7 Jun 23

We All Come From the Goddess: Wicca and Goddess Worship

This is a tldr; post explaining how I came to be where I am in my practice and how my beliefs may or may not align with traditional Wiccan based practices and beliefs.

I am a solitary practitioner. I did spend some time with a coven and several working groups throughout the years, but my practice has largely been solitary for the last two and a half decades. This has left me very open to exploring whatever struck my fancy, and to figure out what worked for me and what didn’t.

Exploring Dianic Witchcraft

One of the things that I explored, especially in the early 2000s, was Dianic Wicca/Witchcraft and a Goddess focused spirituality. There were parts of Dianic Wicca that really resonated with me and worked for me. However, there were also things that were, to me, as biased as traditional Wicca’s assignment of ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ to energies and its’ insistence on balance.

I am a woman – biologically, psychologically, and energetically. I, also, like many other witches, want my practice and my spirituality to exist on my terms. So, I had to figure out what those terms were and what I do or do not believe.

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4 Jun 23

What is Wicca?

I don’t consider myself an expert on what is or what isn’t Wicca or what you should or shouldn’t do in your own practice. I do however consider myself to be Wiccan, though of a solitary, eclectic slant, and have since 1997. I am constantly examining my beliefs and practices, and really believe that is one of the core tenants of Wiccan beliefs and witchcraft in general – to discover what you believe and why you believe it. So, this is my current understanding of what it means to be Wiccan.

At its heart, Wicca is a religion and it is loosely defined by Principles of Wiccan Belief as set down by a group called the American Council of Witches in 1973/1974. While there are many people who claim traditions or lineages that go back however long, officially Gerald Gardner is considered to be the father/founder of the current religion of Wicca. Following the 1951 repeal of Britain’s archaic witchcraft laws, Gardner published Witchcraft Today (1954), founded his first coven of followers, and, with the assistance of high priestess Doreen Valiente (1922–99), developed what became known as Gardnerian Wicca. During the 1960’s and 70’s, following the civil unrest and social revolutions that were happening in the US, Wicca started to develop a following in the US.

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birthday cake
31 May 23

Birthstones & Birth Month Flowers

It’s my birthday, so today I’m posting some birthday correspondences – gems, flowers, colors. You can also check out our information about the astrological signs. These can be used as taglocks or correspondences in spells, or to tap into seasonal energies. The cool thing about the flower correspondences, for example, is that they all bloom in their corresponding months. Isn’t that cool?

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28 May 23

Uses of Incense

So, lots of incense falls under the category of “herbs” in magical workings, just that the method of use is burning, specifically. I see the difference as one of purpose as well. In my opinion, incense, whether resins, herbs, woods, are used to set the overall intention and ‘mood’ of the ritual or spell. “Herbs” are more the functional part of the ritual or spell. You may have a different distinction, or none at all.

Here are some of the incenses that I currently have in stock, and their purposes:

Benzoin – Purification, Prosperity

Chocolate – Love, Romance, Grounding, Prosperity

Cinnamon – Spirituality, Success, Healing, Protection, Power, Psychic Powers, Love, Lust

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24 May 23

Symbols for Amulets, Charms and More

These symbols can be very useful in creating spells, bindrunes and sigils. You can also use them in your journalling or other spell creation. You can even use them to study (print out the astrological signs – make sure you can recognize them, and then list some of the facts that you remember [dates, color, ruler, etc]).

This post is a work in progress, and probably always will be. It serves as an index of symbols and ideas that you can use in your magic and your book of shadows that serve as a sort of short hand that has been developed from astrology and alchemy and modern Wicca, You can use it as a starting point for your own book of shadows, and I will add to it, as I think of new sections.

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21 May 23

All My Love to You, Poppet

Ok, so the image accompanying this post is a ‘voodoo doll,’ but it amused me, and it is technically a poppet.

While I was aware of them, my first real introduction to working with poppets was in a 2000 dracona.net class POPPETS, POTIONS, AND AMULETS taught by Yvonne. I am a crafty girl, and this kind of sympathetic magic seemed right up my alley. I really enjoyed working with them and have used different types and different representations over the years. This was just the first and was a very memorable tool.

Here is my journal post about the working that I shared with the class/group:

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17 May 23

Symbols & Sympathetic Magic

Sympathetic magic can also be referred to as representational magic. It is basically, using one thing in place of another, or as a representation of the target of your magic. Poppets are a sympathetic representation of a person. Candles are a representation of the element of fire. It is like a shorthand of our magical intent, using representations of the energies and targets of our spells.

There are many symbols which can be made or used to symbolize your target or intent in magic. These could be as simple as sketching a rune on a candle, or creating a bindrune, or using an image of a shield in a protection working. You might create a money bowl to draw money, using currency bills and coins, herbs that represent abundance and prosperity, a drawing oil with gold flakes in it. These are all symbols of the magic that you want to manifest.

First a disclaimer: Nothing is required in Witchcraft. You don’t need big extensive piles of supplies or tools, you just need (to be) a witch. That being said, physical representations of your intent can help aid you in your magic. That doesn’t mean that you should go out and spend $$$ on witchcraft tools and supplies. It means you look around and find those symbols, those associations, that mean something to you and help you to accomplish your goals. You use only what you find you need to make your magic work.

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14 May 23

“Clean up your own mess” – Practical Magic

Ok, I love the movie Practical Magic, and the sassy dialogue, but this statement, “Clean up your own mess.” is actually a very important part of working magic – on both a spiritual and mundane level. Whether you agree with me and like this movie or not, there are two very, very important lessons that you can take away from it. The first is take responsibility for the situations that you create, through action or inaction, and deal with the consequences of your actions (or lack thereof).

In the movie, the aunts [Bridget (Jet) and Frances (Frannie)], deliver this very important lesson of responsibility (“Clean up your own mess”) via Antonia (Sally’s daughter). They have left unexpectedly, after making sure that the youngest girls have some protection, to make sure that the lesson becomes clear. They don’t leave forever. In fact, they come back and are pivotal in the resolution. They act like experienced elders, like gods and goddesses, like mentors that say, “I’m done holding your hand. You did this. Now, fix it.”

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10 May 23

Me and My Shadow

My birthday is coming up in two weeks, so it is a good time for introspection. It is also, like any time of transition, a good chance to look at ‘where am I?’, ‘how did I get here?’, and ‘where do I want to go from here?’. An honest approach to these questions is a good basis for beginning shadow work.

I’m an introvert, so naturally, hanging out in your own head is not all there is to shadow work. Shadow work is about facing those pieces and sides of yourself that you may not want to look at, or even admit exist. It’s about bringing those things into the light, and acknowledging that they exist. It’s about facing your issues, your problems, your biases, and actually doing something about them. Yeah, that doesn’t really sound like fun. It’s not. However, it’s one of those things that you’ll be thankful for later – kind of like lancing and draining a really painful boil.

It is however, something that, hopefully, you will have someone to talk and work through with you. An experienced elder that you trust and/or a licensed therapist are great (and some would say necessary) companions on this journey, especially if you have trauma in your past, as many of us do. As someone who has faced repressed trauma and the psychological aftermath more than once, I entreat you to please have a support system in place before you begin shadow work. If you are a solitary practitioner with no spiritual or mundane support, shadow work is not a necessary component to your practice.

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7 May 23

Working with the Elements

A simple way to begin working with the elements, is to practice invoking and banishing them. You can do this one at a time, if you want to meditate on the qualities and feel of a specific element. Or, you can call all of the elements as a part of a circle casting. I use these simple invocations as a basis for the invocations that I use in ritual, because they are easy to learn, and easy to adapt for future workings and purposes.

My calls begin with Air in the North; if your traditions are different, you can easily move them around to suit your practices. You can also easily change the qualities of each element that you wish to call upon. These calls are meant to get you in the practice of calling and releasing the elements. You can next practice on adapting these basic calls to more complicated ones.

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