Source

"herbology"

- the study of plants

Great for your digital book of shadows!

Part 2

Lammas - a festival to mark the annual wheat harvest, and is the first harvest festival of the year

Witchy Starter Terms

Ground- Clearing/releasing excess energy and also connecting your own energy with the earth’s.

Center- Usually done after Grounding to calm your emotions, mind, and body to be physically and magickally ready to act.

Cleanse- Removing negative energies from an object or a space. Also works on people.

Charge - To infuse an object with personal or external power/intent.

Intent- the energy/focus of the magick and energy you’re working up.

Visualize - Forming mental images. It is done to direct energy during spell work. Much like imagination.

Banish- To magickally end something, Or to rid the presence of. Definitely works on people.

Consecrate- The blessing of an object or place by instilling it with positivity.

Sabbat- The Witches/Pagans festivals or Holidays and changing of the seasons

Talisman- An object charged with personal power to attract a specific force or energy to the wearer. Also known as an amulet.

Cowan- a formally derogatory slang word for a non-Witch, it is now more like the term “muggle” from HP.

Book of Shadows- your (or your coven’s AKA group of 13 or so witches) personal magickal records. You would write tarot readings, associations, and spell outcomes here.

Grimoire- the book of spells of a witch.

Burning Times- A term used by Witches for the period of persecution in the Middle Ages and later on. The Catholic Church oppressed many witches, pagans, and Jewish people. The only actual burnings happened were only in Scotland, and on the continent of Europe. In England and the U.S.A, they were hanged to death.

Esbat- Weekly or biweekly meeting of a coven. Typically held either on the full moon or the new moon.

Old Religion- Another name for the Craft.

Spell- A physical, mental, or verbal directing of magickal energies toward the accomplishment of some goal.

Airmed (or Airmid) - Celtic goddess of healing herbs

requested by anon

Tarot 101: Card Keywords

One thing many people struggle with when learning to read tarot is keeping track of card meanings. While I don’t recommend learning tarot like flashcards, you certainly can. But don’t think there’s anything wrong with using a guide book or your notes while you read your cards until you start to commit things to memory and develop your intuitive abilities and a relationship with your deck. It’s all part of the process. 

Remember! While each card does have keywords associated with it, cards work together in a spread like words in a sentence. It is incredibly difficult to get the full picture if you read each card only with a handful of keywords. Also, keep in mind that this is a short list of keywords for each card. Each keyword has its negatives, and there are many more that apply to each card. 

Numerical Keywords:

Ace (1): Beginnings, potential

Twos: Balance, harmony, dichotomy

Threes: Communication, interaction (think “three’s a party”), outside influence

Fours: Rest, Contemplation

Fives: Conflict, Loss

Sixes: Growth, challenges overcome, understanding

Sevens: Fate, confidence, truth

Eights: Work, change, perseverance

Nines: Consequences and rewards

Tens: Endings (end of a cycle)

Pages: Messages, youth, information

Knights: Movement, adventure, experience

Queens: Power, potential, advice (think motherly advice)

Kings: Authority, power, structure

The Suits

Cups: Emotions (love, feelings, relationships), Connections, Water, Intuition

Wands: Spirituality, Personality, Illusions, Impulses, Fire, Energy

Swords: Action, Power, Conflict, Judgement, Air, Thoughts

Pentacles: Material (money, property, etc.), Manifestation, Indulgence, Earth

The Major Arcana

The Fool: Beginnings, naivety, innocence, risks/reckless behavior

The Magician: Manifestation, inspiration, manipulation, talent

The High Priestess: Intuition, divinity, secrets, withdrawal

The Empress: Beauty, motherly nurturing, abundance, dependence 

The Emperor: Authority (fatherly), structure, rules, lack of control

The Hierophant: Wisdom, tradition, culture, religion, freedom

The Lovers: Love, balance, relationships, choices

The Chariot: Control, determination, action, discipline

Strength: Strength, influence, untethered emotions

The Hermit: Isolation, guidance, introspection

The Wheel of Fortune: Cycles, fate/destiny, luck, change

Justice: Justice, law, cause and effect, accountability

The Hanged Man: Martyrdom, surrender, change of perspective, delay

Death: Change, death, endings, transitions

Temperance: Balance, patience, healing, alignment

The Devil: Obsession, shadows, addiction, restrictions/limitations

The Tower: Chaos, dramatic change, awakenings, transformation, fear

The Star: Hope, spirituality, despair, disconnects

The Moon: Illusions, dreams, anxiety, intuition, emotions

The Sun: Positivity, warmth, success, optimism, lively spirit

Judgment: Judgement, rebirth, doubt, criticisms

The World: Completed cycles, accomplishments, movement (travel)

More Tarot 101: Welcome to Tarot / The Story of the Major Arcana / Card Keywords / Choosing a Deck /  Practice Makes Perfect / Bonding with Your Deck(s)  / An Introduction to Court Cards / Methods of Reading Court Cards / Using Personality Types to Understand Court Cards / Tarot Journaling

dear august—

bits of summer drift lightly in the wind —dark green leaves melt into light brown — crisp books crisp books are opened for the first time — golden highlights resting on cheekbones glistens into blue —hair flies in soft waves while running through tall fields of grass — pens leave new graceful strokes onto journal pages.

Today I learned oaks can talk with one another and collectively decide not make acorns for an entire year to try and starve as many squirrels as they can so next year’s acorns will have a higher chance of turning into trees, and my entire understanding of the world just shifted a little.

MARY’S SONG She said, I was seven and you were nine I looked at you like the stars that shine In the sky, the pretty lights And our daddies used to joke about the two of us Growing up and falling in love and our mamas smiled And rolled their eyes and said oh my my myTake me back to the house in the backyard tree Said you’d beat me up, you were bigger than me You never did, you never did Take me back when our world was one block wide I dared you to kiss me and ran when you tried Just two kids, you and I Oh my my my my SEVEN Please picture me In the trees I hit my peak at seven feet In the swing Over the creek I was too scared to jump in But I, I was high in the sky With Pennsylvania under me Are there still beautiful things? Sweet tea in the summer Cross your heart, won’t tell no other And though I can’t recall your face I still got love for you Your braids like a pattern Love you to the moon and to Saturn Passed down like folk songs The love lasts so long