Appalachia Is Devastated. Towns I Loved, Towns I Visited All The Time, Are Gone. Not Damaged, GONE. They

Fuck Off Oil (Banishing  Oil)

Sometimes, just saying “fuck off” doesn’t quite do the trick. Whether it’s unsatisfying or doesn’t repel the asshole you’re trying to get rid of, it might be time to pull out the big guns.

This banishing oil is a revamped version of an oil I made for an old friend many years ago. The original purpose was to rid her home of a nasty invasive spirit and then keep it away, since it had already been banished and returned a few times. She used it to anoint her mirrors, windows, doors, and even herself, followed by a large black pillar candle coated in more of the oil and burned every day until it was just a lump of wax.

It worked perfectly for her purposes, so I have taken that old recipe and recreated it in my current style for my current needs. If you saw my earlier rant post, then you know what this is for. If not, that’s okay - just know that someone has tested my patience and taken advantage of my kindness, and now they should kindly fuck off forever.

Like most of my spells and spell ingredients, this oil is 100% edible… and pretty tasty! See my notes below for ideas on how to use it.

Ingredients:

Oil of Your Choice (I used olive oil because it’s what was in my cabinet)

Salt

Pepper

Red Chili Flakes

Smoked Paprika

Garlic, minced

Onion Powder

Oregano, dried

Caraway Seeds

Coriander

Bay Leaf

A Jar or Bottle

Instructions:

Measure how much oil you will need to fill your jar or bottle of choice. You can pour the oil into a bowl or use a measuring cup to both measure and mix your oil, which is what I did. Fewer dishes to wash at the end!

Add each of your ingredients, one at a time, to the oil. Leave the bay leaf for last, and see step 3. I added the ingredients in the order that they are listed, but you can do them in whatever order suits you best. Be sure to give each a purpose tied back to the person, spirit, or other bothersome creature you are banishing (some ingredients have protective properties; see my note below for how I assigned a purpose to each).

Stir your mixture well. Really whip it. Beat the hell out of it. Etc.

Bay leaves are often used in wish magic or as vehicles for sigils. For our purposes, hold the leaf with both hands and stare at it hard. Think of the person, spirit, or thing you are banishing. Whisper or shout your desire to keep them away from you, adding any specifics you like. Stuff the leaf into your jar or bottle whole.

Pour your mixture into the jar or bottle over the bay leaf. Be sure to get all of the bits of garlic in there.

Cap the jar or bottle and give it a good shake. I recommend letting it sit and infuse for a few days to get a really good flavor going, but you can use it immediately if you want. Just be sure to shake it well to charge it before use.

This oil is good for up to six months, though it may last longer. Keep an eye on it; if it forms mold, throw it away immediately. Keep your jar or bottle in a cool, dark space. Refrigeration is optional, but it’ll last longer if you keep it in the fridge.

Notes:

As with most oils, there are many uses for this recipe. It can be either a spell on its own, or you can create it to be a component in another spell. Or both! Both is good.

I like to use this to cook vegetables like brussels sprouts, asparagus, and potatoes, but you could also use it in a stir fry or to cook meats. This oil also makes for a very pleasant salad dressing when mixed with red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar. It would be both funny and effective to feed a Fuck Off Salad to your target. If you want to do this, I recommend making it extra spicy, especially if they hate spice and you’re feeling especially vindictive.

If you’re not looking to eat this oil in some way, you can also use it to anoint candles for a banishing spell. Or, if you want to get a little more involved, you can submerge a taglock or poppet in the oil to symbolize the person you are repelling. This would be a great way to continuously banish someone or something if they keep trying to return. Plus, it can have the added benefit of being… uncomfortable for the target.

Here are the purposes I assigned to each ingredient; feel free to use these or come up with your own based off your own experiences:

Salt - Protect the caster during the creation and use of the oil, repel bad vibes and start the process of cleansing

Pepper - First line of fuck off; give a reason or a particular attribute that you want gone, such as “aggression” and “lying”

Chili flakes - Second line of fuck off, this time with ✨spice✨; I assigned “threats” and “rancid vibes” to this ingredient

Garlic - Third line of fuck off; protection against further nonsense, repelling them from contacting me

Onion - Keeping away pests; I use the layers of the onion to symbolize the layers of “fuck off” in the oil and reinforce each one

Oregano - Now comes the part where we protect ourselves from the offending party’s possible retaliation! This is protection from backlash and luck for the success of the spell. This has extra power for me, since my mom grew this oregano and is superbly pissed about someone threatening her kids!

Caraway seeds - Boosting my convictions and inner power, preventing the spell from backfiring on me (the target(s) are also witches, so this was very important to include!)

Coriander - Personal protection against further nonsense, cementing this oil as a line of self-defense

If you use this oil in a spell, let me know how you liked it, if you made any substitutions, and/or how it worked for you!

Happy Banishing, Witches!

Spoopy Season Safety

There should totally be a movement called “Sleep in Public” where people defend their right to sleep on public property. Sleep in your cars. Sleep on benches. Sleep at the park. Just make it a mundane and regular part of life to see someone napping in the library. It would make it much harder to single out the homeless for harassment if everyone else is doing the same thing and much harder to argue that it’s a “threat to public safety” when it’s so clearly harmless.

I see your “Apollo agreed so easily because he doesn’t care about Odysseus” and raise you “the god of prophecy knows that Odysseus is going to make it home, so he’s not going to make much of an effort to stop him.”

A Witch’s Ingredients: Sand

Sand is an abundant resource that can be found across the world including along the coasts, through deserts and even in many people’s yards and gardens. Sand is rather easy to obtain and natural making it ideal for witchcraft. Though some types of sand may be harder to obtain, and more costly, than others, let this post be a guide on how to utilize it for its magical properties.

Types of Sand & Their Correspondences

Beach/Coastal Sand: calming, grounding, cleansing, connecting to the sea, self-love, protection and warding, motivation, memory, spiritual clarity, purification of the heart, easing pain, physical and spiritual strength, can represent both the elements of earth and water

Ocean Sand (from the ocean floor/deep sea): primordial energy, banishing negative emotions and energy, grounding, mental clarity, psychic clarity and strengthening, divination, guidance, ancient wisdom and power, connections to the sea and primordial waters, birth, creation, can represent both the elements of earth and water

Desert Sand: curses and removing energy from others, weakening, draining, banishing, grounding, mental clarity, physical health, enduring hardships, “drying up” love and past emotions, healing heartbreak, burying the past, often related to burial ceremonies

Volcanic Sand: destruction, intense energy, strength, death, rebirth, banishing, secrets or hidden messages, warding, baneful magic, offensive magic, often represents both earth and fire at once

River Sand/Silt: fertility, procreation, movement, flowing energy, travels, change

Lake/Pond Sand: the present, calmness, serenity, inner focus, self-reflection and meditation

Swamp/Wetland Sand: mystery, secret keeping, silencing lies and rumors, binding, curses related to becoming lost or emotional heaviness, often represents both water and earth at once, often related to animal magic specifically those that live in swamp land

Unearthed/Buried Sand: grounding, hidden power, addressing past issues and mistakes, overcoming controversy, self-discovery, introspection, emotional healing, moving on from past scars

Biogenic Sand/Bone Sand/Shell Sand: healing, moving on emotionally, remembrance but letting go of the pain and loss, honoring those lost (often at or to the sea), close connections to necromancy

Black Sand: protection, warding, banishing, relates to necromancy and spirit work

Pink Sand: love, beauty, youth, harmony, adjusting to change, remembering the past and lost loved ones, rebirth, emotional and mental healing, forgiveness of self and others

Red Sand: strength, courage, valor, relates to fire rather than earth

Yellow Sand: divination, focus, improving memory and skills, mental health, grounding and centering, represents both earth and air elements sometimes both at once

White Sand: purity, cleansing, protection, wisdom, preparing for change, physical and emotional balance, harmonizes all aspects of oneself

Combinations of Sand and Other Ingredients

Sand and Soil: grounding, balance, cleansing, protection of loved ones and family

Sand and Salt: change, growing power, dreams, purification, warding, protection, longevity

Sand and Ash: remembrance, the past, divination

Sand and Clay: change, mental fortitude

Sand and Kelp/Seaweed: beauty, youth, birth, fertility, the ocean

The History

Not much history on the use of sand in magic from what I can find that is a reliable source, but I was able to find some bits about its use.

Sand has been used in connections to rituals for the dead and in burial practices in many different cultures to a varying degree. In some sand was used for burying the deceased such as very early Ancient Egypt for its mummification properties before better mummification methods were invented and utilized. Placing sand into graves or coffins of the deceased somethings as a means to connect them to their homelands if that person was traveling into foreign lands or countries. Some stories speak about mixing the ashes of the dead with sand to be kept in the home. Other stories tell of people mixes ashes from fires or the hearth with sand and casting it out into the sea for lost sailors who could not be brought home. 

Sand was also used historical in some types of spell jars and vessels. In some places sand was put into jars and bottles and given to sailors to keep them connected to home even when sailing. Others said carrying sand could protect one from being lost at sea or from disaster, likely where the history of sand being used for protection properties came from. It has also been used in witch’s bottles and for burying spells for varying purposes. Some cultures would bury offerings to deities into the sand of beaches or deserts.

Modern Use

Sand is still a common ingredient for many sea witches and worshipers of ocean related deities to utilize in their craft and in their altars. Deities commonly related to sand are Poseidon, Aphrodite, Psamathe, Thalassa, Aegir, Neptune and Veles. Sand is also often used in altars to represent either earth or water when representing the cardinal directions or the 4 elements. Some will use sand to represent both in cases of smaller altars.

Modernly, sand is often used in spell jars and bottles when used in spellwork or as a vessel to charge, cleanse and bury objects or tools such as crystals, poppets, amulets and trinkets. Sea witches or witches with accesses to large amount of sand will often use it for grounding and circle casting. Some will use it for runes and sigils as well.

Storing Sand

For those wishing to store and use collected sand ensure that there is nothing undesirable in it - garbage, sharp bits of glass, decomposing fish or animals, insects etc. Shift it thoroughly to ensure anything that could be potentially dangerous is removed and if needed properly disposed of. Once the sand has been shifted ensure it is dry before you seal it into anything.

Wet sand can house bacteria and mold - which can also smell quite foul when the container is opened again. You can use the sun to dry it or indoor heaters at a safe distance. Spread it out thin and flat to help ensure it is thoroughly dried if it is damp or wet.

Once dried the best way to store sand is inside of glass or ceramic vessels. Jars and bottles are the most ideal. Ensure that they are sealed tightly to ensure no spillage or condensation can get inside.

**this post was personally researched, compiled and directly from my personal grimoire. Please do not repost**

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Witchcraft for Beginners: Lesson 2

There are so many different paths and different practices you can take as a witch. When starting off, don’t stress about the labels too much. Take a moment to read through some of the different potential paths you could take and see which ones sound the most interesting to you!

Air Witch: Witches who work with the element of air, and the energies thereof. They may work with things such as feathers, movement, incense, breath, and other air-based magick.

Ancestral Witch: Witches who focus their craft on connecting to and working with one’s ancestors.

Animal/Creature Witch: Witches that work with animals or creatures. They may use their energies within the craft for attunement, aid, or protection. Considered a branch of the green witch path, these witches may work with either spiritual or physical forms of animals/creatures.

Artistic Witch: A witch who is artistically inclined within their craft. They typically have a strong desire to create and work with colours. Art witches tend to draw, paint, sculpt, act, dance, sing, (etc.) within their practice.

Astro/Space Witch: Considered a branch of the cosmic witch path. An Astro/ space witch may be adept at cosmic magick as well as astral travel, astrology and science-based magick.

Atheist Witch: Simply witches who do not believe in any form of deity. Also called Secular Witch.

Blood Witch: Witches who practice blood magick, and use the energy and power of blood within their practice. Considered a branch of the chaos witch path.

Bone Witch: Witches who use bones in their practice, and can typically tap into the energy of or communicate with the spirits who used to own the bones. This may allow their assistance to the witch within their practice. Could be considered a form of animal or ancestral magick. May also incorporate components of death magick and/or necromancy practices.

Ceremonial Witch: Witches who practice a great deal of ceremonial magick in their practice. They may focus on rituals and formal practices of casting of magick as well.

Chaos Witch/Chaote: (difficult to define) Some may also call this ‘result-based’ or ‘success’ magick. A chaos witch usually focuses on the attainment of specific results, typically emphasizing will and intention in their practice. They tend to advocate and pioneer diverse approaches to magick. Some feel that through experimentation, it does not matter what one believes so long as their tools or system of magick were implemented effectively. Therefore, belief may be considered a tool in and of itself. On the same note, they tend to feel intentions/will are key above all else, and the tools will not make or break the practice. They may have a more scientific or experimental approach in their practice.

Closeted Witch/Subtle Witch: Witches who are not open about their practice. They tend to practice in secrecy, for a variety of reasons. These witches are not quite ready, or may simply not wish to share their practice with the general public or friends/family.

Colour Witch/Color Witch: Considered a branch of the art witch path. These are witches who specifically use and revolve their practice around the metaphysical properties of colours within their magick.

Cottage/Hearth Witch: Witches who specialize in magick surrounding the home. Similar to the kitchen witch, but less emphasis on food or cooking. They tend to consider their home a sacred place, and their magick usually focuses on the home, and their families. They will make the place they live comfortable and protected.

Cosmic Witch: Considered an umbrella term for witches who use cosmic, or astrological bodies in their crafts and practice such things as astrology and/or astronomy. They tend to work with the energies of the stars, moon, sun, and planets among many other celestial bodies.

Coven Witch/Circle Witch: Witches who practice within a group of witches. They typically practise and learn with others in their group.

Crystal Witch: Witches who primarily use crystals, stones, gems, or rocks in their practice. Considered a branch of the green witch path, they will practice such things as crystal meditation, protection, and crystal grids, among many other things. They tend to have in-depth knowledge of different crystals/stones/ (etc.) and are able to identify them based on their properties.

Death Witch: Witches who practice death magick. These practitioners typically work with and honour the dead, along with the power of death itself. Death witches tend to advocate death as a new beginning, and an essential part of the life cycle. They may or may not incorporate necromancy in their practice (divination through the dead). They may also integrate ancestral and/or bone magick in their craft as well.

Demonic Witch: These witches work heavily with demons. They differ from Exorcists in that they typically summon demons and get them to do their bidding, rather than casting them out.

Desert Witch/Witch of the Waste: Witches who focus on desert magick. Working with things of and from the desert such as desert sand, cacti, or spirits/animals of the desert. They may, or may not live in/near a desert.

Divination/Oracle Witch: Witches who emphasize on divination practices such as tarot, pendulum, ouija, runes, or any other form of divination.

Draconian/Draconic Witch: Witches who work with dragons, and draconic magick. Fueled by the symbolism and energies of dragons, these witches will typically embrace balance and wisdom within their craft. Many of them will consider dragons to be higher beings, or even deities themselves, and work with them as such.

Dream Witch: Witches who work on, and in their dreams, and may practice lucid dreaming along with other dreaming techniques. They may cast magick, work with deities, access other realities, among numerous other things in their dreams. Dream witches may also be known as dream walkers. Some may use the dreamscape as a home away from home. They tend to be influenced by the moon and spirituality and may incorporate many practices of lunar magick, hedge magick, or practice psychic abilities within their craft as well.

Earth Witch: Witches who work with the element of earth, and the energies thereof. They may work with things such as crystals, herbs, rocks, dirt, the spirit of the land, and other earth-based magick.

Eclectic Witch: Witches who have an eclectic practice. This means that they will work with, and learn from many different types of paths, practices, philosophies, traditions, knowledge, and sources. They typically will end up knowing about all of them and will choose to incorporate whatever suits them within their craft. They may tend to specialize in a handful of paths which fit them best.

Elemental Witch: Witches who work with all of the classic elements; fire, water, earth, air, and spirit. Although, some elemental witches choose not to incorporate the element of spirit.

Fire Witch: Witches who work with the element of fire, and the energies thereof. They may work with things such as candle magick, bonfire rituals, and fire scrying among other fire-based magick.

Flora Witch: Witches who emphasize the use of flowers in their practice, and may use them just like herbs. Considered a branch of the green witch path.

Forest Witch: Witches who focus on working with things from the forest such as the trees, forest spirits, and forest animals. They may or may not live in/ near a forest.

Garden Witch: Witches who emphasize working with plants, herbs, and the earth. Much like a green witch, or earth witch, but are focused on their garden, and how to incorporate the garden within their craft.

Green Witch: Witches who use nature-based items in their practice such as herbs, trees, stones, animals, and other natural elements (can be considered an umbrella term for many nature-based paths). These witches tend to focus on holistic medicine and may, be learned, healers. They are usually very familiar with their local region, having much knowledge of different species of plants, trees, insects, wildlife and flowers.

Hedge Witch: Witches that use magick that is oriented around the spiritual world. They would practice such things as astral travel, astral projection, lucid dreaming, spirit-work, and journeying. These witches are able to walk between worlds and explore alternative realities. Many hedge witches are known for working with herbs and divination as well and tend to live very mindfully.

Herbal Witch: Witches who mainly use herbs in their practice. As another type of natural magick, they will usually grow herbs and will use these herbs in many different ways in order to produce magickal effects such as burning them, turning them into tea, or sprinkling them around places.

Hereditary Witch: Witches who are usually born into a family of practising witches. They get their tradition passed down to them by their family. They also usually have their family to practice with, and assist in their development. However, not everyone born into witchcraft or raised by a family of witches choose to practice or become a witch.

Kitchen Witch: Witches who work magick in their cooking and/or baking. Focusing on the magickal properties that they can obtain from many different ingredients. They may also to be drawn to arts and crafts, sewing, cleaning, and gardening as well. Many of these witches are typically skilled in potions and/or herbology.

Lunar Witch: Witches who focus their work with the energies of the moon, and the moon’s cycles. They will typically time their rituals and spell work in correspondence to lunar phases. They may also incorporate certain items or other things in their craft that correspond with the moon such as minerals, crystals, herbs, animals, deities, (etc).

Metal Witch: Witches who work specifically with metal and using the magickal properties of different metals within their craft. These witches may be found creating their own jewellery, talismans, amulets, wands, (etc.) incorporating a base metal and/or combinations of metals.

Necromantic/Necromancy Witch: Considered a branch of Chaos magick, these witches take spirit working a step further and are adept at communicating with and controlling the dead. Their practice typically involves communication with the deceased,  either by summoning their spirit as an apparition or raising them bodily. They may do this for the purpose of divination, imparting the means to foretell future events, obtaining hidden knowledge, to bring someone back from the dead, or to use the dead to do their bidding.

Practical Witch: Considered a branch of the kitchen witch path. These witches are adept at spellwork and use their magick for everyday, mundane things. They are typically found experimenting with ways to use magick in order to make their daily life easier and more enjoyable.

Religious Witch: Witches who hold some form of religion. These are going to be such witches as Christian witches, Luciferian witches, Pagan witches, Wiccan witches, Buddhist witches, Muslim witches, Jewish witches, Hindu Witches, along with any other type of religious witch.

Science Witch: Witches who have a higher focus on science, and will use their understanding of science in practice. These witches usually do not portray scientism and may emphasize a higher connection between science and magick.

Sea Witch: Witches who work with things from the sea such as seawater, sea glass, beach sand, seashells, and other things that are associated with the sea. They may, or may not live near the sea.

Seasonal Witch: Witches who work with the energies of the season. They may incorporate weather/ storm magick within their craft. They tend to be adept with knowing what energies each season may hold and may time their rituals and spell work accordingly.

Secular Witch: Witches who are not religious, or do not incorporate religion in their craft. They typically do not subscribe to religious dogma. Most of these witches usually stay away from deities, but they do not have to in order to remain secular.

Sigil Witch: Witches who have in-depth knowledge of sigils, and focus on using sigils in their practice. Sigils are symbols drawn for specific magickal purposes. These witches may be adept in using their emotions or energy within their craft to charge sigils as well.

Solar Witch: Witches who focus their work with the energies of the sun, and the sun’s cycles. They tend to time their rituals and spells in correspondence to the suns position. They may incorporate fire magick within their craft, or anything relating to the sun such as minerals, crystals, herbs, animals, deities, (etc.).

Solitary Witch: Witches who practice their craft alone, or without a personal group such as a coven, or circle of other practitioners. These types of practitioners are going to practice primarily alone but still can have access to communication, and resources from other witches.

Spirit/Medium Witch: Witches who communicate with the dead spirits of humans, animals, and other entities. Some can even communicate with the spirits of trees, rocks, and man-made items. They tend to use spirit boards and pendulums, among many other tools.

Stitch witch: Witches who work with thread, yarn, or other fibres for their work. Considered to be a branch of both the kitchen and cottage witch paths, they hold magickal fabric work in high regard. They tend to focus primarily on the knot and stitch magick.

Storm Witch/Weather Witch: Witches that work with the weather, and the energies thereof in the same way other witches may work with elements. They may be found doing things such as charging magickal tools with the use of storm energy, or certain weather (warm, cold, etc.).

Swamp Witch: Witches who mainly work with things from the swamp such as the swamp water, swamp spirits, and swamp animals. They may, or may not live in/near a Swamp.

Tea Witch: Considered a branch of the herbal witch path. These are witches who focus on the use of tea in their practice in order to facilitate certain effects through the act of drinking certain teas. They may also be drawn to tasseography or reading tea leaves as a means of divination.

Tech/Techno/Cyber Witch: Considered a branch of the urban witch path, and may be able to use or direct electrical energy. These witches work with modern technology in their practice and may integrate all forms of computers, and electronics within with their magick. They may be adept at coding and/or creating emoji spells, along with other things related to electronics.

Theistic Witch: Witches who believe in a form of deity, or many deities.

Traditional Witch: Witches who practice forms of traditional witchcraft, claiming older or more “traditional,” roots.

Urban Witch: Witches who practice their magick in urban environments. They may be found graffitiing or painting sigils on abandoned buildings, growing herbs in pots in their apartments, dancing on the roads late at night, and tend to be adept in using technology.

Water Witch: Witches that work with the element of water, and the energies thereof. They typically work with things such as different types of water, water elementals, and water scrying among other water-based magick.

Winter Witch: Witches who reside in the colder climates of the world and draw their power from the snow and clouds (rather than the sun or moon) They may be found casting snowstorms, collecting hail and/or making poppets from the snow.

I know this may seem like a lot, but don’t worry, you do not need to memorise these! Just understand that there are many different paths and practices in the community, and these are the vast majority of them.

My Personal “Pillars of Hellenic Polytheism”

You may have seen or heard of the “7 Pillars of Hellenism”. The creator of these pillars, Timothy Jay Alexander, is known to be extremely homophobic and bigoted, and therefore these pillars aren’t seen in a positive light by many Hellenic Polytheists, including myself.

That being said, personally, I like to have sort of guidelines to follow, and Alexander isn’t the only one to have created “moral pillars”. So I took inspiration from multiple sources, including @/hyakinthou-naos in one of their recent posts, to make my own pillars. These are things that are important to me, personally, and they may differ from yours if you have some. I chose to have 5 pillars as it is a number associated with Lady Aphrodite, and the pillars will be listed in alphabetical order.

Hekousios- Ε´κουσίος

ἑκούσιος translates to “free will” or “voluntary”. To me, this means to do things at your own pace, and to always have worship be a personal choice, not something put on someone.

Kharis - Χάρις

Kharis can be translated to “grace, kindness, goodwill, elegance, favour, joy, charity, beauty”, “reciprocity”, “grace, favor, goodwill”, or a reciprocal relationship with the Gods. To me, this means to not ask for things without offering something in return, to not take advantage of gifts from the Gods.

Periergia - Περιέργεια

Periergia translates to curiosity and is often associated with devotion to researching something. For me, this means to always be curious, open to new ideas, and never stop learning new things. It also means to never claim that I know everything, and be willing to research things I don’t know much about.

Symmakhia - Σύμμαχία

Symmakhia translates to “allyship”. It also happens to be an epithet of Lady Aphrodite! It is usually used in the context of military and war, but here, I am using this word in the context of allyship and support towards marginalized groups. Allyship is active, and so to me, this pillar means to show active support to those that are a part of marginalized or minority communities.

Xenia - Ξενία

Xenia is the concept of guest-friendship or hospitality. For me, this means kindness and hospitality towards those from all walks of life and lived experiences, as long as it is safe to do so.

I haven't seen dancing pumpkin guy ONCE this year, are you guys okay?