#grimdocs

“Most witches don’t believe in gods. They know that the gods exist, of course. They even deal with them occasionally. But they don’t believe in them. They know them too well. It would be like believing in the postman.” ― Terry Pratchett, Witches Abroad

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“‘All right,’ said Susan. ‘I'm not stupid. You're saying humans need... fantasies to make life bearable.’ REALLY? AS IF IT WAS SOME KIND OF PINK PILL? NO. HUMANS NEED FANTASY TO BE HUMAN. TO BE THE PLACE WHERE THE FALLING ANGEL MEETS THE RISING APE. ‘Tooth fairies? Hogfathers? Little—’ YES. AS PRACTICE. YOU HAVE TO START OUT LEARNING TO BELIEVE THE LITTLE LIES. ‘So we can believe the big ones?’ YES. JUSTICE. MERCY. DUTY. THAT SORT OF THING. ‘They're not the same at all!’ YOU THINK SO? THEN TAKE THE UNIVERSE AND GRIND IT DOWN TO THE FINEST POWDER AND SIEVE IT THROUGH THE FINEST SIEVE AND THEN SHOW ME ONE ATOM OF JUSTICE, ONE MOLECULE OF MERCY. AND YET—Death waved a hand. AND YET YOU ACT AS IF THERE IS SOME IDEAL ORDER IN THE WORLD, AS IF THERE IS SOME...SOME RIGHTNESS IN THE UNIVERSE BY WHICH IT MAY BE JUDGED. ‘Yes, but people have got to believe that, or what's the point—’

MY POINT EXACTLY.” ― Terry Pratchett, Hogfather    

My dream temple, like my dream altar, would have several layers. The ground floor would be dedicated to S, and would have lion statues guarding the entrance. There would be a life-size statue of S sitting on a throne, and a sandstone table for offerings. The walls would have torches or candles, and at the foot of the statue a small fireplace.

There would be a second, underground floor, dedicated to H. That would be lit by sparse lanterns, and only when someone was there. The walls would be made of stone, and inlaid with emerald and bloodstone designs. Instead of a statue, there would be a skull on a pedestal. The table would be stone. Owl statues would guard the bottom of the descending staircase.

The top floor would be an observatory, dedicated to Dj. There would be a lot of bird imagery and zodiac symbols. There would be a laboratory-height table pushed up against a wall, with two stools, and always a pot of coffee left there. There’d be a set of blankets and fluffy pillows too, just in case of some late-night stargazing.

Outside there would be the gardens, dedicated to Seph. There would be a labyrinth in the garden, and in the center a grove of fruit trees. At each dead end there’d be an offering tray of sweets and a bowl with milk or wine for faeries.

6. My dream altar setup would probably include three separate altars, as it is now; one for chthonic deities (H and Seph, and Ereshkigal and Anubis if I work with them!), one for other deities (S and Dj, and Bragi if I get the chance to work with him again!), and one for spirit companions and astral work. (If I start doing fae work like Seph keeps urging me to, I would have a fae altar as well.)         My chthonic altar would have a skull on it, as it does now, and would have statues of H and Seph, and my bloodstone crystal ball. Most of my stones would be on that altar, as they would fall under H’s domain. There would probably be owl statues and cervid statues. This altar would have my needlewands and a chalice. It would be in a chest or a box, so that it could be left in darkness.         My general deity altar would have a statue of S and a statue of Dj, and my athame and an incense burner. There would be an ibis figure and a lion figure as well. It might be the higher shelf of a set on top of the chthonic altar.         My spirit altar would have unicorn, fae, and forest-themed art, and also a spyglass for F. It would be the lower shelf.

7. “Taxidermist Taxidermist” by Lady Lamb. This song, particularly the lyrics “Lie, oh lie, oh lioness, my lioness / Sharp and ambivalent / Won't you lie on my skins?” reminds me of S, and overall the lyrics make me think of the Blood aspect, something I connect to my craft.

“In Our Nature” by José González. This entire album gives me a very earthy feel, and I’ve used it as the background track to several of my rituals. I feel very connected to the earth element, and try to use that energy when I can.

“Overture” by Clark Powell. I’ve used this song as my anchor several times that I’ve astral traveled; it’s a long song and easy to come back to.

1. I chose to join team Corvus because corvids have been a big symbol for me. A famous raven gave to me one of my dearest pseudonyms. The corvid as a symbol of death has particular relevance for me because of the deities I work with. Djehuty in particular I have come to associate with the curiosity and trickster nature of ravens in stories.

I strive for intelligence and knowledge through my experience, and am sometimes too honest.

2. @magicalmoodmemes is my fair buddy!!

5. 

I draw a lot of my inspiration for how I approach my craft from Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels; Tiffany Aching made me want to become a witch in the first place.

A lot of songs can inspire me, recently I’ve been listening to a lot of vampire-related songs.

I absolutely love pretty words, I love words so much.

Sometimes when I hear people talking about things tangentially related to things I’m working on it gives me inspiration.

If I find art that gives me a familiar astral feel that can inspire me to travel that day.

Heh, some of the kemetic fandom posts inspire me to do little goofy devotional things for my gods.

I said Discworld, but fantasy books in general are really inspiring.

Sometimes just going through my tarot cards and checking in can help inspire me or pick me up if I’m feeling down!

8. and lo, feel the earth / steadfast and older than time / energy unlocked

Trip 1:

• began with mirror visualization; spoke a bit to astral self before being pulled through the mirror • I looked like everything my soul was at once • wound up at a fae tea with Seph and my astral self, possibly • fought with Seph, rather unsuccessfully • Seph pushed me fully back into the physical

Time out: 10min

Trip 2: