Phione's Dreams

intaier

But a lot of it IS very informal - or appears to be - because most of us writing about it under that term (”godspouse”) have no structured religion to help us out with it. We don’t have convents or monasteries or much in the way of a religious tradition, period, that goes back more than I dunno, how old are pagan reconstructionist religions in the US? 100 years tops? Not very old. And within those faiths there’s little open acceptance of people having sexual or romantic experiences with spirits/deities despite there being lore in multiple traditions that specific mentions people and god getting it on and/or marrying. Add in Western cultures having sex hangups, and hangups about mysticism generally and here we are! Isn’t it fun.

Also, if what you see of it is mostly on Tumblr - well, Tumblr also tends towards a very informal writing style for the most part.

At any rate, it is a personal relationship between the human and the god, and it isn’t really up to any outsider to decide whether some other person’s personal relationships are “formal enough” or “serious enough” to be “legitimate” or respectful to that specific god within that specific relationship. If a group tradition says “if you do that, we consider it disrespectful,” fine, that’s up to the group religion to agree on those things, but I for one am not part of your group religion (or, really, anyone else’s) - your standards do not apply to me.

There is nothing more serious and respectful than taking seriously a deity’s request to interact with Them as They wish you to, and confronting how that can utterly change your life.

I wanted to say something about lack of formality in the language and writing style, though. Just because people speak of something in casual and lighthearted language doesn’t mean they don’t take the subject seriously or have an understanding of the subject (and this is especially common in informal mediums like Tumblr). In fact, sometimes we find ourselves needing to talk about something tremendous and deep and important and we simply do not have the language for it, and so it’s because the subject is so serious that we blather and joke and draw silly comparisons and coin amusing terms. I say this as the person responsible for the phrase “deerpocalypse 2015” to describe a massive and important phenomenon that we simply did not have a word for, and when faced with something that much bigger than myself, I resort to frivolous language.

There is nothing more serious and respectful than taking seriously a deity’s request to interact with Them as They wish you to, and confronting how that can utterly change your life.

Without even touching the godspouse thing: I’ve had conversations with people — in real life, even, I know almost no one IRL to be talking to about things like this but I was at a small meditation workshop a few weeks ago talking to a very nice witch and this happened — who are shocked, /shocked/ at the idea of claiming ANY personal devotional relationship with a deity. Because, really, who the hell do you think you are, what appalling, delusional pride you must have to imagine that They would ever notice you or communicate or interact in any way with you, what makes you so special.

And I get it. Monotheism hangover issues, the mandatory self-deprecation culture of women in particular, let’s not forget emotional defenses against the appalling possibility of succumbing to hope, and against jealousy, and, oh, all sorts of hells. Trust me, I get it. 

But I think that it’s a fundamental if highly understandable misconstrual of humility. It takes quite a lot of arrogance and pride, when you think about it, to refuse to engage with the reality of the universe that actually presents itself to you on the grounds that to do so would be gauche. And that’s what this whole line of objection amounts to. It feels gauche. Not done. Not what nice, right-thinking, thoughtful, well socialized and educated people do. Vulgar. Against the unspoken rules of gracious behavior. Better to nope out on the entire possibility and simply refuse to contemplate such a thing than to even /consider/ behaving in this presumptuous and appalling manner, compromising one’s image of oneself as sensible etc, associating oneself with people of whom one does not approve, and so on. This feels like humility, it’s socially parsed as humility, but it’s literally the 180-degree opposite. It puts correct social posturing and high-functional culturally dictated hoop-jumping ahead of the devotional relationship. It decenters the deity and centers self-image. 

Godspousery is inherently a challenge and a strike against the beliefs that our culture indoctrinates us with in respect to religion and the divine, acceptable behaviour, and “consensus reality”. Because it, of necessity, treats Deities or spirits as fully real, fully individual, fully able to interact with and form emotional bonds with humans. This just goes right against prevailing attitudes of what the divine looks like and what a human’s relationship with that can look like, and perhaps most potently, what reality and sanity looks like. What’s pretense. 

I mean it’s the logical conclusion to understanding that we share a many-layered world with spirits of various forms, which are individual and actual people. But it can push people’s noses right into it in a way that talking in abstracts and keeping things relatively impersonal doesn’t. It forces you to take a good hard look at just what it is you believe and how out of line with the consensus reality of the man in the street those beliefs are.

Y’all, I’ve been trying for a while now but I can’t seem to get it. I had to stop for a bit cause stress and trying to project/travel don’t mix well with me. I’ve been practicing for about 1-1 ½ years but I just can’t get it right. I can somewhat reach the vibration stage but can’t get past it and my ADHD mind doesn’t help int the least. I’ve listened to binaural beats, I’ve picked up meditation (need to get back into), and taking care of myself. I’m getting frustrated.

Let go of needing it to feel right. Trust your intuition. If you speak in the astral and the being responds immediately, predictably, you’re injecting your own thoughts. Stop what you’re doing, ask them to repeat what they said. Don’t be afraid to use your adhd to your advantage. Zone in and out throughout the day instead of setting up a perfect trance scenario with the candles and scents and sounds. Use that neurodivergency to your advantage. If you think you’re making it up, start over. Travel somewhere else. Try something new. It’s all practice and learning how to filter your thoughts from the astral, and learning how your brain specifically projects.

I struggled forever with astral work because I couldn’t see anything, I couldn’t hold onto images. It took a long time to realize that my astral self is blind, and uses magic to see. You may be thinking all your senses, your body, your everything in the astral will be exactly as it is here. Try out different bodies - animals, creatures, humanoids.

Persephone and Hades everybody

You guys gave me an unbelievable amount of support on my little witch Mimi, and she wants some friends!!

I am offering witchsona commissions for $25 usd! Payable by paypal or ko-fi. 

Oh heckin yes I do My amazon wishlist is literally like six pages long… ALL BOOKS

WARNING: This Is Going To Be Extremely Long!

First though I want to note that while I 100% understand your feelings about the Wicca stuff (being a very NOT Wiccan Witch), not all books that are Wicca leaning are bad! I’ve gotten loads of useful information from books that tended to be a little new agey. That’s where being objective comes in! With ANY book, you should take it with a grain of salt, and some with a whole shaker. But it’s up to you to pay attention to misinformation and conflation, and to know how to do research to prove or disprove that something in a book you read is true or not. Does that make sense?? 

Anywho, a couple of books that are still kind of “Wicca-y” but great:

Grimoire of the Green Witch

The Goodly Spellbook (This one is an INCREDIBLY AWESOME REFERENCE)

The Modern Guide To Witchcraft (Written By Skye Alexander who seems to mass produce books, so need some good fact checking here)

The Modern Witchcraft SpellBook (Written By Skye Alexander who seems to mass produce books, so need some good fact checking here)

The Witches Broom (LOTS OF SALT but good basic history)

The Witches Athame (LOTS OF SALT but good basic history)

The Witches Mirror (LOTS OF SALT but good basic history)

Cottage Witchery (This author is pretty good about keeping away but there’s still some slips)

Practical Protection Magick (This author is pretty good about keeping away but there’s still some slips)

The Big Book of Practical Spells (Written by Judika Illes, who did the Encyclopedia of 5,000 Spells; it’s a good book, but there’s too much Cultural appropriation for my taste. Tread Lightly, and bring that shaker I was talking about)

Those are all books from my personal collection that I would recommend! Now as for the Non-Wicca Books, Let’s dive in! Not all of these have I read or owned, and they are in no particular order. You’ll notice most of them relate to “Traditional Witchcraft” or West Country, because that is where my practice is focused. 

The Tradition of Household Spirits: Ancestral Lore and Practices 

The High Magic of Talismans and Amulets: Tradition and Craft

Cornish Charms and Cures

To Fly by Night: An anthology of Hedgewitchery

Treading the Mill: Practical Craft Working in Modern Traditional Witchcraft

Popular Magic: Cunning-folk in English History

The Black Arts: A Concise History of Witchcraft, Demonology, Astrology, and Other Mystical Practices Throughout the Ages

Grimorium Verum

The Devil’s Dozen: Thirteen Craft Rites of the Old One

The Witching Herbs: 13 Essential Plants and Herbs for Your Magical Garden

Defences Against the Witches’ Craft - Anti-cursing Charms from English Folk Magick, Traditional Witchcraft and the Grimoire Traditions

Nummits and Crummits: Devonshire Customs, Characteristics, and Folk-lore

Encyclopedia of Folk Medicine: Old World and New World Traditions

The Art of Black Mirror Scrying

Enchantment: The Witches’ Art of Manipulation by Gesture, Gaze and Glamour

CHILDREN OF CAIN: A Study of Modern Traditional Witchcraft.

The Pillars of Tubal Cain

Witch’s Workbook

The Left Hand: The Cabal Grimoire of Walking in Darkness

Profane Seals: A Compendium of Vile Sigil Magick - Volume I

Eye of the Oracle: The Cabal Grimoire of Psychic Magick

The Book of Smokeless Fire

Azoetia: A Grimoire of the Sabbatic Craft

Between the Living & the Dead: A Perspective on Witches & Seers in the Early Modern Age

The Night Battles: Witchcraft and Agrarian Cults in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries

The Horn of Evenwood: A Grimoire of Sorcerous Operations, Charms, and Devices of Witchery

The Cunning Man’s Handbook: The Practice of English Folk Magic, 1550-1900

Ecstasies: Deciphering the Witches’ Sabbath

The Book of Oberon: A Sourcebook of Elizabethan Magic

The Grimoire of Arthur Gauntlet (PB)

Witchcraft: A Handbook of Magic Spells and Potions

Cecil Williamsons Book of Witchcraft: A Grimoire of the Museum of Witchcraft

Under the Witching Tree: A Folk Grimoire of Tree Lore and Practicum

Veneficium: Magic, Witchcraft and the Poison Path

Witchcraft For Tomorrow

Pharmako Gnosis: Plant Teachers and the Poison Path

The Witches’ Ointment: The Secret History of Psychedelic Magic

The Visions of Isobel Gowdie

The Taper That Lights The Way: Robert Cochrane’s Letters Revealed) 

The Call of The Horned Piper

A Deed Without a Name

Heritage Witchcraft (This one is kind of useless unless you’re taking his Classes)

Letters from the Devil’s Forest: An Anthology of Writings on Traditional Witchcraft, Spiritual Ecology and Provenance Traditionalism

The Devil’s Plantation: East Anglian Lore, Witchcraft & Folk-Magic

Liber Nox: A Traditional Witch’s Gramarye

Thirteen Pathways of Occult Herbalism

Traditional Witches’ Formulary and Potion-making Guide: Recipes for Magical Oils, Powders and Other Potions

The Black Toad

Traditional Witchcraft: A Cornish Book of Ways

PHEW!

That was a lot! Okay anon I hope this gives you a good starting place! 

In the spiritual world omens are everywhere and there are no such thing as coincidences. You can use signs around you to guide your life and your workings if you only know how to interpret them. 7 day candles have long been used by hoodooists to read a specific working and determine its effectiveness, or warn of any problems or solutions. Just like reading tea leaves, the burnt candles can provide valuable insight. SOOT The soot on a candle is one of the most recognizable results of burning a candle. While in the mundane world one might say this was merely soot, in the spiritual we know there is a message to be interpreted in that soot. Black soot is a sign of negativity and witchcraft.

If the soot does not travel all the way down the glass, is only at the top or perhaps stops in the middle, the negative influence or obstacle has been unblocked.

If the black goes down the entire length of the candle it means your working has been blocked and there are still things preventing you for attaining your desired result. It could also indicate someone has casted against you or has significant spiritual protection. If this is the case burn another candle to try to break through their defenses.

If the soot is at the bottom of the candle it is a warning that negative influences are being sent to you. This can be the case when someone casts against you.

White soot is another matter all together. This can indicate spiritual communication, purity, and exorcism. It could indicate that the spirits have heard your prayers and removed the negativity from the working. This is especially true in unhexing rituals. Again, look to the amount of soot to tell you if it is completed or not.

If the soot only goes half way down or less, the cleansing was successful.

If the soot is carried through the length of the candle you may need further cleansing and spiritual work.

If the soot is at the bottom of the candle, it signifies the presence of outside aid or help either spiritually or physically.

If the candle burned half black and half white this means that one aspect is overriding the other. Look to which is on top to see what was undone. If black is on top, your spirits cleared it. If white is on top the spirits of another have combated your attempts.

If the soot is on only one side of the candle, this is a sign that what you are doing is incorrect. Either the candle fixing wasn’t appropriate or the spirits aren’t happy with the candle itself.

FLAME The flame is by far the most important part of any candle working. The subtle actions of the flame can tell you a lot from the moment you light it, to the moment it goes out. Let start with lighting the flame.

If the candle does not light this means that this type of working will not work for what you need and another type of spell should be used.

If the candle lights and splits into two or more flames, this indicates the presence of others, either spirits, deities, or human, getting involved. Look to the rest of the candle to interpret whether this person is good or bad. If you are trying to split up a couple and both flames stay lit, the couple will stay together. If you are doing a working for attract a lover and the second flame seems to rise out of the wax your working will be successful especially if both flames grow into one large flame.

If the candle flame is high it means there is a lot of power behind the spell and little resistance. If the candle burns low it means there is a strong opposing spiritual force and a cleansing and or banishing may be needed.

If the flame makes a crackling or popping sound it indicates conversation. Either the spirits are trying to talk to you or the target is talking about you. Look to the purpose of the candle and the other actions of the flame to determine which is which.

If the flame flickers there is a spirit around. If the flame pops while flickering it is the spirit trying to communicate to you. Open yourself up to it. If it is a devotional candle and it is flickering it means you are in contact with your deity and any prayers or petitions will be heard.

If you attempt to blow out the flame and it does not go out this means the spirit does not want you to extinguish it. The same can be said if you blow it out and it flicks back on. Let the spirit complete its work, something important may be in the works that you do not want to interrupt. If you are uncomfortable ask the spirit to protect the candle or ask for permission and try to extinguish it again.

If the entire top of the prepared candle catches fire it means all the resources of the prepared candle are being used due to spiritual influences creating obstacles. Look to the other signs to see if the candle was successful. If the preparations do not collect along the glass as the candle burns, but remain pooled together, it means all the resources are needed and will burn at the end of the candle. The soot, flame, and glass should be read for the outcome.

If the flame burns high and calm and produces no soot you are in the presence of a larger entity or guardian spirit, most likely benevolent. The same can be said for high aggressive flames that flicker in large strokes . These tend to be darker spirits and deities, both are there to listen or aid you.

If the flame goes out while burning this means the spirits cannot help you and the answer you seek is already determined. This can also happen if you unexpectedly get the result before the candle is finished.

GLASS The glass retains the story of the working through the soot and preparation but the glass itself can tell you things about the spell.

If the glass cracks but does not break it means there was some type of opposition that was broken. It may have been sent to the spell to try to deflect it or it may have been encountered along the way. If it does not break or shatter then the spell is protected and was successfully defended.

However, if the glass breaks or shatters it means you are up against something larger than yourself. Malicious forces have either protected your target or have been attracted to your working and are trying to interfere. It can also indicate someone is casting against you and you are not spiritually protected or strong enough as what was thrown at you was larger than what you were sending out. Either way, do a stronger working and light another candle to try to combat it.