forgive yourself for the stagnancy that was produced from your depression
I wasn’t planning on doing a past year reflection tarot spread this year but after being called to it a few times I decided to listen - so here it is 💜💙 This is truly the perfect tarot spread to help you energetically let go of this past year. Finish it off with some releasing rituals & voila! On to the next…✨
The Rowan’s Cross New Year Tarot Spread.
This is a big 10 card spread, inspired by the humble Rowan Cross - an archaic symbol and charm of protection. The Rowan Cross has been used as amulet for many reasons, and in this instance, the inspiration lies in its protective abilities being upon you as you transition and grow in the coming year.
- Where are you now?
- Clarity on where you want to be.
- What is the next step you must take?
- What is stopping you from progressing?
- What can be done to remove these obstacles and blockages?
- What path will you begin to take once steps have been made?
- Where will this path take you?
- What do you need to let go to further your journey?
- What do you need to gain?
- Where will you be, or who you will be on your way to being once you have let go and gained?
*Feel free to use this spread for yourself, and if you use it for paid readings all I ask is that you credit me as the creator. Please consider leaving a tip, [here]!
Basket of Rowan tree berries picture credit: [X]
Happy Winter Solstice ❄️✨
Via Pinterest
In celebration of Halloween, I’ve compiled a list of horror films from several different sub-genres along with links to their respective IMDB pages. Please note that the films listed below may contain scenes that some find triggering, disturbing, or upsetting; if you have any concerns over a film’s content, I highly encourage you to research it prior to watching in order to make as informed a choice as possible.
PSYCHOLOGICAL HORROR: films that inspire fear and tension by creating an unsettling atmosphere.
- 1408 (2007)
- Deathwatch (2002)
- Psycho (1960)
- Misery (1990)
- 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)
- Session 9 (2001)
- Open Water (2003)
- Audrey Rose (1977)
- Berberian Sound Studio (2012)
- Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
FEMALE-CENTRIC FILMS: horror movies featuring women in starring roles outside of the “final girl” trope.
- Slaughter (2009)
- Alyce Kills (2013)
- Candyman (2002)
- American Mary (2012)
- The Ward (2010)
- Haunter (2013)
- It Follows (2015)
- The Vampire Lovers (1970)
- The Countess (2009)
GRAPHIC HORROR: films containing depictions of extreme acts, like heavy violence, body horror, and gore. Not recommended for those offended or disturbed by explicit, potentially-upsetting media.
- Baskin (2015)
- High Tension (2003)
- 31 (2016)
- Hostel (2005)
- Hatchet (2006)
- Cabin Fever: Patient Zero (2014)
- City of the Living Dead (1980)
- The Thing (1982)
HORROR ANTHOLOGIES: also known as “portmanteau films”, these movies contain multiple short segments that are sometimes connected by a main plot.
- Southbound (2016)
- Creepshow (1982)
- Trick ‘r Treat (2007)
- Tales of Terror (1962)
- Twice-Told Tales (1963)
- Black Sabbath (1963)
- Necronomicon: Book of the Dead (1993)
- The House that Dripped Blood (1971)
- Tales from the Crypt (1972)
- Night Gallery (1969)
- Extraordinary Tales (2013)
THRILLERS: scary stories with a suspenseful plot.
- Donkey Punch (2008)
- Green Room (2015)
- The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
- All the Boys Love Mandy Lane (2006)
- Red State (2011)
- The Seasoning House (2012)
- Would You Rather? (2012)
- Tusk (2014)
- The Boy (2016)
- The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959)
MOVIE MONSTERS: horror films starring a variety of creatures, from vampires and werewolves to Lovecraft monsters and evil clowns.
- Shadow of the Vampire (2000)
- The Wolfman (2010)
- The Descent (2005)
- Clown (2014)
- Dagon (2001)
- Silent Hill (2006)
- Slither (2006)
- Jeepers Creepers (2001)
- The Cabin in the Woods (2012)
- The Burrowers (2008)
HORROR CLASSICS: definitive movies from the pre-1970’s horror era.
- The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)
- House on Haunted Hill (1958)
- Horror of Dracula (1959)
- House of Wax (1953)
- The Mummy (1959)
- Corridors of Blood (1958)
- House of Usher (1960)
- Horror Hotel (1960)
- The Haunted Palace (1963)
- Pit and the Pendulum (1961)
- The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1949)
SUPERNATURAL HORROR: all things paranormal, ghosts and ghouls.
- From Within (2008)
- The Gravedancers (2006)
- The Woman in Black (2012)
- House on Haunted Hill (1999)
- The Babadook (2014)
- Dead Silence (2007)
- Burnt Offerings (1976)
- Ghost Ship (2002)
- Thir13en Ghosts (2001)
- The Ring (2002)
- Sleepy Hollow (1999)
- Pet Sematary (1989)
OCCULT AND POSSESSION: movies with rituals, demons, and possessed souls.
- The Devil Rides Out (1968)
- The Omen (1976)
- Drag Me To Hell (2009)
- The Evil Dead (1981)
- House of the Devil (2009)
- Event Horizon (1997)
- Hellraiser (1987)
- Wake Wood (2009)
- The Skull (1965)
- Starry Eyes (2014)
- The Wicker Man (1973)
- Inner Demons (2014)
ZOMBIES: a category encompassing everything from Romero’s undead to the living infected.
- Dawn of the Dead (1978)
- Day of the Dead (1985)
- Dead Snow (2009)
- Resident Evil (2002)
- Land of the Dead (2005)
- 28 Days Later (2002)
- 28 Weeks Later (2007)
- Zombi 2 (1979)
- The Crazies (2010)
- Pontypool (2008)
- The Last Man on Earth (1964)
FOUND FOOTAGE: movies comprised of camera footage filmed by hapless characters.
- Grave Encounters (2011)
- The Blair Witch Project (1999)
- V/H/S (2012)
- V/H/S 2 (2013)
- The Taking of Deborah Logan (2014)
- The Tunnel (2011)
- Creep (2014)
- The Borderlands (2013)
- Digging Up the Marrow (2014)
- As Above, So Below (2014)
- The Last Exorcism (2010)
- Cloverfield (2008)
- The Houses October Built (2014)
HAVE FUN WATCHING, AND HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
·
“I GOT MY MOJO WORKIN”
Today in HOODOO HERITAGE we will focus on one of the most well-known spiritual objects in Root Culture, the “mojo bag”. This type of object is also known in Black American history as the toby, trick, hand, trick-hand, spirit hand, wanga, gris-gris and others, depending on the region.
The word “mojo” is derived from the KiKongo word “moyo”, meaning “spirit” and “soul”. In Swahili it means “heart”.
In the Kongo spiritual tradition, small bags filled with “bilongo” or medicine were carried by the priests or ngangas, among others, and were also tied to wooden carvings that represented certain spirits with specific tasks. The medicine consisted of a variety of items that included powders, animal parts, a person’s hair, fingernails or toenails, roots, barks and bits of wood, small stones, fossils or crystals, resins, shells, metals, white clay, etc. Certain prayers, songs and movements in ritual brought the objects to life and would confer specific powers to their owners.
This practice was carried to the New World by stolen and enslaved Kongo people, and among Black Americans, would survive the harsh brutality of slavery and become one of the most ubiquitous objects known in Hoodoo to this day.
PH: a medicine bag from the Kongo, stolen and placed in a British museum during the 1800’s
A Tarot Spread to give you a bit more insight as to where you are on your path as a witch.
- Where am I now in my path? - This card represents where you are at in this moment in regards to your path, both your views on it as well as what is really going on with it.
- Where am I able to be? - This is where you have the potential to be RIGHT NOW. This is not a “where you will be in the future” or a “where your path will lead you” card, but rather a representation of the place you could be in at this moment that you just need to tweak a few things to get to.
- What are my current strengths? - This is what you are doing well with at the moment. It could be anything from having a good mental space or being great at giving advice to what kind of spellwork you are doing best at. Whatever it is, you’re doing a good job so be proud.
- What are my weaknesses/What do I need to work on? - This is what you arent doing so good at right now, but that you do need to get better at. Whatever comes up in this spot is very important for you to learn for some reason, so itll be good to work on it. Dont feel bad or ashamed, because no one is amazing at everything! Just dedicate some extra time to this and you will get loads better.
- What should my next steps be? - This card represents the next steps you need to take to get you to where you could be (card 2), so heed it. It could be to work on your relationship with other beings, work on another aspect of the craft, or to work on yourself. Whatever it is, listen.
You can find this reading on my Ko-Fi, simply go to commissions and then Tarot!
This is my image, my spread, and I drew the card backs shown above. Do not remove caption or watermark. Only repost with permission and credit.
DIY Crochet Bobbles Circle Bag Free Pattern
From Mama in a Stitch:
Chunky yarn, bobbles and tight stitch-work make this the perfect carryall for the fall and winter months. Made with washable 100% acrylic, this bag can withstand your walks through the cold, subway rides and use from the little ones. Large enough to hold your water bottle, wallet, phone and more.
You can also find Mama in a Stitch’s Free Pattern for this DIY Crochet Jute Circle Bag here. What she says about this bag:
I’ve seen a lot of other cute crochet circle bags as well, but wanted to make my own style with this inexpensive but beautiful jute. What I love most about this bag is that it looks store bought and it cost only $6.00! It also features an airy look and uses a circular granny stitch… to start that’s very easy.
Centred Sleep Spell ♠️
What you'll need:
- Bloodstone
- Selenite
- An organza bag
- White candle
- Your sleepy self
Light your white candle by your bedside. Place your bloodstone under it.
Kneel or sit before it, passing or waving your selenite around your shoulders, chest, and head.
Close your eyes as you do so and whisper, "drawing out the energy, here I am cleansing me, ridding me of energy, so I can have the soundest sleep." four times.
Open your eyes.
Put your selenite down just under your candle and pick up your bloodstone.
Hold it in your hands, close your eyes again, and breathe. 8 in, 4 hold, 8 out. Try to lengthen this if you can do. Do this at least twelve times.
Open your eyes.
Plant a kiss on your bloodstone and wish for it to aid your sleep and dreams.
Put your selenite and bloodstone in your organza bag and place this inside your pillow.
Once you're ready to sleep, blow out your candle, and whisper goodnight to the universe.
For this first #HoodooHeritageMonth, we are laying out days to honor our Spirits and our High Ancestors.
From here forward, the third Thursday of October shall be set aside to honor High John the Conqueror (John de Konker), the spirit of freedom and liberation for our people.
Got My Mojo Working Muddy Waters full version newport jazz
“Here is the beloved blues musician Muddy Waters in a live performance, singing “Got My Mojo Working” at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1960.In early blues music history, many balked at it calling it “the devil’s music” because while it was secular music, it documented through its lyrics the power and the mystery around rootwork in the Hoodoo tradition, which many religious Christian Black people were indoctrinated into fearing by religious whites. Efforts to subdue the genre were obviously unsuccessful. Hoodoo history is well represented in Black American music, with the blues at the forefront.”
Tuesday, October 8, 2019
The main event of the day is, of course, the ingress of Venus into Scorpio. This isn’t exactly the Love Goddess’ favorite place to be, thanks to the intensity of the sign. Remember that Venus rules the sign opposite Scorpio, Taurus, which is a placid and calm. (Okay, 95% of the time they’re placid and calm.) From now until November 1, all of the Venus-type activities - making money, making love, being artistic, making ourselves prettier - all will suddenly become much more intense and serious. Sort of a big-time “truth or dare” type of Venus. Be careful about being “dared” into committing more than you really are able to. The other event of the day is the 22-ish hour long void Moon in Aquarius. Expect the computers and cell phones and so forth, to glitch up now and then.
What’s happening when:
- Lunar Phase: First Quarter (take action, build new structures)
- Moon/Aquarius
- Transiting Venus enters Scorpio, 11:06 am MDT
- Moon/Aquarius void of course, 12:27 pm MDT
- Mars/Libra opposite Chiron Rx/Aries, 6:33 pm MDT
- Ceres/Sagittarius square Neptune Rx/Pisces, 8:24 pm MDT
Looking ahead to Wednesday: bumpy hump day
(Please note that MDT is six hours behind UT.)
hello! do you have any spells on confidence? (or protection in that manner)? thank you so much
Here is a basic confidence spell, a confidence jar, a self-love jar, a sigil for confidence, confidence in speaking jar, candle spell for confidence, and a glamour and beauty spell if that’s more what you’re after. As for protection spells - here’s a protection spell masterpost that’s worth picking through to see if there’s something that works for your specific needs.
Crafting Beginner Spells 🕯
A question I am frequently asked is, “do you have any good ‘beginner spells’ for X purpose?”
What this says to me is, “do you have any spells that require minimal ingredients and supplies?”
As a beginner, you may not have access to a ton of ingredients or supplies and that’s fine! This post will provide some tips on how to craft spells using what you have.
First thing’s first - effort. All spells require some kind of effort. You cannot throw a bunch of ingredients together without some kind of adjunct to help it along. My long lived example is “you can’t plug your phone into the charger and expect it to charge without plugging it into the wall, too.” Intent is important, but it is not everything.
Please refer to this post for suggestions on how to charge and program your items: Cleansing & Charging Items
Moving right along - actual tips for crafting spells as a beginner witch.
- Know & understand the formula for writing a spell - this includes identifying your intent, collecting the appropriate ingredients, figuring out the best way to combine those ingredients, and how to actually cast the spell. Learn to ground yourself prior to a spell, to gather energy, and to direct that energy into your spell. This is the adjunct I mentioned above that goes along with combining ingredients.
- Read & learn - write down correspondences for various intentions so that when it comes down to actually making a spell, you know which items will go together and work well with each other. You don’t need a high quality leather bound grimoire to take notes - that old notebook from middle school will work just fine. You can also take notes on your phone or your computer - there are lots of apps and programs you can download for ease of use and easy access. I personally use OneNote because it syncs across all of my devices and it’s very user friendly/easy to organize with tabs, sections, etc.
- Timing - learn about timing and what is appropriate for the spell you wish you cast; timing includes working with different times of day, weekdays, seasons, lunar phases, and other astrological/astronomical placements.
- Use what you have - raid your kitchen, your pantry, that collection of rocks from when you were a little kid; you don’t need fancy stuff from a metaphysical shop to craft a basic spell.
- Keep a record of what you’ve done - this will help you figure out what works, what doesn’t, and what you can improve on in the future.
- Rework & Reuse - if you’re hellbent on doing a jar spell but don’t have a fresh clean jar, find one; that empty jar of pickles or pasta sauce in the fridge? Clean it and use it! Can’t find a jar anywhere in your house? Use an envelope. Use a ziploc bag. Use an empty pill bottle. Use a small cardboard box.
- Improvise - if you’ve found a pre-written spell that calls for ingredients you know you don’t have, find ingredients that you do have that will serve the same purpose; this isn’t to say that you can substitute one thing for another just because you want to - you have to find substitutions that will actually work to serve the purpose you need them for.
- Forage - use items found in nature to craft your spells; no, that doesn’t mean go pick every single random flower and herb you find (because touching plants you can’t identify can be harmful to your health), and it also doesn’t mean you need to trespass to do so (because that’s illegal), but if someone close to you has a garden and needs to get rid of some herbs or flowers, by all means, ask if you can take them off their hands. If you do this, make sure you know what you’re harvesting in order to use it properly to get the results you want. Have a green thumb? Plant and use your own herbs! The same applies to collecting various waters to use for your spells - moon water, storm water, rain water, ocean/sea water, etc., to name a few.
- Go grocery shopping - check the “ethnic” aisle of your local grocery store because they usually have packs of herbs for sale for super cheap; you can also find herb mixtures that can serve a variety of purposes depending upon what you plan to do (Common Kitchen Herbs); find loose leaf tea to use for spells that call for various herbs; alternatively, some stores have bulk herbs you can package up and weigh out and get them for cheaper than what you’d buy a pre-jarred bottle of herbs for. Lastly, you can find fresh herbs that are meant to plant in your own pot at home, and fresh herbs that are pre-cut and packaged in the produce aisle, which you can dry at home if you wish. I’ve also found 7-day candles at my local grocery store for like, $2 that can be great for spells.
- DIY - many popular ingredients that are used in witchcraft (such as flying devil oil, four thieves vinegar, etc.) can be made at home using ingredients you can find for cheap at the grocery store, or by using stuff you already have at home. This also applies to things like fruit peels - have some oranges, lemons, limes, etc., that are about to go bad? Zest those suckers, dry them, and use them for spells.
- Dollar Store - if you’re in a bind, the Dollar Store has a decent selection of cheap candles, tea lights, and dishes that can be used for spellwork.
Other Helpful Links:
What do boundaries feel like?
- It is not my job to fix others.
- It is okay if others get angry.
- It is okay to say no.
- It is not my job to take responsibility for others.
- I do not have to anticipate the needs of others.
- It is my job to make me happy.
- No one has to agree with me.
- I have a right to my own feelings.
- I am enough.
Etiquette When Receiving Free Divination Readings
Free readings are one of the best parts of being in the witchy community. A diviner gets to hone their skills, and you get an answer from the universe on that little problem of yours. That being said, there is some basic etiquette involved, and having offered and received free readings many times myself, I figured it couldn’t hurt to make a little PSA. So here is a step-by-step on How To Not Piss Off Your Diviner ^_^
1) Preface by saying “If you are still doing free readings”. This gives the diviner the option to deny your request because they received more than expected, or you sent your message after they closed.
2) Don’t tell them your life story, and asking for a general reading is fine! If your boyfriend Tim told his friend that he was worried about you talking to Steve but you were just asking about homework and it seems like Tim doesn’t want to make this work–Stop. “What can I do to improve my relationship?” is just fine.
Example Request: Hello! If you are still doing free readings, I would like one please. I’m up for a promotion at work, what can I do to make my skills shine? Thank you for your time!
3) Give them time. Divining is draining, it can take days to shuffle through a stack of asks, and tbh sometimes we don’t get to every single one. Life happens. If you need a prompt reading, consider paying for one.
4) Give feedback. Let your diviner know if their reading helped you, or if it seemed to be a little off the mark.
Example Feedback: Thanks so much for the reading! I think I know what the cards were talking about, I’ve been fighting with my Dad lately. I suppose I’ll have to try and talk to him. Thanks again!
5) Consider a tip, or becoming a repeat customer. Many who do free readings will gladly accept tips, and some read professionally as well. If you think their reading was good(meaning skilled, not necessarily good news), maybe go back to them next time you need some help and pay them for a more in-depth reading.
6) Say please and thank you! They are giving their time a services to you, free of charge. Respect the craft and respect your diviner.