awen inspired

This ritual as designed for me and one of my close fellow-witch friends. Moving on from the past can be hard, especially if you are clinging to mementos you have collected from it. This is intended to prompt you further on your journey after reaching a turning point when you feel you are ready to release your past. It took me a few years to get here. But I am glad it happened, no matter how long it took. I am finally able to see things so much clearer and optimistically. I hope this will also help those of you who struggle with similar issues.

What You’ll Need:

Papers that hold some significance to your past (I am using poems I wrote during the time I am putting to rest. Diary entries, copies of Facebook posts, pictures, etc are all great)

Any mementos that cannot be burned but can still be placed in the fire and then the urn)

An “urn” (a jar, bottle, decorative vase, etc. will work. I suggest leaving your urn in sight, to remind yourself that the past is real, it existed. But it us dead, and the ashes prove it)

Matches/lighter

Candle (optional. You can use the lighter or matches without the candle)

Outdoor space (do this ritual outside)

Something to burn the papers in safely (grate, firepit, etc)

Salt (for protection from your past, and to nullify its ability to grow back)

Dried flower petals, herbs, etc (to represent the recognition of your past)

Place all of your materials outside. Place any mementos from your past that are not flammable in the container you are using to collect the ashes. Make sure these mementos will not cause any explosions, bursts of flame, etc. Fire safety is important!

If you’re using a candle, light that now. Begin burning the papers, and drop them into the container quickly after you light them. Before you light each piece, use this short chant:

I lay you to rest, spirit of my past.

Haunt me no more, end my peace’s fast.

Visualize the memories you have from the past, connected to each item, burning up in your mind. Let them be bathed in flame and eaten up by the cleansing heat of fire and death.

As the papers burn, watch the fire. How does the ash left behind feel to look at? Knowing that nothing remains in your life from this time, physically at least, observe the mementos being consumed.

Once the fires go out, let the ashes cool for at least half an hour, more if they are still not cool to the touch. Sweep them up once it is safe to do so, and place them in your urn. Do the same with the inflammable mementos.

Add salt, to nullify the past and its ability to grow. Salt hinders plant life, and likewise, it will protect you from these memories resurfacing as harshly.

Place the herbs and flowers of your choice into the urn, and close it in some way. Energetically and/or physically. It is sealed, and with it, so is the door to your past. You may feel empty afterwards, or scared to let go. But that’s okay. Releasing your grip on something you have held for so long is more than difficult. Know that you are stronger than you believe, and this ritual alone is one of the biggest affirmations you can speak to yourself and to the universe.

I’ve received a lot of asks from people who wanted to know how to come in contact with her or start working with her, so here’s a post about that! It’s obviously based on my experience and knowledge, but I hope it will be helpful! (Also excuse my broken English, I did my best)

Interest You may have heard of her, or suddenly have started seeing her everywhere (on your dash, on books, in people’s conversations, in the crows on the street), or you could have received signs from her, or dreamed about a mysterious woman, or just though that she could be the right deity for you. Very often the signs can be ominous, like nightmares, the feeling of being watched or of being in danger, or maybe a sudden rush of energy and need to scream. There’s no right or wrong: you aren’t less of a potential worshipper because you didn’t receive any sign or yours felt different.

Overview, Location, Symbols

Throughout all the Celtic fairytales and myths, the otherworld is always presented through a different light. Like an elusive mist in the mountain path, it always changes shape so that it can never quite be defined as the otherworlds from other cultures can be, particularly the Elysium or Underworld of the Greeks, ruled by distinct laws.

Indeed, in some stories the Celtic otherworld is described as being located in caverns, caves, rivers, under the sea, in hillforts or mounds, the gateways can be secretly hidden or magically enchanted or accessible only to those that are initiated into its arcane mysteries.

It is also debated whether the Celtic otherworld is perceived in the mythological body as a single unit, a universe that has many locations embedded into it, all of which appear in different stories; or whether all these places are separated by gateways, individual locations that can be labelled under the umbrella of the same realm. Some tales leave readers to speculate that this realm is a physical extension of the mortal world, such as an island concealed in the seas west of Ireland; or that it may be a dimension parallel to the mortal one, as said above, accessible through many doorways, most often through landmarks of nature.

Beside this elusive quality of the otherworld’s location, it distinguishes itself against the mythos of other cultures through its unique flavor of mysticism, initiatory symbols and the qualities of immortality, abundance, beauty - in essence, the total absence of any illness, lack/absence; physical, mental or emotional flaws. In the oldest Celtic myths (manuscripts originating from cca. 8-9th century), this was in fact the original portrayal of the gods and goddesses and mortal adventures presented in the stories: as being benevolent, initiatory, relaying wisdom to those attentive to see it.

The most important symbols pertaining to the Celtic otherworld include the magic mist (the fabled mist that conceals the island of Avalon in Arthurian legends, hidden from prying eyes), the silver branch / apple branch (similar to the Greek golden bough in many aspects, essentially serving as an initiatory motif), sacred trees (so closely tied to druidic teachings), shapeshifting into or from animals (animism and the role of animals and beings in Celtic perception), etc.

But we will take a closer look at these symbols in the next articles by delving into their importance in the context of Celtic spirituality and their worldview.

Purpose: A spell to set things in motion to expose someone who’s wronged you. Meant for people you’ve spoken out against but no one believes you due to the offender’s social status. 

Needed

A small mirror

A black expo marker or black cloth

(Optional) Candles for protection/amplification

Casting

Cover mirror with the cloth or ink and light candles if you choose

Meditate, focusing on the target. (What did they do to you? Why did they do it? How did it make you feel?)

Recite the following until you’re content:

Put on a mask, Lie all you want. The monster inside you Isn’t a shock.

I’ll peel off your mask, Show your face to the light, And see who all believes That you’re still in the right.

From infusions and tinctures to oils and salves: The basics of herbal healing and the beginnings of any potion. 

Decoction: A decoction is needed to extract the deeper essence from harder substances such as barks, roots and stems. Place the raw materials in a pot and fill it with fresh water. Simmer uncovered until the water lever is reduced by 1/3. Strain the resulting liquid to remove particulates then drink or use as needed. Infusion: Pour freshly boiled water over the desired herb or planar matter, roughly 8 ounces of water per teaspoon of dried plant parts. When using fresh herbs roughly 3 times as much is required. 

Oil: Place flowers, herbs or other plant parts in a sealed glass container. Fill the container with an organic oil (ex: Olive, sesame, etc…) until it is an inch above the material being used. Place the bottle somewhere warm for 2 weeks, next to a stove while cooking, on the mantle, a sunny window sill, etc. Upend the container daily to ensure the oil saturates the material. 

Ointment: Heat 2 cups of pure lard to frying temperature. Add 4 handfuls of crumbled dry herbs or 6 handfuls of chopped fresh herb to the lard. Stir to to blend and let simmer for 1 minute. Remove from heat, cover and let sit over night. Reheat until liquid then mix in 4 tablespoons of an organic oil, this will prevent it hardening to much. Squeeze through a cheese clothe to remove solids and store in a crockery or glass container. 

Salve: Mix 3 ounces of finely pulped plant parts, 7 ounces of lard and 1 ounce of beeswax. When thoroughly mixed simmer over low heat in active red pot for 1-2 hours. Remove from eat and allow to cool. 

 Tincture: A tincture uses alcohol to extract the properties of a herb or plant. Loosely fill a glass container with fresh or dried herbs and add some sort of food grade spirit (ex: vodka), vinegar can also be used for certain ingredients. Cork or otherwise seal the container and leave somewhere warm for 2 or more weeks. 

 *Information from “Healing Teas - How to prepare and use read to maximize your health” by Marie Nadine Antol. 

My boyfriend is doing something awesome.

He’s making an online spell maker/ witch encyclopedia

Basically you can type in an intent or keywords and get ideas for spells

Or you can type out everything you want and it is also color coded (key words like love are red, courage is orange, etc.) and do cyber spells

Greetings my dear, sweet anon,

Oh goodness, resources on Slovakian culture and paganism are something I lack. It’s too bad that you aren’t looking for Slovene pagan articles -  I have quite a few documents on interesting topics for that region.

Nonetheless! Here is what I have. Please use discretion - I am not Slovakian myself and I am not fluent in the language. I can manage but I do make mistakes and mistranslate items.

My lovely readers - if you have recommendations, please feel free to drop them in the comments. As always, I appreciate your aid.

Resources

The Mythology of the Slavic People by Aleksander Gieysztor is fantastic, but I’ve only found it in Polish and Bulgarian. I’ll link the Polish version just in case here.

Studia Mythologica Slavica has some fantastic insights on Slavic mythology; however, not all of it is in English.

Slavic Folklore, A Handbook by Natalie Kononenko

Forests of the Vampires: Slavic Myth (Myth and Mankind) by Charles Phillips

An essay on Slavic Paganism by Irina Yakubin and Mariya Gershkovich

“The Burning of Morena” published on Slavorum

A cycle of life and death: Slavic goddesses Morana and Vesna by Veronica Parkes

“The last pagan of Javorníky – In the footsteps of mighty Orgoň” published on Slavorum

Slovak folklore, customs and traditions 

Slovak Folklore

Slovak Folk Festivals

“Early history of Western Slovakia” by Samuel Taufer, published as part of the European Wanderer project.

Egalitarian Utopias and Conservative Politics Veche as a Societal Ideal within Rodnoverie Movement by Kaarina Aitamurto

Contemporary Pagan and Native Faith Movements in Europe by Kathryn Rountree

Old Slavonic Sanctuaries in Czechia and Slovakia by Vladimír Turčan

Traditional Slovak Folktales by Pavol Dobšinský and Terry L Cooper

Forest Spirits of the Ancient Slavs by Valentina Ponomareva (primary focus on Russia’s interpretations, but still interesting and it overlaps with the West)

As always, please stay away from:

Wikipedia, which is highly inaccurate and encourages a black-and-white worldview.

Dmitriy Kushnir. His work is mixture of New Age, unverified information and non-Slavic beliefs that mirror his personal worldview. His works are also incredibly racist and sexist.

The Book of Veles, which is highly controversial in terms of authenticity. It is considered to be a nationalist forgery by many folks.

I hope that this helps! Sorry it could not be more.

Love,

Fairy:

is derived from Latin word “fatum,” meaning “the fates” and the Old French word fae and faerie meaning land, realm, or a characteristic activity (i.e. enchantment).

the standard modern spelling of the word faerie (as faerie is a pseudo-archaism.)

The word fairy came about to differentiate between warriors and human sized faeries in other works of literature. Fairies were delicate and tiny, often found in children’s books. 

Faerie:

circa 1300

from Old French faerie “land of fairies, meeting of fairies; enchantment, magic, witchcraft, sorcery”

from fae “fay,” from Latin fata “the Fates,” plural of fatum “that which is ordained; destiny, fate,”

to the word faie was added the suffix -erie (Modern English -(e)ry), used to express either a place where something is found (fishery, heronry, nunnery) or a trade or typical activity engaged in by a person (cookery, midwifery, thievery). 

Fae, Fay and Fey:

Fae: plural for faerie

Fay: to fit, to join together.

Fey: fated to die

*Note: If one Google images “fairy” they will find lighthearted images of Tinkerbellesque creatures. If one google images “faerie” they will find darker images closer tied to that of lore and legends.

Other titles or names for Faeries:

The Marigold Tarot by Amrit Brar.

I don’t know how many tumblr witches know, this could be old news, but I found that this is the best place to get jars/bottles to feed my obsession! They have a bunch of different colors, but most of them are clear. They have different shapes and such, and they’re very very cheap, even the jugs !! In their FAQ they said it’s fine to even order just 1 bottle at a time, even though most people order a bunch at once. It’s honestly the best deal on high quality bottles and jars that I’ve found so far! I would honestly skip Amazon and go straight here. 10/10!

I feel like some of the discussion of Morrigan tends to lump her in with European or Norse ideas of war deities and she’s just so different. She’s arguably not even a war deity in the traditional sense.

The Morrigan rarely fights herself. She’s a talker and a planner and a prophet and poet.

She inspires heroes and sets up leaders.

She’ll go in disguise to judge your merit.

She’ll appear like a monster to test your resolve.

It’s not a case of not fighting, but choosing the moment carefully.

She crosses between this world and the next. She knows death, knows what the cost of fighting can be.

•Their name on a piece of paper

•Their Facebook profile picture printed out

•A perfume/cologne they wear a lot

•A candle with their name and Zodiac sign(s) carved into it

•Something with their fingerprints (for example: clear plastic baggies often show fingerprints, or a DVD they’ve touched)

•If they wear lipstick, anything with lipstick stains (cup, napkin, etc.)

•Anything they threw away

The Snake and Ferns, another card for Woodland Wardens! Woodland Wardens is an in-progress oracle deck inspired by flora and fauna.