Let’s Talk About •••

Let’s talk about •••

••• Spirit Work

Pt.1/2

• Spirit Work 101

Spirit Work is a term that was coined very recently, mostly having an upsurge with the new age witchcraft in social medias - that is not to say that the practice of communicating with spirits is new, rather, that such a term can be used in an overgeneralized manner. That in turn leads to misinformation about the topic.

•• So, what is Spirit Work?

Broadly, it is seen as a witchcraft practice where a person uses their abilities to communicate with spirits - people who have passed, guides, ancestors and such. What the term doesn’t clarify is that there are a multitude of ways in doing that, from religious practices to self developed methods as well as the target audience of that spirit work.

Taking a look at the word spirit we find the first divergence of intent: those stated before all fall in the category of deceased human spirits; then we have those who through their animistic or similar beliefs include the spirits of animals and all beings (and “things”) who once lived. Then, we have another category, those that communicate with the otherworldly and nature centred beings that have passed (though most commonly those are still alive), such as the Fae. Others include communication with deities in this practice, and lastly, we have another modality of those that work with the essence of spirits, be they dead or alive - they are included for they too have soul. • This is the first break, and as such themes and different styles of practitioners can already be found, most commonly used are Mediums, Healers, Channelers, Communicators.

Outside of that, we have believers and followers of certain religions that also have this designated space for that type of communication, though I won’t go into detail for this, Norse Paganism, Spiritism and African Traditional and Descending Religions, are some of them.

••• So, no, it is not a bad thing that this practice has been disseminated and made accessible to all practitioners, witches, pagans and heathens out there - but one must always take a step back and analyze the information they have as well as the intent they will follow in this path.

Spirit Work is no game, it can have serious consequences and that should not discourage you to try - rather, encourage you to be attentive and take it seriously.

• What not to do

This here, at least for me (but feel free to add on or disagree, the beauty of the community are the different methods after all) - are some of the absolute don’ts when practicing Spirit Work, divided in two topics as there is a theoretical and a practical side to it.

• Theoretical

Don’t immediately go following any instructions, no matter if they explicitly are for summoning, inviting or channeling or just imply that it’ll make your communication with spirits easier.

Because: You need to be 100% aware of what exactly you are doing, though there are some good sources, it is always good to double and even triple check ingredients, intents and procedures before starting anything.

Don’t begin anything if you don’t have contingency plans and a way to clear a possible mess up.

Because: When doing this type of work, you are the only thing you have control of - spirits can be volatile, especially if you’re starting communication with ones you never had contact with before. Plan ahead and certify yourself that even if something goes out of what was expected you'll be able to deal with it.

• Practical

Don’t call forth anything that you have no idea what and who exactly it is.

Because: There are opportunistic spirits that excel in impersonating. If your intentions are unclear when channeling or inviting someone or something they can and will take the chance. Be clear about who you are working with.

Don’t be rude or insistent towards spirits.

Because: Spirits deserve respect, and as such, you won’t want to anger an immaterial being just because of impatience. Treat them as you would like to be treated. Being firm doesn’t mean being rude.

Don’t keep your sensitivity channel open, if you can.

Because: The Spirit World is everywhere, and it exists alongside our material World. When working with spirits you’ll see that there are moments you need to distance yourself otherwise the input will be constant. Learn how to control and lock your sensitivity as it is being developed to minimize bothersome encounters or overload of inputs.

Don’t do your Spirit Work in any place - reserve a specific place for it.

Because: Not only is this a sign of respect towards the spirits you’ll be communicating with, but it also makes it easier for you to control, cleanse and protect that environment.

•• How to

Preparation and Protection

After that many Dont´s, we finally go towards the Do´s. Let me get this right, I by nature am extremely paranoid, and due to that I find preparation and protection essential to control variables, be confident and to keep calm - like this, I don’t fear the unknown nor the uncontrollable because one way or another I'm ready for it.

Now, once again, these preparatory and protective steps will depend a lot on what method of Spirit Work you’re practicing, but some of them are pretty universal and these are the one’s I’ll be passing on to you.

• To Prepare

A spirit worker's body and spirit must always be clear, attentive and sensible. To prepare you must do whatever rituals pertain to your practice, that prepare you emotionally, psychologically and spiritually to deal and work with spirits.

This might include meditation, trance work, cleansing rituals and so on - this takes off the layer of mundane impressions that could marr your interpretation and leave you like a clean slate through which the Spirit’s voice can be clearly understood.

Your working space should also be clean on any influencing energies, organized and quiet enough (or loud enough depending on your vertent) for you to focus solely on the presence you’ll be working with.

I particularly find that asking for permission and guidance from my guides always makes this preparation process easier, as that is their realm and their ponctuations, advice and warnings are always welcome.

• Being Protected

There are three points of protection: Your Body (which is the conductor of your energy), Your Mind (which contains your Spirit - though not all beliefs follow this) and Your House (or de place you do your Spirit work).

These three should be duly protected and warded as you see fit before you start your spirit work. Methods for those vary as they can be easily found around the internet, in books and such. I wouldn’t be able to tell you which method of protection and warding you’ll prefer, which you’ll absolutely trust to work and which will be ideal to your specific target audience with spirit work but, one advice: Never share all ingredients nor steps of your protection and warding spells.

You may realize that I rarely, if ever, post spells. The answer is simple: any spell can be counteracted, especially if people know everything you used.

And trust me when I say that these protection and warding spells of your for Spirit Working are ones you wouldn’t like to be tampered with.

•••• 👁 ••••

For now that’s it, this post was very broad as I talked about general warnings and things of importance that precede the practice of Spirit Working. It’ll be a short series of posts, with only two.

The second one will be more action centered, most likely bigger with explanations of what to do in each case of spirit working. Till then, yeah?

-Lou

☕🌿Coffee Magic🌿☕

☕Flavors + Correspondences☕

Almond(milk): mental clarity + fortitude, luck, abundance, healing + good health

Amaretto: opening the mind, warding against negativity, creativity, luck

Blueberry: aids in memory + mental clarity, calmness, youth + glamour magic, restoration, aura cleansing + strengthening

Caramel: aids in changes + transformations, soothing quality to spells, good in Fae magic, increases tenacity

Chestnut: warding + protection, prosperity, longevity + increase stamina

Chocolate: self love + nurturing energy, ancestral magic, grounding, love + sexual prowess

Cinnamon: spiritual + personal power, healing, success, lust, luck, prosperity, strength

Clove: protection, actualization of desires, banishing negative + hostile forces

Coffee: inspire creativity, clear emotional + spiritual blockages, dispel nightmares, fortitude + increased stamina, encourage diligence

Coconut Milk: confidence + aid in glamour magic, strength, beauty, love

Cow milk: nurturing, fertility + prosperity, protection, abundance, aid in motherhood

Hazelnut: self-love and compassion, inspiration, creativity, wisdom + insight

Honey: happiness, offerings + Fae magic, sweetness, love, prosperity, healing, passion, spirituality

Irish Cream: dreams + intuition enhancer, prosperity, growth, aid in change

Peanut(butter): stability, aid in manifestation + intuition, attraction, energy

Pecan: spiritual purification + protection, abundance + prosperity

Peppermint: healing, purification, psychic powers + transformation, sleep, prosperity, passion

Pumpkin: wishes + dream fulfillment, protection + guarding, prosperity, magic enhancer, love

Oat(milk): tradition + ancestral work, health, stability + fortitude, beauty + youth, comfort, home magic, healing

Raspberry: invoking fertility or love, kindness + compassion, desire fulfilment, creativity, libido + sex magic

Sugar: used to amplify spells, sweetness + love, attraction, comfort, Fae magic

Soy milk: success + strength, growth, healing

Toffee: playfulness + youthfulness, friendship, easing transitions, courage + strength

Vanilla (creamer or vanilla extract): love, release of stress + anxiety, success, vitality + healing

🔮Bonus Magic Tips🔮

Pick ingredients for your coffee that align with your ambitions for the day.

It can be used as an offering to deities, spirits, ancestors, etc.(e.g. for Sif I sweeten the coffee with oat milk + honey but for Hel I leave the coffee black for an offering)

Consider the way you stir! Counterclockwise banishes and repels negativity, clockwise invites + brings energy to you.

Stain pages for you journal, spell work, or book of shadows! You can also use a strong brewed coffee and a paint brush to paint sigils onto the pages! .

See the full post + bonus recipe at the hidden hearth patreon.

References: The Herbal Alchemist’s Handbook by Karen Harrison

**Disclaimer: a lot of the nut and milk correspondences are personal + intuitive**

2K notes View Post

nox-does-stuff

2 years ago

Hellenic polytheism - free (and reliable!) resources

The Homeric Hymns: http://www.theoi.com/Text/HomericHymns1.html

The premier translations by Apostolos N. Athanassakis are also available to read online for free: https://archive.org/details/homerichymns00home and https://archive.org/details/homerichymns00atha

The Orphic Hymns: http://www.theoi.com/Text/OrphicHymns1.html

The Delphic Maxims: https://www.scribd.com/document/186693295/Delphic-Maxims

Many other primary sources from ancient Greece can be found in English translations at theoi.com, which is a fantastic resource for information about the Theoi.

Modern prayers to the Theoi:

Hearthstone https://greekpagan.com and https://greekpagan.tumblr.com/ Note: downloads of Hearthstone’s two books of Hellenic prayers can be purchased at https://www.etsy.com/shop/HearthfireHandworks

winebrightruby https://winebrightruby.tumblr.com/devotional

Some of the best and most essential books to start with - and for continuous reference, in my opinion:

Handbook To Life In Ancient Greece by Lesley Adkins & Roy A. Adkins https://archive.org/details/handbooktolifein00adki

Greek Religion by Walter Burkert https://archive.org/details/greekreligionarchaicandclassical

The Ancient Mysteries: A Sourcebook: Sacred Texts of the Mystery Religions of the Ancient Mediterranean World by Mavin Meyer https://archive.org/details/ancientmysteries0000unse_p7i2

The Homeric Gods by Walter Otto https://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.4448/page/n5/mode/2up

The free student guide to Classical Mythology by Mark Morford, Robert J. Lenardon, and Michael Sham: https://global.oup.com/us/companion.websites/9780199997329/

2K notes View Post

nox-does-stuff

2 years ago

So about Sans narrating Night Vale,,, I’d listen to that

(VOTE FOR SANS if u want him to dudududu in your ears)

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nox-does-stuff

2 years ago

275K notes View Post

nox-does-stuff

2 years ago

Studying sounds nice and productive but where do i get motivation?

Actual Things I have studied over the years that would make me an excellent addition to your mystery-solving gang

Related to my Skill Monkey Character Trope post

Learning how to throw my voice (Ventriloquist style)

Overtone Singing

How to properly feed and care for Crows and Corvids so you can build your own guild of feathered trinket-loving thieves

Actual Witchcraft (I’m literally a follower of Apollo. Like, actual Apollo)

Lock-picking (accidentally, it’s a long story)

Playing the Didgeridoo and Ukulele

Color Theory and Lighting

The culture and biology of fictional creatures

Vampire lore

How to do the entire Thriller Dance (They made us learn it in Elementary School for some reason. We didn’t even perform it or anything, it was just a semester in gym class for no reason)

Pendulum, Tarot, Osteomancy (Bone Divination), and Bibliomancy Divination

Every Renaissance Fair skill known to man, from metalsmithing to jousting

Magical and Alchemic symbols

The Fair Folk and all the arbitrary rules for interacting with them

Geology and the science of Gemstones for some reason

Tidbits about shows and movies I’ve literally never watched

Medieval Armor from around the world

Herbalism and Home Remedies

The cultural and spiritual Symbolism for almost anything

Wayyy to much lore from my favorite series

Basic etymology, like the meaning of names and such

Strange Historical facts, like Yasuke, the first Black Samurai

And too many other things

@beenovel, @cryptichobbit, @claraofthepen, @blueberryrock

34 notes View Post

nox-does-stuff

2 years ago

ok i might be a cat therian because of all the purring, sleeping in a circle and the fact that I usually stretch like a cat all out of instinct. BUT those are the only traits that suggest me being a cat. I have more traits that suggest “creature with paws, maw, tails and claws” than “kitty cat”. Plus, I also howl out of instinct, like to make little “dens” with blankets and treat plush toys like how a parenting bird treats their eggs when I’m in the “den”. But I’ve had a shift as a cat before and started making biscuits. What the hell am I?