folk magic

Some good and/or interesting (or hokey) ‘examples’ included for most resources. tryin to organize & share stuff that was floating around onenote.

Journals (open access) – Folklore, Occult, etc

Culutural Analysis - folklore, popular culture, anthropology – The Mythical Ghoul in Arabic Culture

Folklore - folklore, anthropology, archaeology – The Making of a Bewitchment Narrative, Grecian Riddle Jokes

Incantatio - journal on charms, charmers, and charming – Verbal Charms from a 17th Century Manuscript

Oral Tradition – Jewish Folk Literature, Noises of Battle in Old English Poetry

Journal of Ethnology and Folkloristics – Nani Fairtyales about the Cruel Bride, Energy as the Mediator between Natural and Supernatural Realms

International Journal of Intangible Heritage 

Studia Mythologica Slavica (many articles not English) – Dragon and Hero, Fertility Rites in the Raining Cave, The Grateful Wolf and Venetic Horses in Strabo’s Geography

Folklorica - Slavic & Eastern European folklore association – Ritual: The Role of Plant Characteristics in Slavic Folk Medicine, Animal Magic

Esoterica - The Journal of Esoteric Studies – The Curious Case of Hermetic Graffiti in Valladolid Cathedral 

The Esoteric Quarterly

Mythological Studies Journal

Luvah - Journal of the Creative Imagination – A More Poetical Character Than Satan

Transpersonal Studies – Shamanic Cosmology as an Evolutionary Neurocognitive Epistemology, Dreamscapes

Beyond Borderlands  – tumblr

Paranthropology

GOLEM - Journal of Religion and Monsters – The Religious Functions of Pokemon, Anti-Semitism and Vampires in British Popular Culture 1875-1914

Correspondences - Online Journal for the Academic Study of Western Esotericism – Kriegsmann’s Philological Quest for Ancient Wisdom 

– History, Archaeology

Adoranten - pre-historic rock art

Chitrolekha - India art & design history – Gomira Dance Mask

Silk Road – Centaurs on the Silk Road: Hellenistic Textiles in Western China

Sino-Platonic - East Asian languages and civilizations – Discursive Weaving Women in Chinese and Greek Traditions

MELA Notes - Middle East Librarians Association

Didaskalia - Journal for Ancient Performance

Ancient Narrative - Greek, Roman, Jewish novelistic traditions – The Construction of the Real and the Ideal in the Ancient Novel

Akroterion - Greek, Roman – The Deer Hunter: A Portrait of Aeneas

Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies  – Erotic and Separation Spells, The Ancients’ One-Horned Ass

Roman Legal Tradition - medieval civil law – Between Slavery and Freedom 

Phronimon - South African society for Greek Philosophy and the Humanities – Special Issue vol. 13 #2, Greek philosophy in dialogue with African+ philosophy

The Heroic Age - Early medieval Northwestern Europe – Icelandic Sword in the Stone

Peregrinations - Medieval Art and Architecture – Special Issue vol. 4 #1, Mappings 

Tiresas - Medieval and Classical – Sexuality in the Natural and Demonic Magic of the Middle Ages

Essays in Medieval Studies  – The Female Spell-caster in Middle English Romances, The Sweet Song of Satan

Hortulus - Medieval studies – Courtliness & the Deployment of Sodomy in 12th-Century Histories of Britain, Monsters & Monstrosities issue, Magic & Witchcraft issue

Annual of Medieval Studies at CEU

Medieval Archaeology – Divided and Galleried Hall-Houses, The Hall of the Knights Templar at Temple Balsall

Medieval Feminist Forum  – multiculturalism issue; Gender, Skin Color and the Power of Place … Romance of Moriaen, Writing Novels About Medieval Women for Modern Readers, Amazons & Guerilleres

Quidditas - medieval and renaissance 

Medieval Warfare

The Viking Society - ridiculous amount of articles from 1895-2011

Journals (limited free/sub/institution access)

Al-Masaq - Journal of the Medieval Mediterranean – Piracy as Statecraft: The Policies of Taifa of Denia, free issue

Mythical Creatures of Europe - article + map

Folklore - limited free access – Volume 122 #3, On the Ambiguity of Elves

Digital Philology -  a journal of medieval cultures – Saracens & Race in Roman de la Rose Iconography

Pomegranate - International Journal for Pagan Studies

Transcultural Psychiatry

European Journal of English Studies  – Myths East of Venice issue, Esotericism issue

Books, Texts, Images etc. – Folklore, Occult etc.

Magical Gem Database - Greek/Egyptian gems & talismans [x] [x]

Biblioteca Aracana - (mostly) Greek pagan history, rituals, poetry etc. – Greater Tool Consecration, The Yew-Demon

Curse Tablets from Roman Britain - [x]

The Gnostic Society Library – The Corpus Hermeticum, Hymn of the Robe of Glory

Grimoar - vast occult text library – Grimoires, Greek & Roman Necromancy, Queer Theology, Ancient Christian Magic

Internet Sacred Text Archive - religion, occult, folklore, etc. ancient texts

Verse and Transmutation - A Corpus of Middle English Alchemical Poetry

– History

The Internet Classics Archive - mainly Greco-Roman, some Persian & Chinese translated texts

Bodleian Oriental Manuscript Collection - [x] [x] [x]

Virtual Magic Bowl Archive - Jewish-Aramaic incantation bowl text and images [x] [x] 

Vindolanda Tablets - images and translations of tablets from 1st & 2nd c. [x]

Corsair - online catalog of the Piedmont Morgan library (manuscripts) [x] [x]

Beinecke rare book & manuscripts  – Wagstaff miscellany, al-Qur'ān–1813

LUNA - tonnes from Byzantine manuscripts to Arabic cartography

Maps on the web - Oxford Library [x] [x] [x]

Bodleian Library manuscripts - photographs of 11th-17th c. manuscripts – Treatises on Heraldry, The Worcester Fragments (polyphonic music), 12 c. misc medical and herbal texts

Early Manuscripts at Oxford U - very high quality photographs – (view through bottom left) Military texts by Athenaeus Mechanicus 16th c. [x] [x], MS Douce 195 Roman de la Rose [x] [x]

Trinity College digital manuscript library  – Mathematica Medica, 15th c.

eTOME - primary sources about Celtic peoples

Websites, Blogs – Folklore, Occult etc.

Demonthings - Ancient Egyptian Demonology Project 

Invocatio - (mostly) western esotericism

Heterodoxology - history, esotericism, science – Religion in the Age of Cyborgs

The Recipes Project - food, magic, science, medicine – The Medieval Invisible Man (invisibility recipes)

Morbid Anatomy - museum/library in Brooklyn

– History 

Islamic Philosophy Online - tonnes of texts, articles, links, utilities, this belongs in every section; mostly English

Medicina Antiqua - Graeco-Roman medicine

History of the Ancient World - news and resources – The So-called Galatae, Gauls, Celts in Early Hellenistic Balkans; Maidens, Matrons Magicians: Women & Personal Ritual Power in Late Antique Egypt

Διοτίμα - Women & Gender in Antiquity

Bodleian Library Exhibitions Online – Khusraw & Shirin, Hebrew Manuscripts as a Meeting-Place of Cultures

Medievalists – folk studies, witchcraft, mythology, science tags

Sometimes it can be really hard coming up with tarot questions for yourself, and spreads can be really useful, but then not always the size or angle you’re looking for. For that reason, I compiled some quick two card tarot ideas! Ranging through a lot of topics, there should be something here for everyone to be inspired by, and who knows, they could inspire further spreads when you sit down to pull the cards!

Topics: A-Z, Spreads: Random order

Angry:

Where to channel the anger positively, why to do so

Why you’re valid in your feelings, where to take them

Something you’re being rational about, something you’re being irrational about

Using the anger, finding the calm

Two cards for your next steps

Anxious:

Rational idea manifesting, irrational idea manifesting

The worst possible outcome, the best possible outcome

Why you’re anxious, how to overcome it

Two cards for the reality of the situation

Two cards for how to handle the anxiety bubble

Deity Communication:

A message for you, it’s expansion

A lesson, how to learn it

A challenge, how to overcome it

A warning/suggestion, how to avoid it

A thing you’ve been doing good, a thing to work on

Their thoughts on your progress, where you’re going

Their thoughts on your progress, a pointer in the right direction

Their thoughts on you, how you may benefit working with them

Two cards for who you’re speaking with

Two cards for your relationship with the deity

Dream Work:

The overall message, how to apply it

What a key image in the dream meant, why that’s important

What to look out for in your next dream, why that’s key to you

Two cards for the conclusions of the dream

Two cards for how important this dream is in your day to day life

Friendship:

A card for you, a card for your friend

A pro of the friendship, a con of the friendship

A point where you clash, how to avoid it

What makes this friend special to you, what makes you special to them

Two cards for the fusion of your personalities

Future Situations:

A future hurdle, how to approach it

A hurdle coming up, how it will manifest/be seen

The future you want to see, a step toward that

What you’re worried will happen, what will probably happen

Two cards for possible pathways

Happy:

Why you deserve the happiness, how to spread it

What is something to be happy about, an expansion card

Why you should smile, what you should laugh off

The breeze you inhale, the stale air you exhale

Two cards for reasons to be happy

Love:

You in the relationship, partner in the relationship

What you offer them, what they offer you

Why you like them, why they like you

The relationship stem, its beautiful floral bud

Something to be aware of, how to take that information on board

A hurdle you’ll face, how you can fight through it

Your relationship’s weak point, strengthening it

A trait you share, one you are polar opposites on

Two cards for your duality

Two cards for you as a unit

Past Life Work:

Birth, death

Love, friendship

Parents, children

Career, hobbies

Positive, negative

Positive trait, how you may see it now

Negative trait, how you may see it now

A trait you can see in you now from that life, a trait you shed in that life

Two cards on life progression

Two cards on what you learnt in this life

Past Wounds:

The wound, the plaster

The opening, the close

Why it hurt, an expansion card

Two cards for understanding the history

Two cards for how you’re doing so well now in the future

Present Situations:

The hurdle, the jump

The tunnel, the light

The struggle, the solution

Two cards for why you should keep your head up

Two cards for two paths through this

Sad:

How to overcome the sadness, why you deserve to

Something to remember, something to know

Why the sadness is undeserved, how to shake it

Two cards on how to cheer up

Two cards on why you deserve to smile

Self Analysis:

A bad habit, how to stop it

A good habit, how to get even better at it

Unconscious trait, how to activate it

Undeveloped trait, where to go with it

A developed trait, why it’s good for you

The vibe you give off, how to better it

Your energy outputs, your energy inputs

Your fears, your dreams

Two cards for a self descriptive reality check

Two cards for realigning who you are when you doubt

Spirit Work:

The spirit at hand, what they’re like

A positive trait, a trait to be wary of

Their life, their death

Their story, their legacy

Reading up on sea witch spells and seeing people suggest putting offerings in bottles and letting the sea carry then away.

This upsets me.

What???????

No, that’s not how it works. We aren’t plants. Plants make their own food. Don’t assume things about nature, do your research.

Most plants create their own sugar and if you give them more they can die. People use sugar as a weed killer. A shit ton of the food and drink we consume today has sugar in it. Even sugar free shit has a different form of sugar in it. https://askabiologist.asu.edu/moving-sugars-plants

For folks who have limited mobility in their hands due to pain, weakness, shakiness, or anything else. These are a range of ideas, not all of them may work for each person, but hopefully they’ll spark something that will! 

Looking for broader low energy, low mobility or bedridden ideas? Check out my bedridden witch series (click here!)

Tarot:

Tarot apps are a great way to pull a card with a tap or two (Labyrinthos and Galaxy tarot have been recommended). 

Place your deck in your lap. Feel for any loose cards, then pull them. 

Split the deck (doesn’t have to be even). The cards on either end of the split are the cards for your spread. 

Spread the deck on a flat surface, and move your hand over to pick (let your hands sense the energy), or pick based on intuition. 

If gripping/managing thin paper is tricky, some people use other objects for tarot readings. I’ve seen jewelry charms as a common one, but the possibilities are endless (cardboard, wooden blocks, etc.). 

You can do more than readings with your cards. Pick one per day and just spend time with it. Look at the art, pay attention to how it makes you feel. Learn the meanings of the card. 

This post may have more ideas: Bedridden witch: Divination edition

Pendulum: 

I have had success with using a pendulum while dealing with shaking hands. 

Let something else do the work! Hang it by an open window, focus your energy and let the wind move the pendulum for you. Use a pillow to support your arm/hand.

Use a pendulum jar.

Use a shorter pendulum that can be used with one finger. A string with a small crystal bead will do. 

Prop you arm/hand on a pillow.

You could also use other parts of your body to hold the pendulum (like your mouth or toes… wouldn’t recommend switching between the two though!)

Bedridden witch: Divination edition

Other Divination:

Runes may be easier to hold/use than tarot cards.

Use rune apps (runic divination was recommended).

Scrying (using a mirror or bowl) is hands-free.

For more ideas: Bedridden witch: Divination edition

Spells and Energy Work:

A lot of witches use their hands to focus energy during spellwork and other magical doings. While this may be helpful, it’s not necessary!

Focusing energy can be helpful. Use a crystal or other object and touch it in some way (with your hand, have it in your lap, whatever works for you). Use the crystal/object to help channel and amplify your energy.

I usually draw energy up from the earth (even while in bed) by placing my palms flat(ish) 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.

Use visualization! A LOT of my magic involves visualization. 

Candles and Incense:

Himalayan salt lamps are a great way to bring a similar energy that a burning candle would.

I honestly really like electric candles, but I know they’re not everybody’s thing. Plus sides: if you forget about them they simply run out of battery, can be decorated–tape with color correspondences, sigils, spells, etc. (you could even print something and tape it on). 

Reed diffusers. Get the yummy smell that candles or incense brings without the flames and smoke. Plus you can ignore it for months!

Essential oil diffusers. Great way to get the correspondences that incense often holds. (please use safely and not around your pets).

Room spray. Store-bought or self-infused natural sprays are a great way to add good smells and/or correspondences. 

Recording information:

Voice text or dictation software are often accessible, though not always perfect. It is a great way to get things down that you don’t want to forget/want to reformat later.

Typing can sometimes be easier than writing, and journals/grimoires in documents are easy to organize, and to read. 

I’m a very tactile person and enjoy writing (even if it hurts/is difficult). My tarot journal is filled with terrible handwriting, random shorthand, and codes I came up with to shorten things (ie. a little symbol for each suit, then the card number). It doesn’t have to be an all-day process. 

I’d imagine that some tarot apps record which cards you’ve pulled, or have an option to save it. 

Odds and Ends:

Use compression gloves or other gear to support your hands? Add sigils or enchant them!

Same goes for any lotions, creams, balms or medications used to help; sigils, charging, enchanting, etc. are all great ways to incorporate magic. 

Teas are an easy way to get multiple herbs + their medicinal values without needing to do anything!

Into kitchen witchcraft? Using electric mixers can be very helpful.

Create sigils using a phone app (touchscreen) and your fingers rather than holding a pen. 

Other posts you might like:

Bedridden witch series

Chronically ill witchcraft: For your symptoms

Spoonie witch masterpost

Do none of these posts meet your needs after perusing? Send me an ask, I’m always looking to fill the gaps when it comes to accessibility and witchcraft!

With suggestions and contributions from:

1. Colored salt does SO much and

2. GAY

THE NORMAL TAROT

A custom oracle deck designed by yours truly, featuring the art of the amazing @uglymelon (hand featured above) and @charminglyantiquated, published and distributed by @publishinggoblin!

THE DECK - 50$  - At time of posting, only 90 decks are available for sale  - Box is NOT included, only 20 boxes are available  - First come first served  - The full 99 card deck, including  - 4 suits or “seasons“ of 10 cards, each including 3 Knights and 3 Queens  - 3 Omens  - 4 Maidens  - 5 Books  - 7 Dead Kings  - 7 Jokers  - 8 Moons  - Alluring Silvered Edges  - Standard Tarot Size  - Includes a small instruction pamphlet COMPANION BOOK - 10$  - At time of posting, 6 deck-and-book combos are available for 60$  - Or 5$ for a PDF from Drivethrufiction.com here  - Features in-depth explorations of each card  - Features instructions for the custom spreads unique to this deck  - Softcover

This spread is a bit of an experiment, something esoteric and complicated that even I don’t fully understand quite yet, but it’s told me a lot about myself and the way I see the world, and perhaps about the way the world truly is. It’s meant to be a spread for self-knowledge, for understanding your own ideals and motivations and getting an objective look at how you’re responding to them. I highly recommend using reversals with this spread—after all, it’s called a moral compass for a reason. The way things point could be important.

Note that I’ll be using the terms Good, Evil, Law, and Chaos to refer to the four “points of the compass” in this spread, but these are little more than words I stole from Dungeons and Dragons selected to make this easier to write about. Your personal moral compass might be centered on different axes; for example, when I first read this spread, I found “selflessness” and “self-interest” or perhaps “light” and “darkness” to be more fitting terms than “good” and “evil.” Morals are relative. The four terms listed above are a way to divide moral alignment that many people understand and think in, but it’s best to read this spread with an open mind and to define morals in whatever way seems right to you.

Positions 1 and 2 represent your true North, your moral ideal of all that is right and Good, with position 1 indicating the nature of this ideal and position 2 showing how your behavior reflects this ideal.

Positions 3 and 4 do the same for your moral image of what is ultimately wrong or Evil.

In the same way, positions 5 and 6 represent the moral ideal of Law, of rules, or of the natural order of things, and how your behavior reflects this ideal.

Finally, positions 7 and 8 represent the ideal of Chaos, of subversion, or of the unnatural, and how your behavior reflects this ideal.

As I said, take note of which way the cards are facing—rather than indicating reversals of the cards in question, this might reflect relationships between the different aspects of morality, or moral “gray areas.”

This was a targeted job spell designed to make one particular workplace cough up and get me on board! It actually worked better than intended, as it resulted in them calling me for another position even when the first one fell through. 

You will need:

stelliums occur when there are at least three planets in a sign or house, creating an intense concentration of energy in that area. a sign stellium will be stronger if it involves the personal planets, and all the energy in one sign can bring a plethora of character traits. meanwhile, in a house stellium, it signifies that the domain the house governs has a notable impact throughout a person’s life, whether it is positive or negative.   

sign stelliums can be an easier case to understand, especially if dealing with a strong stellium (e.g. a cancer sun with a gemini stellium might be much more of a social butterfly, contradicting the expected behavior of a cancerian). i’ll explain how to deal with stelliums in the houses… 

🌺 1st & 7th house

a stellium in the 1st would mean the person has a strong emphasis on themselves—on their own development and form of expression. however, they might need to focus on building relations and being collaborative. meanwhile, someone with a 7th house stellium has tremendous collaborative skills and always seeks out partnerships, but they need to work on their individuality as they often lose their identities in their relationships. 

🌺 2nd & 8th house

a 2nd house stellium stresses material comfort, investments, belongings, and your finances. to avoid falling into financial crises and possessiveness, it’s important to share with others and letting them lend a helping hand too. with a stellium in the 8th, a house of shared investments and possessions, it is important to be in control of your resources and finances by yourself to heal and mend. there are also themes of keeping and evoking secrets as well as sexual magnetism in this house.

🌺 3rd & 9th house

a 3rd house stellium creates shrewd intellect and a need to diffuse information. however, these people can be mentally scattered so their focus must be on the 9th house’s broad philosophies and concepts. meanwhile, a person with a 9th house stellium can become too oriented with theories and philosophies, in their head, of life and the relations within it. they would need to focus on sharing these concepts and learning from others instead of always searching.  

🌺 4th & 10th house

a 4th house stellium creates an individual’s strong connection with their childhood, family, and home life. however, you might need to learn how to use the energy in this area for your professional lifestyle and get out for personal growth. a 10th house stellium creates the significance of career, public image, and ambitions. people with this stellium would need to connect with their home life and build familial relations.  

🌺 5th & 11th house 

people with a 5th house stellium deal with immense creativity and romantic, intimate relationships. they would need to concentrate on establishing more social affiliations and generous friendships. meanwhile, someone with a stellium in the 11th can be too involved in their community and organizations. they must work on their personal goals and build close relationships where they can find stability. 

🌺 6th & 12th house  

“Uncrossing is the removal of a type of curse or ‘cross’ that has been laid upon an individual that makes a certain area of their lives difficult because of negative energy that is attached to them, causing them to see and experience only difficulties in that area. Uncrossing removes this negativity, allowing the person to move forward.” —Silvio Guerrinha.

Simply put: uncrossing is the act of undoing any baneful magic(s) that have been cast upon oneself. 

Before you attempt an uncrossing, you must first determine whether your run of bad luck or the spate of negative occurrences has a mundane or magical origin. You can do this in a number of ways, but the general consensus is to look for the sudden onset of issues such as: nightmares, sleeping trouble, loss of energy (physical, emotional, mental, spiritual), bad luck, financial and relationship trouble.  *Of course it is possible that all of these have routes in non-magical things, but these are said to be signs of a curse, hex, or jinx of some kind. 

If you work with entities or deities, you may ask them for clarification or confirmation on this issue. 

The term uncrossing is used widely, but a lot of the magics you see will have their origins in Hoodoo and Voodoo, so be cautious (Hoodoo is not a closed cultural practise, but a restrictive one. Voodoo/Vodou is not closed, but it is restrictive and requires a legitimate initiated teacher).

• TYPES OF UNCROSSING MAGICS

Uncrossing magics come in myraid forms—practically every form of magic can be utilised in an uncrossing. Common examples are:

Floor/house/body washes.

Anointing oils.

Powders.

Sachets.

Charms/Enchantments.

Talismans.

Examples of Uncrossing Magics

Mild & Spicy Curse Breaking Powders.

Curse Removing Wash.

Uncrossing Powder.

Lemon Uncrossing Spell [sachet].

• COMMON INGREDIENTS IN UNCROSSING MAGICS

You will notice that there are a few recurring ingredients in uncrossing magics. This is because of their notable strength and power in undoing baneful magic by repelling negativity, purification, cleansing, and protection.

Lemon.

Lime.

Orange.

Eucalyptus.

Chamomile.

Salt.

Mint.

Rosemary.

Sage.

Basil.

Patchouli.

Sandalwood.

Verbena.

Rue.

Garlic.

Vetiver.

Broken chain.

Ribbon.

String.

Black Tourmaline.

Clear Quartz.

Lemongrass.

St. John’s Wort.

A tarot spread I made for when you want to just do a quick divination check up on yourself, or for another!

Card 1: Physical health, how are you doing physically right now?

Card 2: Mental health, how are you doing mentally right now?

Card 3: Spiritual health, how are you doing spiritually?

Card 4: Prescription, what you can do to help yourself in one or more of those areas. You can pull this card 3 different times for each other card to gain more info if you want 💖!