The Geek Witch’s Lab

Ok so the way this works is by first creating an avatar in a game. Then you play the game. When you gain powers in game you make a list of them and verbally create a codespell or incantation.

Example: “Connect (your name).caster to WorldOfWarcraft.game/avatar/(name of avatar)/powers/(name of spell).

Invoke the spell that I did name, pull it forth from the game.”

That moment where you want to gather up all your tools and go on a spell casting spree to avoid any calamity that may happen in your daily life.

I work customer service and omg I’m about to flip a table with how convoluted some things are.

ToonUp.spell

Invoke ToonUp.gag

When Laughter.reaction is triggered, increase HP by +5

Mod RealWorldHealth.stat to FullHealth.

Incantation: “Laughter is this witch’s boon, laff it up just like a toon.”

TriggerPhrase: invoke ToonUp.spell

BindSpell.hex

You all know that I’m a huge proponent of audio potions. However, this morning, I found a way to combine pseudocode with image based spells to create image based potions that can be invoked verbally.

Simply create a folder and fill it with ingredient images, write the spell on a text document and then at the bottom of the text document write the trigger phrase.

Example:

TriggerPhrase: Invoke SunshinePotion.spell

Did a morning run today, organized a blank 1 terabyte usb to be a cauldron, cleaned my charger port for my phone, charged my earbuds that I use for work, charged my power bank, took care of the cat, had coffee and breakfast, showered, and did some sleep research with pokemon sleep. All of this before 9 am.

A lot of people have adapted traditional practices like hedge witchery to the modern world, but what I’ve found is that hedge witchery isn’t just nature based. The nature aspect is internal. What you define as nature is in essence nature. What you define as spirits is exactly that. What hedge witchery boils down to in my mind is the practice of crossing the boundary between the mortal world we live in and the otherworld that we can see.

One piece of info that I want to be sure to mention (thanks to my great grandma leaning over my shoulder as I write this) is that hedge witchery is not all about light and fluffy stuff. In the old days, hedge witches were often on the outskirts of town and for good reason, they would do anything for the right price and while they did do work to benefit the community, often times their most lucrative work was done by curses and hexes. Hedge witches are not ones that you want to cross. They may seem lower on the totem pole, but piss one off and you’re likely to end up seeing just how much power they have.

Techno Hedge witchery is essentially the use of the digital realm as a conduit of power. Our gardens are found in video games or image searches of items that we need. Our divination comes through digital tarot decks and digital runes, also through paying attention to the pulses of electricity and info that comes from tv screens.

Here is a breakdown of Techno Hedge witchery:

Digital Foraging:

We forage for our spell ingredients online and images are likely going to be a main source of that. We also go offline and use our cameras to collect images of real things and turn our cameras into digital foraging bags

Digital divination:

One of the most prominent skills of a hedge witch is the gift of second sight. We observe the world through different eyes and digital tarot decks and digital runes are key parts of our divination practices.

Astral projection:

With the creation of the virtual reality headset, we are able to take flight in the digital world and interact with people in a deeper and more profound way. Alternatively, we can use video games of all kinds to transport our spirit through the web. One of my personal favorite things to do is use a text message as a way to transport my spirit to watch over those I care about.

Digital familiars and spirits:

When we work with familiars and spirits, we are likely communing with monsters from video games, or actual familiars that we created with our own imagination and digital prowess. My own familiar has been with me since I was 18 because I created him from a text document character sketch and wove him a body out of shadow and light via incantations. Digital spirits can also be summoned from media such as e-books and trading cards.

Digital spell casting:

Almost all digital witches have their own methods of casting spells. My personal favorite ways include: digital charm bags, pseudocode spells, traditional incantations, creative writing, and channeling media as a focus for my power. That is not to say that I don’t have other more traditional ways to craft a spell, but I’m all about being creative and versatile.

Digital potions:

This is where it gets tricky, potions are typically liquid and require time to prepare. For that reason, I use music playlists for potion making. I create my own beats as well for a more personalized approach.

Digital artifacts:

This is where pop culture magic really shows its power. Collecting images of trading cards, character images, or images of artifacts from a video game or tv show is essentially a form of representational magic where the image holds all the power of the item itself. To use them, a digital hedge witch requires an incantation to activate it.

Conclusion:

I used the tv show Sherlock to tap into the episode A Study in Pink for a quick burst of knowledge and analytical insight. I borrowed this idea from the book Geekomancy by Michael R Underwood.

Tv show spells

Sherlock: A Study in pink

Watching the clip of Sherlock deducing the identity of the woman who is lying dead in the room allows for a quick but profound dose of claircognizance, intelligence increase, and deductive reasoning. Essentially allows the user to become Sherlock for a brief time.

Bewitched: allows for traditional witchcraft and incantation focused spellcraft.

I dream of Jeannie: wish granting magic

Batman media: allows for detective work and gadgetry creation given the wide range of gadgets that Batman has. Also useful for modern detective and espionage work via the concept of the Batcomputer.

X-men: High levels of powers available due to the sheer number of mutants. Telepathy is my personal power of choice though there are others that can be used.

The flash: Super speed within reason of physics. Mostly just an acceleration of your max speed and the ability to move faster.

Video game magic

Toontown Rewritten: Allows for comedic magical effects. Gags are essentially spells and the effects they have in game can affect the player or the world around the player provided the player steps into their avatar as a form of astral projection.

DC universe online: a wide range of superpowers can be copied from this game and likely can be done for extended periods given the amount of people who love the fandom and the amount of media there is surrounding the universe.

My workplace (a grocery store) has recently installed advertising TVs all over the store. Last night, as I was doing my sweeps of the store, I could have sworn I heard and saw Hecate. She was giving me advice on how to deal with things in my life. She also told me that she would be communicating with me through all devices that I come into contact with. That included my headphones for my morning run.

Using the app Chemist by Thix, I used the following to create a chemistry based light spell.

Tools:

Beaker 250 ml

Ingredients:

Sodium

H2O

Procedure:

Combine the sodium and H2O in a 250 ml beaker and observe the reaction.

Once the light within the beaker is pulsing, chant the following spell:

“Light within this lab I see,

Make the sun shine bright for me.”

I just added something incredibly important to my little belt bag that I carry around with me: a cleaning kit for my phone.

FamiliarCreation.spell

Invoke CodeExtractor.charm/caster_SourceCode

Copy Caster.sourceCode to FamiliarCreation.spell/Template

Initiate Transmutation.process

Incantation: “Take my code and grant it form, Create a familiar spirit that is alive and warm. Bound by magic and loyalty, this familiar will my partner in magick be.”

TriggerPhrase: “Invoke FamiliarCreation.spell”

BindSpell.hex

I have my new phone plan and due to me storing everything in the cloud, I have half my phone storage back to use. I have never felt more free. Tomorrow, I am going to look into getting an upgraded phone with more storage and usb c capabilities so i can start using my usb amulet again. Plus, I’ve found out that usb c charger ports don’t have much in the way of needing as high of maintenance as lightning connectors. Added bonus, I don’t need to carry around all the excess cords and stuff. I can minimize my carry bag.

Suffice to say that I feel very free with what I’ve got going for me. One thing that is highly important to me is the storage capacity. Managing storage is necessary for tech witches. In addition, I will be able to store my music potions in the cloud and not worry about needing to store them on my device.

Using the app Chemist by Thix, I came up with a concept that I feel would bridge the gap between true science and magical science.

By creating reactions within the app using chemical materials, one can theoretically create changes in reality via the way that the reaction is animated.

No matter the form that your computer takes when it comes to your practice (Smartphone, tablet, laptop, desktop, or any combination of these), there is always going to be a need for organization. One thing that I want to talk about is the use of Focus home screens. I don’t know what the Android equivalent is regarding the Focus feature found on Apple products, but I highly recommend the creation of separate home screens for different parts of your life. This makes it easy to hide away the magical stuff if you want.

Next, let’s talk about magic in the digital world. Basically, digital witchcraft involves anything to do with technology. Everything from video games to tv shows to streaming music to creation of content. Everything has its place within the digital world. Keeping that in mind, Pop culture magic is highly integrated with techno magic as there is no better place to tap into pop culture magic than through technological means. This includes the following:

- Ebooks

- Video Games

- Creative writing

- Tv shows

- Movies

- Blogging

- Photography

- Communities

- Music

The list goes on for things that are able to be done through Cybermancy, however i feel this is sufficient for the moment.

Each of these categories has some app or website that is associated with it, the first step to being an organized Cyber Witch is to figure out how you want to group them. Personally, I organize it based on the type of magic that I use it for. For example, apps used for art such as my sketchbook app and my camera app go into a folder on my phone and ipad/keyboard setup called ‘Art Witchcraft’. Apps aimed at Divination and information gathering go into a folder labeled ‘Divination’. My Ebook libraries go into a folder labeled ‘Libriomancy’. Tv apps go into a folder labeled ‘Videomancy’. Gaming apps go into a folder labeled ‘Ludomancy’. My music creation apps and apps pertaining to science and the creation of digital charm bags are in a folder labeled ‘Alchemy’.

For most of these, I borrowed terms from books and tabletop rpgs that fit my aesthetic and were terms that i couldn’t easily discard.

Organization is extremely important for almost any witch, and for the cyber witch, there is an added bonus of making things easy to find and also making things feel more like a laboratory setup/altar space.

In addition to this, i find that organizing things also helps me to clear out my mind. As someone with ADHD and Autism, i feel that I need to have things categorized so that I dont forget anything.