Witch of the setting sun

hi yall, another purely based in UPG, new agey post! historically, deity offerings for the ancient egyptians often took the form of art/sculpture/hymns, incense (like frankincense or myrrh), or offerings of food (especially meat and bread) and drink (wine/ale, mostly). dialogue with the gods was often facilitated through the pharaohs or funerary rites, but your average person had access to daily magic and regular temples as well.

RA

Colors: yellow, orange, red for the sun

Offerings: eye of ra, dates, figs, grapes, apricots, sunflowers, morning glories, chocolate, pastries, orange juice, honey

Crystals: sunstone, yellow/red jasper, citrine, carnelian, honey calcite, angelite, kyanite

Animals: falcon

SHU

Colors: white, blue for the air/sky

Offerings: feathers (especially ostrich), sandalwood, gardenia, anise, paper fans, cornflower

Crystals: white/clear quartz, angelite, selenite, blue calcite, fluorite, blue lace agate

Animals: lion, ostrich

baby carrots (good dipped in ranch)

Celery sticks (add some peanut butter or cream cheese for extra flavor and protein)

Broccoli (good with ranch, cheese, or salt/pepper/butter)

Canned peas (you can microwave in a microwave-safe bowl. Good with salt/pepper/butter)

Bell peppers (cut into strips, good with cream cheese)

Canned green beans (can be microwaved in microwave-safe bowl. Good with salt/pepper/butter)

Hummus (good with crackers or tortilla chips)

Salsa (good with tortilla chips)

Guacamole (good with tortilla chips)

Need it in something?

Can't see it:

Hummus

salsa

Guacamole

Can see but disguised flavor (can usually be found store bought or done at home and use different veggies):

Dressed up ramen - just toss in some random veggies in ramen of your choice. Pretty much everything I've tried goes fine with it.

Chicken pot pie

Vegetable soup (with so many together it's hard to taste any specific one!)

Chicken noodle soup

Sweet and sour pork (haven't tried it but chicken should be fine in place of pork)

Texture problems:

Need it soft:

Hummus

Salsa

Guacamole

Cooked carrots

Avocados

Beans (personally I prefer black beans and canned baked beans)

Peas (make sure to cook well, great value brand has the softest peas I've tried)

Cooked broccoli (note: it does smell bad while cooking)

Cooked asparagus (note: also smells bad while cooking)

Cooked zucchini and squash (good together but can be eaten separate)

You can also puree most vegetables and eat with a spoon or use them as a dip

Needs to be crunchy:

Raw carrots

Raw celery

Raw bell peppers

Salad (remember you can put whatever you want in it! Even if that means no lettuce)

Most veggies are okay raw, and are usually very crunchy

Veggies google says stay crunchy after lightly cooking:

Snap peas

Brussel sprouts

Cabbage

Water chestnut

Bamboo shoots

Broad texture tips:

You can change textures by eating raw, cooking, chopping, pureeing, etc

You can separate different textures to use in different ways (ie using broccoli tops in a soup and eating the bottoms raw)

baby carrots (good dipped in ranch)

Celery sticks (add some peanut butter or cream cheese for extra flavor and protein)

Broccoli (good with ranch, cheese, or salt/pepper/butter)

Canned peas (you can microwave in a microwave-safe bowl. Good with salt/pepper/butter)

Bell peppers (cut into strips, good with cream cheese)

Canned green beans (can be microwaved in microwave-safe bowl. Good with salt/pepper/butter)

Hummus (good with crackers or tortilla chips)

Salsa (good with tortilla chips)

Guacamole (good with tortilla chips)

Need it in something?

Can't see it:

Hummus

salsa

Guacamole

Can see but disguised flavor (can usually be found store bought or done at home and use different veggies):

Dressed up ramen - just toss in some random veggies in ramen of your choice. Pretty much everything I've tried goes fine with it.

Chicken pot pie

Vegetable soup (with so many together it's hard to taste any specific one!)

Chicken noodle soup

Sweet and sour pork (haven't tried it but chicken should be fine in place of pork)

Texture problems:

Need it soft:

Hummus

Salsa

Guacamole

Cooked carrots

Avocados

Beans (personally I prefer black beans and canned baked beans)

Peas (make sure to cook well, great value brand has the softest peas I've tried)

Cooked broccoli (note: it does smell bad while cooking)

Cooked asparagus (note: also smells bad while cooking)

Cooked zucchini and squash (good together but can be eaten separate)

You can also puree most vegetables and eat with a spoon or use them as a dip

Needs to be crunchy:

Raw carrots

Raw celery

Raw bell peppers

Salad (remember you can put whatever you want in it! Even if that means no lettuce)

Most veggies are okay raw, and are usually very crunchy

Veggies google says stay crunchy after lightly cooking:

Snap peas

Brussel sprouts

Cabbage

Water chestnut

Bamboo shoots

Broad texture tips:

You can change textures by eating raw, cooking, chopping, pureeing, etc

You can separate different textures to use in different ways (ie using broccoli tops in a soup and eating the bottoms raw)

Broken hearted? Feel like you cannot control your emotions or like your heart has turned away from you? I created this heka to soothe and strengthen the connection between the khet, or physical body, and the ib, or heart.

As with all heka, I recommend cleansing yourself beforehand. Speak the words aloud, and allow your magic and strength to be behind each word.

Words to be said by the magician:

"Let my heart not stand against me, Let it not be repulsed from it's desires. Let my heart stand with you, O' Gods! Let my heart be strengthened in me, O' Gods!

Let my heart not speak against me, Let it no longer cause me pain. Let my heart stand with you, O' Gods! Let my heart stand with me, O' Gods!

The magician may also be inclined to give offerings to their ib, to please it and give it strength. In this, they may approach it as a separate entity, to be pacified. I recommend offering water before presenting additional offerings, to cool the ib first. Food offerings may be 'reverted' and eaten, and any others may be set aside in an altar or shrine space.

Words to be said by the magician during offerings:

"O my heart, O' my ib, I bring you water, May it cool you, may it purify you! May you stand with me once more!

Guard my dreams that I may sleep peacefully, and my home and family that we may awaken to Ra's morning light.

Glory be to you, O Yinepu, who guides our souls.

Walk with me in my dreams and teach me all that I should know, so that I may be wise in this life and the next.

I am ever your faithful servant and loving child.

"In ancient Egypt, a woman’s primary role was that of mother, and as such she ensured her place within both her household and her community. And so, gods, doctor-magicians, as well as ghosts were all called upon to help the woman become pregnant.

Pregnancy was not without risks, and the many tests, prescriptions, and spells that have survived to this day help us to understand obstetrics as it was practiced in those distant times. Once the woman had eluded the ill will of Seth―who was held responsible for miscarriages―and had reached her term, she was faced with the much awaited and yet also feared moment of birth. The successful delivery of a child into the world was seen as a gift of the gods, but it did not mean that the parent’s worries were over. Indeed, it has been estimated that a third of all children did not reach the age of five years despite the combined efforts of parents and doctor-magicians to protect them.

Amandine Marshall draws upon a wealth of sources, including texts, images, iconography, artefacts, and children’s bodies themselves, as well as medicine, anthropology, and ethnography, to examine these issues and more, and in doing so sheds unprecedented light on the experience of maternity and early childhood in ancient Egypt."

Knot Magic is how simple as it sounds. Knot Magic is one of the techniques whilst using the air element, "catching the wind" as it was called. Most of what we know about knot magic comes from folk traditions and lore about fisherman and sailors catching winds for their sails and tying fisherman knots. If they need extra wind in their sail, they will untie the knot letting the wind escape these traditions are still prevalent today. Fisherman knots do not unravel and tighter under stress. There are many different ways of how to go about it, you can use rope, twine, thread, string, cord, anything that can be tied in a knot. Color correspondences can be important as well.

In Witchcraft it's very much part one's craft especially if one needs to be bit more secretive and discreet in their practice. Knot magic is much involved in folk magic and what's nice about folk magic is that it's practical and not much ritual needs to go into it. Here are some ways you can integrate it in your practice:

Needle work

Looming

Weaving

Knitting

Tying a knot around something that needs to be fixed.

A witch's ladder

Poppet Work

Braiding

Rosaries

Binding

Celtic Knots

So How Do You Do It?

Well, it's easy, you want to capture the spell in the knot and there isn't any wrong way of doing it. Say you want to put reserved energy into the knots so in case you're feeling fatigue or just low on energy and need of a boost. One way is that you take the first section of the twine and chant on what is it you're capturing into the knot I will say talking and chanting is required because it needs to be air flowing and whispering is completely fine as well it doesn't need to be long just say, "I place a piece of energy within this knot." as you begin tying the knot when you're about to tighten it blow as you tighten it. It’s optional but double knots can help secure the knot and energy into place as well say if your saying is a bit too long for a singular knot double knots can be really great for this scenario.

You can also chant while knotting the twine The Witches' Ladder is good for this as well as braiding, here is a simple folk charm to use to create a ladder it's mostly for charms of anything that one would like to achieve and gain. I recommend it for beginners so that you can get the idea and play around and see what you can make out of it

Acquirements:

Yarn or Twine

Nine Feathers or anything that can easily be knotted like Hag stones which are rocks with natural formed holes

Make sure the twine/yarn is long enough to hold all nine objects then as you knot the twine chant the following incantation.

'I tie this knot for my need of____.

The next I tie in the Devil's name.

The third to fix it by my will.

The fourth one to hold it fast and firm.

The fifth one to bind it evermore.

The sixth fastens the wish herein.

The seventh brings it nearer still

The eighth makes it almost true

The ninth completes the ladder by which

I climb and reach for____.'

Make sure that you speak slow and clear even when whispering it helps putting, your energy more effectively within the twine or yarn. Imagine as you tighten it that it will never break away like a sailor at sea fasten his sail for the oncoming storm knowing it will never giveaway. You can make just knots with the twine no need of items if you don't wish to I usually don't. You can anoint them in oil or herbal water to bless it. You can write your own incantations and use many other knots.

Use poetry or chanting for me I used the Havamal as Odin speaks that he knows numerous spells I made a belt of said numbered of spells into knots around his glass candle.

I wand dress my wands and staffs, to help preserve and restore energy but also to help grounding and give me a bit more energy in my workings, for this I combining knots and braiding

In regard to braiding, needle work, weaving, though like needle work will have knots at one end and the other it's very few. Whilst doing these activities you can chant, sing, speak, or pushing your energy into each stitch and loom and connector it's mediative and really great for trance work.

Deities Associated with Knot Magic

So this will include UPGS of deity correspondences but within reason and good links that I will describe.

Loki: his name might’ve derive from “knot” and his symbol/sigil is a six looped knot of a snake that is signifies his trickster nature. Now this is my own correlation I don’t know if there is historical evidence of Loki including in Knot magic. However it’s still a good correspondence and working with him. Visualization of knots and finding clever ways to undo them or tie them for mischievous ways. Not to mention he is often associated with spiders who are natural weavers so that can be a great correspondent.

The Norns - Wavers of Fate, they spin the fate of makind. They can help with healing, protection, manifestation, and altering fate.

Frigg- Associated with Weaving as a domesticated art and link to the Norns as she also knows all people’s fates. She is very wise even more so than All father her husband, talk about power couple. She can help protection, Motherhood, healing, wisdom, knowledge, patience.

Athena: Goddess of Craftsmanship especially weaving, one of her famous stories was she cursed a hubris weaver named Archane into a spider who weaves beautiful webs this story is how spiders came to be. Athena is associated with war, wisdom, knowledge, justice, craftsmanship, and strength.

Our Lady of Knots or Mary, the Untier of Knots: This is for people who work in Saint magic or incorporates saints in their practice. Our Lady of Knots is an aspect of Holy Mary. Which she is prayed for resolution of difficult situations in life such as family discord, violence, anger, parents and children conflict like misunderstandings, addictions, lack of peace, martial problems, separation of home or god, and unemployment.

Njord - Norse God of Fisherman, fisherman knots are again a very common occurrence in folklore. Fisherman knots do not unravel and tighter under stress. Praying to Njord to help strengthen such knots and put up as a talismans or offerings for him.

Rán: is a Norse Goddess of the sea who uses a net to capture drowned sailors and live within her hall. Fisherman nets if you ever see one is full of knots again I don’t know there is historical evidence of her within knot magic but she can help with capturing dangers in her net or help soften a blow or change that can be coming without your control.

Britomartis: Goddess of Traps and Nets, often associated with Artemis a huntress and a virgin goddess. Evoke her to help trapping dangers or maybe help you get out of a tricky situation.

Wind gods that can be evoke to let their winds and energy to trap within the knot. Those within the air element.

Odin: He is considered to be the God of Wind, as he was the one to give humans breathe.

Poseidon, Zeus, and Thor as storm gods: Now these gods can cause storms and strong winds especially Poseidon who can create hurricanes. But they can also help with withstand storms (literally and metaphorically).

Hermes: Like Loki he is a trickster god and possibly can help with knot magic as well but he is often associated with the air element.

~Michael Snyder  for the LA Times  Oct. 7, 2019

a ‘green/yes’ is a weakness, a ‘red/no’ is something that isnt a weakness, and a ‘?’ is something that has never been addressed but fucking riddle me this

The “getting it done in an unconventional way” method.

The “it’s not cheating to do it the easy way” method.

The “fuck what you’re supposed to do” method.

The “get stuff done while you wait” method.

The “you don’t have to do everything at once” method.

The “it doesn’t have to be permanent to be helpful” method.

The “break the task into smaller steps” method.

The “treat yourself like a pet” method.

The “it doesn’t have to be all or nothing” method.

The “put on a persona” method.

The “act like you’re filming a tutorial” method.

The “you don’t have to do it perfectly” method.

The “wait for a trigger” method.

The “do it for your future self” method.

The “might as well” method.

The “when self discipline doesn’t cut it” method.

The “taking care of yourself to take care of your pet” method.

The “make it easy” method.

The “junebugging” method.

The “just show up” method.

The “accept when you need help” method.

The “make it into a game” method.

The “everything worth doing is worth doing poorly” method.

The “trick yourself” method.

The “break it into even smaller steps” method.

The “let go of should” method.

The “your body is an animal you have to take care of” method.

The “fork theory” method.