The Actual Studying Part Of Academia - Aesthetic

Some REAL Dark Academia things:

Working real hard to actually excel at academics, because you realize that reading The Secret History or The Picture Of Dorian Gray once doesn't make you an academic.

Treating everyone, specially unfortunate people with kindness, because acting like an aloof douche doesn't give you Cool Points.

Holding yourself with dignity, instead of begging other people for scraps of attention and validation. No, really. Stop trying to act like a misunderstood serial killer, Susan, it's embarrassing.

Not falling into the traps of elitist racism, casual misogyny or anti-semitism, because you try to be intelligent and introspective, instead of following in the gross footsteps of some shitty, white eighteenth century writer.

Not having a superiority complex over the fact that you don't listen to pop music, because you are smart enough to respect art of all kinds, or at the very least, respect the fact that people are inherently different.

Okay now the fun stuff:

Short red nails

Reading to expand your mind

Flowy dresses or leather jackets or pajamas, because Dark Academia can be DIVERSE, babeyyyyy

Fluffy fat cats named Oscar

Toasting to Aphrodite and Persephone

Healthy friendships and relationships, because we need to STOP romanticising toxicity.

Handwritten birthday cards with pressed flowers

BLUEBERRIES

Lana Del Rey and One Direction. Hozier and Dua Lipa. The Shins and Nirvana. Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson. Sam Fender and Coldplay. Taylor Swift and The Velvet Underground. Lorde and Florence. 5SOS and The Beatles. Zayn and Rihanna. Seriously, listen to whoever the fuck you want to listen to. Dark Academia is NOT a music genre. Listen to everything. To define is to limit.

Dancing at midnight

Fairy tales and horror stories

Falling in love

Only red lipstick on an otherwise bare face

Celebrating the birthdays and deathdays of your favourite authors and poets

Quoting Oscar Wilde to your houseplant

Ivory coloured notebooks

Watching Kill Your Darlings and Yearning

Watching Gone Girl and Yearning

Rock music in the shower

Constellations tattooed over your body, because you contain the entire universe in you babey

Doctoral programs and scholarships

Talking to stray animals like they're your old friends

Lying in the grass on a sunny day

Learning languages at your own pace, because you got nothing to prove to nobody

Studying to learn

Trying your hardest to live your life for YOU

Being who YOU want to be

Pushing yourself through dark times, because you try so hard to believe in yourself

Healthy sleep schedules, except the occasional all nighter to indulge your inner vampire

Happiness

Melancholy

Hope, and the desire to live forever

hey lovies!!

even with the current socioeconomic crisis, the prospect of moving from high shool to college or sixth form is still looming over many of us.

so i've compiled a list of things i've learnt and some advice that would've been so handy if someone had told me before hand!

it's divided into three sections for easy reading. if anyone want to add anything, feel free!! i'll update this at the end of second year!!

before college

if you're going to get folders for your subjects, a sturdy totebag (like from lush) is a shout. but a backpack is an even bigger shout.

before sixth form/ college starts, buy a planner or a journal. i have one that i got in october and omg guys. i have used almost every page and i'll probably only have to buy a second one in december. it's sturdy, i can set my own layout and!! it's got about 256 pages!

unless your teacher specifies otherwise, get a day folder!! it'll just be a smaller folder which you can take what you've done from that day or that week and move into your home folders. plus, it's just so much easier and more convenient.

you don't need to complete every single book on the reading list before you go back. try to become familiar with the ones that interest you the most or all of them, whatever floats your boat. just enjoy your summer!

hydroflask. hydroflask. hydroflask. you know, for water, tea ect.

find out what you like for breakfast. if you're like me, you never had breakfast before school at high school. that won't fly now! i love porridge to go so i can sort that out before my morning shower and then by the time i leave the house, it'll be the right temperature for my half an hour walk.

get yourself a little toiletries bag. put in tissues, hand sanitiser, makeup if you wear it, deodorant, body spray/perfume, hand cream, lip balm. you can even go as far as to get portable floss thingies

portable chargers are a life saver!

during college

the first week should be spent getting used to your learning centre. figure out the quickest route to your classes.

take a picture of your timetable and keep it as a lockscreen for like 2 weeks or until you get the hang of it

and most importantly!! learn everything you can about your library's loaning, returning and reserving process. if they also have recourses like flashcards, hefty amounts of paper, now is a good time to learn that for the future

if you have a personal tutor, try and stay on their good side as much as possible! they'll be your hypeman, your point of access and hell they might even become a great source of laughter and relief during the week.

you'll meet people in your classes that you don't vibe with. you'll meet people that you do. maybe, this is your chance to get away from past school friends/ acquaintances. whatever your case, try and stay grounded. don't sacrifice any part of yourself to fit in and definitely do not feel bad if people begin to drift away. everyone has different schedules and are at different stages, it's normal

during the school breaks (easter, christmas ect.) relax! obviously, complete the homework you've been given but take an actual break too!! trust me on this one

the balance of your work life, social life and sleep will be hectic and confusing and at some times, frustrating. you'll be able to do it, i can assure you. just never sacrifice your work life or your sleep for your social life!

relating to the above one, if you do get invited to events or your friends want to do something after college for fun, go have fun! at the end of the day, as long as you're caught up, your free time is yours.

also christmas time? if you want to get presents for your new college friends, by all means go ahead. but i would go by the rule to not get christmas presents during the first year of friendship unless you know 100% what to get them!

decide whether or not you're going to go paperless, have some paper documents for some subjects or just use printed documents and folders by about november time. that way, you know that your organisation system is consistent and you're not stressing out

condense your notes as you go along. the majority/all key words, key diagrams, and key concepts should be condensed or on flashcards by the time summer comes around

this is something i wish i knew beforehand. anki!! is an absolute life saver. if you're like me, you recently found out about the gem that is spaced repetition. anki does the work for you as long as you insert the info and remember to visit it everyday!

if you need support (academic, emotional ect.), it is perfectly fine to admit that and utilise the resources at your centre. hell, i strongly advise that you do so just for peace of mind

for my philosophy class, i'd advise doing this for any essay based subject, the day or two before an in class assessment, do some practise essays or answers with one or two of your classmates. you'll learn from each other and you can even turn it into a little study date as long as you do the work!

jstor, massolit, cambridge companions, emag, subject reviews (law review ect. by hodder education), podcasts, youtube videos and crash course will make your life so much easier!

try to go to some university lectures/taster days (i know it'll be hard but there are also online options)

whiteboards. whiteboards. whiteboards!! that's all i have to say

remember to have fun!! i know people say that these two years will be the best two years of your life but they kinda will be. the freedom is unmatched and the friends you may make will really help in stressful situations

now is the time to learn how to budget effectively. sixth form can cost a pretty penny if you're not diligent

if you have a part time job- ensure that you're being treated fairly. if you're not, leave. the weekend stress on top of your shool work will not be helpful and it won't benefit you in anyway!

after first year

if you haven't condensed all of your notes for the past year, complete it during the summer. you'll be at much more ease than you think

if you're doing any extra work (EPQ, medicine admissions test prep or law admissions test prep, coursework), do it during summer or at least have the bulk of it done. it will save you so much time and stress! the same with UCAS applications

there you go my loves! if you've got any questions, my inbox is always open!

Witchcraft 101: Core concepts (energy work)

You’ve probably heard “energy work” mentioned, or at least one of the following terms: grounding, shielding, cleansing, raising, charging, visualising, casting. You’ll see these terms in spells and rituals as well as textbooks and theoretical discussions. There are other posts for theory; this post aims to give a rundown of multiple basic concepts of energy work to get you up and running. (Or at least, to help you understand other posts.) Bear in mind that much of this is personal opinion. Since everyone sees energy differently, in my “how-tos” I’ll refer to energy generally - fill in your own views. 

Also, in my methods, I mention “get comfortable” a lot - exactly what that means varies, depending on what I’m doing and wearing, but generally, stop fiddling with anything, and make sure you’re in a comfortable position, whatever the position is. You could be standing, sitting, lying down, moving, dancing - whatever, so long as you’re comfortable. 

Visualising

What is visualisation?

I consider visualisation to be a core concept to energy work in general. Visualisation is, essentially, thought. It’s imagination and memory and emotions all rolled up into one. (This is heavy on personal opinion, by the way.) Visualisation is what makes your intent for a spell come to fruition; if you aren’t holding your intent (i.e. thinking about/visualising it) while casting it, you can’t expect your spell to work the way you intended it to. 

How do you visualise?

As mentioned above, everyone sees energy differently, and your way may not be the same as mine. My basic visualisation method can be seen in the way I do any time of energy work: I get comfortable, close my eyes and steady my breath, and I focus on feeling and “seeing” the energy around me (I view all energy as white, incidentally). Say I’m cleansing something, my first step is to hold the object, focus on how it feels (is it cold, smooth, rough?) and “see” it glowing with a white light (energy). Then I’ll move onto cleansing it (see below). 

Your method will be different, but you could start with this or look through other posts for ideas. 

Grounding

What is grounding?

Grounding, basically, is all about ridding yourself of unwanted energy/getting your energy in balance. I kind of view it as a warm-up: you’re getting yourself in the right frame of mind and the right physical state before a workout (or spell). 

How do you ground yourself?

Everyone has their own techniques, and in time, you’ll develop yours. This is my routine:

Get comfortable.

Close your eyes and focus on your breathing. 

As you exhale, imagine unwanted energy leaving your body.

As you inhale, imagine the energy you want and need pulling comfortably around you. 

Continue for as long as you like. 

Many people like to visualise different places, or contact with nature. Try different techniques and take what you like from them, and just go with what works for you. 

Cleansing

What is cleansing?

Cleansing is like setting a device back to factory settings, or washing the dishes so they can be used again. You cleanse something to rid it of any unwanted energies - kind of like grounding, but for something that isn’t you. You could cleanse spaces and objects, and it’s generally a good idea to cleanse any items you’ve used before as well as the space you’re using before beginning a spell. It’s also generally a good idea to cleanse anything you use for divination, like tarot cards and pendulums (but I totally don’t cleanse them as often as I should). You can use just visualisation, or you can use tools - water, salt, incense and sage are all pretty common tools for cleansing. 

How do you cleanse?

My method for objects that you can hold:

Get comfortable.

Close your eyes and focus on your breathing.

Hold the item and focus on how it feels - its shape, size, temperature, texture, and scent. 

While holding the item, now focus on how it looks (with or without opening your eyes) - its colour, decorations, the way the light falls/reflects on it.

Still holding the item, visualise energy glowing/pulsing around the object.

Still holding the item, visualise the energy flowing away from the object, leaving it without any glowing energy.

Continue until you feel like the object is cleansed. 

My method for a space, area, or room:

Clear the space you plan on using (physically - move unwanted objects out of the way, pick up any rubbish etc).

Get comfortable.

Close your eyes and focus on your breathing.

Mark the parameters of the space you’re going to use (this can be a whole room or just part of one - just mentally or physically figure out where the “ends” of your spell space are). I generally walk around the edges of my space.

Focus on how the space around you feels and looks - temperature, light, textures etc. 

Visualise energy glowing/pulsing within the boundaries of your space.

Visualise energy flowing away from the space - if you have a broom, you could sweep the area while visualising the energy moving away as you sweep. You could also use incense or herb bundles while visualising energy moving away from the smoke as you move through the space.

Continue until you feel like the space is cleansed.

Warding

What is warding?

Basically, warding is putting up a shield to stop anything unwanted interfering with your spell, tools, ingredients, intent, belongings, etc.. It’s like an antivirus on a device, or a lock on a door. You could put up wards around your spell space, your home, yourself, anything you own, other people (with their consent) - pretty much anything.  

How do you put up wards?

My method for putting up wards:

Get comfortable.

Close your eyes and focus on your breathing.

Mark the parameters of the space or thing you’re putting up wards around (this could be running your finger around a crystal, walking around an area, stretching your arms and legs out to mark the parameters of your body, etc.)

Focus on how the space or thing feels and looks - temperature, light, textures etc.

Visualise energy glowing/pulsing within the space or thing.

Visualise unwanted energy flowing away from the space - like with cleansing, you could use incense or a broom to aid your visualisation.

Visualise “walls” growing up, over and under the space or object. It’s important that the walls connect, and there aren’t any gaps (unless you want to visualise, say, a door that you can enter and leave from). 

Continue until you feel like the space or thing is warded.

Raising

What is raising energy?

Raising energy is like creating or compiling energy with a specific purpose (intent). Up until now, we’ve been looking at ways of using energy to prepare yourself, your environment and your tools for spells - raising energy is a bit different. The energy that we raise has a specific intent, and generally, we want to use that intent somehow - like in a spell. 

How do you raise energy?

There are so, so many different ways to raise energy - such as music, chanting, dancing, walking, laughing, exercising, and a whole bunch of others. You can also raise energy by visualisation alone - as I describe here.

My method for raising energy:

Get comfortable.

Close your eyes and focus on your breathing.

If they aren’t already, position your hands so that your palms are open.

Focus on what you want to happen - your intent.

Visualise energy pulsing from your fingertips. The energy moves over your fingers and towards your palm, where it collects. As you do this, keep focusing on your intent.

Visualise the energy, now in your palm, growing larger and larger. As you do this, keep focusing on your intent.

Continue until you feel you have the energy you wanted, or for as long as you like. 

If you’re raising energy from, say, dancing, you might visualise the energy coming from your feet or body instead - I adapt this depending on the activity, but I always like to have a way to “gather” energy in one area. This could be your whole spell area, or it could be an area like the palm of your hand - whatever works for you and the activity. 

Charging

What is charging?

Charging is drawing on energy from elsewhere and putting it into an object to give that object intent. Think charging your phone, or laptop. You can also take energy you’ve raised and put it into an object - the energy can come from anywhere. People often have specific correspondences for different sources, however - so think about the source of the energy if you aren’t raising it yourself. 

How do you charge something?

Like with raising energy, there are entirely too many methods to list here. Some examples include leaving objects in sunlight or moonlight and bathing it in water or fire. You can pretty much do anything, so don’t be afraid to experiment. If you’re raising energy, you can just put it straight into the object (see the method below). If you’re charging something without raising energy yourself, then you can skip this and consider it charged after as much or as little time as you think works. 

My method for charging objects:

Get comfortable.

Close your eyes and focus on your breathing.

Visualise the energy, now in your palm, growing larger and larger. (This is the energy collected by raising energy, with a specific intent.)

Hold the object you want to charge (with one hand if you visualised the energy going to one palm, or with both hands if you visualised the energy going to both palms) and visualise the energy flowing into the object from your palm(s). Continue focusing on your intent as you do this. 

Continue until you feel that all the energy you raised is now in the object, or for as long as you like. 

Once you’ve charged an object, you can leave it indefinitely and use it in a later spell (though if you’re forgetful like me, you might want to put a post-it near it reminding you what you’re using it for).

Casting

What is casting?

Casting is guiding your energy towards the outcome you want. For me, this is the most important part of any spell - this is when you put all that work into making shit happen. So it’s important to be very, very specific. Don’t just focus on needing a job. Focus on finding a job that is right for you, will help you meet your professional goals (you can be specific about the goals, too) and will meet your needs (availability, hours, pay, travel time, benefits etc.), and finding that job at a time that suits you. This is also where you can really have fun with visualising! 

How do you cast?

My method for casting:

Get comfortable.

Close your eyes and focus on your breathing.

Hold the object(s) you’ve charged, or your spell (if it’s a tangible thing, like spell bags, candles, food etc.).

Visualise the situation you want to happen. As described, be specific. If you’re looking for a job, you could visualise a “you’re hired” email, dated at some point that suits you, with the above information that suits you - the hours you want, the pay you want, etc. Morph that situation into your first day, meeting friendly and efficient coworkers and management, then six months or a year into your new job. Visualise yourself feeling productive, happy, and relaxed. Visualise yourself at a review, hearing that you’re doing well and you’ve made great progress.

Now visualise the energy in your spell moving “towards” that situation. (I like to “keep” the situation in one part of my spell space, usually in the air in front of me, so I can “see” the energy from the spell I’m holding moving towards it. 

Continue until you feel that all the energy from your spell has “made it” to the situation, or for as long as you like.  

Bringing it all together

So, this looks like quite a lot. I promise it’s easier in practice, especially once you’ve done it a few times. Also, remember that this is a post that largely focuses on visualisation - you can minimise effort by charging objects in light or water (aka leaving them on a windowsill for a few hours) instead of by using visualisation to raise power and charge them. 

In practice, a routine for a spell might look like:

Ground yourself.

Cleanse your space, and any tools or ingredients you’re going to use.

Put up wards.

Raise power (you could raise power individually for individual ingredients, or all at once for all your ingredients).

Charge your ingredients (either individually, or all at once). 

Cast your spell. 

Personally, I can do the first 3 in about 5-10 minutes altogether. The last three are more time-consuming, and could take 5-10 minutes each, per item. So a quick, simple spell with no ingredients could be cast in 15 minutes (I would just skip charging and put the raised energy straight to casting). Let’s take an example of a kitchen spell, making soup:

Ground self.

Cleanse space, tools, ingredients.

Put up wards around the kitchen.

Raise power while doing food prep.

Put ingredients in pot.

Charge ingredients through stirring - energy goes into the soup through the wooden spoon.

Leave to simmer and continue charging.

Cast spell by eating. 

When I do kitchen magic, I’m already doing most of this just by cooking. I just add more visualisation in, and put some thought into the ingredients, and I have a spell! 

I hope this helps! You might find my other posts helpful:

The problem with correspondence lists

How to correspondence: food & herbs

How to correspondence: when to spell

What to use: food & herbs

When to spell: by moon phases

When to spell: by time of day

When to spell: by day of the week

When to spell: by month

My therapist- John Lennon saying and I oop- as George squeezes passed him in the 60s isn't real, it cant hurt you

John Lennon saying and i oop- as George squeezes passed him in the 60s-

Some quick tips on preparation for the next academic year, from a veteran! 

All About Auras

An aura could best be described as the energy given off by someone or something. Supposedly, everything has an aura, even an apple. Many people are able to either see or ‘sense’ auras, which may appear as a haze of light or colour surrounding something.

The colour an aura appears can have many correspondences, which can relate to someone’s mood or spirituality, or can be because of external factors such as light intensity. It’s even said to be possible to tell if someone is pregnant from the way their aura appears.

Common misconceptions about auras:

It is always the same colour.  - This is untrue, as auras tend to change colour when affected by many different factors. However one colour may be dominant.

It is always the same shape and texture.  - Nope, they could appear hazy, smooth, or spiky. Some could have auras spanning an inch from their bodies, but others could have auras reaching out to a metre.

There is scientific evidence for auras.  - Again, untrue. Despite many people being able to see auras, there is no way to measure them or comprehend why it is even there.

Your aura is a shield.  - Whilst it’s possible to utilise your energy to shield yourself from things through visualisation, your aura alone is by no means a barrier against spirits and vampire-like entities looking to ‘feed off’ your energy. Learn how to ward yourself.

There is only one colour at a time.  - Your visible aura can actually be a mix of colours. However, there are also seven different extents of your aura, ranging from physical to spiritual, which could all be a different colour at one time.

It is especially important to note that auras are constantly changing. This could be seen as Anicca, or impermanence, in which the Buddha taught that nothing is permanent and everything is constantly changing. The aura reflects this truth in ourselves and those around us.

Seeing Your Aura

Some people are able to see auras with ease without a whole lot of practice, whereas others might never be able to comprehend the aura. It is common for many witches to practice with seeing their aura.

Here is a simple exercise which will help you to begin seeing your aura. This is what I tend to get people to do often when starting with auras. If inexperienced, it is important to practice often in order to get better!

You may want to begin by meditating or casting a circle in order to have a better focus on your aura. Make sure you are calm and in the mindset to concentrate.

Find a blank area, such as a white wall or a sheet of paper, and hold your hand out to it. It is important that you don’t get distracted by the colour of the wall or anything on it.

Rather than focusing directly onto your hand, shift your gaze to look just past it. For instance just past your fingers, but not the space directly between your fingers.

Focus on this space. To avoid distracting yourself, practice steady breathing as you would in meditation.

Eventually, you should begin to see a haze of light surrounding your hand. At first it may appear small and even colourless, but keep practicing and you will start to see it even better.

Colour Correspondences

The colour of an aura can have many connotations, and can be dictated by thr shape and texture too. But here is a guide to help you with the typical deciption of simple aura colours.

RED -

Centred/grounded, passion, anger, energetic.

ORANGE -

Power, confidence, outgoing, good health.

YELLOW - 

Spiritual awakening/awareness, playful, happiness.

GREEN -

Healing, good communication, jealousy.

BLUE -

Intuition, calm, clairvoyance, honesty, fear of the future.

PURPLE -

Daydreaming, spirituality, artistic, psychic abilities.

WHITE -

Newness, purity, reaching enlightenment, angelic.

BLACK -

Negative feelings, blocked energy, potential illness.

BROWN -

Grounded, tied to the outdoors, afraid to let go.

PINK -

Loving, sensual, psychic gifts, dishonesty.

SILVER -

Physical and spiritual wealth, awakening of higher thought.

GOLD -

Enlightenment, protection from divine entities, guidance.

RAINBOW -

A rainbow aura can indicate a healer, a new soul, or reaching enlightenment.

Chakras & Crystals

Crown - Selenite, Crystal Quartz, Moonstone, Fluorite, Amethyst

Third Eye - Lapis Lazuli, Iolite, Sapphire, Sodalite

Throat - Agate, Angelite, Turquoise, Amazonite, Hawk Eye

Heart - Rose Quartz, Aventurine, Malachite, Unakite

Solar Plexus - Citrine, Tiger’s Eye, Amber, Yellow Calcite, Topaz

Sacral - Carnelian, Peach Moonstone, Orange Aventurine, Orange Calcite

Root - Red Jasper, Obsidian, Red Tiger’s Eye, Tourmaline

when some people ask me why i am not opening up, well LUV maybe because my closest friends tell me to go watch netflix or to just forget about my problems and chill , when i try to reach out for help? have you thought about that? and those who would actually listen, live a shitty life themselves so u k i don’t really have anyone))

you’re sat in the library, there are thousands of leather-bound books surrounding you. it’s late enough that most people have already left but early enough that you’re still only on your first coffee. you’re reading an academic text on a topic you’re really interested in. you’re feeling motivated for the night ahead of you.

honestly it is so fucking tiring, when suicide means to be weak, and well yeah i agree that i am but at the same time i’m too scared and weak to kill myself what a coincidence

I feel like I can't stay strong for much longer and that scares me.