#athames

Trees.

Tree type 1

Birch.

2 types of birch, White, and Black.

Good for protective magic, twigs used to be kept in houses to keep away evil.

When working with faeries may be useful to keep a wand/staff to keep yourself safe

Good for use in-

Tools

Baths

Oils

Last week I explained that I often got asks that included something like ‘sorry if this is a silly question’. It never is, ok? I asked people to send in questions that I would answer in one go this weekend, so here they are:

 Anonymous said:  Do you have to be religious to be a witch?             

A)  No, there are ‘secular witches’. Also, you don’t ‘need to be’ anything to be a witch. 

 Anonymous said:  Hi! I'm a closet witch. I can't come out because my mum would freak!!! Means I can't have a proper athame. I suspect it doesn't matter (right?) but I can hardly have a dagger up here in my room.             

A)  NO! It doesn’t matter at all. If you’re thinking of when you draw your circle, just use your forefinger. Please don’t get a dagger. BTW you can find letter-openers that look like swords and brooches that look like daggers.This one costs £5.99, for example:

https://www.everywitchway.co.uk/products/details/4584.html?aditem=4584&gref=62527866634&gdev=c&gloc=1006470

Anonymous said:  Witchitery I was told all witches go to hell so you shouldn't encourage people to be witches. Even if YOU don't believe it.

A)  Bite me.   

Anonymous said:  I have a dream that I get over and over again. I always get lost in it. I am in lots of different places but they always end up in the same street. Any idea what it could mean?       

A)  I’m sorry, I don’t interpret dreams. I suspect that any disturbing, recurring dream might indicate stress, though.

 Anonymous said:  Can I message you about Freyja?             

A)  Definitely.

 Anonymous said: Are there any YouTube channels or programs on witchcraft that you watch?            

A)  No. Do you know any? You’ve made me curious.

Anonymous said:  I don't understand why you don't use crystals. All the spells I've looked at use them. 

A) I don’t use them in spell work because they have only been easily available the last few decades and so I learned my craft without them. Having said that, I have raw, untumbled charged ones about the place just because I like them.

Anonymous said:  I have a chosen deity and I've made a small altar. I've just begun to make offerings but what do I do with the food afterwards? I've been disposing of it the following day, because I thought it would offend him to eat it. (MUnn this is true please help! I've googled and looked at tumblr but what do YOU do? Would respect your answer. Love your blogs.)       

A)  I leave it on the altar for a while; how long depends on the type of food. I would ask the deity in question if they mind if it’s eaten. If so, I wait till the offering is finished, but that isn’t a ‘rule’. If not it can be buried but don’t go burying anything that would alter the soil badly e.g., never put salt in the soil. Liquids I leave a day and then usually pour on the ground. Again, trust your intuition, your gut feeling; ask them.

Munn: thank you!

Anonymous said:  Do all witchs have a familiar? Can you choose one? If I have a pet, does he have to be familiar already inside or can I train him? I would love to have one. I have a cat- how can I get him to be a familiar!?  

A)  Now, people differ in opinion on this so I can only say my own ideas, ok? Sometimes when you have a pet for a while you feel a big ‘connection’. It’s more than love or fondness, it’s a sense that you understand each other. It’s hard to descibe the feeling. You just know. It’s something extra.

No, not every witch has one. In fact, I don’t think it’s very common. No one can guarantee that your cat is or isn’t a familiar. In time, you should know, or at least suspect. You can’t train them.    

Anonymous said:  How do you feel about the idea that spells, e.g. especially binding, interfere with a person's free will, and are therefore inherrently wrong?   

A)  I’ve only used binding to stop someone hurting someone else. I get what you’re asking but my defence would be, what about the free will of the victim? I’m sure they ‘will’ not to be hurt.        

Hope that helps. I’m sorry if I missed out your message, several were asking the same thing so I just took one.

THANK YOU! 

I’m off for some tea now. Care to join me?