In preparation for my next piece (on the use of Music in Witchcraft), I figured I might as well post a song that gets me through life in general. Not really a great witchcraft song, but one I figured I’d share anyway.
(As a note (for any other Fleetwood Mac/Stevie fans), I much prefer this demo to the album version – because you can hear Stevie’s attitude and a smile in her voice, in the album version she just seems so worn down.)
If ever in the dead of night you hear the distant thump of a bass drum – know that that’s just my spirit checking in on all the little ones. No broom is complete without a sound system.
I’ll be frank, I do not do a lot of weather witchcraft – mostly because I have little need for weather manipulation. I’m not a farmer; I garden, but only recreationally and rarely for food. However, I have collected over the years quite a number of weather witching rituals – that I hope may be of more use to some of you than I.
This is undoubtedly what I use most in regards to weather witchcraft, as it can be used in countless ways – specifically in hexes, curses and crosses. Plus, it can be equated to Storm Water, only with the convenience of a powder, making it easier to store and giving it a much extended shelf-life. Creation is very simple.
Simply collect storm water and add it to a stock pot – or whichever size pot matches the quantity of storm water you’ve collected. To this, add salt. Add as much as you can, stirring all the while until the salt no longer dissolves in the water. No need to worry about this extra salt left, it will dissolve when the water is heated – which leads me to the next step: bring the pot to a rolling boil. Stir regularly until the remaining salt has dissolved. Reduce heat to a medium boil, and leave it to boil. It’s integral to check on it regularly, so as not to ruin your pot! Once the water has evaporated, you will be left with newly reformed “storm” salt crystals. Just scrape/collect and bag/jar.
(Being that the water is rain water – soft water – it should leave little to no calcification/hard-water build up on the pan)
It can also be used to turn regular water into storm water, with the addition of the salt – which is quite handy!
Storm Raising rituals are, admittedly, a dime-a-dozen, but nonetheless I’m bringing this one to you. It’s similar – in essence – to the old, rag-beating summons, but incorporating a few added “ingredients”
You will need:
Storm Water – which can be “reconstituted” by adding the Storm Salt to regular (or preferably soft) water, though fresh is always best
Pine Boughs – gathered to form a whisk or “broom” of sorts – these must be fresh and the more flexible, the better
A Large Rock – I live in a national forest that is rife with huge rocks, we even have the Garden of the Gods (IL), so I’d say doing this “on location” would be all the better. The higher vantage point, the better! But, a large river rock or decorative rock should work just fine
Place the storm water in a large-mouthed bucket or pale, and arrange it near the rock. Dip the collected boughs into the water, and give them a stir. You’ll want to move quickly for this next part, because the saturation of the needles is key. Grab them up, and without letting them drip, lash the rock with them (you will most certainly get wet – embrace it).
While doing this, recite:
Lashing rain and maelstrom might,
Born of sky – horizon’s blight –
That which turns the day to night –
Thunder roll and lightning strike,
I calleth forth: The Storm
With each line, lash the rock. The process would be, Line #1, lash the rock, Line #2, lash the rock, and so on.
When complete, shake the excess water from the boughs and wrap them in a cloth or towel. This can then be burned, hung in a tree, or stashed in a high place as an offering.
As with most weather magic, this should be done from a high vantage point, as nearest to the sky as you can get (safely) or in a vast field/meadow. Again, rain conjurings are plentiful, but you can’t rightly do a piece on weather magic without including at least one, right?
To perform, simply gathered a bag or bowl of whole barley or ground oats. A combination of fine, but no benefit. To this, add in the storm salt. You can also use fresh storm water, but that gets very messy and drippy (which may or may not be beneficial to rain summoning or not – but either way, I’d prefer to stay dry and not be wearing damp oats, honestly). In your chosen location, cast the grain in the four cardinal directions, saying a prayer for rain of your choosing. Repeat three times and scatter any remaining meal.
As an Air Sign, I have an extraordinary love for wind (as well as most weather – except snow, I hate snow) and love a powerful gust – messy hair a welcome effect. This particular calling is for summoning up wind, not tempering it, as I could think of no situation in which wind would not be welcomed. For this, I bring two options:
Method One:
To summon up the wind, first collect 8 or 9 weeping willow branches (In all honesty, you could also use pine, but you’d get far more wind resistance which is counter-intuitive to this process). These will be fashioned into a “whisk” – however, if you happen to have a whisk (such as a horse tail whisk – a “totem” of the Orisha, Oya) feel free to use that. For this particular method, a broom is not recommended, see option two for that.
To construct the whisk, simply bare the branches of any leaves, and bind them together with string, twine or rope – it can be as decorative or as minimalist as you’d like, as it can be reused or used once and left.
With whisk in hand, find a fitting location. As above, “high” places, life bluffs or outcroppings are well suited, or a large, flat expanse. Line yourself up and attune yourself for a moment to the wind – which is best done with closed eyes. Feel the wind (if there is any) and the air, align yourself thusly with your back to any wind or breeze. If the air is still, face the direction in which you want the wind to blow. Briefly dangle the whisk at your side, and gently shake it to “charge” it. When all feels right, bring the whisk up and snap it in front of you, first to your right, then to the left. Be careful, you don’t want to put your eye out and being that this is much like a natural, cat-of-nine tales, you don’t want to relive the “switches” from days of yore.
Continue to whip the air with the whisk until you feel a change in the air – even if it minute, you should be able to feel the pressures changing.
Method Two:
This one is one you probably shouldn’t do in your front yard unless you want your neighbors closing the blinds and pulling their children inside for fear of the crazy witch next door.
You will need:
A Broom – preferably one made of an “airy” wood, I’d recommend ash, birch, or a sturdier willow.
– or –
Simply a Limb of the same variety
With your “weapon of choice,” choose a suitable location, and like before, attune yourself to the wind. Hold the broom or limb with both hands in a passive manner (palms beneath the wood, not above). Held it near you, with bent arms – as you are mimicking the air as it is, passive and reserved. Once you have attuned yourself, flatten your palms and straighten your arms, as though you are presenting the branch as a gift.
At this point, one hand at a time, take a more dominant grip over the limb, palms now above the wood. Raise it above your head in a single, abrupt movement, at which point antagonize the wind.
I know how that sounds… Hence why I said not to do this in your front yard.
You’re literally trying to enrage the wind, but calling it weak and docile. Ask it to show you the power it possesses, command it to move, scream to the proverbial heavens to “show me what you’ve got!” Get it rustling, bully it into retaliation, basically, until it’s to your liking – at which point, commend it. “See, that’s better! Well done. Keep it up.”
Sometimes the wind just needs to be reminded… We air signs are much the same.
Surely you didn’t think it was all going to be conjuring up bad weather… This, this is to dismantle those clouds and brings some much needed sunshine – which makes this particularly useful in the long bouts of spring rain, when a bit of sunshine would really help lighten the mood, and cut that lingering chill.
This process is relatively simple and is done much the same way as the above, but with the addition of a knife. Any knife will do, no need to get fancy – grab one out of the kitchen or from the garage and make your way to a suitable spot. Much like before, high places and wide places are most suitable, but for this one, you’ll be looking for somewhere with a great view of the sky.
To begin, warm yourself up – focus your energy to feeling the heat of your skin, as though the sun was beaming down on it. It is with this warmth that you will be cutting the clouds, much like the sun does.
Once poised and ready, knife in hand, draw the flat blade over your tongue (not the sharp bit, obviously – you’d also ideally want to make sure it’s clean first), imbuing it with sun’s heat. Hold it over your head, parallel with the sky, then drive it town into the earth. Pull it from the ground until just the point remains in the earth, and draw it straight to the right, then turning it upward, arking around to make a counter-clockwise circle around the initial point – making, roughly, the alchemical sign for sun. Clean the blade and go on your merry way, waiting for the clouds to part and the sun to shine.
There are several types of Lightning Wards – and I do mean several. I’m not sure if people used to get hit left and right with lightning or what, but they sure wanted lots of charms to prevent it. Any rudimentary search through Google will turn up countless charms to prevent personal injury from lightning, so I’ve elected to, instead, bring you a means of preventing lightning from striking your crops or homestead.
The recipe is relatively simply, gather:
Corn Kernels – from the last harvest
Storm Salt
Oak Ash – as in, the ashes of a piece of oak
– and –
Copper – coins, buttons, fixings, whatever you can find – or, alternately, a copper bowl to mix the above in
Combine the ingredients in a bowl – copper being the best, and doubling as the copper called for above. As strange as it sounds, when mixing this, do not incorporate any silver, which includes mixing while wearing silver rings, necklaces or jewelry of any sort. This is because silver is extremely conductive – far more so than copper.
When all ingredients have been incorporated and the kernels and salt have been well coated by the ash, sprinkle the mixture at the four corners of your property lines. For your home, this can be as simple as the actual corners, but for crops and vast, farm land, merely corners that roughly encompass all the land. Basically in such a way as to form a barrier around the property.
The Lightning Summons, conversely, also uses copper, but in the form of a lightning rod. Now, I’ll be the first to wonder why anyone would want to attract lightning, though I image its energy would be extraordinarily useful in the craft – and is always a nice, old-fashion go to for curses. You know, what with: “I hope you and everything you love are struck by lightning! I smite you!”
Regardless of your desires, a simple lightning summons can be made with:
A Length of Copper – solid being best, however, what with the rising prices, a cut length of pipe should do nicely, perhaps even wire. You want a piece that measures roughly 3 ft. or a meter – as your purpose is not to construct an actual lightning rod, simply a metaphorical one.
– and –
A Branch from a Tree that has been struck by Lightning – alternately, another piece of copper would work nearly as well
For the summons, you’ll want to be in much the same location as above, or near a spot where lightning has struck before. Needless to say, this should not be done in the midst of a lightning storm, considering waving metal around – while probably a sure fire way to attract some form of lightning – is probably not the best decision if you don’t want to be the victim of your own summons.
Once in position, hold the copper in your right hand and the limb (or other piece of copper) in the left over your head, one crossed over the other. Strike them together in series of three. Knock, knock, knock…. Wait, then repeat.
As you do so, recite:
Come ye: fire – of the sky (knock x3)
Blinding light – and thunder crash
Grounded by my call;
Spit white-tongues of devastation, (knock x3)
Wrought in the fires of my
Command.
(knock x3)
Rod and bolt –
Creator, Destroyer – (knock x3)
Abide this call,
By Heathen-tongue –
And from the skies,
My Will be done. (knock x3)
My Will be done. (knock x3)
With rope or string, bind the rod and limb (or two rods) together and leave them near where you desire lightning to strike.
I awoke to find my raccoon paw in my bed. Which is strange, considering my raccoon paw is a permanent resident of my ritual room, so how it came to be there is beyond me.
As requested by reginaabyssi ;; also, touched upon
briefly here
This is something I’ve wanted to write for quite some time
now, but was never sure if it was the appropriate time – for which I have to
thank reginaabyssi, who asked for me to delve into my own, particular theology.
And it is very much that, theology – in that this is what I have tessellated from
my experiences and have come to believe. Know that when posed with difficult
questions, such as “what is the nature of the soul,” I either look to nature
for the answer or nature – in her own way – shows me. As such, I will undoubtedly
speak anecdotally and perhaps even metaphorically, though I’ll do my best to “trim
the fat.”
To begin, we must first look to ourselves. And how it is
that we exist, perceptually, on this place. I spoke on this in the aforementioned
link in regards the comparison with the “gros bon ange” and “ti bon ange” in
Haitian Voodoo. We, as individuals, exist as smaller manifestations of a larger
“soul.” Or perhaps that isn’t quite the phrasing I mean, for the Greater Soul
is but a collection of smaller pieces, unique individuals that conjoin to form
something that communal. These smaller pieces, however, are animated by this
larger entity. The most fitting scenario I could describe would be to imagine
one mass. This large mass is then “shattered” – into hundred, thousands,
millions of smaller pieces. It is these pieces that animate us – these pieces are
most akin to the idea of the Western soul. Throughout life, we add to these
pieces – these pieces grow with every great experience, good or bad. All these
little shards, these pieces, grow and change as they are marked with knowledge
and experience – through countless incarnations, lives, call them what you will.
The Soul is a group of pieces (of which you are one) that existed as a whole
long before you, and will once again reunite – larger and grander than before.
And each, Great Soul, is much like us – a collection of lives and experiences,
all of which were individual, combine to form a Greater Soul that – too – is individual.
Another way to put it is that the Soul is much like the Universe.
Once we were this gargantuan, superheated mass that exploded into trillions and
trillions of smaller pieces, hurled out with such a great force that we are
still being hurled! We exist thusly in the In-Between – after the explosion,
but before the recollection.
However, the perception of time on this whole process is
extremely difficult to cope with, because Spirit exists outside our perceptions
of time and perhaps even time itself, so, theoretically this process could happen
(in what we consider) instantaneously – in that these pieces explode and reform
in such a manner that this life and all lives that combine to form the Soul could
happen in (what we would perceive as) a flash. This, too, makes things
difficult for the “laws” of incarnation – because its plausible that there
could be other living pieces of the same Greater Soul living amongst one
another. Which is to say, right now, someone who is part of Your Soul, could be alive and prospering
on the other side of the globe – however, I’m quite sure that your meeting
would be forbidden by some cosmic doctrine. Which all goes into Soul Planning,
goals, yadda yadda – things that I won’t crowd this post with.
This, in itself, is by no means a unique concept and
manifests in many faiths and ideologies the world over. The part of my beliefs
that I’ve never heard echoed was what happens after this process of reformation
– when the Soul is Complete (for notions of Soul Completion, see the: Bucket
and Thimble analogy). I believe this completion, freedom from Samsara – as Moksha,
Enlightenment, call it what you will, presents the Greater Soul with numerous
options, however the one I most want to touch on is my notion of Deification.
I believe (and please note that I both bolded and italicized that)
that upon a Soul’s completion, the Spirit may choose to serve those still “working
toward completion” – through Deification. To become – what we as mortals would
consider – a God. As such, the Gods as we know them are Souls who have
transcended our status and have pledged to – in some way or another – assist
humanity in our own Completion, by “speeding up” the process – through means of
Divine Guidance – or through means of “punishment” (putting further obstacles
in our way so that we might grow more with each life, and thereby “speed up” Completion).
These Gods, of course, are well suited to guide, being that they have achieved
that which we seek to achieve and their unique proclivities dictated by their
own, unique “make-up” of experiences (i.e. what makes a “Love Deity” a love
deity, and so on).
As such, we who live now are ever-working our way to
deification (if we so choose, as there undoubtedly are other choices that a
completed Soul may desire to take on). This, however, I do not believe to be
the End – as I think these beings, too, exist akin to us, in that they are part
of a greater whole – of which are themselves, part of an even greater whole –
and so on and so forth.
Given these particular beliefs and my own inklings, my idea
of “God” is more akin to the Hindu concept of Brahman (and even more akin to
the Shaktism notion of “Shakti”) – or that God is everything. The top of the
proverbial ladder, that which is encompassing of all that is, was, will be. All
mass, matter, energy, etc. and thusly, all of its opposites as well – in this
and every dimension. But – that’s
more than you wanted to know.
The last few days have brought me an influx of messages – for which I am so happy! I love, love, love being able to answer your questions as best as I can and they are always welcome!
Naturally, that goes for the rest of you as well! I am more than happy to answer any questions – great or small.
Prosperity Bundles for:
gardenofthequeen
beewitch
thisonewitchiknow
kamikaze-kumquatsComposed, in part, of:
Cedar Bark Chips
Juniper Berries
Pine Needles
Dried Spruce
Copper Coins
– & –
Harvest Corn KernelsMany blessings to you all, and I hope that these might ease your own, unique troubles,
QThank you! They look so nice! ^_^
Be sure to keep me posted, darling! Once things are in order for everyone I’ll toss them into an autumnal bonfire and dance merrily!
original post can be found here: {The {Soul} Alchemist’s Trap Box}
This process incorporates a number of my personal beliefs – which I’ll expand lightly on for clarification. I do not believe in the notion of Sin in that the Soul can be permanently and irreparably marred by the Choices we make whilst bound to flesh. This factors into my notion of the Hierarchy of the Soul – which is vaguely similar to the notion of the Gran Bon Ange and the Ti Bon Ange – in that we as individuals are manifestations of a greater (collective – no 90s) Soul, but the parts of us this make up who we are as individuals (personalities, mindsets, skills, but equally our short-comings and bigotry) can be influenced by the physical plane.
After Death, the Spirits that we know and see, are the disembodied “small” portion of the Soul – which can remain indefinitely on the Spirit Plane or “move on” all of which is up to that individual spirit. However, in certain instances where a Spirit is kept on the Spirit Plane – ones that are Lost, or so filled with anger and hatred that they completely lose track of themselves and/or time – can be tainted by that which was in the physical. I’ve found that this is what most “demons” (not as in actual demons, I’m referring to the things Christians always thing are out to get them) are – the toxic, poisoned remains of this “small” soul. These pieces (unlike the “large” soul) can be “ permanently and irreparably marred” – in which case, all the “good, human” qualities about them have been destroyed by the darker aspects. It is at this point that they can completely detach, reform their shape, appearance, demeanor into something…. nasty. These pieces – while never rejoining the “large” soul – and thereby “wasted,” must be collected and returned from whence they came. That’s not our job – there are “people” for that.
This box (theoretically) can reverse, or cleave the mounting darkness from the “small” soul – thereby returning them to their state just after death – hopefully preventing them from going rogue all over again.
But don’t mistake me, there are inevitably, undeniable risks involved. I mean, while it is the dark, icky parts of the person you’re cleaving, they’re still parts of the person. It would have to be one of those calls you’d have to make on the fly, and I’m not sure that’s something I could do.
I’ll preface this by saying two things – 1) I have yet to attempt to create these boxes, and 2) There is a third box – but one I do not intend to share. I do not uphold the Crede, nor fear the wrath of Karma – but the third box would undoubtedly bring down a maelstrom of horror on any who dare use it incorrectly. Hence… why I’m not including it. Tender eyes and what not.
To create these boxes, you will first need a few supplies:
Begin, first and foremost by prepping your paint: for which you will need your blood and your hair. Burn the hair and collect the ash, add this to your second color (i.e. not black) – in the photo tutorial, this will be marked in red, You will also need to add your blood to the same paint as your hair. While not necessary, it is strongly recommended that you add the blood. And you’re going to want to add at least a drop or two… or three. Mix thoroughly. While the paint shouldn’t spoil, I would recommend doing this just before the ritual, so everything is still relatively fresh.
Take your first box and paint the interior black – this will act as your Trap Box. It will be the one used as a snare to collect unsavory spirits of many kinds. As for this part, it works just as any trap box would. Lure/command the spirit into the box, wherein it will be trapped, yadda yadaa. You will be using a Trap Sigil in the box – feel free to design your own, for this tutorial, I’ve elected to use this:
Since you’ve painted the inside of the box black (and yes, that is an important step), and added the blood/hair to a second color, use the third (here, white) to paint in your sigil. Shown here is just the flat bottom of the box – if you wanted to use the same symbol, I would make sure to bring the lines up the edges to the mouth – perhaps even continuing them onto the lid.
When the white has been painted and had time to dry, dip your finger into the red paint and mark the center of the sigil. It is now sealed to you.
On top of the box, you will be painting a “lock” sigil, but also using the red as a sort of guide – which I’ll explain later. For this design, the top of the box would feature (the main image above):
(Note: I used a white background, but if I were to make one, I would undoubtedly paint the entire box black – then paint in the sigil with white. Notice, also, that the tridents overlap the hand print. The painting process would go: circles/rings, hand print, trident – for which I have my reasons)
(It would also be at this point that you might affix your broken mirror shards inside the box – making sure not to cover the sigil, but filling in along that inside edges and the inward facing part of the lid would be both interesting to look at and useful for containing the spirit).
For now, this box is complete.
The second box is where things get a little more complicated. As I said, youll need a divider of some sort to section the inner compartment in half. It needs to be sturdy. This is a crucial divide and you would not want any commingling between the compartments!
Again, I’d suggest painting the inside black, as well as the divider.
This shows the four inner walls of the left compartment. In all honest, it doesn’t matter which side is which – but does matter that the red, hatched circle is on the divider. Feel free to switch sides, just make sure the red is on the divider. For now, disregard the above fingerprint, as this related to the stones, which we’ll discuss later. Do not stamp it. Do, however, paint the above symbols on each “wall,” then fill the compartment with salt.
This, obviously, shows the other half – again, the circle that is not like the rest goes on the divider. Do paint the symbol fixed in the bottom of the box – as well as continue the same symbols (the “starred” circles) onto the inside of the lid, by either doing one on each half or one large one across the entire lid.
At this point, the construction of both boxes is complete. Feel free to decorate the outside of the “Filtration” Box (box #2) however you so desire.
Now this is where things get fun! Take one of your rocks (we’ll be calling this the “Evil” Rock) and stamp the same finger print as you did on the inside of the first box (hence why the fingerprint also appears in the first side of the second box – as this is where it will eventually go!). At this point, you will also want to make a separate (easily repeatable) symbol on the same rock. This symbol will pair it with the “Good” Rock. Of course, now recreate the symbol on the Good Rock.
In essence, what you’re doing is setting up a proverbial circuit. The first box ensnares the spirit – which is then drawn through the coordinating symbol (in this case, your fingerprint) into the first compartment of the corresponding box – the one filled with salt. The circuit continues, of course, with the second symbol on the Evil Rock, which leads through the divider to the Good Rock.
Theoretically, this sort of “filtration” process should cleave the entity into a Dark and Light aspect – (this factors into my beliefs that “evil” does not exist outside of the human perception and is thus a creation of the human psyche – thereby, this process should leech this “evil” from the host spirit and keep it trapped within the first rock, while the “good” – or rather, the purest essence of the spirit is transferred into the “Good” Rock, from whence they should be released.
The same rocks should be usable for quite a few spirits, but as I mentioned, you should free the “purified.”
For information on my personal beliefs in regards to the Trap Box – briefly touching on the Soul and the Spirit and whether or not it (ethically) should be used, see:
(Beliefs Behind the Trap Box) – which basically means read before you try to send me any flack!
As promised, I have for you a sigil to find meaning though self-discovery. This will allow you to see that which is before you with fresh eyes so that you might find the meaning that you seek. Also, I hope you don’t mind, but I saw that you were a follower of Artemis and as such, incorporated her crescent moon so that it is she who allows for this transition. Simply inscribe it upon something to carry with you – I would suggest an amulet, dressed with an herb-steeped oil of your choosing – gear toward enlightenment and discovery – lunar herbs being particularly useful given your inclinations. Alternately, of course, you can simply carry the sigil with you on folded paper. Which ever is more befitting of your personal taste and budgets.
I hope that it will help!
Best wishes, and keep those eyes open!
Q
The Qedavian Apocrypha 