128 Words To Use Instead Of ‘Very’

She traveled the world and wrote books and took lovers and broke hearts. She didn’t allow life to just happen to her. She punched and pummeled and beat the living shit out of it.

Rick Yancey, The Last Star (via journaling-junkie)

Stars are not small or gentle. They are writhing and dying and burning. They are not here to be pretty. I am trying to learn from them.

Caitlyn Siehl, “Sky Poem” (via chocolatefrogs)

A Crash Course in Warding

Let’s just start a series of crash courses in witchcraft, since sometimes we need to learn things the quick and dirty way. Today, let’s talk about wards.

What are wards? Wards are protective energy barriers. They keep things out. You can place them around your home, certain rooms, even on certain objects. With practice and clear intentions, you can focus the wards to block out everything or only certain things. We’ll get to that in a bit.

Why should I ward my space and my things? Wards can keep out all sorts of things you don’t want in your home. They can block out negative entities, wayward spirits, mischievous entities, demons, and (if you’re really good at what you’re doing) even gods. Some people ward their divination tools so they know there are no spirits tampering with the results.

So what do I need to do first? Cleanse. This is very important. Wards are kind of like walls, or perhaps more accurately, bubbles. If you don’t clean the space first, you might trap things inside your ward bubble. You do not want that. There are lots of methods of cleansing, from burning sage to spritzing oil-infused water. Find a method you’re comfortable with and cleanse everything you’re going to be warding.

I’ve cleansed my home/item. Now what? Now we ward. I’m going to give you a couple methods. Let’s start with my favorite, incense warding.

Incense warding can also be done with spritzes of water/essential oil blends or herb-infused water if you can’t have smoke in your space. Whichever you’re using, you want to have a blend of protective herbs. Bay leaves, cinnamon, ginger, mustard seed, and salt are some great options that you can find in the grocery store, no fancy witch shop necessary. If you’re using incense, make sure you’re using natural incense and not super cheap stuff that’s artificially scented. The magic is in the herbs, and you won’t get that from fake scents.

How to Incense/Spritz Ward an Item

Smoke or spray item.

Visualize the smoke or spray clinging to the item and wrapping around it like a tight blanket, protecting it from anything that would cause harm (or interference, etc.).

How to Incense/Spritz Ward Your Space

Pick a place to start. I always start at my altar, but it’s up to you. If you’re doing multiple floors, start either at the top or bottom floor.

Moving continuously to your right, smoke or spray along the walls and door frames. As you go, imagine a barrier being formed around the walls, ceiling, and floor, pushing outwards to fill the room. Visualize the smoke or spray forming the barrier to keep out anything that will do you harm. [If you have a hard time with visualization, you can simply focus on the intent of the smoke or spray keeping things out.]

Keep moving right, following the layout of your home, making sure you get all the closet spaces. You basically want to outline the entire area you’re protecting, whether it’s you’re room or your whole house.

For multiple floors, repeat on each level.

For big layouts where there are rooms in the middle, go around those rooms as well.

I like to reinforce the wards over outside doors, windows, and mirrors. These are all passages of sorts, and when I reach them, I use the incense to draw a pentagram in the air over them. This is entirely up to you.

You’re done when you’ve reached the point where you began.

So why do we go to the right? Is that important? Kind of. Going to the right is like going clockwise. It’s about making things and progression, where going to the left or counter-clockwise is about deconstruction or reversal. [I read this idea in a witchy book a long time ago and will try to find a source when I can. If you honestly don’t feel it makes a difference, do whatever you’re comfortable with.]

Can I place wards that keep out certain things but not others? Sure. When you’re going around your space/warding your item, your intent is what’s important. I like to ward out entities that mean harm - it’s nice and general and doesn’t keep the fae out. Some people might want certain spirits and not others. Have your intentions clear in your mind as you place your wards.

That’s neat and all, but what are some other ways to ward? Let’s list a few.

Symbol/Sigil Wards

Choose (or make) a symbol or sigil that has protective properties. I’ve done this with Pluto’s astrological symbol because I worship him and it’s my way of being like, “Hey, Pluto. Please protect me, kthanxbai.” Pentagrams are nice and basic witchy/pagan symbols if you like them.

Draw the symbol over doors and windows. You do not literally have to draw it. It can be in water, incense smoke, or just your finger against the surface if you want.

As you’re drawing, make sure you have your intentions in mind - that nothing harmful can pass through this door, that the windows remain closed against entities, etc.

Energy Bubbles (if you have control over your energy)

Pick an item - any item.

Get your warding intentions in mind.

Channel lots of energy into the item. Visualize it emanating from the item in a bubble to fill your space.

If you’ve got mad skillz, you can form the bubble to the walls and be super exact with where its barriers are.

Vocal Wards

If you like spoken (or thought) spells, come up with a small chant to protect your space.

You can repeat this chant as you focus on your item being protected or as you walk around your home, protecting every room.

This is really great to incorporate into basically any other form of warding and gives your magic an extra bit of oomph.

I’ve heard wards can “fade” over time. True or false? Wards are just energy. Like all energies, they can disperse and weaken over time, or if something particularly nasty puts effort into destroying them. Redo your wards every so often (I do mine every few months, but it’s up to you), and especially before spiritual interactions. I also like to do mine after I’ve had lots of company, to kind of clear out family’s lingering energies and reinforce what I don’t want in my house.

In general, the intent of your wards is the most important part. Know what you want to keep out. This concludes our crash course on warding. Now go forth and protect some stuff!

I always wanted to ask people: ‘Are you in love? What are you reading?’

Francoise Sagan, A Certain Smile (via thelovejournals)

Just so you know, you can always watch the Earth live from the ISS. Its really relaxing to me (the music they play is soothing too)

Necromancy Herbs

Written and originally posted by manannanschild on GreyNecromancerJournal

Mullein: Erroneously described as a substitute for graveyard dirt, this in fact is a misconception. Known as the “Hag’s Taper”. The soft leaves are used as candle wicks and the dried stalks are soaked in beeswax or tallow to make a torch for rituals of necromancy. It is also burnt to see manifestations of spirits of the dead at night, to see into the Otherworld, and communicate with the spirits and deities that dwell there. Can also be used in talismans.

Wormwood: Used for summoning spirits and to help them manifest.

Cedar: The dried needles when smouldered serve both as a sustaining feast and call for the blessed dead, and the smoke is used to exorcise malevolent shades. The wood works for this purpose as well when turned into a fetish or as a staff.

Dittany of Crete: Used to aid in the manifestation of the spirits of the dead. Also has somewhat of a nasty reputation because of where it tends to grow. Harvesters tend to fall from the cliffs and crags where it grows and plummet to their death.

Aconite: Also known as Wolfsbane or Monkshood. Because of its incredible toxicity it is better to not to harvest it. If one has the dried root it can be preserved in order to serve as a tutelary spirit. Not to be used by amateurs.

Yew: Known in European countries as the Death Tree, it is a symbol of death, reincarnation, and longevity. Is planted in graveyards to protect the spirits of the dead. It can be used to banish malevolent spirits of the dead. Often associated with sorcery and dark magic. It is considered the sister of the Tree of Life, the birch.

Apple: Considered the food of the Irish dead and the inhabitants of the Otherworld. Can be added to incense blends to feed the spirits of the dead and ancestors.

Mugwort: Ingested as a tea to aid in divination and talking to the dead. Also boiled in water and, then the liquid is used to wash divination tools.

Copal: Serves as a offering to the dead and can be used to appease the spirits  who remain in states of trauma or confusion after death.

Willow: The wood of the willow is used in incenses and in the construction of fetishes dedicated to the dead.

Tobacco: May be presented as a herbal offering upon a ancestral altar or a grave in the form of a incense or sacramental smoke to honor the shades of the dead.

Cypress: The oil of this tree serves as a great addition to incenses and formula of the underworld.

Myrrh: The oil aids in all blends of a necromantic design. Can also be mixed into incenses.

Graveyard Mold: Technically no folklore or magical traditions associate this herb with necromancy of any kind. However I have included it here because I believe it can be used as a compound in necromantic incenses. Since it grows on graves it should contain some of the essence of the dead.

Mandrake: According to legend King Solomon carried a piece of this root in his seal ring to give him sovereignty over souls. Since one of its names is the “Little gallows man” it can be used as a poppet for laying curses of death, illness, pain, etc.

Birch: Petitions and blessings are written on the bark of this tree which is then burnt or buried in the grave of the spirit.

Bay Laurel: Used to communicate with the dead, possibly through use as an incense. Easily available in the form of bay leaves.

Chervil: Also known as garden chervil or “gourmet’s parsley” a tea or other drink made with it can be imbibed to aid in rituals of communion with the dead.

Lavender: Burnt as incense in order to bring peace of mind to the dead.

Marigold: Associated with funerals and used in funeral sprays.

Asphodel: In Greek legend is connected with the dead and the underworld. Sacred to Hades, Persephone, and Hekate. The roots were eaten by the poor of Greece and hence thought good enough food for the dead. Could be burnt as incense or the roots could be given as food offerings.

Thyme: Burnt as an incense helps ease the soul of a person who died a violent death.

American Sycamore: Known as “Ghost Trees” for their distinctive patchy appearance. Associated with the dead and poverty.

Elder: In Norse mythology the tree is considered the Guardian of the Road to Hel (and thus sacred to Hela, Goddess of the Dead). Also associated with the ancestors.

A Basic Glossary of Herbalism Techniques

Image credit: Sage and Smudge

OK, so one thing that often comes up in Q&A sessions about witchcraft is herbalism. It’s extremely complicated in some parts, and this isn’t helped by the fact that there’s often a lot of new and complicated terminology that can really obfuscate the techniques used to people who aren’t used to it. 

This post is therefore meant to clarify a few things about terminology to help people decipher what the hell is going on. It does not go into the effects of herbs (like what the difference is between a sedative and a hypnotic), that’s for a later post. This one talks about actual techniques used to MAKE a herbal preparation.

NB: The terminology I use is the most common terminology and definitions used in Western tradition herbalism. Some terms have different definitions in biochemistry or in other herbalism traditions to the ones they have in Western tradition herbalism (WTH). If a term is likely to cause confusion, I’ll try to put an asterisk (*) beside it.

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Acetum* ­– A tincture that uses vinegar as its menstruum. The plural is aceta.

Active ingredient – The medicinally active component chemical(s) of a plant; these are what you’re trying to extract.

Aqueous* – An extract that is prepared with water is called an “aqueous extract”, or simply an “extract” (though this is correct, it is vague and therefore should always be clarified as an aqueous extract).

Aromatic* – A chemical that has an easily-discernible fragrance or smell, e.g. menthol from peppermint

Ayurveda – Literally “science of life”, this is a form of Indian herbalism. Included because people often ask what it is and I’m sick of answering.

Cold infusion – A form of herbal preparation in which a herb is steeped in room temperature water overnight as a means of extracting active ingredients.

Constituent – Any component chemical of a plant, regardless of activity.

Decoction – A herbal preparation in which plant matter is simmered in water without boiling until half the liquid has been evaporated.

Double decoction – A form of decoction where the water is evaporated down to a quarter of its original volume, rather than a half.

Elixir* – Any liquid preparation that contains both alcohol-extracted and aqueous-extracted components.

Ethanol – An alcohol with the chemical formula C2H4OH, also known as drinking alcohol and ethyl alcohol.

Extract* ­– Any liquid preparation in which plant matter is left in a liquid solvent for several weeks. The word “extract” can also refer specifically to aqueous extracts.

Filtrate – The liquid retrieved from a physical filtering separation process.

Fluid Ounce – Also known as an ounce by volume, this is a measurement of fluid equal to 1/16th of a pint by volume, or approximately 0.03L metric. Weight-to-Volume ratios measure volume in fluid ounces most commonly. Symbolised as fl. Oz.

Folkloric extract – A herbal extract prepared without measuring weights or volumes of the marc or menstruum. Much more variable in dosage than measured extracts, and therefore more risky.

Glycerine – Also known as glycerine and glycerol. A chemical with the formula C3H5(OH)3, often used in the preparation of sweet-tasting extracts.

Glycerite – Any extract prepared using glycerine as the solvent. Glycerites should be a minimum of 55% glycerine by volume in order to preserve their contents against bacteria.

Hot infusion – A herbal preparation made by steeping plant matter in boiling or boiled water for at least 10 minutes. Less than 10 minutes forms a tea instead.

Inactive ingredient – Any molecule in a plant that does not have medicinal or biological value. A plant will always have more than one inactive ingredient, but a herbal preparation could theoretically have only one (although it never will).

Liniment – An extract, most usually a tincture, which is used topically on the skin rather than taken orally. Also known as an embrocation.

Lipid – Any fat. Often used as a solvent when dealing with fat-soluble compounds, for example cannabinoids.

Lozenge – A herbal preparation in which the active ingredient is made into a thick syrup, heated until candying occurs, and then allowed to cool and harden. Often used to make unpleasant-tasting medications more palatable, such as for children.

Marc – The solid matter in an extract or tincture.

Menstruum – The liquid component of an extract or tincture.

Ounce – A measurement of weight, 1/16th of a pound, and just under 30g metric. Symbolised as Oz.

Pastille – A herbal preparation similar to a lozenge, but unheated and therefore preserving many of the medicinal compounds that are otherwise heat-sensitive. Made by grinding herbs into a powder, and then mixing them with sugar and a binding agent. Maple syrup or honey is often used.

Preparation – Any herbal remedy, of any kind.

Poultice – A herbal preparation formed by mashing fresh, solid plant matter into a mash, and then directly applying it to the skin. Sometimes also involves wrapping the plant matter in gauze or fabric to prevent it coming apart.

Precipitate – The solid matter that forms from the marc when making a tincture or an extract of some kind.

Proof* – As it related to alcohol, this is a measurement that is equal to either two times the alcohol percentage (US definition) or is equal to 1.75 (4/7th) times the percentage (UK definition). Almost all sources use the US definition, but all sources will also use the alcohol-by-volume (ABV) metric, which is a simple percentage.  

Residue – The solid matter left in the filter after a physical filtration separation.

Solubility – The ability of a substance to dissolve in a solvent.

Succi ­– The preserved juices of a plant. Alcohol is the most common preservative.

Syrup – A decoction that has subsequently had sugar added to it, and is then simmered down further until it forms a thick, sweet liquid. Mostly used for making herbal preparations that are unpleasant-tasting easier to swallow.

Tea – When boiling water is added to plant matter and is left to steep for no more than 10 minutes. If it is left for longer than 10 minutes, it is described as a hot infusion.

Tincture* – Any liquid extract in which alcohol is the solvent. The word tincture is often used interchangeably with extract in herbal sources, but they are actually different things.

Weight-to-volume extract – Any extract in which the marc and menstruum are actually measured out before manufacture. This is a little more complicated, but makes the dosage much less variable and therefore much safer to use.

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This took bloody ages to write, so I hope like hell that someone finds it useful!

– Juniper

Joseph Capehart, “Fire Escape”. Check out the full poem here.

character aesthetic: luna lovegood

On a list of things I need in my life:

The Potter lands stretch for miles, so I need Hope to really go exploring at some point and discover an old tower that overrun with ivy and is so worn that it must be as old as Potter Manor

And I need Hope to set up all her Earth Magick (+ Ancient Arts) materials in there so that if people go looking for her in OotP Remus and Sirius can just say “She’s at the Tower” and call it that.