Nature Is My Jam

Each panel in the AIDS quilt memorializes a life lost to the disease. Each panel is 3′ x 6′ (approximately 1 meter wide and 2 meters long), the approximate dimensions of a cemetery plot. The quilt, which then consisted of 1,920 panels representing 1,920 individuals lost to AIDS, was first displayed in Washington DC in 1987. The public response was immediate, positive, and overwhelming, and the quilt began taken around the country to be displayed in more cities. At each stop, the names of the dead were read out loud. At each stop, more panels were added.

By the time the quit returned to the US capital in 1988, it had more than 8,000 panels.

The quilt continues to grow. Today, it has over 50,000 panels memorializing over 100,000 of our dead. It’s too large now to physically display in its entirety, but you can view the entire thing online. There are also curated virtual displays of just panels which honor the Black and native people killed by the virus because in the US (and likely abroad, although I don’t know enough about public health elsewhere to say so with confidence), communities of color are disproportionately impacted by epidemics, as we have seen time and time again.

The quilt is made up of several panel, each panel itself consisting of 1 to 8 quilts.

Here’s a screenshot of the whole thing:

Look everyone, in These Trying Times we can't always afford things so we gotta make do with what we got. So here's some hot tips to help you become a garbage witch:

Save and use apple seeds, orange seeds, peach pits, cherry pits, etc. to use in your spells.

Make a spirit board/pendulum board out of an empty cardboard box.

Make drawstring pouches out of old clothes.

Use bag strings for binding magic or use them in small drawstring bags.

Shoelaces and drawstrings from old pajamas or sweatpants are fine for knot magic or turning into drawstrings for pouches.

Save glass jars for spell jars.

Study carrion animals, animals that eat garbage, fungus, and the process of decomposition in general. Learn about the importance of biodiversity, and the hazards of oversterilization.

But also study proper sanitation methods, and be aware of biohazards. Don't go living in a house fulla mold or fish through people's garbage for... uhhh... ummm... taglocks. Don't store chicken bones so they'll rot.

If you have a compost bin, write anything you want to "decompose" out of your life on a banana peel. Put the banana peel in the bin.

Learn how to repair broken stuff. (But also learn what you really shouldn't repair for yourself - EG, microwaves - lest you meet with a horrible fate.)

Make charms/talismans by cutting out pictures of things that correspond with your intent and decoupaging them onto wood, chipboard, or layered cardboard.

Make paper mache diety art/statues out of newspaper.

SAMHAIN BREAKDOWN

🎃✨🎃✨🎃✨🎃✨🎃✨🎃✨🎃✨🎃

SAMHAIN (🗣SAA-WYN🗣)

Other names:

Samhuin, Samain, Saman, Oidhche Shamhna, Hallowe'en, Halloween, Hallows, Hallowtide, Shadow Fest, Allantide, Third Harvest, Harvest Home, Geimredh, (Feile na Marbh), Feast of the Dead, Spirit Night, Candle Night, November Eve, and Apple Fest.

What is it?

Samhain is an old Celtic festival marking the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter (the "darker half" of the year)

What it represents

Samhain is a time when doorways to the spirit world are opened, allowing the dead to visit the living world. Some spirits were considered friendly, while others were not, and the Celts created ways to appease them.

It also marks the end of the Celtic year and the beginning of the new one and as such can be seen as an equivalent of New Year's Eve as we know it.

When is it celebrated

It is held on 1 November but with celebrations beginning on the evening of 31 October, since the Celtic day began and ended at sunset

Who to honour

Traditionally because this festival is associated with those who no longer walk this realm in a physical form, ancestors, family members, elders of the faith, friends, pets and other loved ones who have passed on are appropriate beings to honour.

Other sprits to worship

In the case you want to explore other spirits to worship, any death deity would be appropriate for example, you may feel compelled to leave out an offering to Hades at this time of the year. You can also worship the earth itself, as we approach this time of the year many plants begin the end of their yearly cycle, this is the perfect time to take a moment to appreciate the beauty in that part of the cycle.

How to celebrate

There are many things to do to honour ancestors and not just the human ancestors but the earth ones and the animals as well, this may manifest in many ways.

Some popular ways to celebrate this festival are

dancing,

feasting,

taking nature walks,

Ancestor Stories,

cemetery visits,

Bonfire Magic.

and building altars to honour the ancestors

These are not the only activities, there are many more that I could list and many more points I could touch on, but I wanted to keep this post really easy/friendly and not to overwhelming,

I hope to at some point tomorrow get to draft up a “Samhain correspondence” post to go along with this one🥰 if there is anything else/ or any questions you have that you’d like me to touch base on I’m more than happy to do my best to answer🥰

Merry meet! B ~Phae

What is a Glamour?

A glamour is a kind of spell you cast on yourself to change how people perceive you. Glamours aren’t like the kind of magic you see in the movies--the same goes for all the witchcraft we talk about here. It’s not flashy. You can’t use a glamour to change your eye or hair color. You can, however, use them to be perceived as more beautiful, more confident, tougher, smarter, more delicate, the list goes on. I’ve written a couple of glamour spells before--mostly beauty spells like my spritzer or beauty oil. But there are other kinds of glamours and other ways to achieve them.

Oftentimes, glamours are performed along with your getting ready ritual. It’s a kind of magic that lends itself well to the mundane things we do everyday, and to the science of our world as well. You’ve probably heard of the placebo effect. The simple version of it is: if you believe something is happening to you, you’ll begin to feel the effects--it becomes real. The intersection of witchcraft and science is fascinating to me, and glamours in particular are where I see it overlapping the most! You’ve got magic and science working on your side with these, and the end result is often that you feel more secure in yourself, which is something we should all strive for.

How to Cast a Glamour

So you’ve crawled out of bed, or off of the couch, and you’re about to get ready to go out. You want to look a certain way--be perceived a certain way, and you want some magical help with that. This is where casting a glamour comes in, and there are a ton of ways to do it. The simplest way, with no outside preparation or ingredients, is to manifest your intent while getting ready for the day, however it is you do that. Wash away the worries and debris of the day before when you shower and wash your hair. Focus on whatever quality you desire sinking into your skin as your wash your face, moisturize, shave, etc.

Choose your outfit according to what you’re trying to manifest--color associations work well for this, as does jewelry, especially if you’ve enchanted it. If you wear makeup, it’s tailor made for casting glamours. Use color associations on your eyeshadow and lipstick--pink for beauty, red for confidence, a nude if you’re trying to go unnoticed. Think of your foundation as well, the foundation of your spell. Whatever perception you’re going for, infuse the foundation with it and put it on. If you use concealer, use it to “conceal” any faults, or whatever it is about yourself you’d like to downplay today. Weave magic and intention into your hair as your pick, comb or brush it out for the day. Do you have a favorite perfume or cologne? Use it to cover yourself in your intention. And the best part is, after the day is over, you can end the spell by washing it all away!

Of course, you can do a glamour via more hands-on means as well. Potions, salves, baths, charms, enchanted meals, the list goes on. Tea, coffee and smoothies lend themselves well to glamours, as you can take them on the go and let the magic flow through you on your way to your destination. You can create a spray for your skin or hair, an oil to anoint yourself with, or even create a satchel to carry on your person in order to exude whatever quality you’re seeking. As you may have noticed, a lot of these glamours are reusable, as opposed to the cosmetic type glamours listed above. Both have their uses, and you can layer these methods as well to achieve what you desire!

Types of Glamours

What kind of glamour might you want to cast, though? Well, here are a few examples!

-beauty/attractiveness

Probably the most common type of glamour, these are used to make you appear more attractive to people you may interact with.

-confidence

To look more confident, even when you’re not particularly feeling that way. These are good for job interviews, meetings, presentations, etc.!

-toughness

If you’re trying to look stronger or more intimidating than you are, for safety or otherwise, this might be the kind of glamour you’re looking for.

-intelligence

Need to come off as more eloquent and intelligent? Well I’m sure you’re plenty smart, but if people have been doubting you, a magical boost might give them a nudge in the right direction.

There are plenty more, and these can overlap and combine to achieve what you’re looking for! Magic is malleable like that. Just be clear about what you need, or you might get mixed results. This goes for any spell, however. ;)

Tools/Ingredients for Glamours

Not sure what to gather beforehand? Here are a couple of ideas!

Makeup (especially eyeshadow and lipstick)

Perfume

Cologne

Lotions

Jewelry

Pins

Moisturizers/Skin care products

Roses (beauty)

Garlic

Hot Sauce/Hot Peppers

Dill

Banana (Success)

Avocado (Beauty, love)

Apple (Beauty, love)

Strawberries (Love, happiness)

Peaches (youth, happiness)

Cherries, pitted (beauty)

Vanilla

Bay leaf (love, passion, harmony)

Basil (wealth,love, faithfulness)

Oregano (ward against negative energy, happiness, peaceful energy)

Thyme (positivity, prosperity)

Parsley (happiness, passion, protection)

Sage (prosperity, mental clarity)

Rosemary (beauty, love, general magical boost)

Marjoram (happiness, love, money)

Sea Salt (purity, protection)

Pepper (passion)

Crushed red pepper (passion, a spell booster)

This is just a list to start with! You can use the edible ingredients to make teas, baths, smoothies, soups, etc., and infuse other ingredients with your intent. Glamours are versatile, and the way you cast them can be, too! The only real limit is your imagination!

In the past it was a tradition to have a bonfire, but since doing so is not accessible to many people, you could instead light a big candle!

A lot of practitioners love cooking and baking fall foods using products they’ve planted and harvested themselves, but if you don’t have a garden or have a hard time keeping your plants alive (trust me, I understand you.) you could buy products that are sold by local farmers and small businesses.

You could also choose to use certain herbs and spices that are almost impossible to kill-Just sprinkle some rosemary on your store bought pumpkin soup if cooking is not what you’re best at, it’s the thought that counts!

You can also invite your friends and family over for a Halloween Party and have a feast with some booze and food! Have some earthy meals and a bunch of Halloween themed candies.

You can also decorate your altar with fall items like pumpkins, acorns or maybe even pinecones…Almost anything works as long as it reminds you of this celebration. 

You can check for correspondences if you’re having a hard time decorating your altar and need an idea or two regarding the arrangements!

After refreshing your altar you could think about giving offerings the deities/spirits you work with or paying respect to your ancestors.

You can also watch Halloween themed films or listen to music and sing/dance.

Remember that this day doesn’t have to be so serious and deep, pay your respects to Samhain and keep having fun!

It’s okay even if you don’t do any special spell or ritual! Just enjoy yourself!

Happy Spooky Season to all!

You know how in almost every culture, people have some concept of "if I sacrifice something that I made/grew/produced to the Gods, they will ward me and my harvest from evil"?

So, in a way, don't the bees willingly sacrifice a part of their harvest to an entity not only far greater than them, but nearly beyond their comprehension, in exchange for protection against natural forces wildly outside of their own control?

So imagine the mildly eldritch God you worship talks to you and tells you secrets, but these secrets make no sense to you and are incomprehensible to understand or even know they are secrets. But your God does make vibrations at you, so thats probably a good thing right??

Also occasionally the Swarm decides there is not enough room in the Hive because the eldritch god didn't take the offering of Honey at their normal time. So enough of a Swarm builds up that the second queen is able to leave without decimating the first Swarm. They are all set to search out a new place that will likely not have your God anymore (but really that's not too much of a struggle, they have abandoned you, that's part of why you've left, even though the first Swarm still holds out hope for their return).

And then, the scouts find another Hive right next to the old Hive. Literally right next to it. So the Queen lands to inspect it and wow, it's a good deal. The area already has enough food to support 2 Hives, so it's a not problem to stay in the area now that they have the space, but...this wasn't here before.

Seriously for the fucking millionth time, I don’t know how many people on this site have to scream until we go blue in the face

DON’T INGEST ESSENTIAL OILS

Not now. Not ever. Not a drop. Not half a drop. Do. Not. Ingest. Them. Ever. 

For the days when you’re feeling out of it or just don’t have enough energy to do something big and grand but you still want to acknowledge/bond with your deity.

Make/ listen to a playlist for them. Lots of people make playlists for their deities with songs that they think they would like or that remind them of them. If you don’t want to make one you can put your deities name into Spotify and you can listen to someone else’s playlist.

Research your deity. I’m always looking up/ reading about Aphrodite. She’s such a fascinating Goddess and all of the stories about Her are so amazing. I always feel like I know Her a little better after reading some of Her myths.

Make a Pintrest board for them. Type in their name or aesthetics you associate them with. This can also help with altar inspiration.

Light a candle for them and just sit near it or drink some tea near it. You could also meditate near their candle or work near their candle.

Wear colours associated with them. I often paint my nails ‘sea-foam blue’ as that’s one of the colours associated with Aphrodite.