Blessed Yule!

Blessed Yule!

Yule, Yuletide or the winter solstice, happens usually around the 21st to the 25th (it depends for each year!) The winter solstice is a celebration of the longest night and shortest day of the year: after that, days will get longer again! It's a great time to celebrate home, family, friends, and reflect on ourselves. It also celebrates the eternal cycle of light and dark, life and death.

Crystals that are good to have for Yule are Ametrine, Orange Calcite, Ruby, Turquoise, Garnet, Bloodstone, Snowflake Obsidian and Onyx

For food, you can think of fruit (like oranges!), dried fruit, nuts, or even drink cider!

Colors that go well for Yule are, of course, red, green, white, silver and gold!

What to do for Yule

Decorate a Christmas/Yule tree. It's also a great activity if you are still in the broom closet

Bake a Yule log (the cake!), gingerbread cookies, plum pudding, or other recipes you usually make for the holidays. For example, fruit pies are always a big thing in my house during Christmas, so I also bake some for Yule!

Since Yule is a great time for reflection, make sure you take some time for that. Sit down and think about what happened in your life this year, meditate on it, try to see what was good and what was bad, and how to fix/change the latter. Do shadow work. Be grateful, make bullet points of your year's highlights. Using divination tools, like making a tarot spread about yourself/your situation, is also a great way to do that. Sometimes, it's even easier because the tool might bring up points you would've never thought of.

Have fun with family and friends! Yule is about the love and warmth around you, that also goes for the people you love.

Take a cleansing bath or shower! It's time to let go of things that you don't need anymore: and cleansing yourself helps to move on, to get rid of energies that no longer serve you. It will make some space for new things to come!

Go take a walk outside! Go appreciate the cold and how calm winter is.

Watch the sunrise and sunset. Afterall, it is the shortest day of the year, and it's nice to really see it.

With all that being said, I wish a blessed Yule to all! Take care of yourselves and have fun :)

Seasonal Divination: Halloween/Samhain

I do divination throughout the year. Occasional single-card draws to see how a day will go, three-card spreads to answer questions, spirit communication with all sorts of methods, readings for others... Divination of all sorts (particularly tarot) is a pillar of my practice.

For some holidays, though, I like to do extra divinations that are specific to that holiday. New Year's Eve and Day, the Equinoxes, Midsummer, and the day of the first snowfall are examples of days I mark with special divinations.

The biggest one for me, and for many witches, is Halloween. Like a lot of others, my practice was born (and reborn!) around this time of year. Something about the atmosphere and the changing season encourages introspection and connection to the realm of magic. Whether you believe in the thinning veil or not (personally, I'm dubious about it), there is an energy to the days surrounding Halloween that can't be denied.

In my practice, I don't do Samhain or consider this to be my new year. Rather, this is the turning point where the weather tips into cold. It's a time of anticipation. Preparations for the dark half of the year start at the Autumn Equinox, but they become more urgent and real around Halloween as we take in the last fruit and vegetable harvests of the year.

Halloween is a big day for spirit work for me. This is the day when I call on my spirits to give me guidance and advice -- whatever they want to say. I don't ask any questions. I just draw and interpret using a standard spread.

The Spread

You can technically use this at any time of year, but I recently redesigned this spread specifically for Halloween and spirit work purposes.

This is an eight-card spread intended to receive general advice and guidance from spirits. In particular, I'm looking for advice I either missed, ignored, or didn't understand previously.

The cards, in order, are:

Me (or the querent), one card (1)

Opportunities, two cards (2 & 3)

Areas of growth, two cards (4 & 5)

Obstacles or warnings, two cards, one to modify opportunities, one to modify growth (6 & 7)

Wild card, the certified "yell at me" card, intended to let my saucier spirits say whatever they want within the spread (8)

So, the spread ends up looking something like this:

Using the Spread

Often, even divination is pretty casual for me. But this, like other special holiday spreads, requires a bit more involvement. Note that it doesn't really matter what time of day this reading is done, but I typically do it after nightfall.

First, I light at least one candle. Several is ideal, but one will do in a pinch. I prefer to do this at an altar or in a space that's been set up specifically for spirits to visit and use. I'll set out an offering such as whisky, coffee, bread, or cookies for the spirits in return for their wisdom. Remember: Even if your relationship isn't purely transactional, it's respectful to give something in return for a spirit's efforts.

Next, select a deck. Any deck will do, but I prefer ones that my spirits are particularly attached to. For me, this is usually my Deviant Moon Tarot, which you can see pictured above.

Now, we shuffle. I like to shuffle for jumpers, but you can do it however you like best. If no jumpers pop out, that's usually a sign that there's no message for me right now, and I ought to try again later. But sometimes, I'll feel called to stop and draw or pick a card from somewhere random in the middle of the deck. It all depends on which spirit sets their influence in the moment. Set the cards down in order as they jump or are drawn.

Once all the cards are down, interpret as usual.

The self card represents me (or you, as the case may be). It's where I am right now in the moment, how I'm feeling, and my current status.

The two opportunity cards are just that -- opportunities. These are things coming up that I should take advantage of. They could pertain to relationships, money, or life in general.

The growth cards are more personal. These are areas of focus to improve myself and grow as a person. Whether it's in relationships, spirituality, self-love, or something else, these cards represent the path of development.

The obstacle cards correspond to the opportunities or growth areas they sit between, representing the things that stand in their way. They show possible conflicts, problems, and things that will prevent growth or opportunities from reaching me, or things that will prevent me from taking those opportunities.

The wild card is a bit different. This card is intended to be a sort of "free space" for the spirits to use to say whatever they want. It could have to do with literally anything. Often, this card ends up being a message I missed or misinterpreted at the time I originally saw it, redelivered with a bit of attitude.

Take notes on your observations. I write down everything, whether I think it's relevant or not. I'll also take a picture of the spread to paste into my digital grimoire. Everything speaks. This reading looks at the next several months. Every so often, I'll come back to these notes to see how accurate it was and draw on the wisdom offered.

Once your reading is complete, thank your spirits. Sit with them for a while before blowing out the candles (or snuffing them, whichever you prefer) and cleaning up the space.

I hope this spread is useful to you! If you enjoyed this post or use this spread, please consider dropping a tip in my tip jar. Every contribution helps me keep making posts like this!

Also, if you have time, please check out my Divination Theory Survey! I'm studying sentiments surrounding digital divination and the efficacy of digital divination tools (like shufflemancy, tarot apps, and the like). Every response helps the research!

Happy Halloween!

Witches in History - Podcast Recs

If you prefer your history lessons in podcast form, here’s a list of audio treats about witches, witch trials, and witch panics, from antiquity to the modern day. Check out these shows on your favorite podcast app!

I will update this list as I find new examples. Feel free to add your own!

(Last Updated October 16, 2023 - Full post under Read More)

Witches & Witch Trials in History

Hex Positive

Ep. 3 - Hex Positive June 1, 2020 Bree delves into what it means to be Hex Positive, as well as discussing and dismantling some of the confusion surrounding the use of hexes and curses. Just what IS the Threefold Law, anyway? The answer may surprise you.

Ep. 19 - The Trouble with Tarot August 1, 2021 Tarot and tarot-reading have been a part of the modern witchcraft movement since the 1960s. But where did these cards and their meanings come from? Are they secretly Ancient Egyptian mystical texts? Do they have their origins among the Romani people? Are they a sacred closed practice that should not be used by outsiders? Nope, nope, and nope. This month, we delve into the actual history of tarot cards, discover their origins on the gaming tables of Italy and France, meet the people who developed their imagery and symbolism into the deck we know today, and debunk some of the nonsense that’s been going around lately concerning their use. The Witchstorian is putting on her research specs for this one!

Ep. 20 - Witchcraft and the Law September 1, 2021 A discussion of the history of witchcraft-related laws and how changing views on magic, religion, and superstition first denied the existence of witches, then panicked over their alleged activities, and finally settled into something resembling common sense. This is a long slog, encompassing over 3000 years of history from a broomstick-height view, and I get off on a few tangents where history crosses paths with modern issues. But if you’re a history buff, you’re gonna love this episode!

Ep. 21 - Witchcraft and Modern Law September 21, 2021 A follow-up to Ep. 20, this time dealing with modern legal codes that may affect our practices even if they don’t deal with witchcraft directly. There is also some discussion of 20th-century events missed in the previous episode, as well as a brief overview of witch hunts still occurring in some parts of the world today.

Ep. 22 - Bree and Lozzie vs the Witch Hunters October 1, 2021 Bree NicGarran and guest host Lozzie Stardust run down the history and many misdeeds of notorious witch hunters Matthew Hopkins and John Stearne.

Ep. 23 - The Name of the Game November 1, 2021 Bree delves into the history, myths, and urban legends surrounding Ouija boards. Along the way, we’ll uncover their origins in the spiritualist movement, discover the pop culture phenomenon that labeled them portals to hell, and try to separate fact from internet fiction with regard to what these talking boards can actually do.

Ep. 28 - The Easter-Ostara Debacle April 1, 2022 Bree puts on her Witchstorian hat once more to delve into the origins of both Easter  and Ostara and to finally answer the age-old question: which came first  – the bunny or the egg?

Ep. 036 - Margaret Effing Murray with Trae Dorn July 1, 2023 Margaret Murray was a celebrated author, historian, folklorist, Egyptologist, archaeologist, anthropologist, first-wave feminist, and the first woman to be appointed to the position of lecturer in archaeology in the UK. So why so we get so annoyed whenever her name is mentioned in conversations about witchcraft? Well, it all has to do with a book Margaret wrote back in 1921…which just so happened to go on to have a profound influence on the roots of the modern witchcraft movement. Nerd & Tie senpai and host of BS-Free Witchcraft Trae Dorn joins me in the virtual studio to discuss the thoroughly-discredited witch-cult hypothesis, Murray’s various writings and accomplishments, and why modern paganism might not have caught on so strongly without her.

BS-Free Witchcraft

Ep 03: The History of Wicca October 06, 2018 On this episode Trae digs deep into the history of Wicca, and tries to give the most accurate history of the religion as they can. I mean, yeah, we know this is a general Witchcraft podcast, but Wicca is the most widely practiced form of Witchcraft in the US, UK, Canada and Australia… so how it got started is kind of important for the modern Witchcraft movement. (And trust me, there aren’t any pulled punches here.)

Ep. 28: The Burning Times May 30, 2020 On this installment of the podcast, we tackle probably one of the more controversial topics in the modern witchcraft movement: The Burning Times. What were the actual “Burning Times,” where do we get that phrase from, and what really happened? Also, how has this phrase been used in modern witchcraft? It’s a heavy one, folks.

Ep. 33: The Wheel of the Year March 27, 2021 After two fairly depressing episodes, it’s time to move on to something a little less bleak. This time around we’re talking about the Wheel of the Year! Well, at least the basic idea. Where did it come from, who slapped these eight holidays together, and are they really something every witch needs to give a crap about? (Minor spoiler, the answer to that last question is a firm “no.”)

Ep. 39. - Mabon and Aidan Kelly Sept. 25, 2021 In the last few years there has been some minor push back against using the name “Mabon” for the Autumnal Equinox. In this episode we’re going to talk about how Mabon got its name, who came up with the name, and why exactly a small group of British Traditional Wiccans are so mad about it. (Spoiler: it’s because a bunch of Gardnerian Wiccans are mad at Aidan Kelly.)

Ep. 43 - “Lilith” Jan. 29, 2022 As long as I can remember, people have been debating whether or not it’s okay for non-Jewish witches to incorporate Lilith into their practices. Is Lilith closed? Is it cultural appropriation? There’s so much misinformation in new age and poorly written witchcraft books on Lilith, it’s hard for some witches to get a clear picture. Like I’ve run into folks on social media talking about Lilith as a “Goddess,” which she very much isn’t. Let’s dive into the origins of the folklore surrounding this figure, and I’ll let you decide whether or not it’s okay to work with Lilith. But, uh, spoiler – I don’t think you should.

Ep. 53 - Modern Witchcraft History Nov. 26, 2022 This episode of BS-Free Witchcraft is actually a panel from CritWitchCon 2022 this last October. Spend an hour with Alex Wrekk, Bree NicGarran, Lozzie Stardust, and Trae Dorn as they talk about the history of modern witchcraft. Also you get to list to Trae speed run like 130 years of history in under five minutes. [It was epic.]

Ep. 54 - A Conversation with Aidan Kelly Dec. 31, 2022 Trae sits down with Aidan Kelly (yes THE Aidan Kelly) to discuss the September 2021 episode listed above and set the record straight about Kelly’s new Wheel of the Year.

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gemini full moon today darlings!

Things i recommend doing

-manifest clarity (especially because of the neptune transits, things are unclear rn so this is important)

-manifest clear and concisely, make it very clear what you want and what your aims and preferred outcomes are

-make moon water

-chord cutting rituals

-affirmations!

-cleanse your tools

-put moonstone outside

-sit under the moon and meditate

-anything inner child related

-shadow work

-manifest friendships

-manifest focus!

Anything to do with enhancing focus is important rn, the energies are a bit chaotic

-focus on organisation

lmk if u have any questions about it🖤

I think you learn that you’re a witch in the way that you learn that you’re an artist, a baker, or a writer, etc.

One day something makes you wanna try it out. Then something clicks and you’re like “yeah, yeah this feels right.”

No one is born a witch just as no one is born an artist, a baker, or a writer.

You can make your witchcraft and/or your religion(s) your whole life, or not. Nowhere are there rules for how much to practice, how much to worship. It comes down to as much or as little as you want, because it's your life after all.