🌙Sapphic Witchling

Cultural Appropriation

Closed paths and practices

Cult warning signs

Spiritual Discernment

Herb interactions (i.e. how they interact with your medications, if they are poisonous, if you are allergic, can you ingest them, etc.)

Fire safety (for candles, smoke cleansing, incense, etc.)

Crystal Care (learn if your crystals will dissolve in water, if they can be in the sun, if they can be in the cold, etc.)

Crystals to promote peace and calm, and ward off nightmares during sleep.

Fatigue looks at things such as tiredness, drowsiness, exhaustion, weakness, lethargy and memory issues and says “I can do all that and more!”. It leaves you feeling utterly trapped in your own body; unable to move, or even think at times. It fluctuates, but is always looming. 

While this post is open for all, it is written for those who truly relate to this all-consuming feeling (due to ME/CFS, other chronic illnesses, mental illness, or undiagnosed causes). Not all of these may work for you, but hopefully they inspire something that will. For general low energy witchcraft, check out my Bedridden Witch Series!

As always: witchcraft is to be used in addition to proper medical care, treatment and medication; not as a sole alternative.

To draw energy:

If you cannot produce your own, magically created will be just fine!

Crystals. 

I tend to use clear quartz for an energy boost, but trust your intuition; if something calls to you, it’s for a reason. 

Keep it near your bedside table, under your pillow, hold it in your hand or place it on your body where you feel the fatigue most strongly centered. 

When on the go, carry it in your pocket or wear as jewelry. If it is larger, carry in a bag and hold it when you need it. 

Charge using a charging board or the elements. 

Crystals for fatigue

Waters.

Physically touching water brings me energy. I keep jars of snow, rain, storm, river, stream (etc, etc.) water and will dip my fingers in it and mark that parts of my body where the fatigue feels strongest. Be aware of pollutants and do not ingest!

The same method can be done with tap water (or water charged under the sun or moon)

Drink sun water or sun tea (start with drinking safe water and let it absorb the energies of the sun).

Some people find moon water to be energizing (same process as above, just with the moon). 

See also: Bedridden witch: Bath edition.

Other elements.

Note what is energizing to you and what is draining to you. Consider: the sun, moon (and it’s phases), weather (rain, overcast, snow, storm, wind), cold vs. hot, the earth, fire, air, etc.

Once you find which elements are energizing to you, find ways to incorporate them into your life. Examples: jars of different waters or soils, rocks collected from places, candles, and more.

I usually draw energy up from the earth by placing my palms flat towards the earth by the sides of my body. So if I was lying down, my arms would be at my sides with my palms facing down.

Expose yourself or protect yourself. I’ll use my personal experiences as an example here… Rain often energizes me. When it rains, I’ll open my windows, and if I’m able I’ll step outside or collect some water. On the flipside, full moons often drain me. I’ll close my windows and curtains, hang an extra blanket over my bedroom window, use water to paint protective sigils on the window and increase my wards.

See also: Bedridden witch: Elements edition and Bedridden witch: Weather edition

To manage symptoms:

Brain fog:

Brainfog lifting

“Brainfog begone” sigil

Fatigue: 

Spoonie spell for energy

Energy gain spell

Energy boost spell

Energy bath

Fatigue recovery spell jar

Headaches (and migraines):

Headache healing

To banish a headache

Anti-migraine spell

Anti-migraine spell bottle

Migraine relief bath

Joint pain:

Arthritis pain relief oil

Joint pain spell

Healing spell for joints

Memory:

Memory masterpost

Memory and concentration spell

Mental reboost tea spell

Muscle pain:

Muscle pain sachet

Warming salve for sore muscles

Crystals for muscle pain (external site)

For more categories of symptoms please see my posts for symptoms relating to chronic illness and mental illness!

Practicing the craft with energy limitations:

Tips and tricks:

I highly recommend preparing things when your energy allows, so it’s always ready to go when you need it (and isn’t dependent on current energy levels). 

Cleansing: Let other things do your work for you. Open your windows/get fresh air, steam or smoke, sound, etc. Bedridden energy cleansing.

Divination: Use apps when physical movement is hard. One card spreads, shorten your pendulum so you don’t need to lift your arm, divine using the elements, etc. Bedridden divination.

Spells: Make your own spell kits. Spell jars and sachets are also an excellent way to already have the spell prepared, set it up so you can simply shake it to re/activate the spell.

Warding: Create physical ties for your wards that aren’t reliant on consistent upkeep (as a failsafe), and reinforce your other ward layers when you have the energy. I create far more layers than I need so when I am unable to reinforce them, they still protect me. 

Worship: Compile prayers and devotions somewhere you can easily find and read them, have a wall altar for easy maintenance, keep offerings simple (a glass of water, for example). Bedridden worship.

Many more tips and tricks in these posts:

Bedridden witch series (masterpost of all my current bedridden witch posts, including some that weren’t linked here!)

Limited hand mobility + witchcraft (divination, spells, working with flames, recording information and more)

Nonverbal witchcraft

You may also like:

Magic to replenish energy

Spoonie witch masterpost

Chronically ill witchcraft: For your symptoms

Mentally ill witchcraft: For your symptoms

Witchcraft & Meds

Low energy cleaning + cleansing

Sigils: (pain + symptoms) (mental illness + energy) (healing + misc.) 

Drink magic masterpost

Rejuvenating witchcraft

Do none of these posts fit your needs? Let me know, I’m always looking for more ways to make witchcraft accessible!

**Do not repost or share on other platforms - reblogging is okay!**

You really don't need all the fancy bullshit every tumblr influencer will ever tell you to use. Here's my countdown ofaxtually useful shit.

A pocket knife, preferably with a wood handle. Use that bitch for everything, enchant it, carve symbols in it. It will absolutely be your best friend.

A good bag or backpack with a couple of plastic or ziploc bags in it. If you ever run off into the woods to find minerals, bones, plants, etc. A set aside bag and some things to store your treasures in becomes a necessity.

Basic divinatory sets. You don't have to buy fancy shit, learn to divine with playing cards and dice, or learn geomancy, lithomancy, or rune casting with homemade sets. A tarot deck is nice, but it isn't necessary when you've got so many other divinatory aids available.

A nice sized chunk of scrap cloth. When you process dried plants or sort new ones, that shit can and will get everywhere. A scrap piece of muslin or linen can help contain all of that mess and make clean up way easier.

A stash of good rocks. Draw sigils or symbols on those babies and leave them in the garden, the windowsill,property boundaries, under the stoop, etc. You can never have too many good rocks.

A pendulum, for fucks sake. The cards are going to be vague as hell when you're trying to figure out yes or no questions, and using a candle to communicate with spirits is really fucking hard outside. If you can't afford one, find a nice chunk of pointy quartz and learn to macrame.

A workspace. Everyone talks about having big fancy altars, but no one mentions that you need a good surface to do all your work on.

Storage, so much storage. I'm not talking about mason jars and pill bottles, I'm talking about where you put all the things you put in those jars. Having a workspace with drawers is immeasurably helpful.

A broom and water source. You're going to be cleaning up after yourself a lot, it's helpful to have a jug of water and a broom that stays by your workspace.

A mode of cleansing. I make a salt concoction to scatter around my workspace on short notice and store it close by.

On that note: SOMETHING TO CANCEL SPELLS WITH. Eventually, something will go wrong. You'll want to end that spell immediately. Have something to do it with.

A strainer. If you don't have a blender, rub dried plants across it to get a powder. If you do have a blender, you can strain that powder with it. Either way, if you intend to powder shit, get a strainer.

Small trays. It makes drying flowers so much easier if you have a small metal surface to contain them with- then just stick those suckers in a southern window and let em go.

Yarn/string scraps. Having a box or drawer of scraps makes trying this up to dry easier and a bit less wasteful.

A stash of offerings for whatever you work with. Honey for fae, coins for graveyard gatekeepers, alcohol for ancestors, etc.

Protective talismans or charms. Once you're into all of this stuff, you'll likely stick your nose in something you shouldn't. Having basic protection with you or in your workspace is incredibly important. A key and hagstone with red string is simple and effective.

A lighter- so many people forget the most basic shit. You're going to want to light shit on fire if you're a witch.

But most times when I pray, I feel nothing at all. I feel alone in my room, aware I am talking to myself. I will keep praying even when I feel alone.

First of all, what is a liminal space? A liminal space refers to a place or time that is in a period of transition between two phases. These are usually places where reality feels altered because you are neither moving forward or backward, like a rest stop. The word liminal originates from the Latin word limens, meaning threshold. These places often give off a sense that time stands still and that you are experiencing some sort of reality shift. 

        In magic and witchcraft these spaces are considered to be the boundary between our world and the other, it is known as “the in-between”. These places are considered areas of great magic because it is believed this is where the veil is thin. These places are great for divination, spirit work, meditation and astral travel; they are ideal for hedge witchcraft.

Times & Spaces of Liminality:

crossroads manmade or natural

river, creek or lake shores/ beaches

hallway/corridor/stairwells/landings/doorways

graveyards

dawn, dusk, afternoon, midnight

valleys

forest glades

many more!

      Samhain/Halloween is considered the best time to communicate with spirits and faeries because of its liminality, it is a time of transition between autumn and winter. Irish folklore tells that this is the day faeries and ghosts come out to play because of the veil thinning. The equinoxes and sabbats like Beltane and Imbolc are also days of liminality because the time of day and night are equal (equinoxes) or it is a transition between seasons.  

       Mental states of liminality are also times of spirit communication. While being in a meditative state we are in a state of transition between our concious and sub-concious minds, this is where we sometimes experience astral projection or messages from spirits. People often experience spirit while falling asleep because this is another state of liminality. 

     In my craft I often practice in liminality in order to connect with the faerie realms.

Nymph: singular, a nature spirit in the Greek pantheon

Nymphai: plural form of nymph

First, let’s talk about what a Nymph is. A nymph is usually described as a ‘lesser’ Goddess in Hellenism. They tend to be localized nature spirits, though that’s not the only type of Nymph out there. What does that mean for your worship? Well, it means that most Nymph worship is going to be for the specific Nymphai in your area. While you may choose to worship some more famous Nymphai and ones from other areas, you’re likely to find that there are plenty in your own area that you can worship as well.

Types of Nymphai:

Here are some types of nymphs connected to nature:

Alseides (nymphai of glens and groves)

Anthousai (flower nymphs)

Asteriae, the (stars)

Auloniades (nymphai of pastures)

Aurai, the (breezes)

Crinaeae (nymphai of fountains)

Daphnaeae (laurel tree nymphai)

Dryades (nymphai associated with trees)

Epimeliades (nymphai of highland pastures, protectors of flocks)

Haliai (nymphai of shore lines)

Hamadryades (oak nymphai)

Heleionomai (nymphai from wetlands)

Hesperides, the (nymphai of sunset)

Hyades, the (celestial nymphai of the constellation Aquarius)

Leimakides (nymphai of meadows)

Limnades (nymphai who reside in lakes)

Meliades (apple tree nymphai)

Meliai (nymphai of honey, bees, and ash trees)

Naiads (fresh water nymphai)

Napaeae (mountain valleys)

Nephelai, the (clouds)

Nereids (ocean nymphai who are the daughters of Nereus)

Oceanids (ocean nymphai who are daughters of Oceanus)

Oreads (nymphai of grottoes)

Pagaeae (nymphai who belong to springs)

Pleiades (yup, like the constellation)

Potameides (river nymphai)

The second type of Nymphai are those who are associated with cities, or who serve in retinue to a specific Theos. Such as:

Lampades (torch bearer nymphai in retinue to Hekate)

Maenads (nymphai in retinue to Dionysos)

For the purpose of this post I’m going to talk about the Nymphai connected to the earth and nature.

Named Nymphai

Some Nymphai are specifically named in myth. These are usually Nymphai who are associated with specific plants, but also one’s who’ve played a role in a Theos’ story at one point or another, and one’s who are patrons to specific towns and cities. This is just a sampling of some of the Nymphai who are named in myth.

Aba- Naiad of the town Ergisce in Ciconia, Thrace

Aigeiros- Hamadryad of black poplar

Asopis- Naiad Nymph of a town by the same name

Balanos- Hamadryad of evergreen oak

Bateia- Naiad of Sparta in Lacedaemonia

Daphne- Naiad who became the laurel tree

Io-Argive Princess and Naiad who was loved by Zeus

Karya- Hamadryad Nymph of nut trees, including hazelnut, walnut, and chestnut

Khloris- Oceanid and Goddess of flowers

Klytie- Oceanid who loved Helios and transformed into the heliotrope flower when He left Her

Kraneia- Hamadryad Nymph of cherry trees

Leuke- the white poplar tree

Lotis- Naiad who transformed into the lotus

Minthe- A Naiad who was transformed into the mint plant

Morea- Hamadryad of mulberry trees

Pitys- Oread Nymphs who transformed into the pine tree

Ptelea- Hamadryad of elm trees

Syke- Hamadryad of fig trees

How to Worship Nymphai: Building a Shrine or Altar

When you’re talking about worship in Hellenism, a lot of people think about shrines and altars, since they give us a place to actually give offerings. Altars were historically built with the idea in mind of “how do I get this offering to the Theos it belongs to?” That means that Ouranic (heavenly) altars were raised up towards the sky. Khthonic (relating to the earth and death) altars were usually dug into the ground as the Khthonic Theoi were thought to reside under ground.

Altars for entities like Heroes and Nymphai were kind of odd. Some people would build them as khthonic altars, some people would build them as Ouranic, and it was’t uncommon to find that their worship was mixed with elements of both Ouranic and Khthonic ritual. Shrines and altars to the nymphai were almost exclusively built outside though from what I’ve seen. They were also built near where a Nymph was thought to reside when possible.

Personally, I like to have my altar for the local Nymphai outside, and raised up, similarly to how Ouranic altars are built. You don’t have to do it that way, it’s just the way I handle it. I also try to build any altars dedicated to the Nymphai with natural materials. So, for example, an altar for the local Nymphai in my area may be a flat stone on the edge of the forest near my home.

Giving offerings

Since Nymphai are regarded as living in or around the area where you would be making offerings, the need for Ouranic ritual, which is designed to send the offerings upwards, isn’t really there. There’s two ways I’d say you could approach this.

The first would be that you can give offerings in a khthonic manner, since Nymphai are khthonic in their connection to the Earth. This would mean pouring libations to the soil, and either burning or burying other offerings.

The other way you can approach offerings is to simply set any offerings before your altar or shrine, and leave them there for the Nymphai. An example of this would be to set an apple on your shrine as an offering, and leave it for a set amount of time before cleaning it up. If you are leaving offerings outside in local habitats be sure that you're using foods or plants already native to the area, and things that won't poison any animals who might eat it up.

Personally, I follow khthonic ritual when giving offerings to the Nymphai. I pour libations into the soil, I bury fruit, and I give the offering in it’s entirety to the Nymphai. I don’t consume any of what is meant for the Nymphai. Again, you don’t have to do things the way I do.

Types of Offerings

Any of the classic offerings can be given to Nymphai. These include:

Bread

Cheeses

Fruits

Flowers

Grains

Honey

Incense

Meat

Milk

Olive Oil

Statues (please don't be littering and leaving statues in the woods though)

Wine

You can also give them offerings from the surrounding area. If you have blueberries that grow wild in the area, then blueberries may prove to be a great offering. Again, I suggest sticking with things that are natural. Since Nymphai are nature spirits, giving them something plastic may not go over real well, especially if you’re leaving the offering outside in nature. Basically, be sure you’re not littering and leaving things that aren’t going to decompose when leaving offerings in nature. And please make sure you're not accidentally introducing invasive species of plants via fruit/seeds/ect.

Devotional activities would probably relate closely to the Nymph in question, though I do have a few general ideas.

Clean up the area where you believe the Nymph resides

Get involved in local conservation efforts

Go on nature walks and admire the influence and beauty of the Nymphai in your area

Nymphai and Prophecy

Nymphs, like many rustic deities, were considered to be connected to prophecy. Nympholepts were devotees of local Nymphai who also worked as prophets. Astragaloi, a form of divination using knuckle bones from sheep, was popular for communicating with Nymphai, and sets of astragaloi bones have been found in multiple caves where Nymphai were worshiped.

A spell is a manifestation of intents, ingredients, and influences combined to bring about an intangible effect. However, there are a number of different of types of spells, intents, and methods. 

CURSE— A spell designed to cause a person or place harm or misfortune of a grand scale. Occasionally used to protect when it used against a concept, “cursing out” infections and medical problems.

HEX— Commonly thought as similar to a curse, though it comes from a German word for witch. Commonly interpreted as a weaker curse, or a midpoint between a jinx and a curse on a scale of annoying to devastating.

JINX— A spell to cause momentary bad luck or annoyance, but can occasionally come back to bite someone later. Usually paired with irony, or used to bring about the opposite effect of what someone says out loud or hopes for.

BANISHING— A type of spell, designed to get rid of something specific, whether it be a concept, a person, spirit, or otherwise, and to keep it away.

WARDING— A type of protective spell in which you create and put up magical walls, usually against a specific thing, such as spirits or negative people, but could be used for evangelicals and teenagers that theoretically loiter on your lawn.

BINDING— Similar to banishing. Instead of removing a person, object, or situation from your vicinity, you prevent a person or creature from performing a particular action.

GLAMOUR— Often used for beauty spells, are a type of spell used for creating an illusion over a person or object. They can be used for a number of purposes, to make someone more attract, or to make an object harder to find, or a person be more or less likely to be noticed.

CONSECRATION— The ritual blessing of an object or place by cleansing it and instilling with a specific energy. Cannot be done to living creatures.

POTION— Any drink made to have a magical effect.

JAR SPELL— A spell made and contained within a jar, often herb sealed with wax.

BY EDWARD HAYS

The dark shadow of space leans over us…

We are mindful that the darkness of greed, exploitation, and hatred

also lengthens its shadow over our small planet Earth.

As our ancestors feared death and evil and all the dark powers of winter,

we fear that the darkness of war, discrimination, and selfishness

may doom us and our planet to an eternal winter.

May we find hope in the lights we have kindled on this sacred night,

hope in one another and in all who form the web-work of peace and justice

that spans the world.

In the heart of every person on this Earth

burns the spark of luminous goodness;

in no heart is there total darkness.

May we who have celebrated this winter solstice,

by our lives and service, by our prayers and love,

call forth from one another the light and the love

that is hidden in every heart.

so mote it be

The popular method of creating moon water on Tumblr appears to be to just . . . set a thing of water in some moonlight and leave it there? And if that works for you and you feel that's enough, then more power to you I guess, but that's a bit too passive for me.

Creating moon water in my practice can result from a couple of different ways.

One being to just take regular water and charge a deity or spirit with filling the liquid in the chosen vessel with the moon's "energy" (have yet to find a more solid word to describe this concept other than this one, so it is what it is. Essence, vitality maybe?) for the rite or work to be done. Anyways, typically I'll offer incense and candles to Selene, or whatever entity I'm working with, and do my own version of a minor evocation to get the energy/charging work that I want done. And then go from there.

The other one is probably more similar to the Tumblr strategy in that I charge the moon directly and offer prayers or incense or food/beverage in exchange for working with me. This one pretty heavily depends on my animist views, though I also incorporate some planetary shits by placing the moon's pentacle from the KoS under the chosen receptacle.

This might be easier to understand when looking at the sun: plants do not ask the sun for energy, no offering is given, no deity is worked with. Our bodies don't ask or give offerings to the sun in order to produce vitamin D or serotonin. We don't ask the amount of sunlight to result in a change of seasons. The sun's energy is naturally a part of all that it reaches. Things will bleach in the sun not because we ask it to, but because that's what the sun DOES. When you step outside you feel it seeping into you whether you ask it to or not. All that is in the sun, is infused with that energy because the sun's energy is THAT strong, it impacts all that it touches.

Same with the moon. It's not that it has a mind per say, but it is a powerful and impacting celestial body, with its gravitational pull and reflective light naturally impacting all life and cycles on earth. All that the moonlight touches, all that its gravitational pull reaches, WILL be affected by it. Including what is placed in its light, such as moonwater. Not because you left it a plate of offerings or lit incense, but because that's what it DOES. All we can do is work with that, just like the sun. I have success with it every time because I understand the drastic power the moon possesses without my interfering, I trust what it naturally does.