A Commision For @so-i-did-this-thing​, Aurora Borealis Above Icebound Terror On Labradorite.

Just reiterating that the heart of witchcraft is (just like science) experimentation and documentation. Try things out. Get them wrong. Mess up. Do better. Write down your efforts. Make changes and alterations based on what you have access to. Above all, if it works, it works; if it doesn’t, then it’s no good. Witchcraft is a results-based practice. 

“Find meaning. Distinguish melancholy from sadness. Go out for a walk. It doesn’t have to be a romantic walk in the park, spring at its most spectacular moment, flowers and smells and outstanding poetical imagery smoothly transferring you into another world. It doesn’t have to be a walk during which you’ll have multiple life epiphanies and discover meanings no other brain ever managed to encounter. Do not be afraid of spending quality time by yourself. Find meaning or don’t find meaning but ‘steal’ some time and give it freely and exclusively to your own self. Opt for privacy and solitude. That doesn’t make you antisocial or cause you to reject the rest of the world. But you need to breathe. And you need to be.”

— Albert Camus, Notebooks 1951-1959

Source: https://pin.it/4KBWXRG

"Moonlight made a ghostly path for me, and shadows, eerie and fantastic, lurked behind the trees." –Daphne Du Maurier 🍂 // all photos are mine 🌙

“—how wonderful to be who I am, made out of earth and water, my own thoughts, my own fingerprints— all that glorious, temporary stuff.”

— Mary Oliver, excerpt of “On Meditating, Sort Of”, in Blue Horses

Spiritual Hygiene

Spiritual hygiene is basically keeping yourself, cleansed, protected and grounded spiritually. People tend to try and do this through daily practices, which for some can be hard to upkeep. As someone with depression and can be lazy at times- sticking to routines can be difficult for me. So here’s some “basics” you can try to slowly add to your day to day that will give you a regular spiritual hygiene routine.

Cleanse yourself when you shower: This can be as simple as asking the water to cleanse you while you shower. Sometimes showering can be hard- for times like this i recommend a cleansing spray. Quick and fairly low spoons. But if you want to put more energy into this step you can enchant your soap/body wash for cleansing, hang eucalyptus above your shower and ask it to cleanse you, make a shower sachet, use spellcrafted oils for cleansing, ect.

Enchant your jewelry and/or skincare for protection: Obviously this one is for when you feel up to doing an actual spell. But, once its done you can just put your jewelry or skincare on for the day and be good to go. Every once in awhile take a moment to check in with your jewelry/items and see if it needs to be cleansed (or make a jewelry cleansing bowl) or needs to be re-enchanted.

Ground yourself when you wake up: once you wake up take even a minute to ground and center yourself. This works both if youre a person like myself who needs to lay in bed for a few minutes before getting up, or if youre a crazy person whos ready to go right away.

Even doing these three things through the week will help build you a strong spiritual hygiene routine and daily practice. Remember to take your time when building a daily practice, and forgive yourself if it’s not done everyday. ✨🫶🏻

Racism, Spirituality, and Witchblr

As a Black witch, it first made me relieved to see so many people in the community band together for Black Lives Matter. Over the past 5 years as a member of the Witchblr community, I have been subjected to numerous acts of racist microaggressions and attacks ranging from slurs being thrown at me, death threats, insults to my cultural practices because they’re different from European witchcraft and folk magic, attempted doxxing, and more because I was outspoken about anti-racist action. And that doesn’t include the many accounts of racism and bigotry that I witnessed secondhand. So seeing the community come together to support BLM made me hopeful that there would be a cultural shift within the community. 

But, as time went on, the amount of support for BLM that I saw in the tags slowly began to dwindle as if the movement had some hidden expiration date for allies, as if all the work was done after the mass spells performed on the eclipse.

The work is far from over, witchblr. We still need to protest, sign petitions, donate, and do our part to end police brutality, defund/disband the police and abolish prisons, and address the systemic racism that exists in all facets of society.

To look “locally,” the same problems in our community still exist. And while we alone cannot eradicate racism from the whole of society, we can absolutely prevent its spread on witchblr and in other spiritual/occult communities. 

Being an ally means more than posting a black square on your Instagram page or changing your profile picture to “heathens against racism.” Being an ally means actively being anti-racist and doing your part to ensure the community is truly inclusive and safe for people of color.

So, how can we begin to address the problem of racism in the spiritual communities both online and offline? Here are a few tips. I’ve focused largely on how white allies can address racism as it impacts Black practitioners, as I can only speak from my own experience as a Black person. Other people of color of all races are welcome to add onto this.

Stop supporting cultural appropriation. I don’t care if they’re your favorite blogger, your favorite diviner, your favorite occult supply store, etc, but if they’re posting about hoodoo sweetening/honey jars and they’re not Black, it’s time to block and unfollow. If they claim they speak for the Orisha or the Lwa and they aren’t initiated, it’s time to block and unfollow. If you don’t respect our cultural practices, you don’t really respect us.

Educate yourself on non-European practices. Did you know that there are more ATRs than just Lucumi, Vodou, and hoodoo? Can you explain the difference between Voodoo/Vodou and hoodoo? What is the difference between hoodoo and witchcraft? If you can’t answer these questions, time to do some reading! Educating yourself prevents you from appropriating or saying/spreading ignorant misinformation.

Stop supporting spiritual/occult organizations that act as performative allies and/or refuse to explicitly support practitioners of color. That means covens, fraternal organizations, Discord servers, pagan temples, conventions, and other spiritual organizations (large and small.) Don’t donate to these groups and don’t attend these groups or their events.

Amplify the voices of Black practitioners. How many Black spiritual/occult authors, diviners, bloggers, podcasters, astrologers, priest/priestesses, and/or vloggers can you name? How many African or Black philosophers can you name? Our voices and contributions to religion, spirituality, and the occult matter. Listen to us.

Deplatform racists. If you are a moderator or leader of a spiritual/occult community, delete/ban/kick out anyone who expresses racist or bigoted ideologies. Defending racists under the guise of “freedom of speech” just allows them to spread their hate and potentially harm or traumatize POC. Even if you’re not in a position of power, refuse to engage with bigots to prevent their message from spreading. Don’t reblog their posts, watch their videos, buy their products, etc. If you can, spread receipts of their racist acts instead.

Stop speaking over practitioners of color. If we say that something is racist/appropriation/insensitive, listen to us instead of arguing in an attempt to “save face.” We all make mistakes. Just own up to it and do what you can to fix the situation. Attacking us just because we demand equal respect is an act of racism in and of itself.

Support Black-owned businesses. Instead of buying your herbs from Amazon, go to a botanica. Get readings or other metaphysical services from Black diviners. We deserve to be compensated for our labor. It’s the least you can do considering a large chunk of modern folk magic is inspired by, influenced by, or straight up stolen from Black spiritual practices.

De-center yourself from the conversation. Cool, you’re an empath or a “sensitive”, but venting all day about how much pain you’re in is honestly insulting. And, if you want to rant about all the racist things your family has done, maybe go to one of your other white friends instead of forcing us to listen to you repeat their racist garbage.

Acknowledge your own biases and privileges. There are tons of resources out there on white privilege, white fragility, and unconscious forms of racism. Educate yourself.

Keep up the work outside of witchblr and spiritual communities. Keep donating, keep signing petitions, and keep using your platform for anti-racist action.

These points are only the tip of the iceberg. Racism is so deeply embedded in our society that it won’t be removed overnight. But if you want to claim the title of “ally,” you need to join in and continue doing the work. Unlike you, we don’t get to “opt out” of caring for the movement as racism impacts us every single day of our lives. Don’t opt out on us now.

Crystal Care 101

Alright witches (and non-witches), let me give you a crash course in Crystal Care.

Universal Ways to Charge Crystals

Any of these ways can be used without damaging your crystals:

Moonlight. The moon is our best friend, she is amazing, she will not harm your crystals at all.

Touch. You can hold your crystals in your hand to charge them with your own energy and intention. It is a very personal way to charge your crystals.

Smoke. You can run your crystals through smoke from your incense, candles, or smoke cleansing sticks.

Sigil. Place a sigil meant for charging underneath your crystal to charge it.

Selenite. Some people use Selenite to charge their other crystals. I don't know why Selenite is associated with charging crystals, but it is.

Basic Crystal Safety

Do not consume any crystal or crystal powder under any circumstances.

Some crystals are toxic when in water, make sure yours isn't before you charge your water.

Do not heat your crystals with a flame.

Do not have Himalayan Rock Salt Lamps if you have a cat, they can lick it and become very dehydrated, which can lead to death.

In fact, make sure all of your crystals are out of reach for any of your pets, or children if you have them.

DO NOT PUT THESE CRYSTALS IN WATER

Amber, Angelite, Black Tourmaline, Calcite, Carnelian, Celestite, Halite, Hematite, Jade, Labradorite, Lapis Lazuli, Lodestone, Malachite, Mica, Moldavite, Moonstone, Obsidian, Opal, Pearl, Pyrite, Selenite, Tangerine Quartz, Turquoise

DO NOT PUT THESE CRYSTALS IN CONSTANT SUNLIGHT

Amethyst, Apatite, Aquamarine, Aventurine, Calcite, Celestite, Citrine, Clear Quartz, Fluorite, Green Amethyst, Opal, Rose Quartz, Sapphire, Smokey Quartz, Topaz, Turquoise

DO NOT PUT THESE CRYSTALS IN EXTREME TEMPERATURES

Amber, Amethyst, Aquamarine, Citrine, Coral, Emerald, Jade, Labradorite, Lapis Lazuli, Malachite, Moonstone, Obsidian, Onyx, Opal, Pearl, Touramaline.

This is just a 101 Guide, it's by no means a full list, so please make sure to also do your own research on your individual crystals as well. I hope this helps!

My companions need constant attention wha-

“You still crave lemonade, but the taste doesn’t satisfy you as much as it used to. You still crave summer, but sometimes you mean summer, five years ago.”

— Alida Nugent