Telling The Bees

Telling the bees

The custom of "telling the bees" is a charming and ancient tradition where beekeepers inform their bees about significant events in their lives, such as deaths, births, marriages, and other major occurrences. This practice is believed to have its roots in Celtic mythology, where bees were seen as messengers between the human world and the spirit world. The presence of a bee after a death was thought to signify the soul leaving the body. The tradition became particularly prominent in the 18th and 19th centuries in Western Europe and the United States.

To tell the bees, the head of the household or the "goodwife" would approach the hives, gently knock to get the bees' attention, and then softly murmur the news in a solemn tone. This ritual was believed to keep the bees informed and prevent them from leaving the hive or dying. The custom underscores the deep connection and respect that people historically had for bees, viewing them as integral members of the household and community. (The Historian's Den)

I can easily see how you can turn this in a magical tradition with some little adaptation: plant flowers and plants for bees in your garden, invoke the spirit of the bees, keep bee-telling to the bee-spirits and take care for the plants. I am sure that one day the spirit of the bees will be your ally and that you will learn from it. And a big plus: you are helping the bees to survive in a world full of mono-cultures and poisons. Witchcraft and care-taking for your environment can go hand in hand if you wish to.

I was inspired by this post by @windvexer about gestational spells and decided to give it a go as usually I release my spells almost immediately after they've been crafted.

I had some spare (dried) eggshells from a previous working and thought that they'd work well as a container for the spell, especially since they are literally gestational containers that help create and protect life.

I gathered my ingredients and began the small ritual, finishing with sealing them in the eggshells. I poured a lot of my energy into it, cradled it gently and asked Mother Nature to share her nurturing energy too.

I will continue to pour more energy in and let the spell grow and evolve inside the shell for 7 days, when I will help release and birth the spell.

Will update as the process continues!!!

people talk all the time about “primal instincts” and it’s usually about violence or sexual temptations or something, but your humanity comes with a lot of different stuff that we do without really thinking about, that we do without being told to or prompted to

your average human comes pre-installed with instincts to:

Befriend

Tell story

Make Thing

Investigate

Share knowledge

Laugh

Sing

Dance

Empathize with

Create

we are chalk full of survival instincts that revolve around connecting to others (dog-shaped others, robot-shaped, sometimes even plant-shaped) and making things with our hands

your primal instincts are not bathed in blood- they are layered in people telling stories to each other around a fire over and over and putting devices together through trial and error over and over and reaching for someone and something every moment of the way

🐢 anon here!

What is a part of nature that you feel spiritually connected to the most?

Could be anything!

Spiders, oak trees, urban/city nature, bugs, rocks, rabbits, the oceans and rivers, anything!!!

Hello beloved anon 🐢!!

I think for me it's woodlands! Where I grew up is near a small patch of woods and I spent so much time there as a child with my family and our dogs that it's become really important to me! Whenever I go home, I spend a lot of time there, meditating or exploring and appreciating how familiar it is, despite how much we both have changed.

Where I live for university is beautiful: we have beaches and mountains nearby, but the woodland isn't as accessible as I would like (I don't drive so I'm limited by public transit).

If I am surrounded by trees, with good, deep soil and roots beneath me, I am happy.

“when the blood in your veins returns to the sea,

and the earth in your bones returns to the ground,

perhaps then you will remember that this land does not belong to you, it is you who belong to this land...”

Foundation of Witchcraft: Spellcraft Science 🪄🧪

Witchcraft and science are more similar than we think. Both require just as much care, focus, and experimentation. Approaching your spellwork like how a scientist would approach an experiment, would create more reliable and effective spellwork and outcomes.

From cleansing your space and tools to recording your spells like a lab report, it allows for a more systematic and reliable record of what does and doesn't work for you. It also makes it easier for you to reproduce, improve, or adjust your spell work into the best results.

1) Write Out Your Hypothesis

This is where you write what you want to happen and record your hypothesis.

2) List Out Your Ingredients

List out all the ingredients and tools you used to create the spell, this includes crystals, sigils, herbs, etc...

3) Your Steps

Write in detail the steps you took to create the spell. As much as we want to rely on our memory. Our memory and we are not perfect, but paper and pen will hold true.

Example:

Step 1: Cleanse your space and tools.

Step 2: Open the circle.

5) Record Your Results!

This is the most important part! Make sure to come back to record your results to see if the spell really worked or not! Usually, I give it about 1 week to 1 month to see if the spell really worked, and if it didn't that's okay too! After all to make sure, you can find out what works or what doesn't work for you, keep a record of everything! You now have the list of everything you did, readjust and try again!

Of course, this might not work for everyone, but this is what works best for me in terms of how I create my spells and do my work. Feel free to adjust this as well and find what system works for you! Just make sure to keep record!