The Initiation One!

 

The initiation post!

Is this where we all sit in a circle, do some Ravenwolf book chants, and carve tiny little triangles into our ankles? 

Yeah, fuck that. That no-so-fictional start was nearly 15+ years ago, when we were little Witchlettes. Now, my ladies, we are Witch Bitches! Bitch Witches?

Boss Witches.

So, it’s our time of year at last. And you know what I saw yesterday? Fuckin’ Santa. Like, first of all, I might as well just call him Odin – cause he was – but since I had already showered my little step-children in tons of information regarding Halloween (we were at a Fall Festival and I needed to educate on: pumpkin carving, costume wearing, and why it’s stupid their bio-mom is making them trick-or-treat at 2pm on the Saturday before Halloween), I thought I’d hold that thought for now.

But, despite Christmas getting all up in our season, it is the most wonderful time of  year! I’m fighting the urge to decorate my entire house (the way my mom used to) in Halloween decor. I probably would do that if I hadn’t just thrown a fuckin’ wedding ho-down and actually had some spare change. But, why is it that during this most wonderful time of year, it seems like everything goes into hyper-drive? It never fails. I look forward to Autumn all year, and every year, I just get rained on with tons and tons of shit to do.

I just want to enjoy the season, damn it! 

With that being said, I – a witch of three – pledge that no less than once weekly will I take the time to slow down and do something fun, witchy, and for the spirit of the season. And, in that, I will post my Halloween Adventure pictures here to share.

This week’s event? Pumpkin carving! (Fuck yeah!)

-A

 

 

The Darker Half

It never fails. Every year, I wait for the Halloween season (which I count as Mabon – Samhain) with the same kind of excitement as a 7-year-old has for Christmas or his birthday. And every year, I get bitch-slapped.

Every. Year.

I don’t know what it is! It’s within these 5 weeks or so that the universe is like, “Hey, Aly. Nice to see you again. Here’s your annual dish of Fucking-Crazy-Shit. Enjoy!”

I’ve thought about this for a while now, especially this year since I can actually look back and see my tarot entries for this time last year asking, “What are things going to look like in October 2016?” (Answer: Some Tower, some 10 of Swords, a little bit of 3 of Swords, and – oh, right – Death.)

What is it about this time of year that gets up in my face all the time?

Logical Me says it’s something to do with the energy changes. As the seasons are moving, I notice that things in my life will move as well…and if those things are topics or issues I’ve been ignoring during the “calmer seasons” I am in for a fucking shit-storm. You’d think this knowledge would make me more productive during the “Calm Seasons” to really tackle some shit before it blows up. Truth time: Nope. It doesn’t. Usually I’m so frickin’ exhausted from the Shit-Storm of the previous season, that I’m just hanging on to the life-raft that is Summer or Winter.

Witch Me says that this time of year has something to do with my inner-psyche that pushes for change. “I feel it in the water,” Galadriel style, and I can’t help myself but to unleash some inner-Witch power and break some shit up to make way for what I really want.

Let’s be real in that we, as Witches, are more aware that our subconscious intentions and magic can really fuck shit up at times. And that has always been the case for me. I’m sometimes even scared to think shit like, “Damn, I hope I don’t get sick next week,” or “Whew, I’m sure having a bad feeling about driving this car right now. Hope I don’t crash somewhere,” because – for real – thinking shit like that makes it happen in my life. I kid you not. See: February 2015

So, since I’ve told myself that I will no longer complain (and my definition of complaining is talking about all the shit you don’t like but not actually offering any kind of solution to it), I’ll try a new tactic in this, the last week before Samhain.

I will focus on the positive. And to be honest, I have a lot of negative that is trying to crash in. My business partners, for example, just did an Exit-Stage-Left and have given me two weeks to restart my old business in a new place. That’s 14 days to make up for a year’s hiatus.

But, this maneuver of their’s doesn’t have to be bad for me. It doesn’t have to spell out S-T-R-E-S-S in huge burning letters inside my brain. It is simply change, like the seasons. I’m sure the leaves aren’t super psyched about having to take the tumble down to the ground when the seasons change…but maybe down there life (or death) is better? (That’s a stretch, I know. But I’m running on Advil Cold & Sinus and some coffee right now.)

I could consider this a change of personal seasons. My life seasons change regularly, almost in-line with the earth’s seasons like I said. So maybe I just shouldn’t fight it so much. I should mature along side these differences, and understand that only through change do we grow as individuals and spirits.

So, here’s to the changing of the year – that wheel none of us have control of – and an understanding that “Going with the Flow” isn’t giving up against the current; it’s just moving in a less exhausting way in the same direction you would’ve been pushed anyway.

-A

 

Holy shit, it’s Fall time.

For those of you who do not know me, I’m Chrissy (@capricornialove) **tips hat**

My journey has been a strange one guys, and I’m not even sure what faction of witchery I fall into these days. I guess I fit into the “crystal slinging herb monger who really attracts dead people” category. And… Forests are my jam. And…Water is my peanut butter.

In lieu of Autumn and the almighty Samhain approaching, my boyfriend and I decided to drive up to Muskegon state park to have some quality bonding time with Mother Nature. Lake Michigan and the forests that run down her coast bring forth such a magnitude of peace, tranquility, and intense energy into my life. It’s the place I go when I need to root and re-center.

The spirit of Samhain is alive and well. This time of year for me is always about reflection and death, ushering in the cycle of rebirth and growth. In Michigan, October is always the month that transitions into winter. Some years we die faster and winter comes early , and some years (like this one) we get a little more time to reflect.

And boy, did I reflect….

To be honest, I am fucking out of shape. Like shit….. But, I guess there is nothing like a good ol’ sand dune to call you out on your bad life choices. Regardless, the hike was beautiful. The sweet smell of decay, the cool breeze from the water, and the slightly peaking colors of the leaves did my soul wonders. Everything was in the perfect state of in-between. The veil is starting to lift.

I always need a reminder of what Samhain really means (aside from frantically decorating my home) — LET THAT SHIT GO, SO YOU CAN GROW!

Happy witching!

-C

Bare-Naked Sacred Space

Clutter to clean-slate. Today I began the mighty task of cleaning up my altar space; but only after putting it off for as long as humanly possible, naturally. Oh the piles of burnt offerings and the spatters of candle wax were endless. Even for such a small space. And where the hell did all these crystals come from? I believe I admitted in my last post that it had been quite some time since I had even really visited my altar space.  My actual witch “crafting” has been on hiatus since summer but the evidence of what I’d been up to before remained.

I had full intentions of setting everything back up once I de-waxed and dusted everything, but then I hit a brick wall.  I don’t really want to put all of this shit back up there. I’m not even entirely sure what it was all doing up there to begin with. If ‘witchy dementia’ is a thing, then I’m definitely coming down with a case.

To me, an altar should be a place to focus on your craft.  A space dedicated to honing in on the energies that you work with and celebrate, and somewhere along the line I evidently forgot that. I think somewhere between the incense burner and the cauldron I lost my focus on what I was doing and why I was doing it. I imagine this can be a problem for a lot of witches.

So, for now, I’ve decided to leave my altar bare and open to the realm of possibilities. I want to give it a fresh start and really take the time to invest my energy into it. And not by throwing a literal shit-ton of rocks and candles on top of it for aesthetic purposes (which aesthetics for sure have their own place in witchcraft). I want this time to be different. Intentional. Focused. Calm and patient.  And for now, I intend to continue this project by the light of the full moon. Happy witchin’.

-M

witchandmoon

Look at All the Shits I Give (zero)

One thing I really like about my generation is that, for the most part, we don’t really give a flying shit what each other believes in. Not as in, “Psh, fuck that,” but more like, “Hey, that’s cool.”

Even when I was in high school, I had more trouble with the adults thinking I was some kind of Satanic worshiper (not that there should’ve been a problem with that anyway, assholes), than I did with other students judging me. For every 10 studnts who asked genuine questions or had real thoughts about it, there was only 1 who would  tell me how I needed “to be saved by Jesus.” The latter type usually came with a handy pamphlet or something to hand out that Brother so-and-so from Bible Camp gave them just in case they came across a sinner like myself.

 

It’s the old bastards that are the ones that, even to this day as I near 30, still give me shit if I say anything other than, “I believe in God.” Not only do they bring up the conversation, but they don’t let it go either. It’s worse than getting between a wild lion and his food (and since I’ve done that, I know). I’ve even tried a few different methods to get away from these kinds of conversations:

• I’m not religious.
• I don’t really discuss religion.
• I keep my faith personal.
• I feel everyone has their own idea of the divine, and no one really shares the exact same idea.

These, especially that last one, don’t usually go over well. Even in my effort to try to avoid conflict on the subject, Generation [Baby]Boom – as in explosion of mass bullshit on the world as we once knew it – is not satisfied. I must give them an “appropriate” answer. And not only that, but my answer must be what they agree with. If not? Oooohhh, Gina. You’re in for a sermon. 

But why? Like, honestly, Madame Old, I don’t give a shit what you’re saying. I really don’t. Unless you want to actually share some opinions (that means both of us say things, and both of us listen), I could give negative-five-fucks what you believe in.

I do try to be respectful, but honestly the older I get, the less time I have for this kind of bullshit. I’m mad enough at Generation Boom for all the other shit they’ve done; I don’t need to have more reasons to await their Social Security debit to get off my salary.

In fact, next time I get a preaching from Mr. or Mrs. Boom, I’m going to remind them I’m the one paying their damn bills. Maybe they should reconsider taking my demon money from my demon pockets.

-A

*Yes, I realize not ALL Generation Boom is like this. But you know what? Since ALL of my generation is said to be entitled little assholes who live in their parents’ basements – not because their economy and self-worth were completely fucked, but because they’d rather just play games and be assholes according to popular belief of G-Boom – I don’t feel bad at generalizing at this moment and time.*

 

Pleasantries and Witchy-Bitch Banter

Happy evening, I hope you are having quite the lovely night so far. I’m so happy to have a little corner of the internet where I can delight my friends and confound my enemies. If you don’t know me, I am WitchandMoon, Maggie Elram. I’ve been lurking around the occult section of the internet for a number of years, and even contributing videos, podcasts, and the like every now and again. I have taken quite the hiatus from all things witchy and magick over the summer, but I am back and ready to continue making contributions to my community.

I’m not fully sure what it is I will be sharing with you guys, but I do hope to start with some book reviews. I am all the time reading all sorts of occult books; some very good, and others, well, not so good.  I’ve recently been delving into norse mythology and divination using runes, so do expect to be seeing some of that in th
e near future. I also plan on giving my altar a make over here in the next few days, so I will do my best to document whatever it is that happens there.

I’m so, so excited about this new venture with my two moon sisters, and I hope that we can offer you insight, as well as a little humor to brighten up your day.  Have a good night witches!

 

-M

witchandmoon