Christian/Jewish/Pagan Syncretic Witchcraft

Or at least, it’s a lot like an MMO.

Some people can’t even figure out how to log on, let alone afford to pay the subscription. Sometimes their computers are too old or their graphics card isn’t right, which makes the image blurry and the animation choppy and it crashes every couple of minutes.

Most people start out at level one, and they have to grind through the really boring story stuff.  Lots of times these people are confused and misled, but also amazed by the open world, and they run around a lot without getting anything done.  Many of those people will level up for a while without ever making any friends or joining any guilds, which is a totally perfect and valid way to play.

Some people have one of those instant level 99 tokens, and they level up instantly, and are kind of overwhelmed by how difficult the game was right off the bat.  Sometimes those people decide it’s in their best interest to quit now before they stress themselves out, and that’s okay.

Some people get in the game and they already have friends who are in pretty high-ranking guilds, so they’re pulled into giant awesome boss fights.  And man, are the boss fights awesome.  They play their role naturally and have a really great and fun time doing it.  Everyone in the guild really feels how fun and exciting it is, and the people watching them stream the game are also pretty excited, even if they’re a bit removed from the situation.

And the next day, when they’re talking to their IRL friends and they say, “Oh man, killing Archimonde last night was so cool,” their guild friends will totally relate, and agree with them!  But their IRL friends, who have never touched an MMO, will just kind of say, “Yeah, that sounds pretty cool,” even though they can’t relate at all.  They feel a little left out and almost like they’re expected to play the MMO, even though they can’t really commit the time to learn how to play.

And meanwhile, there are thousands of other players who have beaten the same bosses, played the same games, earned the same trinkets, and had guilds of their own.  Some people have explored most of the game without ever beating a boss.  Some people spend their time on the market earning gold. Some people play on a trackpad on their laptop and some people own a Razor Naga mouse.  And some people never even pick up the game at all.

And all of this is totally and completely valid.

A circle of protection here I cast. No evil shall enter, no ill shall pass. A shield rise up and surround us all; Protect those who dwell within these walls. Within this space, may safety be found. No ill shall enter our circle round.

Lilith’s Strength

A spell to call upon Lilith and keep her strength close to you so you may be empowered in whatever situation you face.

Things needed:

Lilith’s Sigil (see below)

A Red Candle

A Drop of Your Blood (optional)

Ritual:

At night, light your red candle and craft the sigil of Lilith on paper, using a red utensil. If you choose to use your blood, use just a little drop and let it drip onto the sigil. Then begin to chant the following:

“Lilith, goddess of passion, Queen of Hell, grant me the strength of your flaming heart. Soothing and destructive, annihilate my pain and help me heal. Annihilate my cowardice, open my heart and my eyes. Grant me the confidence to fight onward, and the love needed to care for myself. Come to me Lilith, Divine Mother. Fill me with everlasting fire.”

💛🐝🌻💛🐝🌻💛🐝🌻💛🐝🌻

Phases;

Morning:

beginnings, growth, expansion, strength, positive energy, courage, harmony, happiness, activity, plans, prosperity, ideas, fertility, goodluck.

Noon:

health, psychical energy, wisdom, knowledge, motivation, confidence, success, courage. Also the best time to charge crystals and other items. (Make sure it's safe to leave it in the sun though)

Afternoon:

Profellsionalisiam, business matters, communication, clarity, travel, exploring, clarity.

Sunset:

Removing depression, stress, confusion, letting go, releasing or finding a truth.

Crystals/metals:

diamond · amber · topaz · sunstone · tigers eye · gold · goldstone · red agate · carnelian · citrine

Ingredients:

The obvious cringe of “uwu magic is whatever you want it to be uwu it’s what ever makes you feel comfy and special inside” and the usual witchblr “implying practices take effort is gatekeeping” nonsense aside, it strikes me that there’s a genuine cultural dissonance going on in a lot of these discussions. 

It’s not even necessarily just about witchcraft, and the fact that it’s usually deployed on here as just a catch-all term for any kind of “spiritual practice™”. Magic in general is treated on here by a bunch of people who have never experienced its real miracle-generating capacity as essentially a quirky aesthetic as opposed to the cultivation of a real skill that can bend reality. To reproduce one of my favourite quotes by Jason Miller, which we also have up in our FAQ:

“A Theban Magician did not painstakingly preserve and hide the Greek Magical Papyri with its many formulas because intention was all that mattered. The Grimoires were not passed among a network of underground clergy and literate laity because the precise instruction did not matter. Families of African slaves did not preserve traditions of Congolese Magic in the New World at risk to their life just because your intention is all that matters!” - Jason Miller, The Elements of Spellcrafting

I was born in a part of the world where, among the rural villages, local magicians are relied upon and perform a vital community function. There are no nearby hospitals, so when someone is ill, the local shaman needs to be able to actually heal in the way their title as “shaman” implies. When someone has been cursed because they offended a local faery or guardian spirit, the magician needs to intercede and make right, diagnose the issue, make the proper offerings, and lift the curse. When someone has stolen goods from someone else, they need to be able to figure out who the culprit is using their spirits and divinatory practices. Historically, when invading powers were coming to conquer the region, the magicians were relied upon for protection, negotiation/bargaining with spirits and gods, and creating glamours to buy time for the vulnerable to escape, if not even shield the village from invasion. There are many documented cases of historical battles between the shamans of different communities, often resulting in the weaker dying as their soul never returned to their body during the spirit-flight combat. 

What I’m getting at is that “witch”, “magician”, and other such labels were descriptive titles used to denote individuals who had certain skills and were able to reliably perform them. If they couldn’t reliably produce results, no one would go to them, pay them for their services, or acknowledge them as genuine. It wasn’t because the community was “mean”, but because there was and is a real need for these abilities and it had nothing to do with anyone’s feelings. I’m not a lawyer, I’ve never been to law school, I am not qualified to represent anyone legally and provide legal advice. If I start identifying as a lawyer, any clients I manage to get would quickly realize I have no idea what I’m talking about and would rightly dismiss me. If I’m purchasing the services of a blacksmith, jeweler, tailor, etc. - I’m paying for their time and accumulated training/skills. Folk magicians in traditional communities are regarded in much the same way.

I honestly don’t think there’s anything wrong in enjoying and consuming the modern, media-driven aesthetic of witchcraft, but at the end of the day operative magic is about results. Did your job spell work? Did you get the job? Did your petition to receive a particular boon actually succeed? Don’t be intimidated if a ritual doesn’t manifest - no one has a 100% manifestation rate. Even the most famous, skilled lawyers lose cases. Take it as an exciting opportunity to diagnose the issue, consult with your spirits, and hit the target again from another angle. Did you lack sufficient links to the target? Maybe you should seek out the assistance of a stronger spirit? Time your ritual with planetary days and hours? 

Think back to any other skill you had to slowly develop over time. Once upon a time I was a horrible swimmer, drawer, and writer, but now I’m quite competent at swimming, decent at drawing, and an excellent creative writer. It all depends on how much effort you put into nurturing each craft. Honestly, getting better at magic is exhilarating; surpassing your goals one by one, coming into contact with more powerful beings and making pacts with them, actually building a set of powers that can reshape your world through your own discipline, etc. Don’t ever let yourself be so proud that you can’t bring yourself to admit you could use improvement. Our predecessors in magic fought, killed, and died for the knowledge that is freely available to us now. What stories of your feats and miracles will the people who knew you pass on after your death?

Ironically, I’m writing this to avoid doing my Work Job. Let’s get into it.

Set an alarm so you remember. Pick a specific time you’re going to worship, because “later” never comes and “sometime this evening” rarely does either. Instead, set an alarm so that you already have that time set aside in your mind, and so that you don’t mentally blow past it when that time arrives.

Keep everything in one place. Keep the offerings near where you would offer them, as well as anything you might need to do it, like matches or lighters. Make it so there’s as little travel time as possible between you and what you want to do. 

Think through the ritual setup beforehand. Sometimes the offering part is easy but getting to that point is overwhelming, especially if your tradition involves ritual purification or invocation rituals. Boil it down to the bare essentials and capture the essence in a way that doesn’t have so many steps, if you can. (Ex: Is that personal purification rite just an ancient way of washing away germs, and if so can we just mindfully wash our hands and fulfull the rite’s function?)

Start with something little. Getting started can be the hardest part. If you don’t have the energy for an entire offering ritual, break it into pieces. Just do the setup and approach the rest later if you need. Or just put on a playlist to get into the mood for now. Or take a couple deep breaths to refocus your brain. Ease into it as slowly as you need. 

Think ahead with your offerings. Will you have the spoons to clean up after? If you’re like me and run the risk of not removing an offering for days (or weeks…) then think ahead to what can stay there a long time, just in case. Nobody likes cleaning up the altar and finding mold in the offering dish. Incense, water, and dried plants tend to work well, as do nonphysical things like music and poetry.

“While I’m at it…” If you catch yourself in a spot with good momentum, try to get a rite done while you have the energy instead of putting it off. It can be something simple, but use the energy and the drive while you’re on top of it since we can’t always guarantee it will be there in even an hour. 

Keep things similar so that you don’t have to rethink every step, every time. A rock solid routine with what a ritual looks like helps it become a lot more automatic, and therefore a lot easier to actually do. Routine becomes habit.

Stormbornwitch’s Prosperity Spell Bottle

This spell bottle contains my prosperity powder. This powder is ideal for drawing money, prosperity, and success. Just on its own, the powder could be sprinkled onto a burning candle, dusted around your home or workplace or you could even add some to a hot bath!

Prosperity Powder - Grind & Combine:

Eggshells for protection, prosperity and good fortune

Sage for helping you make wise decisions

Bay Leaves for prosperity and success

Basil for wealth and success

Peppermint for money, prosperity and abundance

Then the powder is poured into a jar or bottle. Attached to the jar/bottle is a bay leaf with the rune Fehu (wealth and prosperity) painted on it in silver paint.

Using knot magic, the bay leaf is attached to the jar/bottle and then a candle is affixed to the top of the jar so that the candle can be lit every time I need a little money to flow into my life. This little spell bottle works really well. I’ve even been asked to make one for my boss at work.

Get a bunch of decent size twigs and put them in a jar. Every time you get mad or frustrated, feed all of your bad vibes and negativity into a twig and snap it in half, releasing all of the bad energy and destroying it.

Could also be used as a curse if negative energy was fed into a twig about a person and the intent was there.