Reblog And Make A Wish! This Was Removed From Tumbrl Due To “violating One Or More Of Tumblr’s Community

*slides Aphrodite a chocolate bar* need hold hand

Green Witch's Guide to Easy to Find Plants and Stones and Their Basic Uses

Psychicism//

Plants:

•dandelion •willow •peppermint •jasmine

•cinnamon •ivy •fern •blueberry •carrot

Stones:

•amethyst •aventurine •citrine •fluorite

•labradorite •moonstone •calcite •pyrite

Protection//

Plants:

•basil •bay leaf •parsley

•cayenne pepper •lavender •sage

•bamboo •garlic •onion

Stones:

•agate •carnelian •citrine

•Jade •Jasper •jet •moonstone

•obsidian •onyx •sunstone •tigers eye •tourmaline

Sleeping and Dreaming//

Plants:

•peppermint •thyme •jasmine •lavender •chamomile

Stones:

•amethyst •citrine •jet •labradorite (recalling dreams) •moonstone

Purification//

Plants:

•lavender •parsley •sage •bamboo

•peppermint •grapefruit

Stones:

•Amethyst •Calcite •Citrine

Love//

Plants:

•ginger •ginseng •lavender •parsley

•spearmint •peppermint •strawberry •catnip

Stones:

•agate •rose quartz •jade •moonstone •tourmaline

Good Luck//

Plants:

•daisy •bamboo •strawberry

Stones:

•aventurine •jet •tigers eye

Gardening//

•moss agate •jade •moonstone •malachite

Grounding//

•hematite •obsidian •tigers eye •tourmaline

Healing//

Plants:

•ginseng •onion •thyme •peppermint

Stones:

•agate •amethyst •aventurine •carnelian

•hematite •jade •jasper •quartz •sodalite •tourmaline

Divination//

Plants:

•bay leaf •dandelion •willow

Stones:

•hematite •jet •obsidian

Peace//

Plants:

•chamomile •lavender

Stones:

•amethyst •labradorite •agate

Wishes//

Plants:

•bay leaf •dandelion •ginseng •sage •bamboo

Stones:

•tigers eye •quartz •obsidian •onyx •jasper

Stormcraft//

Plants:

•heather •pansy •saffron

Stones:

•pietersite •azurite •blue lace agate •labradorite

Biological Basis for Misophonia (Explained in Layman’s Terms)

A groundbreaking study about misophonia was released this year by Dr. Sukhbinder Kumar and his team from the Institute of Neuroscience at Newcastle University and the Wellcome Center for NeuroImaging at the University College London and has changed the game when it comes to discussing this misunderstood neurological condition. 

It’s so interesting, so fascinating to people with backgrounds in psychology and neurology, but to the commonperson? Words like “ventromedial prefrontal cortex”, “amygdala”, and “myelination” might as well be in a completely different language. 

And I know that most people with misophonia would absolutely love to be able to understand what’s wrong with them, so that’s why I’m doing this. Strap yourselves in, we’re taking a crash course in miso-psychology!

Some Words You Should Know Before We Get Started So You’re Not Totally Lost:

- Frontal Lobe:

This is the brain part in the very front. It is important because it controls emotions, problem-solving, memory-language, judgement, and the birds and the bees. The control panel, if you will. 

- Cerebral Hemispheres: 

Think of a hemisphere as half of a globe. Your brain is the globe (the word cerebral come from cerebrum, which is your brain), and the hemispheres are the two halves; left and right. 

- Myelin and Myelination: 

Myelin is an insulating substance that covers special nerves in the brain that send information. (Kind of like those chutes at drive-through banks you send your money through.) The more myelin is covering the chutes, the faster and more vroomwhoosh the information can send. More myelin is like high-speed Internet. 

- Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex (vmPFC): 

Don’t panic, this is just a big word that tells us exactly where on the brain this part is. “Ventro-” on the underside of the brain, “-medial” in the middle, “Pre-” before, “-frontal” in the frontal lobe, “cortex” center. So it’s on the underside of the brain, in the middle, and on the very tip of the frontal lobe. It actually sits right above the eye-socket. VmPFC for short, this part of the brain helps keep emotions like fear and empathy in line and helps you make decisions. 

- Salient: Important, or relevant. 

- Stimuli: Sensory information coming into the brain through your eyes, ears, nose, mouth, or skin.

- Anterior Insular Cortex (AIC): 

“Anterior” in the front, not posterior, “insular cortex” the area of the brain in the middle (imagine a baseball in a mitt - the baseball is the insular cortex and the mitt is the rest of the brain). This part of the brain is on the front of the insular cortex and does a lot of things. The AIC decides what stimuli is salient. This part of the brain helps process emotions. It also arranges all the sensory information you’re taking in so that you have a good picture of what’s going on in the world around you. Believe it or not, but how you experience the world is all related to how your senses are processed!

- The Amygdala: 

The area of the brain where the fight-or-flight response is started. Fight-or-flight is what kept humans alive in the caveman days where the rustling in the bushes could be a bunny, but could also be a tiger. 

The amygdala is located in the insular cortex we talked about above and assigns salience to sensory stimuli so you can be ready to run in case it’s not a bunny, but a tiger. 

Now That That’s Settled, What Causes Misophonia?

Okay. So the first thing that Kumar’s team notes through their MRI studies is that people with misophonia have a ton of myelin in their vmPFCs. This means that people with misophonia have vmPFCs that function much faster than the average person. Also, the vmPFC is an area that has a ridiculous amount of information bank-chutes to many other areas of the brain.

 Like the areas which process memories, smells, and most importantly, the amygdala. If the vmPFC and the amygdala are talking more than usual? There can be trouble. And that trouble is spelled M-I-S-O-P-H-O-N-I-A. 

This study also found that people with miso also have greater activation in the AIC when they hear trigger sounds. 

Remember how I mentioned that the AIC is responsible for putting together a picture of your reality based on the sensory information you’re picking up? Imagine if for whatever reason, the AIC decides that grandma chewing gum is important. 

Then the amygdala, for whatever reason, thinks that because grandma’s gum-chewing is important, it must be a tiger in the bushes and you gotta be ready to run. 

Then the vmPFC gets confused and thinks it needs to be angry about it because together with the amygdala, they’re not processing emotions the way that they should be.

 Before you know it, the misophonia sufferer, through no fault of their own, is experiencing the anxiety of being chased by a tiger when they know full well grandma’s gum-chewing sounds aren’t a tiger; and in addition, they’re really freaking angry about it.  

To me, this research is fascinating because it confirms everything I have felt as a misophonia sufferer. I have felt like an idiot because I know full well that my classmate eating chips isn’t going to hurt me. But my body is responding like the noise is actually a threat to my bodily safety. This is because my brain doesn’t see reality as reality, and even though I know that, my brain doesn’t. 

And before anyone tries to say, “Well if you know it’s not going to hurt you, can’t you decide to not be bothered by it?” let me say this: the brain is an organ. It’s part of the body. You can’t just decide to not have cancer because you know you don’t need to grow a tumor right there. Your body thinks it does, but you’re not thinking for your body.

I hope that this post helps to clear up questions about what misophonia is, because it is a very complicated and unbelievable-sounding disorder. And though you may not be a scientist, my hope is that after reading this, you may be able to better understand what’s going on in your body and feel more in the loop with the current research. 

(Original artwork by Stephan Thomas Vomacka not to be independently posted elsewhere without credit being given.)

References:  Brout, J. (2017, February 04). Misophonia Breakthrough Study. Retrieved September 20, 2017, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/noises/201702/misophonia-breakthrough-study-0

Bindrune

Regain & Maintain Your Self-Control (Spell)

A little bit of magick created for @jesycastarr.

Before I get started on the magicky hoo-hah, I’m just going to write you a thing: you can address self-control (or a lack thereof) by performing grounding.

Grounding Visualisations ✧ Grounding/Meditation Chant ✧ Grounding ✧ Grounding Techniques

Onward; to the magick!

This magick will come in the form of a talisman, as talismans can be concealed as everyday items, such as jewellery - discreet and easily carried.

You Will Need:

The item you wish to enchant and carry; a piece of jewellery you wear regularly would be a very good idea.

Black Salt - this is normal salt, mixed with the ashes of this sigil after it has been drawn on paper and burned.  **(Salt is cleansing, and can be used to charge your talisman, and it is imbued with the control-giving power of the sigil, which is activated upon burning.)

A Rhodonite crystal. **(A crystal associated with stability, self-control, calm, and growth.)

Pen & Paper - for the sigil.

A way to burn the sigil - however you choose to do this, be careful. Safety first.

A bowl.

What To Do:

Firstly, draw your sigil onto the paper and hold it in your hands for a little while. As you do this, focus on that which you wish to gain - in this case, focus on self-control; focus on gaining the ability to rein in your impulsiveness. 

Burn your sigil, this activates it.

Wait for the ashes of the sigil to cool, and then mix them into the salt. You can use table salt, sea salt or rock salt - any salt, really will work just as well. The salt will probably turn a bit of a strange colour - this is normal.

In a small dish/bowl place your Black Salt, your soon-to-be-talisman and your Rhodonite crystal. This will charge the object and imbue it with the energy of the crystal. 

To bolster the effectiveness of this talisman, leave it to charge under the Moon for 3 nights.

**Optional step: Each morning of the talisman’s charging process, speak or think these words as you stand before it:  “Within this object my control is lain, bestow unto my being that which shall be mine; control over body, over action, over mind. Et sic factum est, et semper erit.”

When you feel the talisman’s effects begin to wane, and it will, you need only perform this same ritual again.

🌿Herbs to use in Sleep Magic🌿

Anise - Used to help ward off the evil eye, find happiness, and stimulate psychic ability. Fill a sleep pillow with anise seed to prevent disturbing dreams.

Bay Leaf - Protection, good fortune, success, purification, strength, healing and psychic powers. Place under the pillow (or use in dream pillow) to induce prophetic dreams.

Bergamot - Money, prosperity, protection from evil and illness, improving memory, stopping interference, and promoting restful sleep.

Catnip - Provides protection while sleeping. Grow near the home or hang over the door to attract good spirits and luck.

Celery Seed - Mental and psychic powers, concentration. Use in sleep pillow to induce sleep. Chew celery seed to aid in concentration.

Chamomile - Love, healing, and reducing stress. Burn as incense for de-stressing, meditation, and restful sleep.

Hops - Believed to increase the restfulness & serenity of sleep. Also used for healing rituals, sachets, and incense.

Jasmine - Use in dream pillows to induce sleep or burn in the bedroom to bring prophetic dreams. Helps to promote new, innovative ideas. Also good for charging quartz crystals.

Lavender - Magickal uses include love, protection, healing, sleep, purification, and peace. Promotes healing from depression. Great in sleep pillows and bath spells. Burn the flowers to induce sleep and rest, then scatter the ashes around the home to bring peace and harmony.

Marigold - Place above the bed or in dream pillows for prophetic dreams. Scatter under the bed for protection while sleeping. Peppermint - Use to increase the vibrations of a space or in spells and incense for healing & purification. Place in sleep pillow to ensure peaceful sleep and bring about prophetic dreams. Use to anoint furnishings and household objects. Burn in a new home to clear out sickness and negative energy. Use in magickal workings to provide the push needed to bring change to one’s life. Carry with other herbs to boost love & abundance wishes.

Poppy Seeds - Pleasure, heightened awareness, love, luck, invisibility. A popular ingredient in food magick. Sleep on a pillow stuffed with poppy seeds to bring relief from insomnia.

Thyme - Attracts loyalty, affection, and the good opinion of others. Wear a sprig to ward off unbearable grief or provide strength and courage when needed. Burn or hang in the home for banishing, purification, and to attract good health for all occupants. Use in cleansing baths prior to working candle magick. Use in dream pillows to ward off nightmares and ensure restful sleep. Add a thyme infusion to the bath regularly to ensure a constant flow of money. Place in a jar and keep in the home or at work for good luck.

Violet - Calms the nerves, draws prophetic dreams and visions, stimulates creativity, and promotes peace & tranquility. Violet leaf provides protection from all evil. Violet crowns are said to cure headaches and bring sleep. Keep a spray of violets on the altar to enhance night magick. Wear the leaves in a green sachet to help heal wounds and prevent evil spirits from making the wounds worse.

Source: http://www.themagickalcat.com/Articles.asp?ID=242

Sudden epiphany: THINK OF ALL OF THE WITCHY THINGS YOU CAN HIDE AROUND YULE!!!!!! EXAMPLES, HERE!!!!!

Protective ward snowflakes, found at this blog.

Garlands with different herbs, woods, or fruit for your specific purpose, from Funky Junk Interiors.

More gorgeous wardy goodness on your front door in the form of a wreath! You could even add herbs that suit your purposes, like rosemary sprigs for protection.

And more garlandy goodness from this blog! You could use this beautiful orange garland as an offering for your household fae, gods, or spirits.

All of these decorations are wonderful ways practice some craft during the holidays, especially if you’re heading home to be with your family who are either less than supportive of your practices or don’t know about them. And they’re all gorgeous!!!

flower fields 2 ✿

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Crystals that are NOT suitable for placing in water / making gem water

This list will explain common stones that are either toxic to use for drinking in gem water or stones that are soluble in water. :)

Alunite: Non toxic but soluble in water

Anglesite: Toxic and slightly soluble in water

Arsenopyrite: Potentially toxic

Azurite: Harmful

Azurite-Malachite: Harmful

Azurite-Pseudomalachite: Harmful

Bunsenite: Toxic; allergen; avoid skin contact

Calomel: Possibly hazardous to health

Cerussite: Toxic

Chalcanthite: Harmful; easily soluble in water

Cinnabar: Very toxic!

Cinnabar-Opal: The cinnabar stored in the opal is toxic

Crocoite: Toxic 

Cuprite: Harmful

Durangite: Potentially toxic

Eclipse Stone: Limestone with orpiment, toxic

Eilat Stone: Harmful

Erythrite: Potentially toxic

Fiedlerite: Toxic

Fluorite, Antozonite variety: Potentially harmful

Galenite: Toxic and slightly soluble in water

Gaspeite: Harmful; allergen; avoid skin contact

Greenockite: Toxic

Halite: Not toxic in small quantities, but dissolves easily in water

Iron-nickel Meteorite: Harmful; allergen; avoid skin contact

Jamesonite: Potentially toxic

Lemon Chrysoprase: Potentially harmful; allergen; avoid skin contact

Lopezite: Very toxic! Hazardous even through skin contact

Malachite: Harmful

Millerite: Toxic; allergen; avoid skin contact

Minium: Toxic

Nickeline: Toxic; allergen; avoid skin contact

Olivenite: Potentially toxic

Orpiment: Toxic

Proustite: Potentially toxic

Psilomelane and Pyrolusite: Harmful

Pyromorphite: Potentially toxic

Rauenthalite: Toxic

Realgar: Toxic. Store in dark, securely locked place.

Scorodite: Potentially toxic

Sphaerocobaltite: Harmful; allergen; avoid skin contact

Stibnite: Harmful

Tetrahedrite: Potentially harmful

Ulexite: Non toxic but slightly soluble in warm water

Valentinite and Senarmontite: Harmful

Vanadinite: Toxic

Wulfentie: Potentially toxic

doses_of_style