A great talk by Mary Craig in #Fala about the facts and fictions around the Witch hunts in the Scottish Borders. New (to me) was the high rate of suicides amongst convicted men (if executed the Kirk got their inheritance, if suicides then they were just damned) and the last (1941) conviction for Witchcraft - still sealed!
As a pre-emptive strike we also picked up an extra copy of her book to prevent our daughter filching ours…
Cornell University Press is having a 50% off sale today (4/24/24) on all print books. They have a particularly strong list on #Russian, #Sovet, and #EastEuropean#History, so if you'd like to know more about, say, #witchcraft in seventeenth-century Russia, Soviet medicine, or the ongoing conflict in Donbas, don't miss this opportunity!
I chose to use a Kentucky Coffee Bean pod as a reminder that just because something might be a nuisance or not good for me doesn't mean it isn't still a valuable part of our ecosystem.
I vowed to work more diligently at using only natural items in my craft.
I also dumped out several jars of water that I've collected but need to return to the earth and will be more selective about what I harvest. Am I really going to use this or just want it?
Healthy habit reminder: Please remember to drink lots of fresh water. Your insides are a swampy bog, and a water shortage would affect the local frog population. 🐸
Three Corners Pagan Circle is hosting a Witches' Walk in the Woods.
$7 Park Entrance Fee. Teens and adults. Cherry Hill Shelter. We will walk through the woods to collect items to make a natural altar. You will learn about indigenous plants and their magical uses and how to use natural formations/locations in your work. See pinned post for details.
Hope to see you there! I will be leading this event!
Je cherche de bonnes lectures (académiques ou populaires!) sur la magie et l'histoire de la magie en France (ou en Europe occidentale plus généralement). Idéalement en français! Le repouet est doux!
I still can't believe I found out where she is buried. It still makes me emotional. When I started this journey, I hoped to rewrite her legacy and emphasise her humanity. Sometimes, behind the Folklore and stereotypes is a far more interesting story ✨️
#WritersCoffeeClub 4. Do you feature real-world political and social issues in your work?
Yes. For starters, the 19th century German folk tales I am translating were deeply embedded in the political and social issues of their day.
For another, many of these issues are still relevant in the modern day. For instance, #antisemitism was unfortunately very common in German #folklore , and I wouldn't be doing my job if I just ignored this. And the #witchcraft panics have clear modern equivalents, like the "Satanic Pedophile Rings" conspiracy fantasies cooked up by #QAnon and others.
Human thoughts and human societies are shaped by their narratives. It is my hope that by shining a light on the narratives of the past, we can get a better understanding of the narratives of the present instead of being caught up in them.
I'm missing my witchcraft community over here on Horrorhub.
I'm doing a local online community group ritual on Sunday, April 21st.
The ritual will be posted a couple of weeks before the event. This is posted for people who haven't done a ritual before and need to get their feet wet. If you have more experience, you are more than welcome to use your own ritual. We will all posts pics the day of the event with a specific tagline.
Youth of Horns: Take care of your body. Make your physical health a priority. Make the effort to get moving a little, and take the time to rest when you need to. Pay attention to what your body is telling you, because it may be different from what other people say. Be in your body as much as you can (depending on pain levels, etc.) instead of being off in your thoughts. That will help ground you and make your experience of life more stable.
Priest of Labryses: When you're faced with decisions this week, make them from an intellectual, analytical point of view. Do your best to avoid letting emotion cloud your judgment. Instead, puzzle out your solution based on the facts and your personal ethics, make a fair and just decision, then stick with it.
This is a deck I created, with hand-painted images in the style of ancient Minoan art. It's published by REDFeather. Deck info via website link in my bio or at MinoanTarot dot com.
Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense L.)
Scattered beneath heart-shaped leaves, the blooms of wild ginger lay toppled over on their sides, as if the fairies were a little too rambunctious the night before and spilled over their pots of ale.
The ancient world is a magical place. From the ziggurats of Sumeria to the temples of Crete and the pyramids of Egypt, the ancients call to us.
Magic never dies, but only slumbers, awaiting discovery by those who would once again revel in its beauty and respect its power.
These spells speak to the many human needs and desires of protection, prosperity, romance, fertility, healing, and divination. Each spell is described in detail, complete with step-by-step instructions as well as background information about the deities involved, encouraging the reader to develop a relationship with these ancient deities who are still very much alive in our world today.
More info on my website (link in bio). Be the magic you want to see in the world!