Recent Posts

1

Witchcraft & Wicca 101 - The Basics of the Craft / Re: Getting Started

« Last post by Raven on March 27, 2023, 10:07:08 AM »

WORKING WITH CRYSTALS 💎

The 6-sided structure of Quartz holds an electrical charge that can be coded to radiate healing energy, maintain an intention, or to transmit information. Different minerals are associated with specific benefits & a few are listed here. The simplest way to use a stone is by it's color. The 7 rainbow colors of the visible light spectrum relate to the 7 vital energy centers of the body (called chakras) that support various Life functions. A stone of the appropriate color can be programmed to influence the chakra of the same color & purpose. The stone is placed at the chakra area, worn as jewelry or carried in a pocket or held & stroked during meditation.

To program a crystal it should be held in your hands & stroked to stir the energy. Stones aren’t big on conversation, so phrase the intent using only a few words to convey the instruction. As with setting intent into a spell you would know it in your gut & push this knowing into the stone. Any stone will hold this "charge" until something else pushes it out & quartz crystal is very receptive.

We can clear stones of their prior programming before re-use by simply placing them on the ground, or on a bed of cleansing herbs like mixed 🌿sage & a few pinches of🧂dry salt, or holding stones in flowing 🚰 water. Soft stones like selenite & kyanite can be damaged by water & iron rusts, so be careful. Stones with high copper (malachite) or mercury (cinnabar) content can be toxic so avoid placing them in the water for stone elixirs. Place them alongside the cup.

Elixirs are one way to take the energy within yourself. Water has memory & can also be programmed with intent. Place a washed stone of the desired influence in a glass of water, charge with the intent, & set it in sun- or moon-light at least 15 minutes. Remove the stone before drinking the water! 🥴
✳️ See The Hidden Messages of Water by Masaru Emoto. https://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Messages- ... 0743289803.

To use stones for meditation - sit quietly while stroking the stone or laying down with the stone resting on the relevant chakra. Placing 7 appropriately colored stones at the 7 chakras in color sequence would align our energy body with the physical body for healings.

Combining stones with herbs in pouches & placing crystals in geometric grid layouts can be used for spell casting. Crystals & stones can be rolled like dice & the combinations can be read for divination by using their properties as metaphorical guidelines.

Use a pendulum to determine if an ordinary stone is solar or lunar oriented. The Sun’s cycle repeats daily so use solar stones for a quick turn around & overcoming obstacles. The Moon’s cycle repeats monthly so use lunar stones for long term matters.

Crystal Color Uses
(Ref. Inner Light Resources, Crystal chart)

Crown -White or Violet - apophyllite, danburite, quartz, kunzite - Divine connection, higher self ⚪️🟪
Brow - Purple - amethyst, charoite, purple fluorite, sugilite - psychic vision, spirituality 🟪
Throat - Blue - lapis, turquoise, sodalite - communication, all body areas 🟦
Heart - Green - aventurine, bloodstone, jade, green quartz - abundance, life-giving, love 🟩
Stomach - Yellow - calcite, citrine, yellow jasper, tigers eye - intuitive-clarity, self-confidence 🟨
Belly button - Orange - aragonite, carnelian, gold-stone - rejuvenation, tenacity, passions 🟧
Groin - Red - blood-stone, garnet, jasper, hematite - sex, stamina, grounding 🟥

2

Witchcraft & Wicca 101 - The Basics of the Craft / Re: Getting Started

« Last post by Raven on March 27, 2023, 10:06:10 AM »

ANIMAL GUIDES AND FAMILIARS

There has been quite a lot of fictional pop-culture romanticism on the subject of familiars that has lead to fanciful misperceptions. Concepts of animal spirit guides come from the reconstructed paths of indigenous cultures. They are not pets.

The concept of familiar spirits comes from witchcraft trial records from the mid-1300-1800s. They were either the Fae working on the witch's behalf or were ancestral deceased spirits handed down over generations through a family. They are not pets.

Historical reports of animal shapes were believed to have been the visible astral-shapes taken by the witch themselves during out-of-body travel & the shapes most often recorded were described as resembling a hare or mouse. Additionally toads were kept for their bufadienolides secretion used in flying ointment.

Cats 🐯 are naturally stealthy hunters & controlled vermin so made good pets. Dogs 🐺 herded stock animals, protected their home &'made good pets. Parrots🦜 are very intelligent &' sailors brought them home as pets. ✳️ Studies of historical records of familiars can be found in the writings of anthropologists Carlo Ginzburg’s Ecstacies https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecstasies_(book) & Emma Wilby’s Cunning Folk & Familiar Spirits. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cunning_F ... ar_Spirits

Animals can naturally hear different energy frequencies than their human friends & have a better sense of smell. They notice their human's chemical changes & can feel incoming weather changes. A familiar relationship places a heavy burden on an animal. Our domestic pet buddies will naturally be interested in the energies we manipulate in magical practice & we're wise to observe their behaviors that can alert us to danger. This doesn't make them familiars in the historical meaning of the word. If life were a Disney movie then every beloved household pet would qualify as a familiar. There are many true stories of family pets alerting their human companions to danger that saved lives.

.

3

Witchcraft & Wicca 101 - The Basics of the Craft / Re: Getting Started

« Last post by Raven on March 27, 2023, 10:05:13 AM »

Develop the basic skills of centering, focusing, and projecting Energy. Just speaking an incantation is not a spell. We have to feel it & focus the mind on the goal, not the need.

. Incantations tell energy what to do so say the results you want and not what you don't want. Rhyme aids memory & is fun but not required. Words seal our intention into the etheric realm where the magic happens. Repetition adds strength.

. Setting intention into a spell, aka "charging a spell" is like load-aim-shoot: load - pull power on your breath to the belly, aim - think of the goal & shoot - push power from the belly thru the hands 🙌🏽 & into the spell.

Supplies
(-) passive energy pacifies conditions
💦 - Water -🍷potion cup or bowl, H2O cleanses
🪨 - Earth -🧂Salt purifies, 🌱herbs & 💎stones hold & condense

(+) active energy activates conditions
☁️ - Air -🥢 incense + holder, or aerosol mist, use to bless
🔥 - Fire -🕯candles + holders, 🪔bowl, matches;⚱️Olive Oil holds a psychic charge⚡️

Set-Up
. Altar - place the pacifying(-) water & earth symbols on left side and activating(+) air & fire to the right side & like a battery’s poles they make energy GO.

🪴

🍸🧂💎. . 🕯🥢🪔

📝
Procedure
. Know your goal & whether the spell will attract or repel; choose the method & ingredients to support these.
. Herb, incense, oil uses: 🌸sweet love/peace, 🍋citrusy-purifying, 🌶spicy-protection, 🌲forest-prosperity & cleanse
. Color general uses: 🔴🟠 stimulate, 🟡🟢 sustain, 🔵🟣 relax conditions
. Colors intent: ⚪️All-purpose, ⚫️protection, 🔴vitality, 🟠Will-power, 🟡mentalism, 🟢well being, 🔵spirituality, 🟣mysticism
. Incantations tell power what to do - say only what you want results to be; rhyme aids memory and repetition adds strength
. Timing - waxing🌓attracting, full🌕fulfillment, waning🌗banishing; liminal hours of dawn-beginnings, noon-fulfillment, dusk-endings are “between” day & nite so are times of power
. Charging sets intention: breath holds power, load - draw power on the breath to the belly; aim - think of the goal; shoot - push from the belly & out your hands 🙌🏽

Spell Methods
. 🍾Bottle/jar for protection - add rusty nails, bent pins, salt, tangled thread, tin foil confetti to deflect harm, vinegar; 🙌🏽 to protect; bury at door; OR as a wish spell - add herbs, stones, charms, ribbons, petition, sigil, 🙌🏽 charge intention & place on altar.
. 🕯 Candle - dab a candle with oil to hold the psychic charge & 🙌🏽 set intent while repeating your incantation; set it in a holder & light; let it burn completely out; discard stubs 🚮; birthday candles burn 15 min., dinner tapers @ an inch an hour, chimes @90 min, tealites thin @2 hrs & thick @8hr, votives @10-15 hr.
. 🗣 Chanting - rhythmic reciting of a verse during repetitive motion like swinging, walking, or sweeping induces light trance & aids changing conditions.
. 🪢 Cord/9-knot - tie 1 knot in twine per each line of the rhyme -“By knot 1 the spell’s begun, by knot 2 it comes true, by knot 3 so it shall be, by knot 4 power is stored, by knot 5 the spell’s alive, by knot 6 the spell is fixed, by knot 7 it is given, by knot 8 it is fate, by knot 9 X is mine.” Undo the knots at a liminal hour to free their power. Note - a binding spell is not untied but is burned/buried.
. ✳️ Mandala coloring books - focus on the goal while coloring; 🙌🏽 charge & shred the finished spell at a liminal hour to release the power; use for templates in stone grids
. 📝 Petition - write a goal on a small square of paper. Turn the paper 1/4 turn & overwrite the goal with the recipient’s name or initials & birthdate, turn the paper again 1/4 turn & overwrite all with your signature. What is over dominates what is under. Add petitions to any other spell.
. 🍶Potion - cover herbs of properties supporting the goal with water, simmer to reduce liquid by half; cool-strain-bottle it & label it; 🙌🏽 charge with intent; use liquid in place of oils, as aerosol & as hand wash.
. 💌 Pouch/Sachet - add herbs, trinkets & stones to a pouch; charge 🙌🏽; carryin a pocket or place under pillow during sleep.
. 🔡 Sigil - write the goal, cross out vowels & duplicte letters; make an artsy hieroglyph of the remaining letters, draw a circle around it and ✂️ cut it out. Anoint and charge 🙌🏽 with intent. If the sigil is the whole spell itself then burn or shred the paper at a liminal hour to release the power, otherwise add sigil designs to any other spell.
. ✴️ Stone “grid” layouts - lay stones or flowers 🌺 & leaves 🍃 in designs to radiate the goal outward; 🙌🏽 charge with intent; use printed mandalas as grid templates
. 🪨 Stone stroking - is used to induce light trance. Sit & sway side-to-side while stroking a smooth stone & chant your incantation. Use your dominant hand to stroke with. It doesn’t matter what minerals a stone is made of, just that it’s comfy to hold & rub.

4

Witchcraft & Wicca 101 - The Basics of the Craft / Re: Getting Started

« Last post by Raven on March 27, 2023, 10:04:04 AM »

The days of power vary by traditions. Not all standard 8 Sabbats have to be observed. We are free to choose to observe the dates that best enhance and express living in unity with our location & to not rigidly follow a calendar. It is customary to cast a full ritual circle & to welcome the Powers as part of the observance, as well as feasting and song & dance. Solitaires might consider sharing their abundance with pets & wild life.

The so-called lesser days are when the seasonal power is beginning. These solar dates are the ☀️summer solstice and winter solstice (Yule ❄️ - when the God is born.) The Sun appears as if it crosses the Earth's equator, lengthening or shortening daylight hours; and the spring and autumn equinoxes when day and night hours are ⚖️ equal. Sunrise & sunset are the liminal, magical times between one season and the next. Times of transition summon power. It takes a bit over 365 days for the Earth to circle the Sun so the dates vary from the 20th to 23rd of every December, March, June and September.

The greater days are when the season's energies crest. The more familiar themes are Celtic. The dates are 🎃 October 31/November 1, 🦔🕯February 1-2, 🌺 April 30/May 1, 🍞 July 31/August 1. Midnight is the magic hour, the crest of the wave when the natural force breaks free.

🎃All-Hallows-November Eve is the end of the old year & beginning of the new. Time & space return to their primordial state "between" & await regeneration. The veil between worlds is thin. The Lord of the Wild Hunt rides the night collecting souls of the departed. Death in the physical world is rebirth into the Otherworld. Imbolc-🦔Groundhog Day-🕯Candlemas are names for the February fire festival of light & renewal when the youthful Goddess emerges from winter retirement & the earth regenerates. Death in the Otherworld is rebirth into the physical world. Two main themes run through the Craft: the sacred marriage between Goddess and God on 🌺Beltane-May Eve which bestows fertility & abundance upon the Earth and hence upon the people; and the 1st harvest as a sacrifice of the God as Green Man (John Barleycorn) on 🍞Lammas-Loafmas-August Eve when the grain harvest begins & He is celebrated with sacred mead 🍻. His death manifests the annual cycle of life-death-rebirth. Just 2 concepts: fertility🐇 and death☠️, and if you understand these in relationship to each other then you will understand the Wheel of the Year as everything dances around these two concepts.

Full Moons called Esbats occur every 29.5 days; it takes the moon 28 days to go around the earth, and another day & a half to get out of the Earth's shadow (because the Earth moves too) whence the Earth can reflect the sunlight that fully illuminates the Moon. The Moon's pull affects ocean tides, tree sap rising and falling, female menstrual cycles & male testosterone. It is a very real force. The waxing-day-before full, day-of-full, and waning-day-after-full have greatest strength. Use waxing for attractions & increase, Full for fulfillment, & waning for banishings & decrease. There are 12 full Moon's annually & approximately every 3rd year there will be 1 month that will hold 2 Full Moons within the same calendar month. The 2nd moon is popularly called a "blue moon" & is considered double-lunar power. Occasional Lunar eclipses are quickening with a full month’s lunar cycle passing in a few hours.

5

Witchcraft & Wicca 101 - The Basics of the Craft / Re: Getting Started

« Last post by Raven on March 27, 2023, 10:02:58 AM »

CASTING A CIRCLE 💫

Excerpt from Raymond Buckland, YouTube “Witchcraft Yesterday and Today.” Pt 4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xV8u1R7H1Uk

What does it mean to cast a circle and how do you do it? Essentially, casting a circle connects us to the Earth, our primary energy source. A circle can also symbolize the Cosmos & the Earth wherein Magic is made.

The basic idea is to cleanse space by sprinkling salted water 🔄 & introduce pacifying earth & water elements, then bless with smoldering incense & introduce activating air & fire elements. Draw power on the breath to load, aim & shoot energy through 🗡 or 🪄to form a circle ↩️.

The 4 elements are called in sequence by density - moving from least to most dense: E-Air, S-Fire, W-Water, N-Earth to build a symbolic temple 🏛 & move the temple from the thought-plane & into the physical realm.

Do what you came for:
. Work in partnership with Deity (or familiar-spirits) to spell craft. Random spirits are not invited into the circle.
. Honor Nature by observing full moons & seasonal holidays; & honor the partnership with a shared cakes & ale meal offering.

Wrap-up & finish:
. Farewell the deities & release the 4 powers in reverse order (N-W-S-E)
. Ground your own residual energy for stability.

Should we always cast a circle? A circle connects us to the Earth, our power-source & supports magical efforts. It also unites us with the three realms, aiding travel between realms. You can decide when it's to your benefit to use it.

Do we "let in any bad energy" by not casting? A circle keeps out contaminants, which are natural frequencies & random emotional energies that might conflict with our intention like interfering radio waves crossing a station & scrambling the message. We live with these natural energies daily & don't want them skewing our magical pitch.

We should have all the necessary spell items present & set up the altar before casting circle. It interrupts the continuity to break the circle to retrieve forgotten items but, when needed, we can cut a door in the circle with the athame or lay the wand, staff or broom as a threshold to step across so the circle isn't broken.


IF YOU PREFER A SIMPLER METHOD

Folk Magic Sacred Space

Easy Ritual
🎃All Hallows’ - 🕯Candlemas - 🌷May Eve - 🍞Loafmas -🌛🌝🌜
. Go outside before the rite to greet the Genius Loci (spirit of the place) with a friendship offering - 🍞💦🍓
. Indoors or out, place gear inside planned workspace; start & end each pass at N
. 🧹sweep a circular 🔄 space, light🥢incense, point-&-push 👉🏼 💫↩️
. Optional- nod-a-greeting to the 4 directions & to divinity ✋🏽on❤️
. On holidays reflect on seasonal 🍃🍂 changes; on full moons meditate & absorb the Moon light &/or do spells
. Farewell all you’ve greeted; the circle dissipates when walked through


LAYING THE COMPASS
A Traditional Witchcraft method of creating sacred space

There are folkloric Witchcraft methods to prepare a liminal area (a place between) in which to work, and I think beginners should know multiple ways of doing things. I've borrowed some procedures from Welshman, Peter Paddon's “Grimoire for Modern Cunning Folk”.

When working outdoors there is no consecration as the Land itself is sacred. There are no words to say or altar table to set up, but have a bottle of water 💦, some bread 🥐, & a cauldron with kindling & lighter set in the middle of your space. (Another tradition replaces open flame with a hearth stone 🧱). The broom handle 🧹or forked Y Stang is used to trace the compass (circle). Walk 🔄 WIDDERSHINS to stir & summon the earth energy. This is Gaia’s energy & is drawn through the staff as a go-between Earth & body, resembling a caduceus. As with any circle, you are uniting the realms of cosmic-above, mid-earth and under-world below in a sacred space between.

Hold the staff in the left hand (left being the receptive hand & linked to the underworld and Sacred Land) which will put you outside the circle. Start at North & walk 🔄 widdershins; drag the staff pressing down lightly as if to plow a furrow into the EARTH 🪨. Visualize the staff stirring and drawing up the vibrant, 🐍 serpent-like land forces as you make 3 passes to draw the compass.

Make a 🐍 serpent's hissing sound to induce light trance as you walk, deep breathing to hiss AIR 💨

To enter the compass without breaking the circle, lay the staff cross-wise as a threshold to step across & then retrieve the staff. Stand it up in a prepared hole at the center of the compass to mark the place where the three worlds & the 4 compass directions meet at the "cross roads". The staff stands as the axis-mundi, the center of the world. *️⃣

Rinse your hands and face with some of the WATER 💦.

Light the FIRE 🔥 in your cauldron in the center.

The compass is made. The elements are present. It's appropriate to call a familiar spirit or ancestor spirit to share the rite. Use your own words to invite The Old Ones.

Paddon's Welsh custom is to pay a token coin to the Land Spirits in exchange for the use of the Sacred Land. Just flip a coin of any denomination over your shoulder and leave it there. State the purpose for which you've laid down the compass & then proceed with that purpose.

Then, after you've completed what you came for, offer thanks by breaking bread. Eat & drink half. Place the rest of the bread & pour water directly on the ground for the earth-spirits to partake.

When you are finished you ground the residual energy. If you invited anyone be sure to thank & farewell them. Leave the coin & food offerings on the earth. Gather up your belongings & walk away. It's polite to not look back so the land-spirits can have their share in peace.

The traditional tools are a Stang Y for the Horned God 🤘🏼, a libation Cup 🍷 for the Goddess, a cauldron used as a fire-pot (or hearth-stone) & your personal Measure cord is worn. The four direction's of the elemental associations vary by region. A common set are Air-White-North, Fire-red-East, Earth-black-South, Water-gray-West.

The concept of the "World Tree" defines the 3 realms of our world. It is symbolized by a staff or broomstick. The top branches of a tree represents the upper cosmic realm home of Divinity and our links to the divine within ourselves. The tree trunk represents the middle realms of daily life, all Nature & earth beings. The roots represent the underworld, the dead, the Fae and unseen, serpentine Earth forces of life-essence. Witches ascend or descend the tree (fly their broomstick) between worlds as they navigate levels of consciousness that can manifest as spirit travel.

At Gobekli-Tepe in Turkey (ancient ritual site with multiple stone circles dating back to about 11,000 BCE) the circle was oriented to the star Deneb in the constellation Cygnus, which was located in the "crotch" of a divide in an arm of our Milky Way galaxy & around which the night sky appeared to rotate. A holed-stone marked the northern altar & may have symbolized the birth channel of the Primordial Mother Goddess who birthed all that is & through which souls pass in birth and death.

It could be said that our earliest perceptions of deity derive from man's observations of the sky & earth. During the 1300-year ice age that followed a cataclysmic comet strike in North America, surviving mankind hunted by following the migrations of deer herds. 🦌Reindeer may be the earliest concept of a Horned God/dess - both genders of reindeer have horns. There are indications that the earliest forms of agriculture were first developed at Gobekli Tepi as the site was assumed to have been built by hunter-gatherers & the long-term work force & pilgrims had to be fed. It was 1000 years after the comet strike that Gobekl Tepi was deliberately buried and not seen again until the 1990’s CE. At the northern latitudes the wild forest re-emerged from what had been turned to charcoal by the comet. It brought forth the Forest Lord (the Elder) and the further development & spread of agriculture brought The Lord of the Corn (the Younger). Always and ever-present has been the geo-centric life-force pulsing from the Earth's core & writhing 🐍 serpent-like throughout the planet as if chasing the ☀️ Sun. These forces are recognized in regional-traditional witchcraft practices today.

6

Witchcraft & Wicca 101 - The Basics of the Craft / Re: Getting Started

« Last post by Raven on March 27, 2023, 10:01:32 AM »

ALTARS AND TOOLS

Altars are meeting places between the mundane and the sacred. The divine speaks to us in symbols so we use symbols to say what we feel or what we want.

A Wiccan altar uses tools & gear to represent the Goddess & God plus the land, sea & sky, & fire. How You do this as a solitaire witch is flexible. There is no rule that solitary altars have to copy the ceremonial-magician’s. Use any candles as the “luminary" altar lights. LED-candles are OK because a battery’s electricity is the Fire element & the visual symbolism is obvious. It's OK to replace incense smoke with another Air/vapor element symbol such as aerosol mist or reed oil diffuser for scent. A bell’s sound also serves. It's Ok to substitute some other pointer for a knife or wand - perhaps a laser pointer. Tools are symbols and have only the power we give them.

The benefit of using tools IS their symbolism for directing our thoughts. Ritual puts us in an altered state of consciousness & just holding a pointer in the hand makes the mind-eye-hand-energy connection. Aromas deliver messages quickly to the brain.

Do we need an altar? Realistically, of course not. Worship is of the heart & magic is of the mind. An altar is also a workspace & table. What we place on it are symbols. Magic works with Nature so we use symbols of the Elements that manifest Nature.
. Nature's forms of matter are ☁️ Sky-Air=vapor, 🌊 Sea-Water=liquids, 🪨 Land-Earth=solids, 🔥Fire=plasma, ✨ Aether=un-manifest energy. Some witches call the aetheric “spirit” which should not be confused with “a” spirit or the Biblical Holy Spirit as aether has no will of it’s own. The Elements are forms of matter that manifest our intentions.

Where do we get magical tools? For centuries witches have made their own tools & repurposed Nature-finds & household items. Today we can shop thrift stores, variety & sporting goods, as well as “witchy” new-age stores, on-line sites, and attend local Pagan fairs.

What can be used for an altar &' what size should it be? In ceremonial magic (and churches) the table dimensions measure equal to the size of 2 cubes about waist high to symbolize the Earth & cosmos. Solitary witches can use what we have, and furniture with drawer space is great, or a portable tray or folding table, or spread a cloth over a box for height or flat on the floor. Out-doors the Earth itself is sacred & working right on the ground is fine; a tree stump or flat rock is nice when you can get one.

Where should the altar be placed? Place the altar in the center of your ritual space or along the edge if it's more convenient. A circle can be cast around it even if you can’t walk around it. When reasonably possible the Crafter faces north across their altar toward the star Polaris & the sky-hole around which the stars revolve, or toward the east where Sol returns each day at dawn. Both are considered energy gateways.

How do you prepare the magical work space? - Meditate in the planned location a few times before setting up your altar the 1st time. Get to know the psychic feel of the space. Project good vibes to set the intent of your work area.
. Cleanse the altar before initially setting up any gear by wiping down the surface with mixed salt & water (3 pinches salt in 1/4 cup H2O) & bless with incense smoke. Anoint the surface to hold a psychic charge with dabs of oil at the corners & center [:-:] (5 dabs represents the elements), spread & wipe dry. Magnetize the altar by holding your hands above the surface 🙌🏽 & projecting power to charge it with your energy. The altar is said to exist in both the physical & etheric realms. The ritual tools can be similarly prepared as you get them & each would be immersed in its’ associated element & blessed.

What if I can’t keep a permanent altar? A working altar is for ritual use & spell work. It only needs to be left in place for the duration of the task. Cleanse the table for each set up. Tools can be used without re-dedicating if no one but you handles them. If the table isn't needed for mundane uses you can leave it permanently.

Why are there different altar arrangements? Altar arrangements support our tasks when we match our layout to our purpose.

The polarity altar model ↔️ was adopted from Ceremonial Magic by G.B.Gardner as guidelines for Wicca. Place a candle for Goddess, passive earth & water symbols on the left; a candle for the God, active Air & Fire symbols to the right. This leaves working space in-between polarities & “between” has magical consciousness significance. This arrangement is like a battery’s🔋polarity & it makes energy “go.” Passive Earth & Water pacify conditions and active Air & Fire activate conditions.

The 4-way ❎ is a popular arrangement with the elemental symbols placed at their corresponding true compass directions in the X instead of by (-/+) polarity. The 4-way aids healing & self-mastery.

The pentagram ⭐️ layout is arranged with elemental associations placed at their assigned point of the star. The top-most point reps aether/spirit. The other 4 placements vary by trad. Alphabetical order air, earth, fire, water is popular. The pentacle is recognized as a protective symbol.

The intuitive eclectic 🤩 layout expresses the emotional energy of the Crafter & their gut-feeling in placing devotional, ritual & decorative items. It's a way to participate directly in a spell of personal transformation. A healing theme could be used, for example, to manifest good health, or a prosperity theme for attracting good fortune, etc. The eclectic layout can be used by default without making use of it's energy-shaping potential, just "because it feels right" at the moment.

The Stang a forked staff Y or 🧹 broom stick serves as the altar in shamanic crafting; the 🦌 horns represent 🤘🏼 male divinity & the staff reps the three realms: celestial-above, physical-mundane & unseen-world below & the path to the celestial center. It is used to draw the compass/circle & stands upright for rituals, & sometimes holds a lamp as the light betwixt the horns.. The forked staff was introduced by Robert Cochran.

RITUAL TOOLS. ⭐️

The tools can vary by path & personal choice as well. In the Western Occult model Gardner adopted for Wicca, the tools are elemental symbols & extensions of the Crafter. The standard tools are Athame🗡, Chalice🍷, Pentacle ⭐️, Censer 🥢, wand🪄, candle holders🕯, bell 🔔, measure-cord 🪢, a ritual scourge and cloth table cover. Tools either direct, hold or shape energy.

The altar table represents the Cosmic ✨realm & Earth 🌎 plane. A simple altar cloth symbolizes the etheric plane above Earth & on which our magical energy performs. A decorated cloth can convey powerful sigils into the ethereal realm. A cup🍷 accumulates & shapes both fluid & etheric energy. A pentacle ⭐️ is protective and also balances elemental energy to empower spells; a bell's 🔔 sound clears and opens ritual gateways. The scourge represents self-discipline & mustn’t actually hurt you.

The wand 🪄 as a mini-staff is used to direct magical energy & to summon when the athame🗡 would be too aggressive. Held in the dominant hand, a wand both draws and projects energy whereas the athame commands & separates. Gardnerian tradition prefers a 2-edged blade to cut both ways without clumsily turning the hand. In Wiccan practice the blade is reserved to cut only etheric energy such as cutting a door in the cast circle & severing energy attachments. It does not need to be razor sharp. It never draws blood. A black handle is preferred to absorb & channel your energy. A white handle is used on the boline that's reserved for cutting herbs & twine, & to tell them apart in candlelight. Black and White symbolize balanced duality (the pillars of the Cosmos). These are coven guide-lines. As a Solitary it’s the Crafter's choice, or simply use your pointing fingers ☝🏽.

The Witch’s Measure Cord 🪢 is braided of any 3 colors & is as long as the Crafter is tall. It's worn during rituals & spell work to reinforce the Crafter's magical identity. A beginning knot is tied & then the cord is measured from the bridge of the nose, over the crown of the head & down the back to the heel, & an ending knot is tied. These 2 end-knots hold the Crafter’s essence between them. Then measure around the head, chest & loins measuring from the 1st knot & tie individual knots to mark each section. They represent the Crafter's visionary 3rd eye 👁‍🗨, theIr 💖’s will & their procreative 🐇 energy. Therefore a measure cord holds the Wiccan's personal psychic & creative energy signature & it can stand-in for the Crafter. The cord should be safely stored when not being worn. It also serves as a belt for a robe. The robe is optional in private practice. Putting on the ritual robe symbolizes donning the ritual attitude and magical persona.

The Broom 🧹 and Cauldron are iconic folk symbols stemming from witches practical use of what they have on hand to use, and shows us that Witchcraft has been part of every-day living & not just reserved for Sabbats & Esbats. It’s part of the stew you had for supper, a cuppa tea/cafe brewed at break-time, the band-aid applied to a skinned elbow, etc.

The Crafter has options in a divination 🔮 tool of choice. Reading Tarot, Oracle or gaming decks or tea leaves, Ogham staves or Rune-stones, a pendulum, L-rods, Crystal Ball, dreams, plotting astrological charts, etc.

7

Witchcraft & Wicca 101 - The Basics of the Craft / Getting Started

« Last post by Raven on March 27, 2023, 09:54:51 AM »

Welcome, Following are a few suggestions to help beginners get going with a Solitary Craft practice.

Page 1 - how to’s
. Quick Witch Tips
. About Wicca - not all Witches are Wiccan
. Moon timing
. BOS Suggestions
. Wiccan altars & ritual tools
. Wiccan Circle Casting & Simple Folk Method
. Trad-Craft Laying the Compass
. Days of Power
. Journaling Prompts
. Spells, Just Spells
. Animal Guides and Familiar Spirits
. Working with Crystals

Page 2 - references
. The Charge of the Goddess
. Wiccan Rede
. Descent of the Goddess
. Aradia’s Descent to Earth
. Witchy Chants
. Intuitive Witchcraft
. Christian Candle Magic - not all X’ns are fundamentalists

Page 3 - references
. Elemental Correspondences
. Goddess & God
. Elemental Nature Spirits
. Choosing a Path, various links & free PDFs
. The Pentagram
. LBRP - Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram
. Hermetic Principles


. 🐝 Quick-Witch Tips

A Supply Kit lets you get going ASAP

☁️ - Air -🥢 incense or aerosol mist; scent sets the mood; or use 🔔 sound
🔥 - Fire -🕯candles, holder & matches, 🪔bowl for small burning tasks
💦 - Water -🍷 potion cup holds & charges libations
🪨 - Earth -🧂Salt protects & purifies, palm-stone for stroking to aid trance

The magical understanding of elements are the alchemical categories for forms of matter, not the substance itself. Air=Vaporous-State, Water=Fluid-State, Earth=Solid-state, Fire=Plasma-state & includes electricity, and Etheric=un-formed state of energy.

💎 Useful stones - all-purpose quartz, healing red jasper, protective black hematite; prosperous green jade

🌿 Useful herbs ‘n spice
. Basil - protection in spirit-travel, aids psychism, prosperity, romance
. Cinnamon - aids spirituality, success, vitality; use as incense
. Parsley - attracts beneficial energy, cleansing
. Rosemary - use as incense; all-purpose; use as tea after trance to aid recall
. Sage - use as incense to clear cross-currents & banish spirits
. Thyme - temple incense, dispels harm, honors the dead; tea aids Fae "Sight"
. Olive Oil - used alone or blended with scented oils; holds a psychic charge
. Salt - purifier and protective; salt does what it’s told

🌜🌛 Print the current year moon-phase calendar free
🍷🗡🪄⭐️ Formal ritual tools can vary by path 🧹🪔🪘Y🦴👺 and aren’t needed to start

📖 Free PDF Books
. Cunningham’s Solitary Wicca free pdf. https://cdn.preterhuman.net/texts/religtioner.pdf
. Buckland’s Complete Book of Witchcraft free pdf https://cdn.preterhuman.net/texts/relighcraft.pdf
. Murray’s God of the Witches free pdf https://cdn.preterhuman.net/texts/religitches.pdf

🧮 Build skills
. Focusing - Hold your gaze on a candle flame’s colorful dance 🕯👀; park your mind & don’t wander
. Grounding - Think it to guide your energy down the spine to anchor into the earth for stability
. Centering - Draw power on the breath from Earth & Sky to the solar plexus to power-up
. Psi Balls - hold your hands🙏🏼 with palms facing; draw power on the breath to the solar plexus; push energy from the belly & out your hands 👏🏽; move hands back & forth to feel subtle pushback; use to “charge” spells. Shake your hands off to clear energy.

. Simple Altar Arrangement - 🕯
🍸🍶🧂. . . 🥢⚱️🪔
📝 💫Folk Magic Circle Rite
. Place your gear within the planned work area; start & end each pass at north
. Broom 🧹sweep 🔄 widdershins; light🥢incense; center & 👉🏼 point-&-push to cast 💫circle deosil ↩️
. Air-draw an invoking pentagram ↙️🌟 to begin and, when your tasks are done, end with a banishing pentagram ↗️⭐️ & ground yourself

⚡️Spells
. Know your goal - to attract, to repel or to hold in place
. Choose ingredients that support your goal with attracting or repelling scent, related element, color or suggestive appearance
. Incantations tell the power what to do - say only what you expect results to be
. Center, load-aim-push 🙌🏽 to charge a spell with intent
. Methods - bottle, candle, chant-trance, knots, grid/mandala, petition, pouch, potion, sigil

Elemental Correspondences - Mini-Reference
- Element - - Tools - - Color - - Goal - - Herbs - - Stone - -Spell Method
☁️ E-Air - wand, incense/aerosol; 🟡, intellect; marjoram, mint, sage; feather, bell, bubbles; tiger eye, yellow jasper, citrine; chants & sigil spells
🔥 S-Fire - blade,🕯, oil; 🔴; vitality; partnership; bay, basil, rosemary, pepper; volcanic obsidian, garnet, red jasper; candles & fire Magic’s
💦 W-Water - cup, bowl;🔵; emotions, psychism; lemon, rose, chamomile, thyme; shells, amozonite, turquoise, blue quartz; potions & bottle spells
🪨 N-Earth - pentacle, stone; 🟢; home, prosperity; grains , mugwort, patchouli, salt; hematite, aventurine, jade; bag, knots & grid spells
✨ -Ether - measure cord; 🟣; spirituality; angelica, cinnamon, frankincense; amethyst, fluorite, sugilite; meditation, prayer & OOBE’s

🗝Points to Ponder
. the 🪆Goddess & 🦌God represent Nature‘s duality & duality teaches union
. the holidays represent Earth’s cycles 🎃All Hallows’, 🕯Candlemas,🌷May Eve, 🍞Loafmas, ☀️❄️Solstices
. the Elements manifest intentions - pacifying 💦 water & 🪨 earth and activating ☁️ air & 🔥 fire

MAGIC-ENHANCING BETWEEN
1. Bridges are between one side and the other, neither here or there
2. 🚪Doors & Gates are neither inside or outside & allow passage between
3. 🪟Windows are between in & out and let us see the other side
4. Ladders🪜& stairs are between above & below
5. 1/2 a glass of liquid 🥃 is between full and empty
6. Swings glide between forward and back & the motion induces trance
7. The Circle 💫 is between time & space & you are the conduit between cosmic & underworld realms
8. Liminal hours of dawn, noon, dusk & midnight are between day & night, & this day and the next
9. Spirit flight out-of-body is between dead & alive, known as the living dead
10. Eggs 🐣, tadpoles 🐸, cocoons 🦋are between being one thing and becoming another
11. 🌳Trees branches, trunk & roots extend between 3 worlds - cosmic, mundane & underworld
12. 🪞Mirrors reflect a reversed world & are passages between here and there
13. The 3rd eye 👁‍🗨 sees between the realms

End Quick Witch Tips

🦋

A LITTLE ABOUT WICCA

Gerald B. Gardner and Doreen Valiente were the main contributors to British Witchcraft in modern Wicca's beginning in 1951. Modern Wicca is a reconstruction meant to give a common form to autonomous, regional coven practices. A coven's High Priestess and High Priest are their clergy. There is an initiatory, three-degree advancement system in the coven structure. Solitaires can self-dedicate. Lady Sheba (Jesse Bell) published coven rituals in 1971. Scott Cunningham published a guide for solitary practice in 1989. Both actions were considered controversial in their time.

Nature is generally perceived as divine with two forces. The Goddess and The God go by many names (ex., Diana🌙 & 🦌Cernunnos) that have evolved through several Indo-European cultures. Duo-deities are viewed as being symbols of Nature itself & as aspects of The Goddess & God force and as manifest Beings all at the same time.
. Some Goddess ✊🏽 titles: Primordial Star Goddess, Mother Nature🪆, Triple Moon, Maid-Mother-Crone, Earth Maiden, Queen of Elphame, Lady of the Sea, Night Huntress, Queen of the Night, Mother Goose🪶
. Some God 🤘🏼 titles: Horned Lord of Death & Rebirth, lord of the Wild Hunt, Green man-Lord of the Forest-the Elder, Lord of the Corn-the Younger, Lord of the Underworld, Oak King-Holly King, Santa Claus🎅🏽

As a Solitary Practitioner there’s no coven affiliation so it is not necessary to denounce any beliefs, or to worship a specific - or any - deity, or to be initiated; you don’t need to do expensive rituals, you do not need specific ritual tools or an altar to practice magic; you can choose if you want to use the Wiccan structure & tools format or not. That having been noted, it’s smart to understand a structure and adjust to fit once you know what you’re doing.

There are different styles of practice & finding one that meets your needs, fits your geographic location, and is affordable to you are sane ideas. Three basic styles are Domestic Magic with 🌿kitchen herbs & hearth 🥐scones; Ritual Magic with 🌟🍷🗡🪄 full regalia & elemental thrones; Natural Magic with shamans Stang Y, stones & ☠️bones.
. Cultural Paths vary by region & reflect the beliefs of the culture they come from. Some popular ones are 🗡🍷British Traditional Witchcraft with regional off-shoots; 🧙🏽‍♂️Celtic, 🐉Teutonic,🧚🏽‍♂️Faery, Sumerian, Egyptian, 🏛Greek, etc., & all have similar Nature-based foundations but each has its own deities & rituals. As a Solitary, you don’t have to follow a cultural path unless you resonate with one.

Moon Timing
. Copy the current year's moon phase calendar dates for reference.
. The full moon rises in the east as the sun sets in the west. It reaches zenith around midnight.
. The Moon's influence is still there even when it's cloudy or day-time.
. Use a waxing moon 🌓 for increase/gain, the full moon 🌕 for fulfillment, and a waning moon 🌗 to release/banish.

Liminal Hours -
. Dawn - beginnings/increase; Noon - fulfillment; Dusk - endings/banishing

BOS Suggestions 📖
. Use a ring-binder for removable pages or a bound blank book 📖 from stationery shop
. Charts & lists save writing things out; using color and illustrations 🍄 jogs the memory
. Useful items - press-on correction tape, sticky-notes in colors, glue-stick, artist templates
. Recitations - Charge of the Goddess, Wiccan Rede, Witches Creed, Witches Rune, Descent of the Goddess
. Rituals - Consecration, Circle casting, Full Moon, Dedication, Hand Fasting, Wiccaning, Requiem, Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram
. Holiday activities - 🎃All Hallows’, 🕯Candlemas, 🌷May Eve, 🍞Loafmas
. Your Deities - names, powers, symbols, prayers, preferred offerings & feast dates
. Recipes - herb breads &' teas, incense, oil blends, sprinkling powders, potions
. Divination forms - pendulum, L-rods, crystal/obsidian or water gazing, Tarot-oracle-game decks, Runes, staves, astrology charts, tea-leaf reading, dream interpretation
. Spell methods - Bag/Bottle, Candle, Cord/knot, Petition, Potion, Sigil, Stone stroking & stone grids/mandalas
. Incantations by intentions - banishing, cleansing, health, love, money, protection, summoning
. Elemental correspondences, herb & stone properties, Moon phase calendar
. Misc Interests - personal experiences, local area legends, Fae/Fairy, Moon garden plans, nature trail maps, supply websites, discussion boards & your password & user ID

DIY Incense (from Annie's Mirth & Reverence YouTube)
Cut plain paper to a 3-inch square & roll it into a tube like a cigarette. Stand the tube upright in a bowl with an inch of sand or salt to hold it upright. Use the back of a spoon '& a bowl or a mortar & pestle to reduce herbs to a coarse powder. Fill the tube with an herb/spice mix of your choice. Light the top so the paper & herbs smoke.
. premixed "pumpkin spice" (aids psychism); mix your own recipes
. 3-inch Post-It Notes work nicely & the sticky strip holds the tube’s shape

DIY Scent-Infused Oil ⚱️
Use a lite olive oil (=victory) - as a base; make small batches as you don’t use much; place herbs into a jar & add oil to cover. Cap it. Swirl to mix. Let set 4-6 weeks. Strain; discard spent herbs/teabags. Add a vitamin E oil capsule as a preservative. Decant. Label it.
. Use for anointing to transfer and hold a psychic charge.

DIY Potions 🍶
. Place herbs related to the goal into a pot, add water to cover. Stir & repeat incantation & magnetize it 🙌🏽 . Simmer until water is reduced by half. Cool. Strain. Decant. Label it, for gods sake!
. Use potions as an aerosol spritzer, as hand wash, or for anointing spells. Use only commercial teas for drinking.

8

Rules and Guidelines / Rues and Guidelines

« Last post by Raven on October 17, 2020, 08:21:23 PM »

Raven-Moon: A Pagan Forum's community area (message board, chat, user blogs, etc.) is not a democracy, at best it is a benevolent dictatorship. Raven-Moon: A Pagan Forum's site hosts (past and present) have set the rules below for Raven-Moon community areas. Make sure you are familiar with them. Read them daily to remind yourself of them if you have to, because the host has given the community's staff the power to limit or deny access to those who insist on violating them.

Note: Numbering on rules is for ease of reference, and has little or nothing to do with the relative importance of the rules.

Executive Rules Summary

Many people complain that our rules and guidelines are very long. Here is an executive summary of our rules that will work for 90% of the people 90% of the time.
•   Obey US Law in all activity on  Raven-Moon.
•   Do not be a jackass. Do not behave in a manner the staff or host might consider obnoxious (e.g. making personal attacks, arguing mod calls, advertising without approval, trying to moderate other members, don't use gratuitous obscenities or slur words, etc.)
•   Post legibly and accessibly (e.g. use short paragraphs separated by blank lines, don't write in "netspeak", quote a small part of the message you are replying to, use standard English not jargon, etc.)
•   You permanently and irrevocably grant Raven-Moon  A Pagan Forum the right to use anything you post. (There are a few partial exceptions to this explained in the main rules, but this applies to the vast majority of the board.)
Our detailed rules and guidelines really just expand on these obvious basics. You still need to read the full rules, however -- as those full rules are the rules staff enforces.

THE "DO NOT" RULES:

1.   DO NOT make personal attacks (name calling, hostile remarks, accusations, etc.) anywhere in our community (including posts, personal messages, reputation comments, etc.). In discussion, attack ideas and opinions, not the people who hold them. Note that an attack on your ideas and beliefs is not considered a personal attack under our rules even if you identify so closely with your beliefs and ideas that you personally consider an attack on those beliefs or ideas to be an attack on you.

2.   DO NOT make blanket condemnations of religions, cultures, peoples, or classes/categories of people.

3.   DO NOT post or attach content that is libelous, defamatory, pornographic, harassing, threatening, or hateful on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, sex, etc.

4.   DO NOT post advertisements or event announcements (commercial or non-commercial) without obtaining prior approval for the specific item from a Host or Senior Staff member. Note that all violations of these guidelines are considered "spamming". Spam will be deleted and spammers will be banned immediately.

5.   DO NOT post more than a sentence or two of copyrighted material without obtaining specific permission from the current copyright owner to post the material on Raven-Moon: A Pagan Forum and posting that permission with the copyrighted material. Link to the material instead.

6.   DO NOT use uncommon specialist jargon (technical, political, social justice, etc.) without explaining it in in plain language or providing a link to a place on the web where it is neutrally defined. Be especially careful of jargon, even commonly known jargon, that has a very different meaning in common usage (e.g. The word "theory" is commonly known science jargon. However, in science a "theory" is "a well-established and proven idea" where a "theory" in common usage is more like "my best guess").

7.   DO NOT argue with, comment on, complain about, criticize, or otherwise discuss staff decisions on rules issues in public in Raven-Moon community areas. If you think a decision that directly affects you is incorrect, you may make an appeal in private in accordance with our Moderation Appeal Guidelines.

8.   DO NOT attempt to moderate other members (i.e. tell them how to behave on the board). Leave the moderating to the forum staff and host. If you believe a forum post violates the rules in a major way, you may bring that post to the attention of the forum staff by reporting that message with the "Report to moderator" link. You can bring non-forum problems to the attention of staff by emailing a staff member via their profile.

9.   DO NOT tell other members not to post to you. You can put non-staff members on "ignore" if you do not wish to read their posts.


10.   DO NOT register multiple accounts without permission from the host.

11.   DO NOT impersonate other members or otherwise pretend to be someone you are not.

12.   DO NOT use community facilities of Raven-Moon: A Pagan Forum to violate US criminal or civil law.

THE "DO" RULES:

1.   DO remember to use the "Reply/Quote" button even when using the quick reply feature as this inserts links and text that helps others follow the flow of conversation.

2.   DO edit quoted material in your replies to the minimum needed.

3.   DO write in a "normal writing" style. Capitalize the first word of your sentences. Use proper punctuation. Write in short paragraphs and place a blank line between paragraphs (hit return twice). Please do not WRITE IN ALL CAPITALS, in eLiTe LeTtErS, or in odd fonts and colors. Please do not use "Netspeak" (e.g. R U Wiccan) as our community areas are not a cell phone. See our Message Posting Guidelines for more information.

4.   DO be tolerant of religions and opinions that differ from your own. You do not have to agree with them or support them, but you must be tolerant of those who express them. Others have as much right to hold and express their views as you do to hold and express yours.

5.   DO follow our Avatar and Signature Guidelines.

6.   DO try to post new topics on the correct board.

7.   DO remember that other members of Raven-Moon are real people just like you with rights and feelings -- treat them as real people even when engaged in heated debate.

8.   DO remember that everyone has different experiences in life and others may experience similar things in ways very different from how you experienced them. This means that they will have different understandings of things based on their personal experiences, traits, and history, and may well have information or perspective that you lack -- and vice-versa.

9.   DO remember that you are not your opinions and beliefs. An attack on your opinions and beliefs in debate is not an attack on you. If attacks on your opinions and beliefs seem like personal attacks to you, you will probably want to bow out of topics that turn into heated discussions or debates.

10.   DO try to avoid posting already posted information in "pile-ons." If you see a thread where someone has posted obvious incorrect information on hot button issues and there are a lot of posts after that message, please read ahead before posting to avoid posting the 20th reply with basically the same information (as this tends to make the member with the incorrect information think people are ganging up on them).

11.   DO realize that some boards have special rules that apply only to that board and follow those rules when posting on that board -- such rules will be in a clearly labeled sticky post on the board they apply to.

12.   DO follow instructions/suggestions from staff members and host(s) about how to post and/or behave on Raven-Moon (quoting, formatting messages, etc.). Staff members have no interest in hearing why you would rather not do it the standard Raven-Moon way.

13.   DO expect to be asked for sources to support any unusual factual claims you may make. If you chose to back those claims with poor sources (wikipedia and other encyclopedias, dictionaries, popular press books written by non-experts, out-of-date academic books, etc.), do not be surprised when they are not considered convincing, let alone authoritative.

DON'T BE ANNOYING:

Please do not engage in annoying or rude behavior in the community areas. Annoying and rude behavior includes (but is not limited to):

1.   Editing your messages to significantly change the content after a message can reasonably be assumed to have been read by others (which is 2 or 3 minutes after posting). This is particularly true if the message has already been replied to.

2.   Posting the same message to multiple topics or boards.

3.   Trolling (posting material just to stir up trouble or start flame wars)

4.   Proselytizing for any religion (whether Pagan or not).

5.   Making overly broad "All Pagans believe..." or "All Pagans do..." or "Everyone knows..." type statements. Except in the most trivial cases (e.g. "All Living Pagans need to drink water"), such claims are almost always false.

6.   Demanding that others prove your claims wrong instead of supporting those claims with evidence they are correct.

7.   Attacking a post based on typos, poor spelling, poor grammar, or failure to know/remember your personal details, instead of debating its content. Our message board is more akin to a spoken conversation with people from many countries than it is to a term paper. Posting solely to respond to terminology you disapprove of (as opposed to terminology that is factually incorrect) is a borderline violation of this rule.

8.   Oversharing personal details -- posting the intimate details of your life in inappropriate threads.

9.   Using gratuitous offensive language. We are a PG-13 forum.

10.   Using an offensive or inappropriate username, name, custom title, avatar, signature, etc.

11.   Failing to properly attribute quoted sources.

12.   Having your account set to a false or out of date email address.