story is one of my favorites. Her family is hit hard by the Great Depression, and they begin taking in boarders and raise chickens to help make ends meet. Her books include themes of poverty, police brutality, homelessness, prejudice, and the importance of unity in difficult times.

Molly’s father, a doctor, is drafted during the Second World War. Throughout her story, friends of hers suffer the loss of their husbands, sons, and brothers overseas. Her mother leaves the traditional housewife position and works full-time to help with the war effort. They also take in an English refugee child, who learns to open up after a life of traumatic experience.

And then there are the later dolls, that kids younger than me would have grown up with (I was just outgrowing American Girl as these came out), like Rebecca, the Jewish girl who dreams of becoming an actress in the budding film industry, or  Julie, who fights against her school’s gender policy surrounding sports in the 70s, or  Nanea, the Hawaiian girl whose father worked at Pearl Harbor.

Nah.

OP (of the tweet thread) was either a actively trying to start shit or is just a huge fucking moron. Probably both.

I’d like to point out that the company that makes American Girl dolls actually doesn’t skimp when doing their research and they don’t make the dolls with the intent to be offensive in any way:

i think back on this & realize that as third graders we were talking about how awful slavery was & because we were simply innocent kids without any societal or institutional influence yet, all of us could kept saying “why would you treat a HUMAN like that ?!” this one girl for her birthday invited all of us for her party & she got the Addy doll - every single one of us (boys included) held her & was in awe of this doll - it was such a touching experience.

i went back home about a year ago & ran into my third grade teacher in the grocery store. she said that year opened up a whole new teaching structure for her. she now reads american girl stories to her students starting day one of class every day to calm them down after recess & she’ll get through maybe four or five sets of books a year. she has the dolls in the room with packets on information from the doll’s time period that her students can “check out” to take home for weekends to care for them.

we oftentimes overlook how powerful toys can be in influencing young children & american girl honestly knew that kids could read intense moments in history & synthesize the issues to learn how to be a better person. my grandma bought me my first doll, molly, when i was only six & the dolls became a huge part of my childhood. when i turned 21 a couple years ago - we were living in minneapolis - she took me to have lunch for my birthday at the american doll place in the mall of america & bought me the Addy doll for my birthday. it was such a powerful moment i hasn’t expected.

I learned a lot of my core beliefs from these girls.

(jester): youtube and snuggle.

(beauregard): a random pirating software and overthrowing the government.

Inspired by the douchebag who saw fit to put a neo-Nazi (oh sorry, “alt-right” -eyeroll-) propaganda flier under my wiper at the market today.

May the hateful hands that forged this Have their own hatred turned back to bite them May their own teeth bite their slanderous tongues May their own bile choke them May their own spite confound them May the harm they do be visited upon them a hundred times And a hundred times again Until enlightenment finds them Or death takes them

One might suggest a slightly different approach for hate speech, such as a poppet with the mouth bound up, and perhaps a more direct approach on the incantation (”she/he/name” instead of “they”).

And of course, burning someone in effigy is always a classic.

I would truly love to think it’s at the top of our to do lists to be good people. I would love to think that and also see it put into place. We can pray to our gods for others, we can (consensually) do a kind spell or sigil for them too, and it’s all well and good. But what can we do for the environment? I got you covered, let’s take a look at my many ideas on how you can be a conscious witch for nature’s sake!

But, Ariel, don’t you usually use a million links in your posts? This is true, but I’m writing this based on everything my amazing teacher taught me back in my Environmental Science class in college. Except without all the big science words because I didn’t do great at that part, however, I did great at solutions and human theory, which is exactly what we want here. So, I encourage you so much to be inspired by this and look for more sources online! Never stop reading on what you can do to help the environment!

And without further ado, this is a quick stop of A-level Environmental Science by someone who cannot for the life of them remember terminology, woo!

Devote An Activity

Whether this be an organised beach clean up, picking up trash on a footpath, helping a charity store or a petition sign up, or any other environmental activity, devote it to your deity/ies! Just some examples would be going to a beach clean up and praying or just speaking in your mind to, say, Poseidon about how you honour him with this action.

Side note, it’s also a good meditative practice as you clean something up or fulfil a list/sheet.

Pick Organic

You guys thought this was just about shopping, didn’t you? Well, it isn’t, but I do want to say that if you can buy organic you should consider it because it means no artificial chemicals and fertilisers have touched the food. Farmers have to leave previously chemically-touched land to rinse itself and be scientifically declared ‘natural’ again before using it for organics, so when you buy organic, it’s a sign to farmers that it’s worth their time and money!

But no, this is about how you can make sure your plants are organic. Put down the chemical pest control and pick up your phone to research! Something as simple as a two foot board can keep out carrot flies, or planting marigolds and keeping coin or egg shell barriers can stop slugs. There’s alternatives and they’re usually fun to learn about, interesting to undertake, cheaper for your wallet, and better on your little plants and environmental microcosm you have going on there.

Plant Cloning

So plant cloning can be easy or difficult depending on the species at hand, but for the most part all you do is take a cutting, snip it diagonally, and put it in water until it sprouts roots and can be planted. This is called micropropagation, but it’s also some pretty awesome green witchery if you ask me!

You can do this for your herbs so you don’t have to buy more, which is good for your purse, but I also thought that if you consider yourself a good gardener with abundant native wildflowers nearby, or some in your garden, why not try your hand at cloning one? Native wildflowers are the absolute best thing for your native pollinators (did you know some wasp and fly species are also pollinators? It’s not just bees!) Not only that but also native plants are a really good thing to encourage right now because in our current era we’re seeing the negative effects of invasive species. Rhodendrons are a famous invasive plant around the world because it just grows… All year… All the time… Swallowing anything in its path. It also happens with fauna species: Harlequin ladybirds, cane toads, west african giant killer snails (which I’m sure wasn’t the actual name, or was it?), european rabbits, and so on and so forth. Now, we can’t fix the fauna part, but we can do our own little bit for the flora part. Also, if you manage to grow wildflowers, you’ve beat my environmental science professor because he could never get them to survive in his garden, so props to you!

Create Habitats

This is a really great one you probably see people do all the time but never considered to be witchy. Buy birdboxes (or make some!), set up bee-friendly hives (have you see the nests you can get? Google!), but also consider actually leaving dead wood around. I can see the confusion you have right now, but here’s the thing: a fallen tree is an ecosystem for all manners of insects. It creates another level of ecosystem within the bigger environment. For instance, if you go to a nature reserve, ever notice they don’t cut the trees down at the same times? Forgive me, Richard (my enviro teacher), for I have sinned and forgotten the name of the method, but it’s done because it creates different types of environment. Where the trees are pollarded and light hits the floor, flowers may grow and that encourages certain types of fauna. Where the trees create a canopy overhead and the ground is left to be darker and cooler, it again attracts different species. In this same way, a fallen tree is great for certain species. Give it a little research and see what you could attract by leaving that log out a little longer!

Act Consciously

I’m not even kidding with you: trampling is actually a really serious issue with environmental protection and reserves. It straight up makes it onto the Legal Quantative Sheet Thing that people have to fill out when trying to assess if the plans for the land are going to be a gain or loss. It’s why you see designated footpaths and raised walkboards in SSSIs (Sites of Special Scientific Interest) and various other areas of designated protection. It’s really important we think more about how our visit reflects the visit of many. To throw some Kantian Ethics in here, using one of the three maxims, we should think universally. This means we should assume when we do an action, it permits everyone else in the world to do it and they have also done it. When you walk off the boards which are clearly labelled not to, so does everyone else. When you litter, so does everyone else. Honestly Kant’s maxims are a really good way to encourage yourself to be a more ethical person. Just don’t read too much into his whole ethical theory. It’ll hurt your brain. Anyway! Here’s things to try to be more conscious of actively doing:

Pick up litter

Stay on designated paths

Use walkboards when provided

Step around flora where possible

If it says keep your dog on a lead it’ll be because of the wildlife there - usually for safety both ways - so do so until you get to the lead-free zone

Visit the visitors centre to learn more about helping the site or what native plants they have

Don’t practice activities banned in the area, as in fires or driving, because it’s probably because the environment can’t take it

Just don’t invade nature’s space, friendsssss

Donate A Little

Sometimes, nature runs low on funds. If you’ve got £2 for the charity bin to help your local reserve build a visitors centre, why not chip in? Visitors centres allow for education of the public and also visiting school groups. It’s places like that that teach you information like this.

Pray

Simple one here, folks. In between the prayers to deities and thanks and wants or whatever you happen to pray for, pray for the environment. Yours or globally. Also pray for general world atrocities, but that’s another post.

Compost

Literally everything made of some natural material is compostable somehow if you do your research on what conditions and so on, but at the very least all your vegetable peels and fruit slices can be left to one side to decompose into dead organic matter. Dead organic matter is like gold to plants because its natural nutrients which seep back into the soil which originated from the earth anyway! You get to decrease what you send to landfill whilst also giving a little home brewed offering to your plant babies.

Reuse and Recycle

Collect your candle wax to fashion into new candles, collect the ash when you burn things to put into your soil, when you’re done working with magic water, pour it into your plants, turn an old shirt into a braided witches ladder, and so on and so on. There is magic in putting time into fashioning a disused item into something entirely new, or in giving away what you no longer need. I’m going to start calling this The Phoenix Rule and it’s going to be my new witch code as of now (15th June 2019, you read it here first, folks). This is about doing what you can to grow from your own ashes or plant something good out of something old.

Paper? Leaves

Do you find yourself using a silly amount of brand new paper for sigils or intent in spells? Start collecting leaves (or old newspapers and things!) and use these instead of brand new paper. In fact, you could match the folklore of the plant to your spell and sigil. Bay leaves for accomplishing dreams, oak leaves for wisdom and knowledge, there is endless possibilities. Start picking up those fallen leaves! They’re free and they’re not using lots of water and chemicals to make them. Okay water, but water from the sky and ground that isn’t excessively farmed and pumped from nature for the paper bleaching industry.

And I think that’s where I’ll stop for now, but this is definitely not the end of all the things you could do to incorporate environmentalism into your witchcraft. And also, since it wouldn’t be written by me without them, I found some articles to get you started on researching this all further if (hopefully) the eco flame burns on in you~

None of them are witchy because when you Google ‘Environmental Witchcraft’ it’s all some very angry blog posts about who even knows what. Zealots in one. Such strange people. Anyway:

Organic Gardening Tips

82 Tips for Sustainable Gardening

10 Organic Gardening Tips

10 Reasons People Buy Organic

23 Ways to Reuse Plastic Bottles

51 Ways to Reuse your Waste

Why Is It Important to Preserve Nature

Composting Tips

How to Reuse your Candle Wax

How to Reuse your Candle Jars and Wax

Creating a Wildlife Friendly Garden

Creating Habitats in your Garden

How to Grow a Wildflower Garden

I get dozens of asks on how to find the right deity, or how to find “your” deity. I’ll just cover the basics here (mainly so my lazy ass can link to it later instead of typing this over and over). Quick note: Some of this may be UPG or my personal opinions. I welcome you to share your own, but don’t be rude about it.  

Quick Vocab:

Worship vs. Working With. I use these interchangeably. I consider both of them to be talking about the relationship and connection you kindle with a deity. “Working with” does not mean “utilizing in spells as ingredients”. 

Patron ____. Wicca has different views as to what a patron or matron is compared to most of the witchcraft world. One view is: when you pick a patron deity it means a bond that will last a lifetime. Another view is that patron deities are not ones that you personally identify with, but rather are ones that relate to your lifestyle/profession/occupation. 

Devotee. Being a devotee is a way to work more closely with one, or a few, deities without committing to it for a lifetime. It simply means that you focus more of your worship and time on them, but you can still worship other deities too.

Pantheon. A group of deities, usually based on the culture they come from. The names can sometimes vary (Greek = Hellenic, Egyptian = Kemetic, etc.)

Some misconceptions and false expectations:

“My deity”. A deity is not yours. You can work with them, worship them, what have you. But they are not yours to claim. Here’s some different way to phrase it: “I am a devotee of ___” or “____ is the deity I work most closely with”. 

Everybody needs a deity. You don’t need to work with deities to be a witch. Witchcraft does not equal religion. Religion *can* be tied into witchcraft if you want though! Don’t force yourself to work with deities just because you see other people doing it!

Deities will talk to you. Sometimes, but not usually, or not in the way you expect. You aren’t likely to hear a voice in response, or to confirm that they want to work with you. You’re more likely to get: A sign of some sort, a certain feeling (warm and tingly or emotional, for example) or possibly your inner voice seems a bit different and you think it may be influenced.

You’ll know when your deities like offerings, or hear your prayers. Again, sometimes, but not usually. Not getting a response doesn’t mean you’re getting the cold shoulder. Prayers, offerings and other things don’t always garner a response, or an immediate response.

You have to pick one pantheon. Not at all, however you do have to be respectful of the pantheons each deity comes from. You can’t pick and choose which aspects of the deity you want. I personally stick to one pantheon because it’s simple and fits for me.

Deities from closed cultures are “calling to you”. Listen, I highly doubt that a deity from a culture that is closed, usually due to outsiders (read: white people) being oppressive and awful to them, would want to work with you. Check yourself and make sure it’s not just the aesthetic value or mysteriousness that’s drawing you to them. ALSO! You may be drawn to characteristics that they have, and there is most likely a similar deity in an open culture. Here’s a link to the google question “what cultures are closed?”

On finding a deity to work with:

I often get asked “how to I figure out which deity is a good fit for me?” The easy answer: I have no clue. Only you know what works best for you, and what’s a good fit. However, here’s some good methods:

Research the pantheons. The Greek, Egyptian and Norse are the ones that often have the most information (and are all open practices). See if one in particular calls to you. Then spend time reading about each deity.

Look at what traits you are called to. Self love? Fierceness? Feelings of home? You can literally just google “gods/deities of ____”. You can even add a specific pantheon to the end if you’ve narrowed it down.

Reaching out to that deity:

The “proper” way to do this varies per pantheon, so do your research! Google and books are your friend. And there’s usually a lot of resources for beginners on tumblr as well. The typical ways include:

An offering. Usually there’s some sort of information on traditional offerings, which you can never go wrong with. Sometimes certain offerings are offensive/not given to certain types of deities.

A prayer. It’s totally okay to look up “____ (deity’s name) prayer” for a format if you’re daunted by writing your own. It can also just be more of an explanation on why you want to worship them.

Ask for a sign. I don’t do this and hesitate to even recommend it because it can be SO hard to figure out what’s actually a sign. I’d suggest knowing the basics of the deities sacred animals, plants and colors so you have an idea of what to look for.

Just start worshiping. You don’t have to have a formal relationship with every deity to worship them. I do recommend forming a relationship with them before becoming their devotee.

A Glamour Spell to attract attention from those you desire.

You will Need: 

Black Nail polish (symbolizes the spider)

Red Nail Glitter (for romance and lust)

Clear top coat polish (sealing and finishing the spell)

Red candle (romance and lust)

Steps:

Light your red candle and keep it near you while you work

Paint your nails black while doing this visualize them long and sharp like a spider’s legs even if they are not. Imagine you like a spider on her web grabbing at the attention you desire and pulling it close to you with your long nails (not in a harmful manner though). How your long shiny nails will pull closer the one(s) you wish to notice you.

Before your nails dry sprinkle the red glitter onto them. “I will pull your attention towards me, as a spider pulls in her prey. You will see me and all that makes me beautiful. You will notice me.” Repeat the name of the person(s) you wish to attract at the end of this as many times as you feel is needed.

Use your clear top coat to seal in the polish and your intent. 

(Updated from this old list here.)

Shielding is a practice entirely built on your intention–if you want an eternal shield, you can have it. If you believe in your shield, it will be there. There are many ways that are incredibly powerful with just the slightest trust and a little bit of practice. As soon as possible, start to practice shielding and methods of spiritual protection, since practice, along with your intention, will create the most powerful shields. 

Also, you can never shield to much. It’s amazing and very empowering to have layer upon layer of shielding, and the energy and time you put into shielding will really save you a lot of energy and time in the future. Even just walking around, through crowds, cities, etc, drains your energy–negative energy is everywhere, and consciously seeking only the energy for your best and highest good will really, truly, and completely empower you. 

You can shield from anything and everything, just make sure to allow in things for your “best and highest interest/good.” ShCast every shield with this affirmation. This allows what people would consider “negative” emotions to still come through, so you can live a balanced life, since not all emotions that are considered negative actually are. This affirmation effectively only allows things that raise or balance your vibration, and help you to spiritually evolve. It won’t cut you off from anything necessary. Shields themselves will never overwhelm or smother you, since they are meant solely for your needs and will always let in positive energy. Here are some simple methods to begin shielding, but you can always adopt them with your own needs and intentions! Do what works for you, just make sure to shield when practicing spirit or energy work of any sort. 

Robe of White Light:

Focus for a moment on calming yourself, and once you have a clear mind, imagine a nice fluffy robe around you (I always imagine one like in the game Journey) made of white and protective light. This is the universe’s energy, and nothing ill can penetrate it once it is surrounding you.

It is recommended to repeat once or twice a day to maintain the shielding.

You can also use the affirmation of “I call upon a robe of loving and protective white light, knowing that it will protect me from all energy not in my highest interest. This robe protects me with the power of the Universe/Source/God.”

Guardian Protection:

Ask your guardian spirits (either aloud or through your mind) to protect you.

Always command that the guardians who help that they “come in light.” And if not, say they must leave. You don’t even have to know their name, but if they aren’t here to help, then they shouldn’t be around you. So just command this and all with ill intentions will be forced to leave.

Call on them for a need by need basis.

Auric Hardening:

Imagine your aura (trust whatever color you see in your mind’s eye), and then imagine it hardening, like it’s calcifying around you. It can get as hard as a rock, or like armor.

This can sometimes push away any energy exchanges, so you could feel more distant from positive interactions too. So, it’s best used when a threat is around

Usually lasts between 4 hours-2 days, depending on the strength of your intention.

Sigil warding:

Draw with a pen, marker, or with the tip of your finger (if you don’t need visible lines) a sigil with the intention of protecting yourself. A sigil is most basically an energetic line (or series of them) with an intention. The lines hold the energy and magnify the intention.

Here are examples

A post on sigil crafting

Shielding with Intention and the Universe:

Calm yourself with a short breathing meditation, then focus on what you intend to shield-yourself, another, or a place.

Imagine casting a ball of light towards the designated target, with the intention of allowing the Universe/Source to channel through you and shield whatever you intend to.

Just watch and observe as the shield is built, knowing that it is fully fueled by the energy of the Universe and will stay there, and stay strong, until the shield is released consciously by you.

You can specify this shield for certain purposes, like to only keep a spirit out, or to keep all negative spirits out.

Reiki Shielding and Protection:

In Usui Reiki, there is a technique your Reiki Masters should have taught you about warding and cleansing the room in white light. Channel Reiki energy to do this.

If you are attuned to Reiki II, you should know the 1st symbol and that it can be used to stop all energy that is not in your highest good from coming towards you, working as an effective shield when the symbol is called on.

You need to be properly attuned to Reiki for this.

Bubble shielding:

Similar to the white light or shielding with intention, but focusing on making and empowering a bubble around you.

Replenish this as often as possible, since this is dependent on your own care.

Can be in an oval or a sphere shape. If this is hard to get a hang of, then try just fitting it a couple inches away from your body, similar to auric hardening.

Waterfall shielding:

A bubble shield with the intention of existing on top of an underneath bubble shield. 

Focus on this shield and set the intention of having it move around like a waterfall. This way, someone sending negative energy has a very small chance of hitting the same place twice.

Elemental shielding:

All of these are built with a specific intention and visualization of the shield. Time around such element used will strengthen the shield, or a conscious meditation to draw the energy towards you and the shield.

Fire shield: Envision burning fire, that will destroy all negative energy/energy not for your highest good, when it tries to enter your energetic space.

Water shield: Similar to the waterfall shield, but with the visual of actual water flowing that can wash away all negative debris or toxicity clinging to any form of bubble shield underneath it. 

Earth shielding: This one can block off positive energy too, since it works more like a layer of earth around the person. Though, it can also be envisioned to only grow/manifest around you in times of need or when you’re being attacked or faced with negative energy. It can also block your third eye from seeing outside. Earth shielding can also work as a means of grounding you, which doesn’t have negative effects (as long as you don’t neglect your upper chakras). If you ground yourself to the earth, and your are harmed or shaken by negative energy, you can replenish your energy from the earth.

Air shielding: Envision a fast current of air around you that sweeps away all negative energy or malevolent beings.

Light shielding: A bright white light that totally purifies all energy that contacts it, similar to the robe of white light. Different colored lights can work too, but they all have specific purposes that you should research first.

Ether shielding: Sometimes this works like a portal, transporting all malevolent energy to another place in the universe. Just make sure to set the intention that things in your best and highest interest aren’t affected, and that the travel won’t severely harm anyone who is transported by the portal (since sometimes negative energy can come from just someone in a bad mood). 

Chaos shielding: Not always considered an element, but with the idea of scattering any negative energy–the sudden increase in entropy raises the vibration to something more positive.

Shadow and smoke shielding: Imagining either element around you, mostly for cloaking and making your energy less obvious. This is great for astral projection and spiritual travel when you don’t want to be noticed. You can infuse the energy with an intention of how you want to be perceived, like if a threat comes, then you can suddenly raise this shield and make the smoke cause you to seem dangerous, scaring off the opponent. 

Halo shielding:

Imagine a series of halos that spin quickly around you, moving to knock away negative energy if it approaches your space. This can be inside or outside of a bubble or light based shield.

Protection charms and enchanted objects:

Work made by you, when you have a lot of experience, in creating a sigil charm or enchanted object meant for protection. This can also be from someone who has passed down a family protection amulet (just research it and bathe it in light to clear any possible negative energy on it), or from an experienced energy worker making protection amulets, charms, or objects. 

Bubbles are whimsical and fun mixes of Air and Water, and hold a magic of all their own. Many of us have fond memories of using bubbles s children whether it was from blowing them out in the summer breeze or baths overflowing with them.

Correspondences of Bubbles

Bubbles have several correspondences and uses when it comes to magick and witchcraft. Due to their whimsical and nostalgic nature they are often associated with inspiration, creativity, childhood, wonder and fantasy. Bubbles are also wonderful for protection, cleansing and purification spells seeing as they are often made through using soap. Due to the shape and shine of many bubbles they are often associated with scrying and psychic abilities as well.

Bubble Uses

Bubbles and Cleansing

There are various ways to use bubbles to cleanse oneself or their space. The most simple and obvious way being using soap in the shower or bath and while washing one’s self imagining any dark, heavy emotion and energy one has being being sucked up into the bubbles and foam, trapped inside them. Then as the bubbles go down the drain, visualize all that toxicity going with it.

One can also use a bubble wand and bubble liquid to remove their negativity by visualizing as you blow the bubbles that all your breath going into them is filled with the negativity you wish to remove from yourself. This method is best down outside to ensure when the bubble pops it doesn’t just re-release the negativity in your living space.

To cleanse one’s space or home with bubbles is simple. You either clean it gently where you are able to use soap or you may leave a dish of bubble liquid out overnight. Once it has set out you may dispose of it down the sink or outside via blowing bubbles.

Bubbles and Wishes

Like my previous Bubble Spell, bubbles are wonderful for wish making. Focus on the wish and intent you have. Let it build up in your chest and lungs then release it as you blow your bubbles. Watch them float up into the sky and once they burst know that your wish has been released out into the universe.

Bubble Scrying

I was in high school when I began my journey into witchcraft. I had always loved horror and the dark side of life. In retrospect, having an interest in the occult did not seem out of character. I was a normal teenager. I was fairly anxious, but my home life was okay. I had a few close friends (probably more than I realized at the time) and did very well in high school. I was arty and was interested in music. To the point - I was boring. I despise the narrative that all witches are poor oppressed people grasping for power. I have immense respect for the ones who are, but most of the witches I have known are downwardly mobile, college-educated white people from middle-class backgrounds.

I saw the movie Haxan. I loved arthouse films and silent films and would stay up late to watch them on the classic movie channel. I rushed out and bought the DVD for future study. I was fascinated by it. I quickly found myself wanting to go the sabbat. I read up on Tarot cards and Ouija boards and hoodoo. After learning how to cast a couple of simple spells (which didn’t work) and learning how to read playing cards, I decided to become a witch.

Now at the time, the vast majority of books available on witchcraft were Wiccan. Wicca is enticing. The books on Wicca promised a warm, loving, inclusive religion. They also peddled bunk history and dodgy theology.

The false narrative surrounding Wicca’s history is, in my opinion, a conspiracy theory. For those not in the know, many books on Wicca follow former civil servant Gerald Gardner’s claim that Wicca is an ancient religion he discovered. In reality, Wicca is a fusion of many subjects that were popular in Britain in the early 1900s - secret societies, nudism, paganism, etc. According to the majority of beginner books on Wicca, Wicca is an ancient religion that predates Christianity. It honors a Horned God of the Sun and a Triple Goddess of the Moon. This is usually linked with a sort of soft polytheism. This religion was stamped out by the jealous, power mad, woman-hating Christian Church, who started witch hunts to execute the remaining priestesses of the Old Religion, or so the books say.

It is easy to become brainwashed by this kind of thing. If you look at historical texts, it becomes apparent that the European conversion to Christianity was a drawn out and complicated process. The witch trials were the result of many complex social situations. But according to many of the beginner Wiccan books, the history we have been taught is wrong. I essentially brainwashed myself with this nonsense for several years as a young person. This is not to say all Wiccans believe these ideas, but they have undeniably marred a great many Wiccan writings.

Many of these books teach that to be a Wiccan is to be a witch and that the two terms are synonymous. This is also not true. Being a young person, I did not think there was another way to practice witchcraft. According to these books, the Devil was not real and the sabbat was a big misunderstanding.

My perspective changed (and my attitude brightened) when I learned about traditional witchcraft. Unlike Wicca, which is a fairly specific term, traditional witchcraft is an umbrella term. Allegedly. When most people say they are practicing Traditional Witchcraft online, they mean they are practicing some kind of Robert Cochrane-Andrew Chumbley-Nigel Pearson kind of thing. Think Troy Books and Three Hands Press. Rarely are they a lineaged witch from Russia or something like that, though they certainly do exist.

I thought Traditional Witchcraft would be the way to go because it is supposed to predate Gardner’s Craft. Traditional Witchcraft did get me to the sabbat. It was easy to say that the proof of the pudding was in the eating. TradCraft is supposed to be older, so surely it must be more pure. But on close inspection, a lot of it seems like Wicca with the serial numbers scraped off. Replace “the Horned God” with “the Devil” or “the Bucca”, and throw in a few lines about Christian folk magic. I thought maybe this was the real witchcraft, but I am increasingly unsure. Could a tradition started in the 1990s be the real witchcraft?

But isn’t that a silly argument? Why is older better? How old must it be for it to be true witchcraft? Should it be from 1940s? The 1840s? The 1640s? 400 BC? The Chaos types will tell you it’s the tech that matters.

I don’t want just magic. I want witchcraft.

So Wicca’s not it and Traditional Witchcraft is confusing. What can I do? I tend my own garden. I have surrounded myself with folk magic, fairy tales, animism. Dare I use that loaded word - shamanism? Some days I’m not sure if witchcraft exists. I sometimes doubt if it ever did. I may not be a witch. If the witch is always the pariah, the bitch, the villain, the boogeyman - can anyone fill this role constantly? Can anyone live in a house made of dirt and bones and blood and pain?

In retrospect, I’m a rather young witch (the term I prefer using) I have only been practicing and learning for about 3 years now. I learned of Wicca completely by chance, I picked up a book in goodwill (while ironical looking for a witch costume for a party) and it “awoke” something in me. I have had my struggles with religion for a long time and at the time I was also beginning to learn about atheism at the time. What drew me in I can't say precisely but it spoke to something I felt really connected with; maybe it was all the connections with nature, the fantasies and fairy tales I love, or maybe it was the fact that I could form my own beliefs. 

I have said it before and I will say it again I truly believe there is no correct way to be a witch or Wiccan. I came to this “faith”(and I use the term loosely because I personally don’t see it as a religion for me) because I had the freedom to form my own opinions on the world and make my own path. There was no holy book that told you right from wrong, no almighty power that judged you’re ever action, no fear of death or sin; only the world, elements around you, and what you believe to be right or wrong.

I have never specified what I believe about the world and I am young so I total expect it to change. From what I have seen the natural world is a very powerful and unknown place so who is to say that those energies or elements cant be manifested in different ways or used to our will. But you know the beauty of this? That is what I believe and someone could think something completely different from looking at the same information as me! 

Hello! This is one of my first things put into my grimorie and thing that I came up with, while having some help from other resources! I hope you enjoy this little tutorial!!

What You Will Need:

Sticks

A pinecone

Twine or ribbon*

What You Should Do:

1. Go outside and collect your sticks. I used fallen pine sticks for mine.

2. If wet or damp, lay them out to dry by a fire or in the sunlight.

3. Once dry (or if already dry), lay them out into star formation, arranging them to your liking.

5. At the first point, attach a bit of twine (or ribbon) to the top so it can be hung up.

4. Use the twine (or ribbon) to tie the sucks together at each point. I tied on the first bit, then wrapped around three times. Just remember how long of twine (or ribbon) you have. If you want to, as you put the star together, you can think of your intent.

6. Now, the pinecone. You should find the length of twine (or ribbon) and tie around the top of the cone.

7. Now, the the top part of the twine (or ribbon) to the bottom of the star.

8. The final step is to hang it, take a step back and admire your handiwork.

* If you use ribbon and want to use a color associated with Yule, you can use red, green, gold or silver!

I hope you guys enjoyed this tutorial and found it useful! I hope you all have a happy Yule!

From step 3

From step 4

🌙 to borrow the essence of the Moon. Can be used according to the properties of the Moon (emotions, rest, deep thoughts, psychic abilities, divination, etc.)

• ingredients:

-lavender (rest, peace, dreams)

-bay leaf (divination, protection)

-chamomile (rest, soft emotions)

-jasmine (attraction, deep emotions)

-a pinch of sea salt (the ocean, protection)

-anise seed (psychic abilities)

-selenite (dust/shavings is enough; cleansing, moonlight)

-silver glitter (optional; moonlight)

-petal of a white or purple flower (optional

•grapeseed oil is best for this but any oil can work just fine