#goblinwitch

These are my initial thoughts about how to make an altar with a goblincore theme/how the goblins would make altars in the fictional goblin culture I've been creating. 

These tips are definitely a little biased and based on what I have on my own witchcraft altar at home, but I haven’t seen anyone else creating a Goblin Witch Path so I guess I’m creating it all myself! Feel free to take some of these ideas or even comment some other suggestions/questions. I am slowly building this path and the goblin culture around it so I will probably add or change some things as I go. 

1. The Surface; traditionally goblins used to collect items on top of tree stumps or smooth boulders to create an altar. In more recent times goblins favour a chest of drawers which they can store collections or tools under the altar to share the power. 

2. Imagery; images of goblins is essential, either deities, family members, or a mirror to see the self in the magical space. 

3. Jars; goblins will collect their most precious treasures or ingredients in glass jars and will display these on the altar. 

4. Boxes/Plates/Bowls/Tins; goblins use vessels in a lot of their magick, some of these inherited, others created by the goblin themselves.

5. Divination Tools; goblin divining often involves charms, unique handmade runes, bones, or other objects from nature. 

6. Light; goblins view an altar is ‘working’ or ‘on’ when it is lit up by something. They may use candles, small lights, even glow-in-the-dark objects to achieve this effect. 

7. Noise makers; there will often be something on a goblins altar that makes a noise, whether that be bells, rattles, shakers, drums, singing bowls, or breathing instruments like harmonicas or ocarinas. 

8. Nature Treasures; goblins value what they find in nature, and showing parts of their collections on the altar is important. These might include mushrooms, crystals, shells, bones, leaves, flowers, sea glass, pebbles, water they’ve collected, even sticks if they have space! 

That’s all I have for now, but I thought this was a good starter kit without getting too specific yet. Thank you for reading! 

Why do mice and rats gotta be so damn cute

Credit - RXT.Z on Instagram

These are the principles so far I have created for my goblin witchcraft path. This is a path inspired by the goblincore aesthetic and folklore surrounding these creatures, though I am creating my own goblin culture as well. 

I may update this list in time but this is what I have so far. 

Principles of Goblin Magick; 

1. Belief is a tool and adds power to anything. 

2. Surrounding yourself with objects that make you happy far outweigh what they are or how much they cost. 

3. Comfort in the self, and your individuality is more important than pleasing everyone. 

4. The more you embrace your unique combination of interests, the closer to divine you are. 

5. Nature is a constant wonder and working with it shows we care. 

6. Nothing is broken, it just wants something different in life. 

7. Food that is cooked is meant to be shared. 

8. Adventures wouldn’t be so if you don’t come back with new keepsakes, treasures, mud, injuries, or stories to share. 

9. Nothing in nature is ugly/gross, it just isn’t meant for your specific interests (this includes other people). 

10. If something goes with your ‘unique brand of ugliness’ it’s yours now. I don’t make the rules. 

This is one of the holidays I am incorporating into my Goblin Witch calendar. The origins of the holiday are purely fictional, and I wanted to create celebrations that weren’t tied around the seasons but more about cycles of creativity. 

Purpose: Gobletting is the same as ‘lambing season’ when goblin babies are normally born. This happens each year after the festivals of Jinglesnatch and Embernacht, when most goblin babies are conceived. The goblin pregnancy last 4-5 months, and all the babies are born around this festival, unless the babies are born to a goblin who lives outside of the community.  

When is it held: While it usually begins and ends with the births of goblin children that year, the day of Gobletting is usually held around August 20th-22nd, the peak of the goblin season. 

Before Gobletting

-  tie up/finish small jobs or activities

- start to make a list of activities you’ve wanted to do, but haven’t done yet

- look at inner-child activities/activities you enjoyed as a child

- do some cleaning to make way for new projects/new hobbies

- ask yourself what you might be able to nurture or grow during this time

Arts and Crafts

- Make a new goblin friend! This can be done by sewing, sculpting, drawing, or writing a new goblin person into the world! Goblins during this time are celebrating the birth of new goblets, and those that aren’t are usually excited about a new project or hobby they are hoping to ‘birth’ during this time.  

- Have a party! Doesn’t matter if it’s with a group, with your family, with your pets or simply having a teddy bear picnic!  

- Start a new hobby round this time! Any hobby will do, as long as you’re celebrating the new activity and not feeling bad if it’s not perfect. Goblins don’t strive for perfect, they strive for interesting.  

- Most goblins also love a bit of DIYGS (do it your goblin self) and this time usually sparks new ideas of things to make or do. This is a good time to look at how you can reinvent or remake something that better suits you, rather than throwing it away or donating it.  

- Make plushie friends, poppets, or something to cuddle with.  

Cleaning and Cleansing

- A very good time to clean out or reorganise the supplies you use for your hobbies. Clean tools that may be neglected recently, and organise your supplies so that when you have a new project you can find everything easily or figure out what you’re missing.  

- Clean-up and cleanse your hoard/collection: this could be dusting, washing, or simply sound cleansing the objects you have collected throughout the year. It might also be a time when you start a new collection or add to your collections to give them some new life.  

- Clean up the spaces you DO your favourite hobbies and activities, especially desks or workspaces. All goblins know that a workspace needs to WORK, and if something is too messy the workspace energy (the creative juices, so to speak) will die.  

Cooking

- Party food!  

- Anything simple, preferrably that you can eat with your hands.  

- Most food made at Gobletting reminds us of our own childhoods, good memories of foods, or even food that is deemed ‘too childish’ to eat when you grow up. NOTE: EATING THE CHILDISH FOOD SOMETIMES KEEPS THE INNER CHILD ALIVE.  

- Anything sweet that makes you feel happy. Goblins’ don’t have sugar most of the time, so Gobletting is a fun event for everyone. Goblin’s sugar substitutes are usually natural syrups like maple, but especially they enjoy honey for its ‘gold-like’ appearance.  

Decorating

- If you plan to decorate for Gobletting, it’s best to stick to cozy spaces, soft fabrics, and lots of colours. After this holiday is when goblins embrace the dark, so this is they’re last hurray of bright, garish patterns and colours!  

- Decorate with trinkets or pictures that symbolise parts of your youth, or things from your childhood that still inspire you today!  

Spellcasting and Divination

- During this day goblins will acknowledge their inner children, as well as any struggles they may have had during that period of their life.  

- Shadow work around the inner child is particularly popular

- Spells for creativity and inspiration

- Creating protective amulets  

- Placing wards around your room or home so that your creativity is focused and that you can actually complete projects

- Making your own divination tool/system! Goblin’s don’t have a universal system for divination, it’s more that each family has a different way of doing things. If you can’t afford divination tools right now, or you haven’t found one you enjoy, it might be a good idea to make your own!  

Other Activities

- Any activity that involves children or people younger than yourself can be done at this time. Its usually an excellent chance to gain inspiration or new ways of looking at the world.  

- Go for a frolic in nature and see what you find.  

- Have an ‘imagination day’ where you dress up, pretend you’re someone completely different, and go for an adventure this ‘someone else’ would have.

After Gobletting

- After this time, record some ideas or projects you’d like to do soon and schedule when you’d like to do them.  

- Reflect upon your childhood, are there any hobbies you used to have that would be helpful to return to?  

- Journal about your inner child, and maybe try and pick some things that help you feel more connected to that part of you.  

- After this time, record some ideas or projects you’d like to do soon and schedule when you’d like to do them.  

- Reflect upon your childhood, are there any hobbies you used to have that would be helpful to return to?  

- Journal about your inner child, and maybe try and pick some things that help you feel more connected to that part of you.  

If you made it this far, thank you! If you do anything for Gobletting (no pressure, though I will be sure to post what I did for this holiday) then tag it with the #goblettingseason tag so I can see! 

This is a part of my goblin field journal, i am creating a fictional goblin culture and spiritual practice so this is all my own thoughts based on the culture I am building from scratch. 

Goblins values individualism and being yourself. While goblins don’t have singular pronouns in their language (there’s no letter ‘I’ at all in fact), they acknowledge that if every goblin in the community is free to be themselves, then their tribe will be more exciting, work together more passionately, and their community will thrive with new ideas all the time. 

Goblins who are free to be themselves are more valuable in the community knowing they won’t be judged unless they bring harm to other goblins. The community is also more likely to find new goblins to deify too, as each individual goblin is allowed to share their passion. 

Goblin individualism also means that if a goblin wishes to leave the community, or otherwise choose a different lifestyle, they are supported unconditionally. If they return, the only consequence is that they are encouraged to share their experiences with others so more understanding can be had by the tribe. 

If a goblin is against anothers’ individual decisions, they risk the harshest of punishments, even more so if they decide to harm another with their prejudices.

So i’ve been working on a field journal that explores the culture of goblins (inspired by goblincore aesthetic, brian froud, the labyrinth, and goblins in folklore).