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It was only recently that I truly understood the power and significance of offerings

In the past, I had tried deity worship. I made offerings that felt accepted but never in return for anything, it was just an act of servitude. It didn't feel right to ask for things. For the longest time, I was alone. I felt lonely, and part of my dabbling in deity practices was an attempt to reach out to someone, to something, to feel less alone, to feel like someone is out there watching over me, caring about me, taking care of me. I felt like a little girl with noone to hold her close and lift the burden on her heart, noone to make her feel light again

Later on, I moved on to other things. It just wasn't a good fit. Ideologies and beliefs shifted and the deity I would turn to when things got hard was the night sky. Tear filled eyes looking up to the stars and pouring my heart out over whatever was hurting me. Funnily enough, I ended up getting what I asked for during those sessions and I chalked it up to my tears being the offering, the energy I released during those moments, an equal exchange as all things are. Still, the night sky wasn't what I was looking for, though it gave me comfort at times

Recently I was in the hospital visiting someone. One of the doctors approached me and asked me for a favor because none of the staff could leave the room due to an emergency. They were out of a sort of bandages and she needed me to go get some from a nearby pharmacy. She showed me the empty pack to know what to get and money to buy it

I paid for it myself and returned the money. They tried to argue but I refused. They've done so much for me, it was the very least I could do. It was nothing, a natural course of action

And yet, walking out of the gates it felt like I paid off a debt, something shifted and I felt like an exchange had been made

An offering accepted.

I pray I am right.

My mind started racing, so many possibilities opened up yet the paths leading to them are still unclear. What do I offer? Who do I offer it to? The universe? The night sky? A familiar?

The cemetery as a place of power in my practice

Magic is often centered around location, especially places of power. Finding them, or making them. We do it when we follow the directions in old grimoires to go to crypts or wild places. As well as when we construct circles and sacred spaces in our homes or ritual spaces. We are setting aside a hallowed area for our work, a place to build force. A place of power. Some people find this place out in the forest, on the beach, in a church, their own personal temple, or other various locations. I found my place in a cemetery.

A few years into college I began getting more into ceremonial style magic, and the construction of a ritual space became a prominent part of that. I tried out various styles of circle casting, from calling the corners to demonic conjurations for the directions. As I was learning to cast a circle I often found myself without enough space to operate in my dorm. At home in my bedroom I could do a make-shift set up, but here at school and after when I had roommates space was VERY tight. So I began working almost entirely outside. I'd go to wooded places, beaches, parks at night and various other spots near my school to practice. 

After college I moved in with an old partner and happened to have an unmonitored cemetery near by. So this became my go to spot for practicing my witchcraft and any ritual work I had planned. Unknowingly I had created a habit of casting my circle in the same spot in the same way over weeks for various magical needs that arose. This connection with the land built up to the point where I felt a call and response in my environment. The spirits of the cemetery started to take notice of me and the work I was doing in their space, and eventually took active interest. It was at this moment that the way I saw the cemetery changed, it had become a place of power for me. I felt safe there at night now and didn't even pay attention when that switch in my brain happened. 

My draw to this cemetery was purely circumstantial, and it being a good available working place for my craft. My practice has blossomed here, as most of my spirit court has come out of my work done on those grounds. As I reflect, you'd think based on my craft now that I had some kinda obsession with the dead, but that was never really the initial drive. I'd say that affinity has grown from this relationship with this location. Which I think in turn lends itself back to the cemetery becoming a focal point of me consistently.

I've done some much circle casting and ritual work in that space that I no longer feel it's necessary there when I'm working at night. The space is liminal and separate enough without the pomp and circumstance of ritual that I can just begin the work that needs doing and get on my way. Keeping me from having to be out longer than I have too, avoiding any unwanted eyes. 

Many things lend themself to doing magic in a cemetery. There's it's obvious connection with the underworld and the dead being a place we bury our deceased, but I also see my local cemetery as a place of living since many animals and plants call it home. It's large enough that I've seen coyotes, eagles, fireflys, and other little critters there, as well as variety of plant life. There are also the mourners and the workers in this graveyard who are characters of this space too. So I use this cemetery as an access point/nexus, through which i can connect with the land and it's spirits. I use the graveyard as as a point of communion, with the spirit of my city and other realms. 

Another facet that gives power to my work is the emotional energy that pools in graveyards. Grief is a powerful experience that brings forth many emotions, and this cemetery holds children, veterans, and founding members of my town. So the psychic weight in this place can be heavy, loaded, and complicated. Which is something a skilled practitioner can draw on. I've also found that spirits from this graveyard love to feed on grand displays of emotion, joyous or sorrowful. So often I'll capitalize on that and use this was an emotional outlet that nourishes my spirits. Plus no one thinks twice of someone having a good cry in a cemetery.

Through my time in this space I've built in a intimate connection with it as an access point for Spirit. Making it more than just a place of power for simply being a cemetery, it is truly a holy place set aside from others in my practice.

i’ve noticed a recent uptick in practitioners feeling like they have to choose a specific “path” when it comes to their practice and i just wanted to remind my mutuals or anyone that stumbles upon this post that YOU DO NOT HAVE TO HAVE A SPECIFIC PATH.

paths are helpful sometimes but they’re never straightforward. they wind and bend and sometimes they just abruptly end.

you don’t need to scramble to find the path that’s perfect for you, because there might not even be one. and that’s okay! you aren’t abnormal or anything like that for not finding a particular path that fits you perfectly. that’s why i just call myself an eclectic practitioner. trying to fit myself into a neat and tidy label didn’t feel right to me so it wasn’t!

you can just be you. your “path” can just be your own personal practice. at the end of the day, no one needs to understand it but you.

tarot card reading except i just make "ooo" "ah" and "wow" sounds the whole time instead of telling you what the cards mean

hi chicken, i think the idea of setting an indicator of the spell working is cool. do you maybe have anymore thoughts on that or how to actually do it? i like the idea im just not sure how to actually like.. set that intention and make sure it actually indicates

We're in reference to this I'm sure, the hematite ring bit I believe.

Easy as pie. You want something that has a chance to spontaneously change its physical state, but not a guarantee; a thread tied around your wrist that could snag and snap, or fall off; a brittle hematite ring that can shatter; in the past I've used something precariously stood up (a medical creme tube stood upright on its small cap) and set it in a sheltered place, the indication being whether or not it fell over on its own. (It did, in the middle of the night, and spooked me)

Place it with the other parts of the spell. Bake it into the same pie, as it were.

Candle be thou a candle likened to Money Marge herself, cash me out, stuff my hair with dollar dollar bills; And you, green thread, you are the oracle that sees; you are the chain that falls when the link is broken; you are the canary in the coal mine that falls away to sound the alert. You, my far-seeing helper, keep your eyes affixed upon Money Marge: and when [the last traces of power fade away/ when my spell has found its target/ if the spell fails before it can manifest] then you will show me it has happened by breaking, or snapping, or unraveling, or in any manner whatsoever falling away from my wrist.

Ensure you have thoughtfully chosen an indicator that could happen randomly, yet is not guaranteed or likely to happen (an indicator with a 50/50 chance of 'going off' anyways is not useful)

Through ritual action, words, or by any means, link and involve the indicating object to the spell; consecrate them together, energize them together, soak them in the same bath of energies

Clearly define what role the indicating object is playing. Poetry serves well, in my opinion. Also see if you can't get the poetry to match the action and theme (falling away thread = chain that snaps, canary that falls -- indicator for a ward being breached, "you are the war horn that sounds the alarm")

Clearly define the conditions under which the object will perform that indicated action ("when Money Marge has grabbed money for me and is rushing back to my side.")

From that point onwards such indicator objects may be considered to be a taglock of the spell, and a useful connection to be able to 'check in'. Very handy little things for practicing psychism and energy reading.

It's reasonable to assume that you are functionally enchanting an entire second object, and therefore this might be significantly more draining than one might expect at first glance. My recommendation is to ensure the primary function of the spell gets all it needs first, and any indicator object comes second; also, there's perhaps no need to go ham on the indicator at all.

Chalkboards In Witchcraft

So, a couple of years ago around Halloween, my local crafts store was selling cute small wall-hangings that functioned as chalkboards. My first idea was to doodle silly things, but right after that I thought “wouldn’t this make a perfect and practical way of writing and hanging sigils on my wall? I could change the sigils whenever I wanted. And it was totally reusable and movable. Now, it’s become a staple of protection magic in my craft. You can enchant chalk and use different colors of it for different sigils. I’m going to show you a standard one I used to use (not showing you my current protection sigil on the chalkboard for privacy reasons).

It’s so practical! Lmk if you try this!

Best of luck witches! (Also, a pack of these boards only cost me a few dollars).

Witch Tip: Check your Spells

This is the easiest but mostly overlooked element of Magic101: if something seems off with your magic that normally works very well, go and check on your spell.

Maybe something is...off. Maybe your cat knocked over your altar or something in your jar molded. Maybe that last wind storm knocked a tree branch down which scratched out a part of the sigil at the edge of your property.

This could have happened for mundane or magical reasons. Discovering that is up to you.

But check first.

It could be something as simple as your partner changing the sheets on the bed and forgetting to put your dream pouch back into the inner pillowcase (as happened to me last week).

Get a reading from @planetbabysitter if you want her cards to gently grab your soul by the scruff of the neck like a kitten and reveal your innermost thoughts and feelings that you've been ignoring

I trust @shuffling-cards on reading mine otherwise i get scared.

🌌🔮✨

Get your reading with her.

a pocket of calm 🐙❤️

you ever speak to your best friend and it just absolutely centres you. oh yeah none of that shit matters. I love you

Imagine an elf is given a job to do at a human institution. The humans think elves don’t need bathroom breaks, since they know they can hold it for days, but this elf has been traveling to reach their job, and has already been holding it to the point they are in pain. They ask for a break, but their job is important and time sensitive, so they admit they can still hold it when asked. After a full day of work, the elf tries to reach the bathroom in time, but they were never told where it is.

Amazon employees

Also, painful in every way, holy fuck