Learning Witchcraft with Ms. Juniper Wildwalk

So I got really sick. Like... “I can barely stay conscious most of the time” sick. That’s why this blog trailed off, I just couldn’t keep up with both it and classes. I was barely keeping up with classes. When I stopped this blog, I was in health poor enough that it was touch and go whether I’d be able to continue in university at all. 

But, I have a friend who’s just started a new business, and it’s a REALLY good one! It sells crystals, currently to people in the US only because of shipping costs but with your help they’ll be able to expand to other countries. 

http://www.luminacrystals.com

They’re really lovely and are selling crystals for far cheaper than most sellers on Etsy or even non-Etsy shops. This is their first shop and it’s so good!

I’m gonna be looking to post new stuff on their tumblr account at some point under the name Juniper Wildwalk, and whenever I can I’ll try to post new things on here although that might be hard (I’m still really damn sick and always will be sadly). 

Thank you all for your well wishes over the years <3 

It’s been months since I updated, and the longer I wait the harder it gets to start a new post. For this reason, I want to run a brainstorming session with, say, 5-10 people who follow my blog and want to just talk to me directly and see about what they thing my blog should write about in the future. Please message me if you’d like to be a part! 

The traditional associations of casting circles are pretty simple: call the spirits of the elements at each of the cardinal directions, invoke whatever deity or deities with whom you work, “brush” or push the negative forces out from within the circle to without it, and then seal it with your own magick and Will. 

The problem is, though, that this was created by people living in the United Kingdom, and as such it was created with the UK’s cardinal directions in mind. These are not always appropriate for where you live, though! Traditionally, you would invoke

Earth in the East Fire in the South Water in the West Air in the North

But here in Australia that makes no sense. In Britain, the further south (towards the equator) you move, the hotter it gets... but in Australia you move NORTH to approach the equator. Fire spirits would be found more towards the North of Australia where the heat is greater and the days are more equal.

In Britain, with the Arctic to the North, Air is placed in the far North as Air spirits love the cold and winds of tundra plains. However, being a Southern hemisphere country, Australia’s cold region is the Antarctic to the South, and so it makes more sense to listen to the Air spirits there, where you’ll actually find them. 

Here on the East Coast of Australia the beautiful Great Dividing Range - a vast mountain range that stretches for thousands of miles and divides our beautiful nation in twain - and the bulk of the Australian continent stretch out towards the West. Meanwhile, to our East, the south Pacific ocean flows with vast Ocean spirits that bring cyclones and thunderstorms to our fair continent. So it makes sense to not place Earth in the East like in the UK (where Europe is all eastwards) but instead in the West, and likewise place Water in the East where the largest ocean on Earth sits, placidly, waiting to devour us all.

But, of course, this is not the same for all! Japan might choose to have the Air of Hokkaido and the Arctic in the North, equatorial Fire in the South, Pacific Water in the East, and Asian Earth in the West; Kenya might have Fire in the East to represent the great Sahara Desert, Water in the West, Earth in the North and Air in the South. The world s full of diversity, and adhering rigidly to the rules of a bunch of 1920s British Wiccans who’d barely even left England in their entire lives and had never seen a non-white person probably isn’t the best idea in our modern world of inexpensive plane tickets and cultural diversity. 

Live on, my bright Wiccans and Witches of the wider world, and let the Spirits of your own lands guide you!

Not everyone has the time or money for a busy, involved spell. It takes practice, a quiet place to sit down, and often a lot of meditation or introspection before you can create a really POWERFUL spell. However, sometimes what you need isn’t power, but speed - these spells answer just that need combining water and no more than TWO other ingredients to create useful, flexible spells. They’re not the most powerful bits of magick you can perform, but they work fast, they don’t need a protective circle to cast them, and they can be re-performed easily and with almost no ingredient costs! 

Fill a glass with water, and invoke the healing elements of Water and Earth. Pour healing energies into the water, and add a sprinkle of salt to cleanse out impure energy. Drink this water in one go for a fast and easy noticeable healing spell. Please note, however, that it is not a super-powerful spell! If you really need healing, perform a proper, strong spell after going to a doctor. 

Dip your finger into a glass of saturated salty water, and use the water to draw a pentacle upon your table or altar. When the water evaporates it will leave the salt behind, creating a perfect salt pentacle perfect for keeping your altar free of harmful energies. This also means that it can be washed off in seconds with a damp paper towel or wash-cloth, making it easy to clean up and easy to dispose of in an instant if you are a secret or hidden Witch in an unfriendly environment.

Mix sugar and a spice, such as vanilla* or cinnamon, into water and bless it under moonlight. Dedicate it to the moon and to the cycles of nature. Then, before the sun rises, pour the water out over any plants in your garden that need a little extra help staying healthy and strong.  *Please only use vanilla extract, vanilla paste, or vanilla bean for this! Vanilla essence is NOT real vanilla, and has never seen the inside of any herbs at all. Vanilla essence is a chemical called vanillin, which was created synthetically in a factory - it is NOT a real herb!

Add rosemary and sage to a jug of cool water, and leave it to sit in the fridge for three days. Take the jug out and dip a paintbrush into this water, and then paint the potion upon the top of any doors in your house that face the outside. This will prevent negative spirits from entering your dwelling, and will help prevent you bringing stress in from the outside world with you too!

Add together 3 parts dried rosemary (or 5 parts fresh), 6 parts water (8 if using fresh herb) and 2 parts salt, boil together in a pan for at least 10 minutes, then leave this to sit in a cool place away from as much sunlight as possible. Leave this potion to sit and infuse for at least 2 weeks, and then during your showers measure out about a quarter-cup (~60ml) of the potion. Apply this to your scalp and hair, massaging vigorously, and then after at least 1 minute of leaving it in wash it out with shampoo and water. This potion is extremely nourishing for the hair, and will help your hair stay stronger for longer. Soak your hands and feet in it for 10 minutes twice-daily as a nail strengthener, too! Keep refrigerated when not in use!

Under a full moon, step out into nature and bless a bucket of water. Add a handful of salt, and command the salt to dispel all impurities and harmful energies in the water, and then use whatever incantation or wording you choose to tell the water that anything washed within it will be cleansed of foul energies and made new again. Then use the water to wash down any items in your house that might have negative energies attached; for example a necklace that was given to you by an abusive ex; a favourite toy from your childhood before you moved away and couldn’t play with it anymore; or perhaps a ritual tool that has not been cleansed in a long time and has energies built up inside it. This water will remove all the bad energies, and leave the good ones, allowing you to make the object’s energy “new” again and remove bad associations. 

Fill a glass of water and dip your thumb into it, before pushing your Will into the water to infuse it with creativity, confidence, and innovation. Drink this water, or give it to someone you think needs it, and for a little while it will infuse them all the tools they need to be strong, confident, assertive and make their points well. Drink it before anything that requires these skills, such as a job interview, a presentation for school, or before asking your crush out on a date. It will fill you with confidence and help you get the job done right!

I hope this helps a lot of Witches who might be busy or secret or poor or forgetful, or maybe all of them together! Good luck my wonderful Witches, and may the Goddess bless you all!

Definition: “Merkstave”

Merkstave: adj, “A rune that is lying in the reverse position to what it would usually be read as during runecasting. This causes it to have a darkened or inverted meaning, but not necessarily either opposite or even really bad.”

Etymology

Merk: “Dark”. We get the English words “murk” and “murky” from this.Stave: “Stick”. In Modern English, we may refer to a stick (especially a carved or crafted one) as a “stave”. 

When a rune is cast in it’s reversed or Merkstave position, it means that (for runes to which this applies) the normal characteristics of the rune become… essentially the “darker” version of their normal traits. Bear in mind that this is not necessarily the opposite of their obverse (non-Merkstave) traits, but is instead a sort of shadow that the “light” version casts, as the name suggests - a Merkstave rune is literally a “dark” rune. 

In answer to your question however, a rune lying Merkstave does not have a reversed meaning. Merkstave meanings are derived FROM their obverse meanings, but are not the opposite, and not all runes HAVE a Merkstave. Any rune that looks the same when you rotate it 180° (turn it upside-down) does not have a Merkstave form. 

A rune such as Fehu, for instance, is a classic wealth rune when in its obverse form. It represents domesticated cattle; power under human control, wealth you can profit from, social and political success. However, when it is turned to its Merkstave form, those traits become “dark”; instead it now represents wealth that slips from your fingers, social or political fortunes that turn sour, obsessive greed or avarice. This is not simply the opposite of wealth - the opposite of wealth is poverty, plain and simple. No, Fehu Merkstave specifically represents having something and then losing it, or alternatively becoming a slave to your own avarice, greed, or gluttony. Fehu is the rune of power under the control of humans, and so Fehu Merkstave is the inverse of this. Not humans without power, but humans under the control of power. This is a big difference - simply being without power is very, very different from having power and wealth and influence (or at least a chance to get them) and then having those things ripped away from you.

What runes don’t have Merkstave forms?

None of the vertically symmetrical runes have Merkstave forms, because they cannot be told apart whether they’re upside-down or right-side-up. Here’s a complete list of all Elder Futhark runes that do not have Merkstave forms:

Gebo - “The Gift; The Sacrifice”

Hagalaz - “The Hailstone”

Isa - “The Ice; The Icicle”

Jera - “The Harvest”

Sowilo - “The Sun”

Ingwaz - “The Fertility God; Yngvi and/or Freyr”

Dagaz - “The Dawn”

However, if you plan on getting seriously into runecasting, it is important to remember that these runes CAN lie in opposition to other runes, even if they cannot lie Merkstave. I won’t explain that here, because it’s a bit more complex, but I hope this has been a good overview for you!

Today I did a simple two-rune draw for you, one being the Focus rune and the other being the Clarity rune. This is, like so many of my spreads, my own twist on a more traditional one-rune or one-card spread. The Focus tells me what the main area to “focus” on is within your life at present, and the Clarity rune gives me context around that focus. Here is your draw!

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Focus: Ingwaz Clarity: Algiz/Elhaz (Merkstave)

The rune of Ingwaz is a rune of simple affairs; of protection, compassionate strength, a nurturing and caring affection. In many ways it is an almost basal rune, but do not be fooled; I do not call it basal because it is crude or in anyway primitive. I call it this way because the features of human lives that Ingwaz governs are some of the most primal, the most intensely needed, and the most ancient desires of all humankind. 

Combine this, then, with the Clarity rune of Algiz (merkstave); this rune is clarifying that should you ignore the teachings that Ingwaz has to offer for you, then all of the strength that Ingwaz has will turn against you. Like Ingwaz, Algiz is a rune of protection and of strength, and so a merkstave or “dark” Algiz rune represents the crumbling of barriers, the failing of protections, the vulnerability of being without direction in the world. 

The most important thing for you to do in your life at present is to work on your connections to your primal emotions and feelings. You’ve been doing so much complex consideration of the higher dimensions of human spirituality that you have found yourself neglecting the simplistic, baser parts of life - you must not do this! 

It is also important to remember that Ingwaz is also the Masculine rune, in the same way that Perthro is the Feminine rune. You have focused much of your thoughts recently into considering your Feminine side, into embracing the energies of the mysterious, the magickal and the occult that Perthro’s Feminine essence represents, that you have neglected your Masculine side. This is not masculinity in the way Westerners in the modern day consider it, however - there is no overt hypersexuality, no aggression, no hatred or fear. Remember that Ingwaz is the rune of gentle, compassionate love and protecting those who matter most to you, and that Masculine energies don’t make you, personally masculine. We are all children of the Gods, and we all possess energies that are Masculine and Feminine and Androgyne. If you fail the understand this, if you fail to support and encourage and feed your primal needs and your Masculine and Androgyne energies, then the energies of Algiz will turn drastically against you, cutting off your link to the realms of the Divine and the spiritual that you have worked so hard to cultivate.

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I hope that helps you! Please feel absolutely free to DM me or send me another ask if you’d like clarification or a future reading! 

Hi, I've never had a Rune Reading before so Yes may I have a GeneralRune Reading Please with special attention to my "heart" I just brokeup with my "BFF" of 15 years and I'm hurting, thank you.

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The Spread

Today I have used a spread that’s fairly common in divination (thethree-rune spread), but I’ve added my own modifier to it that I call the tonerune. Basically, this rune sets the “tone” for the reading, and is the contextaround which the other runes should be read. I find this gives me a moreaccurate and nuanced reading, so it’s my usual go-to spread if I’m doing amoderately in-depth “generalised” reading (as opposed to a one-rune draw whichis less involved, or the Wheel and Spoke spread which is my own invention thatgives me a very detailed look at a situation).

The Tone: Laguz

The rune of water, lakes and oceans is your tone today, drawing a contextof travel, reward, investment and risk around your life and endeavours. Laguzis a rune that suggests that you’re currently travelling from one place in yourlife to another, and that this is a journey upon which much has been and isstill being ventured and risked. Your best friend breaking up with you haspushed you into a time of transition, one where you will lose some things andyou will gain some things, but ultimately a journey that you cannot help but totake. Laguz is not an inherently good rune but nor is it an inherently badrune, and likewise this journey you are now taking is neither good nor bad; itsimply is, and must be.

The Past: Dagaz

The rune of day and of the cycle of the solar day, this is a rune thatdeals most extensively with the juncture in our worlds and our lives betweendisparate elements around us; light and dark, day and night, good and bad, healand harm. It also, of course, implies a certain level of “dawning” awareness,and with the tonal rune of Laguz shaping your life in this time it suggeststhat your past has primarily been dominated by a sense of growing comprehensionbetween yourself and your friend, a friend so close that they must have beenessentially family. Your past, then, has been dominated by this shift from theprevious “day” to the current “day”, and it is with this context that we shallconsider your present, and perhaps even the possible futures that may awaityou.

The Present: Ansuz

The rune of the All-Father, Odin, the leader of the gods of the Norsepantheon, Ansuz is naturally a rune with powerful meanings and associationsbehind it. Odin is the god of wit, words and cunning, and his rune thereforedeals with all manner of things associated with words, intellect, andespecially intelligence in a scholastic or conscious manner. At present yourjourney is being dominated by the understandings given by Ansuz; you are learningthe conscious patterns associated with your problems, and learning how to deal withthem intelligently and calmly. Don’t give this up! It takes time to workthrough your problems, but you’re doing the right thing by thinking thingsthrough and talking with people and yourself. Use your mind to process yourissues, and you’ll find your problems resolve themselves in a much more satisfyingand “real” way.

The Future: JeraThe rune of harvests,investments and payoffs is governing the path down which you currently walk,indicating that the journey you’re taking will have, at the end of it, aconclusion. Jera is neither a good nor a bad rune, and it does not inherentlysuggest that the conclusion you seek will be the one you hope for, but it doesmean that the conclusion you receive will be the right one. There will be no “but what ifs”, and no matter what youwill reap what you have sown. If you wish to have a good conclusion, then, youmust sow happiness and kindness at this time. Don’t lash out in bitterness, butact calmly and precisely, allowing your intelligence, as shown by Ansuz, toguide your steps. If you sow seeds of respect and compassion, this is theharvest you will reap, but seeds of malice or spite or vengeance will reap youa crop of the same.

 In conclusion: think before you act, and try to be the best person youcan currently be. You’re on a long journey, one that might not always be happyor easy, but if you act with courtesy, respect and thoughtfulness then that iswhat you will receive tenfold in return.