Mesquite: The Tree Of Life Of The South West

Declutter Your Life

I’ve resolved that every Wednesday, I will write a masterpost about self care and living clean and happy lifestyles. Mainly because my blog is devoted to that too, besides being a studyblr, but I hardly ever post original content about it, so hereeee we go. :)

Plan first

Make a list of areas you want to tackle

Or items you want to go through

Set how long you’ll clean

And a little reward for yourself when you’ve reached that goal

Envision what you want your space to look like at the end

Set aside three baskets or areas: one for things to keep, one for things to trash, and one for things to donate/sell

House

There are just some ideas of things to get rid of or pare down. Feel free to add your own. :)

Bedroom

unnecessary pillows on your bed or extra blankets

monsters under your bed

chargers, wires, etc. that go to devices you don’t have anymore or that are broken

old devices, phones, ipods

books you felt kinda eh about while reading them

copies of books or CDs

old notebooks

sticky notes that have lost their stickiness

broken pencils

markers that have dried up

any art supply you don’t use

scrap paper that’s gotten too small

scrap yarn that’s gotten too small

old art projects

unfinished art projects

papers

candles w/o any smell

Scentsy-type stuff w/o any smell

Closet

clothes that don’t fit

all of those clothes you save for your “ugly days”

shoes that hurt that you don’t even like the looks of

underwear with holes (or blood stains - ya feel me, girls?)

socks without a matching pair

socks with holes

bras that are even looking tired

copies of clothes, like multiple white t-shirts

jewelry you don’t wear

childish jewelry

broken jewelry

Bathroom

hygiene products past their expiration date

faded towels

bottles with only a few drops of product left

worn out toothbrushes

hairbands that have lost their elasticity

congealed nail polish

makeup you regret buying

Digital Life

Social Media

Unfollow people, be merciless, make your social media a place of positivity

unfriend toxic people (see the next section)

go through your own posts and delete anything you regret posting

take social media breaks

Computer

upload all of your photos to Google photos or flickr or photobucket or onedrive or whatever, or even a CD, then delete them from your memory

also back up important documents or just things you want to keep to something else and delete them on your computer

go through and sort everything into files

delete any programs you don’t use

Phone

clean out your pictures, upload them to cloud or whatever

delete all of the apps you don’t use or need

go through your contacts and delete the people you don’t want to contact anymore

delete old text message conversations

give yourself a new background too, something clean and simple

Relationships

Get rid of those people who are toxic in your life, mute notifications from them, unfollow them on social media (you can unfollow someone one facebook without unfriending them), don’t answer them often

make an effort to interact with people face-to-face rather than through text or the internet

decide who you want to actively invest your energy in

School

make a study schedule

prioritize your schedule – study the hardest subjects the most

remember that grades are important

also remember that grades aren’t everything 

(pls don’t fire me from being a studyblr)

if you can’t get everything you need to do done in 24 hours without sacrificing 8 hours of sleep and a bit of time for yourself, then you’re doing too much

Best tip to stay decluttered: Learn to say no.

"herbology"

- the study of plants

hi, trick or treat? :)

Treat!

Graveyard Ingredients that aren’t dirt:

Leaves

Twigs/sticks/bark

Pincones

Stones/rocks (NEVER take from near or atop a headstone- those are offerings!)

Snow

Energy: you can collect it in many ways, I personally like to tie it up into knots for later use

Seeds, nuts, etc from trees

“Weeds”- Wild dandelions and yarrow from a graveyard are especially potent.

Grass clippings/cuttings

Wildflowers

The standard respect, offerings, and inquiry of whether the spirits of the graveyard are okay with you taking these items still apply! They’re just less tricky to obtain than dirt and still potent in spellwork!

https://www.instagram.com/p/B49vW1dAgru/

WITCHY READS TO SAVE FOR LATER 📚

Can we please talk about how the bridge to Coney Island is a reference to Jake, John, Harry, and Calvin?

Jake: “Were you standing in the hallway with a big cake, happy birthday”

John: “Did I paint your bluest skies the darkest grey?”

Harry: “And when I got into the accident , the sight that flashed before me was your face”

Calvin: “But when I walked up to the podium, I think that I forgot to say your name”

Maybe while re-recording, she was reminded of the moments when her past relationships went downhill. I find this all really interesting and I knew that the bridge was important but I think I see it now. I could be wrong, but it’s fun to theorize ✨❤️

So a few days after I posted this I also just realized that

“And do you miss the rogue, who coaxed you into paradise and left you there?” could possibly be about Tom!

( Edit: omg thanks for all the likes and reblogs! I’m new to tumblr I just started my account a few days ago to vent and talk about Taylor so all the love on this post is so sweet❤️ thank u all!)

Lammas tips

Activities

bake bread or put herbs bread you buy

go on a walk and observe the changes in nature

tidy up

fire/sun spells

have a bonfire

decorate! (this can just be changing your phone background)

gather and dry herbs for spellwork

enjoy the warm weather before autumn

go to harvest festivals and farmers markets

prosperity spells

check your garden

restock things you need

put wheat on your alter

mess around in the kitchen! put your own twist on that recipe you love

update any witchy journals you may keep (grimoire, book of shadows, etc)

eat late summer fruits

reflect on your talents and do what you’re good at

make sun water

have a self-love bath ritual

make corn dolls

Colors

yellow

cream

brown

green 

gold

orange

dark purple

tan

Herbs and Flowers

rosemary

cinnamon

mint

basil

garlic

mugwort

milkweed

acacia

peony

marigold

sunflowers

hops

goldenrod

yarrow

Incense and EOs

frankincense

sandalwood

rose

rosemary

patchouli

lavender

lemongrass

Crystals

tigers eye

citrine

rose quartz

quartz

carnelian

aventurine

granite

gold

brass

amber

malachite

sardonyx

yellow aventurine

golden topaz

clear quartz

marble

lodestone

rhodochrosite 

Animals

deer

cow

rooster

sheep

crow

pig

salmon

Deities

Lugh

Dagon

Taranis

Dumuzi

Demeter

Ceres

Dana

Isis

Luna

Danu

Hestia

Vesta

Food

bread

corn

garlic

blackberries

oats

apples

pears

fruit salad

elderberry

lamb

nuts

Spells

protection

prosperity

sun magick

courage

kitchen magick

connection

career

health

money

abundance

Other Names

Lughnasadh

Lúnasa 

Luanistyn 

Lùnastal 

The First Harvest

I started this later than I meant to, so this one’s shorter than usual, but I home it’s still helpful. To end it all, here’s a masterpost with a bunch of links to help. Blessed be!

Cheap Witches: Thrift Stores!

I have always loved thrift stores. When my family was poor-ish back in the day, I would often get one shopping trip a year for clothes at the thrift store and I would get all my halloween costume pieces there. Maybe it’s the nostalgia, maybe it’s that I myself am now poor-ish but either way I think we can all appreciate a good deal regardless. Especially on staple pieces that can be used for your practice. Now ON TO THE FINDS!

Books

Sometimes it takes a little luck but I’ve found a couple great useful books for 3$ or less each along the shelves of books in my local Value Village. The crystal healing ones I found were a huge deal to me back in the day when I was but a baby witch and they were dirt cheap.

Candle supplies

Every witch needs something to burn candles on/in. Now I’m not saying it needs to be fancy, for a long time I used a dollar store plate (psa, do not burn candles on surfaces you care about because scraping wax off things is not a delicate process) but picking up some candle holders for less than 2$ is going to help keep candles from falling over and lighting your house on fire. You can also find some wicked pretty ones.

Curtains/Tablecloths/Pillowcases

Yes, I buy thrift store curtains. As I mentioned in my previous post in this series, many things may require scrap fabric and although you can get the dollar store scarves I prefer using old curtains or tablecloths from the thrift store. Not only will you be getting WAY more fabric but it doesn’t cost too much more than the dollar store.

String and/or Ribbon

Some of my spells and my favorite hex require some kind of yarn/string/thread. If your local thrift establishment of choice has any kind of craft section, no matter how big, you are in business. Bags of embroidery thread, spools of twine or other string and skeins of yarn are all SUPER cheap and often great quality. (Note: I mean the yarn, the other two options are pretty standard) Sometimes I can even find ribbon spools but those are interchangeable with plain old coloured string.

Picture Frames

Are you setting up your altar? Do you wish you had something nice to put the picture of your deity(ies) in? Look no further than the thrift store for GORGEOUS frames of literally every size imaginable. 

Vases

You actually can not find nicer vases for cheaper than a thrift store. I don’t know what else you’d use them for, crystals maybe? Dried flowers waiting to be used? Candles? Either way, if you need one, there are virtually none cheaper or easier to find. Same goes for crystal or glass bowls. Besides, if you kill plants like yours truly, having flowers that are guaranteed to die is a nice way to enjoy plants without having to remember to water them.

JARS

That alone should be enough but I do want to chuck in one piece of advice. Do not forget about the cup aisle! I got a sweet glass skull that screws closed with your standard mason jar lid because it was donated with one of those lids with a hole and a straw. Hence it was a “cup” but NOT ANYMORE! It holds my dead flowers. I named him Herman.

As always, feel free to send me a message if you’d like/have more questions. Hopefully soon I’ll make a trip to IKEA for the next post in this series! If there’s something you’d like me to cover, let me know.

Much love ~ ♥

astro notes rant pt.2: moon signs

leo moons are some of the calmest bitches out there. seriously, one usually thinks about virgo or capricorn moons when it comes to keeping it together and appearing collected and steady, but leo moons have the most calming effect on others in my opinion. capricorn/virgo/aquarius moons have this artificial coldness to their calm facade and lack the warmth and openness one needs in order to be emotionally contagious so even if they look as if they’re not panicking other people around them would still be worried and anxious. leo moon has this super chill attitude - their confidence doesn’t appear superhuman, on the contrary, they appear calm in a very casual and non-forced way that relaxes people and makes them feel at ease. i mean, they can be quite the drama queens sometimes but overall i’ve never seen someone so confident and good at calming others with their composure and the way they seem to remain dignified and humane under any circumstances.

aries moons have a great difficulty with putting themselves in the position of other people and understanding the situation from their point of view. even if it’s in a chart that overall indicates a great deal of empathy and an understanding nature, aries moon makes a person sort of really stuck on their own point of view when it comes to emotions and gives a feeling that’s not exactly righteousness but more like…an inability to comprehend anything beyond yourself. the emotional world of the aries moon is so dynamic it’s quite difficult and bothersome for them to try and understand the emotional worlds of others. they just want to invite someone in their own and have them share it.

the most difficult moon sign to connect to emotionally is gemini. capricorn moons may put barriers, aquarius moons may dissociate, virgo moons may be nit-picky, scorpio moons might be crazy but gemini moon is like….they move too fast in order for someone to actually know them emotionally, and if you don’t know someone emotionally how can you even connect to them?  it’s hard to keep up with gemini. pisces moons change emotionally a lot too but at least they’re open about it while gemini are kind of airy about their emotions and keep their true vulnerabilities hidden. so you see an ever-changing facade of moods that are expressed strongly and in an overwhelming manner but what’s truly happening will always be beneath the surface, just one step too far for you to grasp. gemini moon manages to be somehow both detached and overwhelming.

taurus moons are the most difficult ones to argue with. they’re a bit similar to aries in that aspect. but it’s like…they make you feel as if they truly listen to you and it appears as if they actually take into account what you’re saying. they might even say you have a point and they’ll keep your words in mind. as time passes by you realize they just have this weird ass mechanism that prevents them from admitting someone else might be right. even if rationally they see this is so, at an emotional level they really are like a brick wall that refuses to let in foreign agenda. it’s just not comfortable, you see.

capricorn moons are extremely emotionally turbulent, even more so than scorpio moons. with scorpio moons at least you know you can expect them to constantly be in some sort of turmoil and drama. cap moons fluctuate between unpredictable cycles of absolute apathy and horrifying emotional outbursts. this often creates a feeling in others that they can’t be trusted. even if cap moons do their best to hide their inner turbulence, somehow it can still be felt on a more unconscious level.

pisces is often considered a favorable position for the moon while in fact the moon is in peregrine in it. this makes it quite neutral - there is an abundance of emotions and heightened sensitivity due to pisces being a water sign but the nature of this placement is to keep the feelings in and turn them inwards rather than to express them. this may create either someone who produces very personal art constantly or someone with huge emotional blockages who has difficulty letting other people in even tho they appear to be soft and friendly on the outside. most often, it’s a weird mixture between both.

scorpio moons, despite their reputation, are often somewhere on the asexual scale. sometimes this is due to having extreme feelings or experiences connected to sex when they were little. sometimes it can be a result of being hypersexual for some time and then starting to connect all sexual experiences to this in an unpleasant way. but regardless of the reason, i’ve noticed they’re often quite withdrawn when it comes to sex and might even be repulsed of the violent feelings they associate with it. it can be often connected to the feeling of intrusion and of letting someone in that scorpio despises so much.

taurus moons like to do stuff that makes them feel comfortable for other people. f.e. if a taurus moon feels cozy when they eat pasta with melted cheese they would cook that dish for other people. but they’re extremely insensitive towards the individual needs of others and often fail to understand how something that’s not comforting to them might be comforting to another individual. they’re least likely to adjust their behavior so that it’s comfortable for you. like, whenever i’m stressed my taurus moon friend would come and hug me and I keep telling her this stresses me even further yet she keeps doing it and saying she forgot it hugging isn’t as stress-relieving for me as it is for her.

aquarius moons always feel like they’re speaking an alien language no one understands except for them when they’re expressing love and affection. it’s hard for them to get through to the ones they love. even when they’re being super open verbally, like saying plain and clear “i love you, i care about you” it comes out as if they don’t put their heart into it due to their usual state of emotional detachment.

sagittarius moons constantly put on a cheerful facade to cover their sadness. this often leads to internal bitterness and frustration which gets translated into violent urges and a certain amount of hostility towards others. they may often try to hide it and to keep being in-your-face happy but one can definitely feel an aura of suppressed anger around them. like a feeling of hair-triggered temperament lurking beneath the surface.

libra moons can be extremely manipulative. they’re the type to observe carefully patterns of behavior in people, especially in larger groups, and to create different sets of attitude towards the different types of people that would make people like them more and do as they ask. they’re extremely good at playing people until they get what they want and can utilize others’ skills which makes them good leaders…unless they decide to take advantage of you. enough with the stereotype of the soft uwu harmless libra moon that just wants y'all to feel good! wake up sheeple, they’re playing you!!!

the most sociable moon sign is sagittarius. they are very people oriented and even if they have many placements in, say, cancer or virgo or capricorn, they are still super spontaneous about their hang outs and love to meet new people. aries moons are kinda like this too, followed closely by pisces (surprise surprise) and gemini.

libra moons are the rulers of networking. these people often master the ability to connect people and show them clearly why they need others and how they can mutually use each other. they’re also great at balancing and mediating. after all, that’s all you need to have so you can maintain a good network of people.

cancer moons can be really really really selfish. they are so taken by their own emotions they have a hard time bothering with the feelings of others. it’s like…cancer moons appear on the outside like capricorn moons feel on the inside. but on the inside, cancer moons are often like capricorn moons are on the outside. virgo moons are the moms of the zodiac. always so collected but also caring, they notice every little detail and analyze everything cuz they need to be in control of the situation all the time. they feel as if they’re always one step ahead of everyone, that’s why they think they’re better at caring for others than anyone else. and honestly? they’re usually right.

i’ve often noticed cancer moons express their feelings so strongly they cause random shit to happen without wanting it - the walls may vibrate when they’re angry even if they’re not showing it verbally, people might start dropping stuff when they’re around a nervous or aggressive cancer moon. i remember when i had a cancer moon boss, every time he’d drop at work in a good mood everything seemed to work smoother - we didn’t have the tech problems we usually did, the internet connection was flawless, etc. it was some mad shit right there and i’ve seen it happen with other cancer moons too.

gemini moons have a hard time listening to others. they have so many memories and emotional reactions triggered by a single sentence and their train of thought gets completely carried away from your words. so they either interrupt you all the time and say shit that seems totally unrelated or just dissociate from your words and have to ask what the fuck were you saying all the damn time. it can be pretty frustrating.

aries moons needs to do something all the damn time. they literally can’t just sit their asses down and do nothing. they’re always picking on some shit and planning stuff. it can be a lot of fun sometimes but if you’re more on the low-energy side it can be pretty bothersome and can make you feel as if you can never catch up to them.

earth moons are always thinking about how they look in the eyes of the public. they actually quite enjoy when others envy them and like to show off with their possessions, in which they often include their partners. they love to see others staring a lot at their partner and to think shit like “yeah, i know you want them but they’re mine”. honestly, those lil bitches enjoy making others jealous of what they have.

fire moons are quite competitive when it comes to relationships and they enjoy it when they have to be compared with many other suitors by the person they have their eye on. they often go for the popular types that are liked by everyone and feel truly satisfied only when they’re picked among many others as they have proven to be the most worthy.

air moons don’t like answering questions and putting labels when it comes to relationships, quite often cuz they’re afraid they won’t be able to provide what the label expects of them. they like to live outside of expectations and schedules and to let things unfold naturally which can be quite unsettling for their partners. 

water moons are the most demanding in relationships. they are the type to push you to act as they need you to so you can fit their fantasy. scorpio moons won’t hesitate to squeeze out drama from every action of yours that they don’t approve of, pisces moons will act like a super wounded victim every time you fail to play by their rules and cancer moons play with the cold treatment like no other. BEWARE, FOLKS!!!

capricorn moons are often tired by their own calculating nature. every capricorn placement has a deeply cunning nature and always has to plan and think about what use do they have out of anything, but capricorn moons really struggle with this cuz the moon sign is responsible for our moments of relaxation and comfort and it’s quite difficult to relax when there’s this beast inside of you that never sleeps and always whispers in your ear …but what do i get out of this, what do i get out of this…. SOMETIMES YOU JUST WANNA DO SHIT CUZ IT FEELS GOOD, YOU KNOW, NOT FOR SOME LONG TERM SUPER IMPORTANT GAIN FFS!! back the fuck off scrooge!!!