The Warming Series (2013-2016) – identity research photo project by Teff (the don/the expressionist). This project was designed to capture and document the journey and process of getting reacquainted with her home, Nigeria. The idea of The Warming Series, since its inception in 2013, quickly revealed how tasking the process would be. There were a number of hurdles that proved equally demanding, but none compared to burden attributed to the loss of her grandmothers. She lost both to illness. Neither saw nor had knowledge of whom she came to be, nor the matured sound of her voice, her laughter, her cry.
The Warming Series sets out to examine how she sees herself in relation to her Home–what it was, and what it has transformed into in her absence, as well as how her grandmothers would see her, had they been alive upon her return. The project also serves to examine the concept of home–the creation and recreation of it–an aspect she believes will find resonance in children of (im)migrants like herself.
In the future, she hopes to extend this form of identity research to individuals who share narratives similar to hers–migrant children who left home and for circumstances beyond their control, did not return until mid-to-late adulthood.
[She is photoed here in a wrapper (form of traditonal dress) that once donned the hips of her mother in the compound of her Home in Abuja.]
My friend and I are starting our weekly cultural meal this evening! We’ll (I’ll) be making a roast chicken in garlic, shallot and vinegar served with barley flatbreads. I broke out my comal – hopefully my tortilla making skills will serve me well.
Also, wish me luck – I couldn’t find barely flour so I’ll be grinding my own.
Oh! And I’m going to record my recipe as I go: so I’ll post it up! I can’t promise 100% authenticity but hopefully it’ll be delicious!
It was! Recipe soon. Unfortunately, no picture. We were starving so by the time I remembered, it was far too late.
My friend and I are starting our weekly cultural meal this evening! We’ll (I’ll) be making a roast chicken in garlic, shallot and vinegar served with barley flatbreads. I broke out my comal – hopefully my tortilla making skills will serve me well.
Also, wish me luck – I couldn’t find barely flour so I’ll be grinding my own.
Oh! And I’m going to record my recipe as I go: so I’ll post it up! I can’t promise 100% authenticity but hopefully it’ll be delicious!
My friend and I are starting our weekly cultural meal this evening! We’ll (I’ll) be making a roast chicken in garlic, shallot and vinegar served with barley flatbreads. I broke out my comal – hopefully my tortilla making skills will serve me well.
Also, wish me luck – I couldn’t find barley flour so I’ll be grinding my own.
Hymn of the Black Swamp
“I told you, boy, you ain’t to go to Black Swamp – nothin’ good could ever come of it… That black water runs with blood – and if you ain’t careful, it’ll be yours.” // "My grandaddy always said that they was witches up’on’na mountain and down in them sticks is where they’da work they magic. Up’ntil fitty years ago, them sticks was dry as a bone ‘til them witches brought wit’em that black water…“
- Open Passageways // All Them Witches
- Dunes // Alabama Shakes
- Mississippi Mud // Black Blood & the Chocolate Pickles
- Devil In Me // Jamie N Commons
- At Her Open Door // Dead Meadow
- Never Darker My Door // The Devil & the Almighty Blues
- Like A Mountain // Timber Timbre
- Arienette // Bright Eyes
- What Needs Must Be //
Dead Meadow
- I Feel Love (Every Million Miles) // The Dead Weather
- All Along the Watchtower // Jamie N Commons
- Wade In the Water // Ella Jenkins
- Absolution // The Pretty Reckless
- Light of Day // The Silent Comedy
- Bone House // The Dead Weather
- Bad Vibrations // The Black Angels
- Ha Howa Ha Howa // SEXWITCH
- The Last Goodbye // The Kills
- Blood and Sand / Milk and Endless Water // All Them Witches
- Run, Mourner, Run // Sweet Honey In the Rock
Hot and Cold by Katy Perry came on the radio and now I’m sitting here pondering the uses of Icy-Hot in regard indecision…
Thanks, witchcraft.
Icy Hot sounds like an interesting component to a hex, tbh.
Right?! It could be very interesting. Not only for causing strife, but remedying it. Perhaps as a means by which to smooth indecision and compel clarity.
There are no words to explain how hype this song immediately makes me. Judge me all you want, but you know I’m just going to turn it up until the incessant “Gimmie"s drown out the hate. 🙏🙏
Hot and Cold by Katy Perry came on the radio and now I’m sitting here pondering the uses of Icy-Hot in regard indecision…
Thanks, witchcraft.
A few days ago I saw mention of magic power waning/no longer working at all because it was talked about too much. I’ve been thinking about that a lot. I’m really curious to hear other witches’ and magic practitioners’ thoughts and opinions on that.
Do you think it’s possible for a specific spell to lose power by being talked about too much?
Do you think it’s possible to lose all personal magic power/ability by talking about it too much?
This fits alongside a few other ideas that pop up in some folklore.
- It is bad to talk/brag about gifts given from fairies
- If you call out a witches’ name when they’ve shapeshift, it’ll turn them back into their normal form.
- A wizard’s apprentice bragging about their power gets their “soul” sucked out of them by a witch
- Saying your daughter is more beautiful than a fairy queen ends with the daughter being kidnapped by said queen
- If you brag about having the sight, a fairy will come and steal it away
- Certain charms lose their power if they’re written down or told to another person
The list goes on~
Now, I certainly don’t feel that my power weakens when I talk about certain aspects. However, I do believe that being private or secretive about parts of my practice is very important. I won’t tell people exactly what I did for a spell if I just did it. I won’t share some of the wards, charms, and amulets that I use to protect my home.
It shares one of the key beliefs relating to the witches’ pyramid (among a few other archetypal belief paradigms): a flair for secrecy, to be silent.
It is important to recognize that witchcraft is extremely diverse, and even beyond that magic is vast in its views and beliefs. For some, this theme is 10000% true and important to their practice and beliefs. For others? Not so much.
I think this is a very interesting topic and I can totally agree with what @visardistofelphame is saying in regards to always keeping part of your craft in the dark. The reason behind which are varying – being that beliefs are of a very personal nature & there’s no doubt some carryover from the times when witchcraft was punishable – but no small part (at least online, I think) is the rather turbulent nature of the witchcraft community. They’re a very hard-headed (and at times, on the cusp of hateful) bunch. I’ve sat before and weighed whether or not a post will be more troublesome than it is useful – and I don’t necessarily think that that’s something that should need to be done. I see things regularly that don’t adhere to my own beliefs and am always open. I think that’s one of the beauties of the Craft – the extreme diversity, as visardistofelphame mentioned above:
It is important to recognize that witchcraft is extremely diverse, and even beyond that magic is vast in its views and beliefs. For some, this theme is 10000% true and important to their practice and beliefs. For others? Not so much.
All this post policing is not constructive – save in the understandable cases of appropriation or misrepresentation of a known Craft, though even then there can be a great level of diversity.
As far as the notion that speaking about your Craft can somehow hinder its effect, I’m torn. I think there are some cases where silence is necessary, but that goes back to the personal nature of the Craft. It is truly an extension of self and some aspects remain private no matter who the company is. But do I think that if you were to speak of it that it would somehow counteract the working? I think no, unless it somehow breaks your own confidence in your work.
I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: confidence is a witch’s best weapon.
But I also believe that staying grounded is important. Don’t inflate your abilities just to brag – in fact, just don’t brag. Not necessarily for any magical reason (hubris, though…), it’s just unbecoming, unprofessional, and I think it just oozes insecurity: the enemy of the witch.
So long as you have faith in your work, say what you will. That’s my motto. Plus – what fun would it be to be silent? I love sharing my knowledge and spells, not for me, but for those coming into their own – those who are stumped and in need of a spell – those who just love magic in all its forms – you guys!
I love sharing what I’ve learned as much as I love learning – and how terrible would it be if everyone was silent about their work!? That’s the beauty of it! Witchcraft is an art – art is communication, one that incites, one with the Gods, the Universe, other people, what have you! It is desire. Does sharing that desire limit it? I don’t think so, in fact, I think it amplifies it!
My friend and I love eating – specifically new, fun dishes – but unfortunately, given our remote area, our options are slim. So I’ve suggested we start a weekly cultural meal. Being me, I elected we start with ancient cuisine – and I’ve drafted up a a few recipes based on recorded recipes and the means of each society.
I have an Ancient Egyptian recipe, a Mesopotamian one and then a Mayan one (which I realize is on a completely different scale of time, but the recipe I found sounded good, so I couldn’t resist adding it to the list of options).
Anyone got any fun, cultural recommendations?
Old Native thing my great grandma made: Cut open the stomach of a moose, empty half of it and fill it back up with the blood. Season with garlic salt pepper and mustard, then sew the stomach back up and leave it near a fire for 2 weeks.
It’s probably really hard to make but it’s kind of like paté and tastes pre good on banique.
I would eat that in a heartbeat, but I’m afraid moose isn’t a common commodity around here. I could probably get my hands on deer, though. Hmm! I’ll put it on the list!
I love pâté. Actually; pretty much innards of any kind.
The Qedavian Apocrypha 