witch bitch

Major Arcana

{0 - The Fool} Unexpected opportunity, major choice.

{I - The Magician} You have the ability you need to succeed, mastery.

{II - The High Priestess} Intuition, secrets to be revealed, unexplored potential.

{III - The Empress} Nurturing to full potential, marriage, motherhood.

{IV - The Emperor} Ambition, authority, financial stability, achievement.

{V - The Hierophant} Traditional values, a wise person provides guidance.

{VI - The Lovers} Love relationship, perhaps love choices.

{VII - The Chariot} Triumph over difficulties, strength of will needed.

{VIII - Strength} Gentleness with inner strength and courage.

{IX - The Hermit} Withdrawal for contemplation, inner wisdom.

{X - The Wheel of Fortune} Change of fortune, a new cycle commencing, progress.

{XI - Justice} Fairness, the need for a balanced mind, legal matters.

{XII - The Hanged Man} Understanding, different perspective, self sacrifice.

{XIII - Death} Major change, transformation, death.

{XIV - Temperance} Patience, moderation, compromise, balance, healing.

{XV - The Devil} Manipulation, overindulgence, self enslavement.

{XVI - The Tower} Destruction of something built upon false beliefs.

{XVII - The Star} Hope, healing, optimism, better times ahead.

{XVIII - The Moon} Uncertainty, illusion, fluctuating, emotions, unseen depth.

{XIX - The Sun} Success, happiness, good health, happy marriage.

{XX - Judgment} Renewal, revival, reward for efforts, karma.

{XXI - The World} Triumph and achievement, success, happiness.

Minor Arcana | WANDS - Fire

{Ace} New venture or way of life, pregnancy or birth.

{Two} Initial accomplishment, possible partnership.

{Three} Completion of first stage of project, progress.

{Four} Stability, holidays, marriage plans.

{Five} Conflict, quarreling, competition.

{Six} Success, achievement, promotions.

{Seven} Defending position, overcoming obstacles.

{Eight} Fast progress after delays, travel.

{Nine} Perseverance: pull reserves together for final push.

{Ten} Feeling overburdened or weary, determination required.

{Page} Good news work related, active cheerful child.

{Knight} Change of home, long journey, energetic young man.

{Queen} Warm cheerful woman always very busy.

{King} Entrepreneurial dynamic man who can be rash.

Minor Arcana | CUPS - Water

{Ace} New relationship, new start that brings happiness for all at home.

{Two} Important union, balance in a relationship, reconciliation.

{Three} Happiness and achievement, wedding/family celebrations.

{Four} Boredom and discontent.

{Five} Feelings of disappointment, let down, betrayal, regrets.

{Six} Happiness from the past, old friends, an old love revived.

{Seven} Feeling overwhelmed with choices: one must be made, imagination.

{Eight} Abandoning a path, disillusionment, emotionally unfulfilled.

{Nine} The “wish” card, emotional, material fulfillment.

{Ten} Committed and contented love, marriage, happy home life.

{Page} Happy news: emotional nature, sensitive creative child.

{Knight} Love proposals, romantic idealistic young man.

{Queen} Kind thoughtful sensitive woman with caring nature.

{King} Warm thoughtful man in the caring or creative professions.

Minor Arcana | SWORDS - Air

{Ace} Triumph over adversity, inner strength, mental clarity.

{Two} Stalemate.

{Three} Quarreling, misery through separation.

{Four} Rest and recovery following strain.

{Five} Deceit, hidden agenda, unfair dealings.

{Six} Harmony after strain, long journey over water.

{Seven} Diplomacy: not aggression, situation not going as anticipated.

{Eight} Feeling restricted by fear, being withdrawn.

{Nine} Sense of anxiety and despair, feelings of oppression.

{Ten} Disappointment, end of cycle, failed plans.

{Page} Delayed/disappointing news, minor problems with a child.

{Knight} Swift movement, chaotic, quick minded serious young man.

{Queen} Perceptive efficient no nonsense type lady.

{King} Man in uniform connected to law, government, etc.

Minor Arcana | PENTACLES - Earth

{Ace} Start of successful venture, important document, gift.

{Two} Maintaining balance with more than one area of life.

{Three} Success through effort, gains and recognition.

{Four} Overly cautious, fear of loss, material focus.

{Five} Temporary hardship, guard against loss.

{Six} Successful gains, sharing, gift.

{Seven} Work and patience rewarded, good new financially.

{Eight} New job, moneymaking venture from existing talent.

{Nine} Financial success and material security.

{Ten} Financial and family stability, property, inheritance.

{Page} Good news: financially, academic methodical child.

{Knight} Eventual positive outcome, reliable young man.

{Queen} Woman of worth who is capable and practical.

While scanning through a lot of magic posts on tumblr, I’ve seen a lot of tags misusing suffixes. In particular “-mancy” gets used as a general term for magic works, I guess because it just sounds mystical in nature. As someone deeply in love with facts and the English language, such misappropriations van be a little off putting. With one simple search, it would be immediately and obviously revealed that -mancy specifically refers to forms of divination; i.e. cartomancy, the use of cards in divination.

The obvious exception is of course, ‘necromancy’. The term actual literally means ‘conferring with the dead as a mean to divine answers’, but modern media has bastardized the word into encompassing a strange hodgepodge of dark arts involving corspes. This is wholey inaccurate, and probably is the single reason for that abuse of -mancy. However, the fact that we study eclectic wisdom not typically included in modern academia, is no excuse to abandon higher study practices and formal education. And so, I present a brief list of suffixes and how they can and are applied to magic.

-Mancy: A form of divination.

(CRYSTALLOMANCY: Divination by crystal gazing.)

-Graphy: Writing or feild of study.

(TASSEOGRAPHY: Study of tea leaves)

-Tion: Action of.

(INCANTATION: Act of chanting.)

-Ology: Study of.

(NUMEROLOGY: Study of numbers.)

-Ism: Practice or system of.

(MYSTICISM: Practising mystic arts.)

-Ry: Occupation of.

(PALMISTRY: Work of reading palms.)

-Ic: Having characteristics of.

-Scopy/Scope: Examination of.

(HOROSCOPE: Examination of a time.)

-Sis: Action, state, condition, or process of.

(TELEKINESIS: Process of long distance psychic interaction.)

-Magy: A form of magic.

The suffix -Magy would be a much more logical end to a custom word describing a practice of magic, and far better than the overused -mancy. For instance, magic with technology would become ‘technomagy’. Magic involving thoughtforns would become ‘tulpamagy’. It’s a slight change in spelling and pronunciation, but a huge shift in meaning.

Here’s to the Witches with messy altars.

To the sisters that have cats with ragged ears and missing legs.

Here’s to the brothers with the altars all dripping wax and smothered in incense ash.

To the siblings with athames of stone and Books of Shadow smudged with coffee and last week’s breakfast.

Here’s to spells written in a rush but with love and care behind them.

To spells that don’t rhyme or really make sense when spoken but call storms to the sky.

Here’s to the Witches who sit Sundays in the pews and sing out the praise of the Risen God.

To the Witches who stand sky clad under the moonlight and pray by fire to the old Gods of Before.

Here’s to the Witches who learn when they are children, how to read the cards and the signs of the stars.

To the Witches who don’t learn until silver touches their hair how to cast the runes and the bones to sense a fair wind.

Here’s to the Children of the Witches they could not Burn.

To the Witches who snuck into the night with their books and wands and herbs clutched close to their chests.

Here’s to the Witches who flaunted their Spirit Boards in their sitting rooms and their crystals in their kitchens.

This is a magical exercise I used to practice for the fun of it. It is a good way to learn visualization and quite interesting, too! In this exercise you will attempt to ‘open up’ a picture and send your mind to it, so that you can experience whatever is going on using your magical vision (or if you are very skilled, projection).

You will need a variety of pictures. Any tarot deck will work great. Images on your PC may be okay, I’ve never tried it; a picture book like a photo dictionary or encyclopedia would be fun. A children’s history book would be great! Basically, collect interesting pictures that you want to “jump in”.

There are 4 basic steps:

Opening the picture

Jumping in

Exploring

Exiting and closing

Opening the picture

Make your hands in to a triangle shape, and view the picture through the triangle. If you like to use charms, say to yourself, This triangle manifests the picture in to magical reality. Imagine that there is a thick, clear glass cover over the picture. Think to yourself, open, picture!

Imagine that the glass cover of the photo swings open, and suddenly underneath you can see the image moving and coming alive. Remember you will see this with your magical vision – and that means, inside your imagination. As a goddess recently told me, “it doesn’t matter if it’s real – it’s happening.” So if it is happening, don’t wonder if it is “really real” or not. Just enjoy the fun of the exercise.

Jumping in

There are many ways to ‘enter’ the picture. You can imagine that you become very tiny, and a little figure of yourself jumps from your forehead, between your triangle hands, and in to the picture. As soon as the figure lands you gain their perspective and will see the picture from first person perspective.

You can also imagine that you are falling in to the picture, and tumbling through your hands until you land inside.

Or, you can come up with a method all your own.

Exploring

Any way you do it, the result should be that you now magically view yourself as being inside of the image. What you see should have ‘come alive’ and be animated and moving. You should be able to move freely within the image and interact with whatever people or beings you like.

Try using all your senses. Smell, touch, see, feel, and hear what is going on around you. Observe characters from the scene that are moving. Try moving around the part of the picture that is printed, then move beyond the borders of the picture in to a greater world.

Exiting and closing

When you are done, imagine being lifted back up out of the picture, back through your triangle hands, and back up in to your body.

If you prefer, you can blink and know you are back where you belong, in your cozy body.

Remember that the glass pane over the image is still open. You must close it. Imagine that the glass swings closed and say to yourself, close, picture!

If you wish, ground and center after this exercise.

Warnings & Miscellaneous stuff

My earliest adventures in picture-jumping were tarot, and some of the images can be quite scary when you are suddenly immersed in them – especially if the cards are reversed. Try choosing pleasant, enjoyable images to jump in to.

These are my personal correspondences, and are by no means prescriptive. I’m also gonna limit Aboriginal inclusions to dreamtime stories that I’ve heard first hand, and can still remember. -I can’t deny the impact these stories have had on how I perceive the land.

Magpies: I mean first off you’ve got the Magpie Song “One for Sorrow” etc, but expanding on the superstition is the caution to treat Magpies with respect. Magpies in Australia are beautiful songbirds and fiercely protective of their young. I usually sing or whistle to them, sometimes they sing back. Charms, Protection, Omens, Secrets, Trinkets

Tawny Frogmouth: I LOVE THEM SO MUCH. The Hidden Path, Without a Trace, Pragmatism, Caution, Judging Character, Putting up a Façade, Really Nice if you Get to Know them

Plubbers: Ok so people ramble on about getting swooped by magpies but I’ve never met a magpie I didn’t love. Plubbers are the real deal. Don’t fuck with them. They even have poison barbs. Seriously. Solid Swooper Troopers. Their protection of their young inspires us to protect our young, so main correspondence would be Protection of the Small,  Parental Instincts. Then there’s Fierceness, Intimidation, Boundaries, Guardians of the Threshold, The Transition into Parenthood.

Kookaburra: Legit one of the most friendly birds around, a larrikin and the biggest baddest kingfisher. Pride, Sensitivity to Atmosphere, Merriness, Sociability,  Je ne sais pas… Mockery, We’re laughing with you… and at you. The Cackling King, The Chuckling Queen, The Merry Monarch of the Wilderness and Fine Bush Envoy in the Urban Sprawl.  

Cockatoo: Ridiculous Punk Birds With Fluorescent Yellow Mohawks. Being Punk, Loud, Kickass, Badass, Unapologetic. Also longevity, at least one has lived to over 100 in captivity. The balance between being safe and having fun.

Rainbow Lorikeets: Sweet, Gay and Sociable. They are Good. Together we are the rainbow.

Willy Wagtails: I was told a story about these guys when I was in Primary School, I don’t remember what mob was visiting, but I remember that in that dreaming the tail is what used to be his shield, and he’s still waving it around and fighting things way bigger than him. Also talks a lot.  So, uh. Defence, Fearlessness, Gossip.

Black Swans: Probably even gayer than Kookaburras and Rainbow Lorikeets combined.  Queer Power, Queer Protection, Decadent Drama Queens. Seriously, Black Swan Theory. On par with The Tower for dramatic significance. Achieving the impossible, infinite probability. Anything is possible. Fate Magic.  Paradigm Destruction. Defiance of Logic and Common Sense.

Pelicans: Gluttony, Pomposity, The Law, Judgement, Elucidation through Logic, Practicality, A Companion for Life, a mentor.

Whipbirds: Clarity, Hyperrealism. A sound so vivid it drags you out of your head and into the real world. A Fey instrument, heard and not seen.

Lyrebirds: A flawless actor, a living echo. Memory and Trickery, Truth as a tool to be twisted and used.

Bell Birds: Unreality. Soft bells tolling all around, ringing inside you, reverberating in your soul. You’re transported, on the threshold between this world and the Otherworld. Patterns and Time.

GIVEAWAY

1000+ Giveaway ! Thanks so much to all my followers ! I’m so happy ♥ 

You’ll have opportunity to win :

- A digital painted portrait of the character of your choice 

- 3 custom traditional witchsona drawings (send to you internationally)

Rules :

- Follow the Blog 

- Like this Post and Reblog ! 

Bisexual Sigil

Fifth in trans-warlock‘s series of sexuality sigils from Trans Magic Workshop

Add to spells, charms, etc to bond yourself  to your magic and reaffirm your identify

Thank you to everyone who shared their feelings about their sexuality to help create this!

Gender sigils: Agender Sigil, Gendervoid Sigil,Genderfluid Sigil, Bigender Sigil , Nonbinary Sigil,Demiboy Sigil, Demigirl Sigil , Genderqueer Sigil,Trans Male Sigil, Trans Female Sigil, Androgyne Sigil,Pangender Sigil,  Genderflux Sigil, Dmab Genderqueer Sigil, Neutrois Sigil, Aporagender Sigil,Trigender Sigil,Greygender Sigil,Agenderflux,Gendervague, and Demiagender As well as the Predator/Prey Reversal Safety Sigil for Trans/Nonbinary/Intersex, the Dysphoria and Transphobia Trap Sigil, and the Dead-naming and Misgendering Protection Ward, and our Steady Breathing Binding Sigil, Masculinity Increasing Binding Sigil, and Gender Euphoria Lock Sigil, and coming out to datemate sigil

Also our Pansexuality Sigil and Asexual Sigil and Asexual Spectrum Sigil, and Demisexuality Sigil

Romantic Orientation sigils: Aromantic double sigil We also have an Intersex Sigil

A brilliant idea by @witchella, I give you the Witchcraft open community server. This should serve as a more direct method of staying in touch with your fellow practitioners of the craft, as well as exchanging information, learning, finding others in your area, forming covens, finding teachers and students, and so on! Anyone is free to join, but please be respectful! Remember, not every Witch things and believes the same as you do. We even have colorful role tags!

And organized chat rooms to suit your needs

This is easily accessible from your desktop, browser, or mobile phone!

• New, young, or considering witches can ask you questions

• Your blog is free of hate and is a safe learning community (this includes bashing christians/non-pagans)

• No questions (as long as they aren’t creepy) will be laughed at or shamed

• It’s okay to ask you for advice or opinions, even if you are an experienced witch.

• Your blog is inviting and welcoming and is a space for education on the craft.

Photo by Heather Johnson 2011

Happy Arkteia! I meant to post this earlier in the day, but I never had the chance because of an exam. But here it is now with bits of copy and pasting from an old writing I did it *coughs*. (My goal is to post about every Artemis festival coming up or on that same day).

Arkteia is a modern festival of Artemis created by Thista Minai. It falls every March 6th because the 6th of every month is sacred to Artemis. Back in ancient Greece, the sixth of every month was 6 days after the New Moon since the ancient Greek calendar was lunar (so you can either celebrate on traditional lunar days or 6th of a month). Minai originally called the festival Brauronia after the ancient festival held by the cult of Artemis Brauronia. She later improvised the festival and renamed it to Arkteia. Instead of  "taming" our wild side, the modern Arkteia is a celebration of embracing our wildness and inner child.

The arkteia, a rite of girls around the ages of five to ten acting like bears, was practiced at the following sanctuaries: Artemis Mounichia in Piraeus, Artemis Brauronia in the coast of Brauron and on the Acropolis.[5] Redfield believes that the rite first began in Mounichia and later in Brauron.[6] The arkteia service was available to all Athenian families as believed by Aristophanes.[7] Although there were marble votives dedicated to male children, there hasn’t been any literature that marked that boys participated in the rite.[8]

Short garment-clothed girls while some were naked ran and danced like bears; they became arktoi which mean bears. Saffron (a yellow-orange color) robes or krokotos were worn in the beginning of the rite. “Sourvinou-Inwood has made a careful argument suggesting that the saffron robe was worn at a relatively early stage in the rite, and that the girls shed it and became naked as a preparation for their return to society in their new status.”[9] The purpose of the rite was to transform the girls into being marriageable because it was believed all little girls were wild.[10] The rite gave them a chance to feel their power and release all their wildness.[11] After the rite they would be tamer.[12] It is suggested that the saffron robes represent sexual maturity.[13] “A Bear is imagined with a krokotos… is otherwise known, not least from Aristophanes, as a full-length yellow gown that makes a woman irresistibly alluring. Krokotoi appear with details of workmanship in the Brauron inventories. Very likely a bride wore it at her wedding. If a little Bear wears it, it is by anticipation, like using a bridal basin.”[14] They can also represent “the skin of the tawny bear in a more civilised mode.”[15]

The rite’s purpose also teaches girls about separation from their family since they would be living with their husbands after marriage;[16] it is why they remain in the sanctuary for a certain period of time. Like some young women who believed in chastity, Hippolytus, a companion of Artemis, vowed to remain a virgin and remarked he had “a maiden spirit.”[17] By acting like bears, the girls are able to relate to Artemis’s fierce chastity.[18] Once they shed their robes as mentioned before, they would be transformed and perhaps accept their fate as brides.[19] This also marks the end of their maidenhood.

The modern Arkteia does not celebrate giving up our “maidenhood” or “childish side”. Rather it is a day to celebrate this wild inner child that always resides in us.

To read more and see the citing, you can go here: Link I am founder of the website which I made back when I was a young Artemis devotee teen. It is no longer updated. 

On this day ask yourself:

* What were your favorite things you loved to do when you were younger? Make a list and think of doing them today to relive the happy moments when you were younger. 

* What is a part of you that never died that has been with you since you were a child? 

* As an adult, cut loose on the seriousness of life and learn to relax and have fun today. 

Ambergris: Vanilla beans

Angelica: Marigold or calendula

Bergamot: Bee balm flowers, or try loose-leaf Earl Grey tea

Belladonna: Tobacco or the flowering tobacco (Nicotiana)

Betony: Lamb’s ears

Blood: Apple cider or apple juice

Camphor: Eucalyptus

Cassia: Cinnamon

Chamomile: White daisies

Cinquefoil: Clover

Citron: An equal part of lemon peel and orange peel

Citronella: Scented geraniums

Cypress: Juniper or pine needles

Deer’s tongue: Sweet woodruff (Asperula odorata)

Drawing powder: Powdered sugar

Frankincense: Copal, pine resin

Galangal: Fresh ginger root

Graveyard dirt: Mullein

Heliotrope: Chicory

Holly foliage or berries: Snapdragons

Honey: Real maple syrup

Hyssop: Lavender

Jasmine: Rose

John the Conqueror root: St. John’s wort (foliage and flowers)

Laurel: Bay leaf

Lemongrass: Lemon balm or fresh grated lemon peel

Mace: Nutmeg

Mandrake root: Peony roots

Mineral oil: Extra virgin olive oil

Mistletoe: Mint or sage, or sphagnum moss (as it’s also a parasite that grows on trees)

Mullein: Lamb’s ears

Neroli: Tangerine, or orange peel

Nettles: The thistle from the dried cone of a coneflower (Echinacea)

Orange blossoms: Fresh grated orange peel

Orris root: The petals of the iris flower

Patchouli: Oak moss

Peppermint: Spearmint

Periwinkle: Morning glory vines and flowers

Pine needles: Rosemary

Rose hips: Rose petals or leaves

Rue: Hydrangea blossoms or bark

St. John’s wort: Witch hazel

Saffron: Orange peel or crocus

Sandalwood: Frankincense

Spikenard: Cedar

Sulfur: Tobacco or the flowering tobacco (Nicotiana)

Sunflower: Brown-eyed Susan

Sweet grass: Sage

Thyme: Rosemary

Valerian: Catnip

Vervain: Flowering verbena

Wild violet: Pansy or viola

Wine: Grape juice

Wolfsbane (Aconite): Garlic

Wormwood: Yarrow

The Satanist Witches.  Who are constantly thrown under the bus by witches who don’t want to associate with you because they want people to know they’re not “evil”.

The Atheist/Secular Witches.  Who have trouble finding spells suited to their beliefs because most other witches insist on calling on gods or goddesses. 

The Abrahamic Witches.  Who are constantly told their paths aren’t valid by people of their religion and witches alike.

The Trans/non-binary Witches.  Who have a hard time finding representation in religion and the craft.  Who are excluded from covens solely due to how they were born

To Non-Wiccan Witches.  Who constantly need to remind people that witch is not synonymous with Wicca.