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

Diy Scrying Ball

I’ve been waiting since last Christmas for my local Dollar Tree to stock the diy snow globes so I could put my master plan into action. The time has finally come!

Last year I created this:

Now I’m gonna step it up a notch and create this:

Lets go!

Materials:

Diy Globe kit

Sparkle glue or Sparkles and Veg Glycerin

Waterproof LED Tea lights

(not pictured)

a drill

a hot glue gun

food coloring

rubbing alcohol or hand sanitizer

Bowl

something to stir with

Instructions

so you’re gonna separate the kit into all its parts and then drill a hole into the lid smaller than the bulb of the tealight.

Slowly push the bulb through the hole to open it up, then take it out, hot-glue the area around the bulb then slide it back in, once its in give it a thin layer of hot glue over where the bulb protrudes. Test that the light still works and will fit into the base without issue.

move to a sink, place the globe into a bowl and add some water and color (best to mix the food coloring in water then add to globe)

add in your alcohol, glitter and glycerin (or glitter glue), then top it off with water put back on the bottom.

That’s it!

Happy Scrying

Here’s my contribution to the #regionalwitchcraftchallenge started by Via Hedera

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So I wasn’t sure if I should have taken part in this because #Maine doesn’t really have anything (that I know of) that is specific to the region.

To make up for that, I try to incorporate as much of the local flora, fauna, and landscape as I can.

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-Maine black bear skull, gifted from a local hunter

-Novena candle (one side of my family is Catholic and that has started to influence my craft)

-Locally harvested cedar

-Two keepsakes of my departed grandparents

-Birch Water (à la “An Carow Gwyn”) with bark harvest from my property

-An antique rosary found while thrifting

-A hag stone from the coast of Maine

-Selected bones from my casting kit that are all local animals (red fox, coyote, beaver, bobcat)

-An arrowhead from our state museum

-Ritual blade made from white-tail deer

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TIL that Aleister Crowley literally told people that he was the Beast from Revelations and all I could think about is how easily I could picture him as a controversial youtuber/tiktokker.

[ Bells ] /French Folk Traditions.

1. “Living Entities”____

Since the Middle Ages, the ringing of church bells punctuated daily life and alerted folks in case of danger.

They are also considered as almost living entities : they have a voice and are baptized like children.

At Easter, when they are silent, “they’ve gone on a trip to Rome.”

In the 16th century, J. Wier tells us that the common people are convinced that the devil knocks down the bells that have not been baptized, while those that have been baptized drive out demons and storms.

Father Thiers will explain that they are not baptized but simply blessed, even if they are given, as is the custom, a godfather and a godmother.(…)

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2. Omens_____

In one of her letters (April 1680) a nun from the convent of Loudun recounts that a bell wheel broke while the bell was ringing for the burial of the “Mother of the Cross”. This was immediately taken to be “an omen of some affliction which was to befall the community” à sand indeed, a fortnight later, the mother prioress died [while] in good health.

In the Côtes-d'Armor, the more or less harmonious sound of the bells reveals to a young mother who has just given birth whether her first child will live or die ; for the omen to be favorable, she must succeed in placing the words of a song on the melody that she seems to hear in the ringing of the bells. (this one is for you @hillsarehollow 🧡)

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3. Storm Chasers / Hex Chasers_____

“During the storms, one runs immediately to the bells and one makes them ring with all force and with all their might, as if they were a sovereign remedy…” (Wier, 1569)

In Vosges, they say that you have to act as soon as the first rumbles of thunder strike, because if you ring them too late, they tear up the clouds and cause hail to fall.

The bells are also rung at certain times of the year to protect the territory of the parish from the evil spells of the devil and sorcerers.

Father Thiers relates that a bell must be rung for 24 hours on the eve of Saint John at dawn. (Haute-Marne, Moselle, Vosges, Rhône.)

The bells are also rung on the night of Saint Agatha (February 5) to scare away the witches running around that night.

It should be noted that the protective virtue of bells extends to cowbells and other bells that are suspended from the neck of cattle, against disease, lightning and evil spells.

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[ Miscellaneous outputs from Sébillot, Van Gennep, and M. Delmas]

(& a solstice gift @toverijennspokerij, @graveyarddirt, @poemsandmyths) 🧡

The Lady and the Stag - ArtofMaquenda

“On certain nights when their bruthain (bowers) are open and their lamps are lit, and the song and the dance are moving merrily, the fairies may be heard singing lightheartedly:— Not of the seed of Adam are we, Nor is Abraham our father; But of the seed of the Proud Angel, Driven forth from Heaven.’”

— The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries, W.Y. Evans-Wentz

What is the distinction between a mage, a wizard, a sorcerer, and a witch? Is there one?

Hello there.

I think it's a question many have, and understandably so. I'm no expert in the anthropological distinction between traditions, but I'll do my best to answer.

To a certain degree, all the terms are somewhat conflated, but there is some nuance to the meanings behind the words.

Where my usage is cocnerned, Mage is a name that essentially describes any practitioner of any kind of magical tradition. It is basically synonymous with magician. Though, the former has become associated with fantasy fiction to an extent, while the latter has become more closely associated with illusionist performers.

Wizard is a term that was often historically associated with Cunning Folk, and Cunning Men in particular. The etymological roots of the word amounts to 'wise individual.' Though myth, folklore, and modern fiction have all done much to fantasize the term, the core connotation of the word is still—so far as I'm concerned—a member of the Wise.

A Sorcerer is a bit vaguer in its specific meaning, but it ultimately amounts to an individual who practices magic—particularly magic seen as "dark" in nature. Though the original meaning of the word referred to 'one who casts lots' (told fortunes/performed divination,) sometime in the 15th century, that meaning was displaced by the definition of 'one who conjures evil spirits.' With all that in mind, I would say that sorcerer and witch are the most closely aligned of the terms mentioned here.

Finally, and possibly most difficult to pin down precisely, is the title of Witch. Though the word does have posited etymological and historical roots in prophecy, necromancy and in generalized magic, its ultimate meaning became more clearly delineated as 'one with malignant supernatural knowledge and skills' As such (and for others reasons I'm sure you can find plenty of people discussing on the internet,) I would say that witch is a title that mostly accurately reflects a magical practitioner with the ability to use baneful power, and whose practice is generally associated in some way with Sabbatic Flight and rites of Initiation.

I hope that can help.

Of Toads and Toxins

Warning: This post is super rambley and I’m sorry

(Shout out to Courir le loup-garou for being an amazing resource)

Three things have been on my mind a lot lately: ancestors, malefica, and the toad. So imagine my happiness and surprise when reading a blog post about Toads in French-Canadian folklore/folk magic being poisoners.

Since discovering French-Canadian sorcellerie via courir le loup-garou I have been trying to incorporate parts of it into my practice as a way of connecting with my Québécois roots. I’ve even recently found a language learning app that offers Canadian French/Québécois so I plan on learning the language as a way to further connect. Very very exciting!

I’ve also been slowly getting into using poisons more in my practice, specifically working with the plants spirits as allies and less working directly with them in herbal preparations. I’ve been particularly drawn to mandrake and foxglove. Foxglove specifically for its link to the fayerie folk so it makes sense to work with as someone who follows Fayerie Traditionalism.

~(I blame Coby of The Poisoner’s Apothecary for the poison path focus lol)~

In connection to the poison path is malefic magic. The idea of the witch as a poisoner, a blighter of crops, a caster of curses. Not that I’m someone who wants to just throw hexes around like they’re nothing but I’m more interested in studying them and researching how they operate magically.

The toad spirit has been one that has floated in and out of my craft for YEARS never fully leaving but not always being of high importance. I think that’s really because I’ve never figured out how to work with this spirit in a way that makes sense to my and my craft. Reading the blog on toads in French-Canadian folklore has given me some possible inspiration. I’m hoping to commune with the spirit of Toad to learn more of cursing and malefica and to employ my toad imp to carry out any curses or hexes that I may weave.