Transforming Dragonfly

queerwitchery:

if you work with or have done research on the Elder Fuþark runes, you may have noticed that there are lots of variations on the names. & i mean LOTS, e.g.:

there are a couple of reasons for this:

HOWEVER, most actual runic inscriptions in the Elder Fuþark are actually in Proto-Norse, the intermediate stage between Proto-Indo-European and Old Norse. A lot of the discrepancies between the attested names & their names in other Germanic languages (i.e. Gothic and Old English) is due to this fact (Orðstírr has a good intro to Proto-Norse sounds especially re: runes)

modern English is missing many of the sounds and letters that existed in early Germanic languages, so variant spellings are different ways of rendering them in our limited 26-letter alphabet

many sources on runes come from magickal writings from many decades ago, and because language science is constantly evolving, so has our reconstruction of Proto-Germanic. thus, many of the names are based on outdated reconstructions.

most magickal writings on runes are not written by historical linguists who study ancient Germanic languages

luckily i regularly study & use Proto-Germanic, & based on our most recent & accurate reconstructions, the names for the Elder Fuþark would have probably taken the following forms (text in /slashes/ is IPA phonemic transcription; where names are different, this is due to differring names in the different attested langauges, or variation within Proto-Germanic dialects):

ᚠ    *fehu /ɸexu/ “wealth, cattle”

ᚢ    *ūruz /uːruz/ “aurochs”

ᚦ    *þurisaz /θurisɑz/ “giant, monster” OR  *þurnuz /θurnuz/ “thorn”

ᚨ     *ansuz /ɑnsuz/ “deity, mouth”

ᚱ     *raidō /rɑi̯ðɔː/ “journey”

ᚲ    *kēnaz /keːnɑz/ “torch” OR *kauną /kɑu̯nɑ̃/ “ulcer”

ᚷ    *gebō /ɣeβɔː/ “gift”

ᚹ    *wunjō /wunjɔː/ “joy”

ᚺ    *haglaz /xɑɣlɑz/ “hail(storm)”

ᚾ    *naudiz /nɑu̯ðiz/ “need, distress, force”

ᛁ    *īsaz /iːsɑz/ “ice”

ᛃ    *jērą /jɛːrɑ̃/ “year”

ᛇ    *ēhaz /eːxɑz/ < *īhwaz /iːxʷɑz/ OR *īwaz /iːwɑz/ “yew”

ᛈ    *perþō /perθɔː/  “?pear-tree, ??game-box (uncertain)”

ᛉ    *elhaz /elxɑz/ OR *algiz /ɑlɣiz/ “elk”

ᛊ    *sōwulą /sɔːwulɑ̃/ OR *sōwilą /sɔːwilɑ̃/ “sun”

ᛏ    *tīwaz /tiːwɑz/ “the god *Tīwaz (Norse Týr, Anglo-Saxon Tíw > Tue[sday])”

ᛒ    *berkaną /berkɑnɑ̃/ “birch”

ᛖ    *ehwaz /exʷɑz/ “horse”

ᛗ    *mannaz /mɑnnɑz/ “human, person”

ᛚ    *laguz /lɑɣuz/ “water, sea, ocean”

ᛜ    *ingwaz /iŋʷgʷɑz/ “the god *Frawjaz (Norse Freyr, Anglo-Saxon Fréa)”

ᛞ    *dagaz /dɑɣɑz/ “day”

ᛟ    *ōþalą /ɔːθɑlɑ̃/ OR *ōþilą /ɔːθilɑ̃/ “ancestral home”

if you would like more in-depth explanations for each of these, HERE is a good source (where we differ, i’d note that this source leans heavily on the Norse variants because our oldest attested uses come from Proto-Norse)

This post reflects my opinions, not the opinions of others.

*~~~~~~~*

This is something that I think should take some time in the forms of researching and practicing/experimenting. Critical thinking skills are helpful in this venture.

I believe research is important because it gives you many ideas to work with and places to draw ideas from, but it also gives you an idea of what comes from closed cultures. (Cultural appropriation is a big No-No.) Read, listen, and watch. Academic databases can be great resources. If you don’t have access to them, there is still a lot to learn from Google and academic books. Be careful though of what Google presents you with. Some websites will be more credible than others. (There are many posts about how to search using Google and how to evaluate a source. I am sure you could even google how to more efficiently use Google as well!) I consider Tumblr to be a good place to read about how others do witchcraft and what works for them. Sometimes it can be helpful to listen to others. Like with websites, some people are more credible sources than others. Look at different spells and how they are written. Does that work for you? Do you have different associations for the ingredients or parts used? Inspiration for your witchcraft can come from anywhere though. You could even base it off of Harry Potter if you wanted to! 

I also believe that practicing and experimenting are important. Some things may seem like they would work for you in theory, but may not work out when implemented. Maybe you like grand rituals for spellwork but in reality they take up more time than you are able to commit. That is okay. You may just have to tweak things so you can find something that works for you and that you are happy with. A good way to experiment, in my opinion, is to try a spell as written and then evaluate how it felt, the results, amount of time it took, etc. Then tweak the spell a little and try it again. Evaluate the tweaked spell and compare.

Some things to think about:

What are your interests? Cooking? Art? Dreams? The home? Pop Culture? Animals? Plants?

What does witchcraft mean to you?

What does being a witch mean to you?

How could you incorporate your interests into spells, magic, etc?

What are you comfortable with? Simple? Complex? Inside? Outside?

What are your beliefs?

What are your morals and values?

Mega discovery friends. It’s something that I’ve known about for a bit, and have just now gotten around to making a post about it! 

There’s this great site called Texter. Basically you can type in a sentence and draw. You’re lines become letter, size varying depending on how fast you move your mouse. Site basically looks like this.

And this is what it looks like when you draw something out.

See where I’m going? Mother. Fucking. Sigils. EXAMPLE HERE, this is my sigil I use on the back of my hands for candle making. 

“My hands are strong and sure.”

See?! DO YOU SEE THIS??? THIS IS PERFECT. It’s literally perfect.

[pictured is an image of text that reads: Question: if I see someone pull off a Hijab, what should I do? I know there are reasons they are worn so I want to know if i should stand in between them and who did this, should i protect them from view somehow, or something else? This has been happening a lot so I feel it’s something everyone needs to know.]

Several people have recently asked me to respond with what action you should take if you see someone’s hijab forcibly removed or if you see a hijabi/Muslim being harassed. Here are some of the basics:

If a hijabi has their hijab forcibly removed and the attackers leave, cover them. If you’re wearing a jacket or you have a scarf or some other article of clothing, you should give it to them so they can cover themselves. This is definitely the action that I would prefer before anything else. Shielding them from view if you don’t have anything that you can give them is another option, or asking “What can I do to help you?” (because I’m sure every hijabi reacts differently to this kind of thing) is also a good response. After this, if you’re willing and they want you to (again, make sure you ask), you can assist them somewhere like a bathroom, a store, their car, etc. so they can get to a safe space and fix their hijab/call a friend/etc.

If a hijabi has their hijab forcibly removed and the attackers don’t leave, there are several possibilities. Obviously you shouldn’t do nothing. A lot of the times, attackers will stop if someone else gets involved especially if you are with a group of people but also even if you’re just by yourself. This is a link to a YouTube video of a social experiment where one person forcibly removes someone’s hijab. Despite that there was no real threat, everyone who reacted did so in a way that I would suggest doing. Standing up for them from a distance that you feel safe doing so (because you obviously can’t disregard your own safety) does makes a difference. Saying something like “leave them alone” “what are you doing” “stop doing that” “don’t do that” “don’t touch them” etc. are all perfectly acceptable things to say in the moment. Again, giving them something to cover themselves with if you have something is always a good thing to do.

In situations where it has not yet escalated to someone’s hijab being forcibly removed, gauge the situation. Here is one graphic that illustrates what to do if someone is yelling islamophobic things at a hijabi/Muslim. If you are not sure if something is going to turn into harassment but you’re worried it might, simply staying with the hijabi/Muslim and making sure they aren’t along is good too (this is a link to one story in particular that is a really good example of this).

Whatever you do: do not just walk away. Do not just assume that someone else will stop or that the hijabi/Muslim can handle it on their own. Walking away in this situation makes you complicit in islamophobia and islamophobic hate crimes. Your reaction says just as much about you as it does about the person forcibly removing someone’s hijab or harassing them.

Another thing: I would not recommend calling the police unless the situation is particularly violent (if the hijabi/Muslim is physically harmed, bleeding, not responding, etc. then don’t hesitate to call, of course) and/or if it’s absolutely and completely dangerous for you to do anything else. Most of the time the police are just as islamophobic as our attackers and will not do anything to help us or will make it particularly difficult for us after they do.

You put anti-harassment hexes into your panties as you wash them.

Seriously. Bucket of hot water and suds, a little elbow grease, a little chanting, a thorough rinse, and a cloth bag of cherry blossoms, heather flowers, agrimony, and lemon peel hung from the drying rack.

He gets a certificate mailed to him each time.

Here is his address if anyone wants to join in:

Many practitioners like to use various elements and other sources to ground their loose, extra, or negative energy - one of my favorite methods of doing this is Black Hole Grounding. This method ensures that the energy you’re trying to ground or get rid of is compressed into something so small and insignificant that it practically doesn’t exist, instead of just being transferred to another source. This method traps the grounded energy, similar to how the force and gravity of a black hole is so strong that not even light can escape it.

Method:

Dim the lights 

Sit comfortably, whether it be outdoors under the stars or inside - your choice

Feel free to play some ambient music on your computer or phone, perhaps something on YouTube with a backdrop of the cosmos

If you have a crystal you like to use to help you ground, grab it now and hold onto it

Similarly, light a candle or incense that you like to use to help you ground, if you wish

Close your eyes and begin breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth until you reach a relaxed state of mind

Visualize the energy you wish to ground traveling up your spine, out of the top of your head, and into the cosmos - once you can visualize this energy floating in empty space, imagine it being sucked into a black hole until you can no longer see it

Continue rhythmic breathing until you come back to reality, and go about your day as usual 

Crystals to aid in Black Hole Grounding:

Astrophyllite 

Black Calcite

Black Obsidian 

Black Tourmaline

Bronzite 

Dolomite

Halite

Hematite

Lodestone

Magnetite

Meteorite

Nebula Stone

Onyx

Smoky Quartz 

Tiger’s Eye

Scents to aid in Black Hole Grounding:

Basil

Cedar

Cinnamon

Coffee

Cypress

Fir

Frankincense

Ginger

Jasmine

Myrrh

Patchouli

Pine

Sage

Sandalwood

Spruce

A surreal nightscape I created with my imagery. Also edited with my moonlight preset.

Ingredients:

Rain water (if you don’t have this, use filtered water or tap water)

Rosemary (just the leaves, no stems)

A few drops of essential oil; use which ever scent that will make you the happiest

A small pinch of salt (you’ll want it to dissolve)

Lavender

Chamomile

A bowl

A wash cloth