{Barn Owls In The Oak} By {Mike Rae}

Heart Girt with a Serpent Talon Abraxas

When you sing a hymn, a chant, a dua, a line from the bible, or if yu recite a Dharani, a Mantra, a scripture - know that it's not just you. There are all the leaves on the trees, all the stones, all the twigs. There are the insects on the floor, the worms, the caverns. There are the spirits of the air, the devas, the asuras, the spirits of the wandering dead. There are the organisms of your body, that reside on your skin and in your gut.

There are the spirits of trees, the spirits of the animals. Whenever you recite, know that you are praying in front of thousands upon thousands of powers and forces. They begin to sing, and they impact thousands of powers and forces. The seeds for awakening are placed in them.

'Concerning The Powers and Virtues of Pine, Rustic Lord of the Lonely Places'

"The Pine stands as the ally of the Wayfarer upon the Path for its many uses, both practical and magical. The presence of Pines is an indication of life, as the Trees tend to grow in community and attract diverse beasts and worts to their domains. Dead wood provides excellent kindling for the fire, and live wood cut for timber is one of the most versatile and workable of woods. Nuts found within the cones provide a wholesome food to sustain the body; all species are edible. Its sap is both nutritive and medicinal, and, should additional sustenance be needed, the green needles may be brewed into a nourishing tea. Thus, though often found spreading its branches in the wild lands, the Pine-forest serves as a place of Sojourn and respite whilst walking the path in pilgrimage.

The Genius of the Pine, despite its preference for wilderness, is on the whole friendly toward man, hence its adaptation in many circumstances to domestic existence, and bestows the virtues of ingenuity and adaptation. In species it numbers almost one hundred, widely distributed throughout the world, and some kinds, such as the Bristlecone, may attain ages in advance of 4,500 years. Though numerous exotic conifers have come forth unto Albion in recent centuries, its principal Pine-warden is the magnanimous Pinus sylvestris or Scots Pine, which may be seen in its truly wild state now only in isolated places in the Highlands, however in certain hedges in East Anglia it curiously makes a home among the more usual hardwoods common there.

With most Pines, trunks of larger trees reveal sap-flows where the fragrant resin has hardened; this may be collected and used for varied purposes of Art, such as for fumigation or for making varnishes. However, not every Pine species produces resin of good and wholly aromatic quality, thus it is a matter of discernment which the simpler must arrive at by cunning and diligent investigation. Where a certain pine resin is left wanting with regard to its aromatic properties, it may still be used as an agent of binding.

Needles harvested and dried green will retain aromatic virtue and may be burnt, together with resin and cones, as a suffumigant strong in powers of earthing, and keeping haunting shades of the dead at bay. This power of removing ghost-infection is doubly potent in the resin.

The cones, after having expelled their seeds, serve as encharmed vessels for the work of thaumaturgy, each of the numerous hollows capable of being filled with a different enchantment. Likewise, the hollows of a cone may be packed with flammable unguents, aromatic resins and powders, and the whole set to roast slowly upon the hearth-fire of working as a splendid perfume. Such aromatic ingredients may be derived from the Pine direct, in the form of resin, ground bark and needles, and twigs, or from other worts and trees as dictated by Ingenium."

—

Viridarium Umbris:

The Pleasure Garden of Shadow

3: ‘The Book of Going Forth into the Field of Cain’

by Daniel A. Schulke

Sean Mundy

Cycles, 2020

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Wodan, Freyja, Donar, Frey, Tyr, Loki, Baldr, Njord, Angrboda and Hel.

Artist:  Johan Egerkrans

Localizing Your Practice

So much witchcraft emphasizes how important it is to honor and work with the Earth, but then teaches us spells with ingredients we basically have to import using locations we don’t have access to. It’s rare to find an existing grimoire or guide book that actually works with where we live. We can still use them, but it doesn’t enhance our connection to our local land, which to many can feel important. Here are some tips for localizing your practice and working with the land you actually live on.

See what nature exists around you. Explore your own backyard with a critical eye. What plants can you actually go and pick yourself? What are those plants associated with? Do you have access to a creek or river? What does your local land actually have on it? If magic correspondences for your local plants haven’t been written about, you may have to do your own research. Example: I grow several plants on my back porch which I can potentially use for magic.There are magnolia trees and rhodedendrons on the grounds of my apartment complex. My parent’s neighbors have chickens in the backyard, so I have access to some feathers when they shed. 

Check out local folklore, legends, etc. This is one of my favorite parts, but can also be the hardest. What are the stories of your area, both on a local and cultural scale. Example: A West Virginian may incorporate legends of the Mothman. Everyone says that one building on my old college campus is haunted (and they’re right.) People talk about that liminal-space feeling when you drive down that one road at night.

Find the magic spots. Sometimes the urban legends will tip you off to these (usually in a bad way) but other times you can find them on your own. A place where the energy is just right for some reason. A place you can go to be closer to nature, or a place you could host a ritual if needed. Sometimes it’s just a place where you can feel your mind open a little bit. Example: The shady corner of a public park. The tunnel downtown. That weirdly-perfect circle of trees in the woods behind Wal-Mart.

Meet your land wights. Spirits of the local land. This could be the fair folk, but also house spirits, the spirits of the trees near you, the nature spirits of wherever you are. They’re there. Be good to them and they’ll be good to you! Note: Some spirits and wights will not be interested in working with you, and that’s okay. I generally think it’s good to at least leave a polite offering to just be on general decent terms even if you never work with them more directly beyond that. 

Check in with your Seasons. Harvest holidays generally don’t have actual lifestyle importance to most people reading this. The seasonal shifts other people write about may be from a very different climate than yours! Figure out a calendar that works for you. It doesn’t have to be detailed, but something that ties you to the seasons as you actually experience them. I also love working in any fun annual festivals nearby, if any.

In modern Heathenry there is a concept of spirits known as the Disir (singular Dis). While there is some debate on the true origins of these spirits, it’s a common belief among todays Heathens that these are female ancestral guardians. I personally equate these spirits with The Mothers in Fayerie Traditionalism, those femme spirits that serve The Great Mother.

There are two modern festival/feast days associated with them: Mother’s Night, and Disablot.

But why not today? Why not Mothers Day? Today is a day that we celebrate the mothers of our respective families (blood and chosen) Today is a modern festival to venerate those enfleshed Matriarchs that we love and hold dear. To me it would make sense to extend that love and devotion to the Mothers that walk with us in the Unseen. Just sort of wondering out loud I suppose. I think in the future I might set aside time to honour all the Mothers in my life, Seen and Unseen.

🌙French traditional witchcraft!

🌙Sorcellerie traditionnelle française!

🍄Reblog si tu es un.e sorcier.ère française ou intéressé.e par la sorcellerie française !

🍄Reblog if you are a french witch or if you are interested in French witchcraft!

bittersweet nightshade

it is so wild to me the fashions that are called “emo” today. especially given the fact that probably 80-90% of it is actually scene, not emo. this would have started full on wars 15 years ago