Dollar Tree Finds

Just fyi - the Spiritual School discord run by the mod Koda aka the user greyscloud here has intense censorship in place, and the mod will not listen when told that they are wrong. There is no learning happening in this server, only misunderstandings being yelled loudly as fact. Be wary!

Finding My Way Again and Healing in the Process

After doing some deep thinking and working with Ra and Anubis, I was able to find my own joy again. But also, with healing it helped me discover what it was that I needed. And what I needed is different from what it was before.

I have dabbled with death witchy stuff, sort of fell off the wagon. That was a period of time that was hard with my husband at the time having a stroke, and when i finally got back on my feet I lived between a nursing and the town cemetery. After that, I took a break, and then I became interested in weather magic. Weather magic is awesome, and living in Kansas it will always be a part of my curiosity.

But of course, throughout my journey Ra has always been with me, and with that comes being attracted to the Sun, watching sunrises and sunsets, the color yellow, etc.

First day at Bealls!!!

Quick update! Got all the initial training videos done, and completed the money forms. They asked me to come back at 2 to shadow another woman. I said sure no problem, grabbed some lunch and decompressed a little. It's a relief. Not only financially but also it elevates the all anxiety I was dealing with. This whole situation really triggered my GAD pretty bad, but now I can breathe again.

Woke up to this Duolingo nonsense this morning! I wasn't ready for that face yet.

Warding & Protection 101

What is warding?

Warding is the practice of shielding or protecting something, someplace, or someone. There are a million and two different types of wards you can create-- in many ways, you are only limited by your own creativity and knowledge.

Why/when should I use a ward?

I always recommend having, at minimum, a protective ward for yourself and your living space if you practice witchcraft (or something adjacent to witchcraft). What a ward does is dependent on what it was created to do. Different people have different needs, and wards are not one-size fits all. Wards can be generic or specific, but my personal preference is a well-defined ward. By well-defined, I mean "clear in what it will and will not do".

Basics

In order to figure out what sort of ward you may need, ask yourself these questions:

What does my practice focus on?

Where might I be vulnerable?

What are my strengths and weaknesses when it comes to witchcraft?

Who and what am I comfortable with having in my space?

When and where am I comfortable with having others in my space?

What do I need to keep out, and what do I need to keep in?

What existing practices/habits may affect my wards? (e.g. cleansing, banishment, rituals, etc.)

Do I have an energy source for a ward? How do I intend to upkeep my wards?

Do my wards need to be moveable or changeable?

What resources are available to me? Are there people or entities that are willing to help me?

What, in my mundane life, do I need help with? What do I need to protect?

What actions am I taking, in my mundane life, to protect myself? (e.g. driving safely, practicing good fire safety habits, etc.)

How to make a ward

As previously stated, there are a million and two different types of wards-- and a million and two different ways to create them. Best practice is generally to lean on your personal strengths and resources to make one. Here are some more specific examples:

Herbalism: A witch who works primarily with herbs could create a protective sachet or jar that is filled with protective herbs.

Kitchen Witchcraft: Someone who practices kitchen witchcraft could cook protective foods, or incorporate small actions into their regular cooking that add protective qualities into their food (i.e. stirring a certain way, routinely using certain ingredients, etc.)

Storm Witchcraft: A witch who works with storms could use the energy of storms to protect their home. They could call on fearsome breezes to blow away harm, rainfall to wash it away, darkness to hide their home, etc.

Glamour witchcraft: A glamour witch can work on how they are perceived. Don't want someone approaching you? Make them afraid of you. Have a fearsome appearance to those who would wish you harm. Make them hesitate. Or hide yourself altogether, as if you were never there.

Deity witchcraft: Ask your gods to guide your hand, to show you how to protect yourself. Ask them to protect you, and clarify what you need protection from.

Green Witchcraft: Grow a plant with the intention of having it take the blow for you, if anything negative gets sent your way. Or have it purify your space.

Divination Wards: Use the energy of specific tarot cards to protect yourself. Write protective runes on things you care about.

Music Witchcraft: Play empowering music. Belt out a song about how nothing can harm you. Hum a tune to make things go away.

Energy Witchcraft: Envision great shields and walls, fortresses and moats. Whatever screams "protection" to you.

Etc.

Types of Wards/Ideas for Wards

Keep in mind that any ward can be for both the magical and mundane (though, always act with common sense, and act as if your wards do not exist. A ward will not make you immortal, and they can be counteracted and/or destroyed. They are there for when shit hits the fan-- but they are not a free pass to start throwing shit AT the fan!)

Transmutative wards: Tranform harmful energy sent your way into something positive and useful. (e.g. negative rumors -> increased opportunities, bad intentions -> abundance)

Baneful wards: If someone hits you, hit them back. Reflect whatever they sent to you back on them, and thensome.

Banishment Wards: If something steps into your space, kick it back out.

Hiding Wards: Hide something from prying eyes. Make it invisible, or make it appear boring/uninteresting.

Reflective wards: Reflect something's image back at them, let them see what they expect to see, or let them see themselves.

Healing wards: Protect your health, or force healing upon those who brush up against them (e.g. if someone lashes out at you because they have not been working on themselves, a healing ward can be just as painful as an outright baneful one.)

Scrambling/maze Wards: Scramble any information someone/something gets, or make them lose their way. Commonly used for unsolicited divination.

Protective wards/wall wards: Stop anything from getting in or out. Stop or prevent harm

Alarm bell wards: Warn you about things coming your way.

Comfort wards: Keep comforting/soothing energy around you.

Examples of Useful Wards

Name/Reputation wards

Household/common places wards

Wards for safe travels

Wards to keep specified spirits/entities out

Wards for malicious intent

Wards for curses/hexes

Wards for natural disasters

Wards for misfortunes

Please feel free to ask any specific questions you may have, this is only a very brief overview to introduce the topic.

I also have this deck, and I love it.

✨Russian Gypsy Fortune Telling Cards✨

I love working with them and theyre simply my go to deck🔮✨

I'm heartless, exhausted, and ageless...

Congratulations, youre body has taken on a new form! Spin this wheel three times. These words describe your new body

@be-not-afraid I hope you're having a good day, but I am curious on what you're referring too. I'm an inquisitive soul.

I miss the good old days of witchblr. Does anybody else remember like we could read whatever we wanted, and we could post about it? And sure, there were people that didn't care of the book or topic. The difference between then and now is that it was a discussion and not a beat down session. And then, people were kind enough to offer other book titles!

Also, we had a clear set of guidelines referring to cultural appropriation, and words or phrases that were frowned upon. Other then that, you want to be a Death Witch, go for it. A Sea Witch, have at it. A Storm Witch, power to ya. The lists goes on. Then, if we were curious about there practice we would ask genuine questions! If the practitioner maybe did something that maybe you didn't like or thought was borderline on the no no list, again you didn't beat them down, it was a discussion.

The ones that couldn't handle having a informal discussion were simply blocked and their comments were deleted. Or in some cases, the post was deleted, which was pretty common, and occasionally remade.

Also, side tangent, we liked the titles of the different witch types, because it was our niche and it was organized. Sure, you don't have to have a title or a certain practice, that's fine. As for me, I like having a title or a type because it keeps me focused on what I want to achieve. Plus, having a title made the witchblr tags so much easier to navigate.

I want my blog to be mostly positive and mostly witchy, but given the state of things, I feel I need to share some things because I am angry. Just know, I say these things as they are what I witnessed and grew up being around. Growing up, my (step)family and I were Catholics. I'm not obviously anymore but they still are. We lived in rural Kansas where there was more livestock than people.

These people wouldn't know kindness if it bit them in the ass. When my mom and step dad got married, I was informed and reminded repeatedly that I would never be a real sister, cousin, and I wasn't a part of the family. Mental health issues were a sign of weakness, and I was bullied by peers and adults alike for being too sensitive. Bullying was an everyday occurrence, and I really struck a nerve when I found their mother's suicide note, it was four pages. I read it. Being only 13 years old, I understood

They were also racist, so racist one of my sisters got caught kissing a guy that was not white, I remember a lot of yelling being involved, maybe more but not 100% sure. Throughout this weird Catholic community we also had a lot of Latino people. At school, my peers weren't allowed to speak Spanish, even at recess it was always met with "We speak English here!" I was there at the beginning of the whole "Mexicans are taking our jobs!" In our dating years, we didn't dare bring anybody home that wasn't white.

Being LGBT...um..."Not the way God intended." Is the kindest way to say how it wasn't welcomed. This was met with insults, hate, and biblical rhetoric. And threatened to be disowned if we were.

It's also very much a Pro-life area, growing up during the Summer every other Sunday afternoon all us little chickens and some older chickens would flock to the highway with some Pro-life signs from the church basement and stand along the highway with our signs for a couple of hours.

These people cannot be reasoned with, they refuse to even remotely listen. This mindset has been ingrained in people's brains. Even in my town now, there is still hate. A town maybe 30 minutes away was KKK headquarters for my area. If you aren't straight and white, it's tough.

I'm angry and scared, but I refuse to be dragged back into that pit which I dug out from. I will fight as I did before. I'm bisexual, pro-choice, and I love everyone. We are humans, we all bleed red, and we all deserve love and respect. The sun can warm, but it can also scortch and burn, and I will do my best to help comfort those who suffer.

I love all of this!!

I miss seeing pastel witches and witchcraft on here. Sure I may be all hard ass, dark colors, sprinkled with secrecy, but I do find joy with pretty things. All those vibrant crystal grids, the colorful and light hearted Tarot and Oracle decks, and the aesthetic itself does bring me joy.

But also, it was the positivity that some would have. It wasn't toxic positivity, it was always more like "Here's something pretty, I hope you are having a good day." And that was it. They brought a certain peace to my feed and it was wonderful.