i downloaded vinted today and didn't realise the expanse of used crystals available here. this is a much better option as you are not buying into the unsustainable practices of mining.
i will say, i haven't always bought crystals from sustainable places. but now that i have lessened my crystal purchasing, and limited my purchasing to sustainable sources, vinted seems like a great option.
“What do I do if I want to—“
Go into the woods.
“How do I—“
Go into the woods.
“I am going through—“
Go into the woods.
Or if you live next to the sea, to the sea.
Or a desert, into the desert.
Or a grassland, into the grassland.
Or a park with as much treecover as you can scrounge- better yet, make a day of it, leave the city, and go into the woods/the sea/the desert/the grassland then.
Any answer to your question won’t come from another person, but from going into the wilderness. So stop talking, stop asking and babbling, and go.
When you’ve spent enough time looking at the occult and witchcraft communities online, you begin to notice patterns that repeat themselves. The type of tools people use, the way people set up their altars, how much money people put towards their craft… I feel like it is important to talk about the true value of these things, because ultimately the tools aren’t what matter the most.
Before I go any deeper into this post, I want to put out a little disclaimer. There is no shame in spending a lot of money to buy fancy tools and such. This is all a matter of personal preference. This is not a post meant to shame people with expensive tools. This post is meant to reassure those who don’t have the luxury of buying expensive tools for their craft.
There seems to be a growing number of people online who talk about why you absolutely need this or that in order to do a little spellwork or honor some sort of entity. You need to buy this expensive candle to honor a deity. You need to use a cauldron of some sort to burn things. You need to be using this herb because it is the best thing you’ll ever use. I’m here to tell you: you don’t need anything that you cannot afford or do not want. Although I do believe they are the minority, I have seen some individuals who will drag others through the mud because they aren’t seeing a reflection of their personal craft in other people’s personal crafts. I feel like some people in the occult and witchcraft communities need to humble themselves and accept that some people simply cannot afford to buy expensive tools, or they just simply do not want to buy them.
I grew up asking my parents “can we afford this” instead of “can you buy this for me”. I was always aware that my family wasn’t as financially well-off as others. I often saved my begging for Christmas because at least that was the time of year when people would go out of their way to please their families. Even today, now that I am an adult, I still pay extra attention to my finances. I don’t buy myself expensive things for my craft often. When I do, it is because something was on sale. I prefer to grow my own herbs, make my own tools and create things by myself. That’s just my preference and it is also more affordable to me. I wasn’t like this when I first started practicing witchcraft, though. No, I was pretty set on buying all kinds of things when I first started. I saw all the pretty things other people were using and thought that I was going to need it. It took me over two years to figure out that all I needed was what I wanted. Two years is how long it took for me to realize that my passions beyond witchcraft could also be applied to my craft.
So, what is truly valuable in magick if not tools? If intention is what you are expecting me to say, sorry. That ain’t it. I’m not a believer in “intention is everything”. I feel like intention is similar to tools, in a way. You can have them, but that doesn’t mean they will make the magick on their own. What I find to be most valuable, beyond intention and tools, is the ability of the individual.
I’m sure many of us have failed when doing spells and rituals, especially when we first started to actively perform spells and rituals. We didn’t get the results we were seeking. Some of us may have gotten the exact opposite. I know that was the case for me. I believe that is because our abilities were only just beginning to grow. You see, I like to think of the individual’s ability to perform magic like a tree. It starts off as a seed. It has potential, but that potential needs a few things in order to grow. In the case of an individual’s ability to use magick, what they need is energy, practice and patience. The individual may not see any results for a while, and if they do see results it may not be anything impressive. After some time, though, the individual will see their abilities grow. They will find what works for them. They will find their path. The individual’s ability grows from that one, little seed into a sprout, then into a sapling and eventually, it grows into a magnificent tree.
Tools and intentions are only two parts of the formula to success in magic. The final, and most important thing, is the individual’s abilities.
grab a collection of something. stones, cards, colours etc. use whatever you have.
shuffle them around.
pick out three.
look at the first one. who is the little guy? give it a name, a character arc, a story element, a real element. give it a list of associations.
now look at the second one. who is this?
and the third too.
now look at the order. what happens when you tell the story start to finish? fill in the blanks.
write it down, or voice record it. tell the story. make it funny, or dramatic, or emotional. give it feeling, and oomf.
what does this story say about you? what kind of person must the narrator of such a story be? do you like that person?
you can read anything, because the story comes from you. humans are just stories in flesh.
I like the word “witchery” because of its linguistic similarity to “fuckery.” Witchcraft is fuckery; fuckery is witchcraft. They are inextricably connected in my mind and it makes me happy.
For the witches and pagans who need to hear it, connecting with nature is supposed to be about like, actually observing nature over long periods of time, not doing stuff like hoarding endangered bird feathers and beach sand, or just meditating out in aesthetically-pleasing locations. Can you tell me exactly when your wildflowers and weeds start blooming? When do your bugs come out of hibernation? When do migratory birds come and go? How does the air feel during different times of year? If you can't do stuff like that, you aren't connecting with nature.
"The two figures depicted in the card are often interpreted by contemporary practitioners as a happy married couple. However, note that in A. E. Waite’s seminal work Pictorial Key, he explains that the two figures are both women." ~ Benebell Wen, on the Three of Wands.
They're lesbians, Harold.
Queer beginner witch ☆ Experimenting with tarot, folk magic, and herbs ☆ Tree lover ☆ They/Them ☆ Minor ☆ TERFs/bigots/etc DNI ☆ Main is @i-am-an-omniscient-snail.
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