VISUALISATION, CONTINUED.

VISUALISATION, CONTINUED.

A continuation from lessons in visualisation.

In this lesson, we will explore further techniques, how to maintain regular practice, and alternatives for visualisation for those who might find it harder than others.

Alternatives to visualising

Some people will struggle to visualise, whether that is because of their mental or physical health, an inability to sit still or to focus, or they cannot picture an image in their mind.

It is important to remember that we have other senses. Visualisation doesn't rely on sight alone, and though it may sound that way, it instead makes the basics of spellcasting and meditation inaccessible.

☆ Forget trying to picture things, that's not the be-all end-all. Try to feel things. To smell and hear and taste, to love and hate. Consider raindrops falling on every inch of your body, moving slowly from your head down to your toes; let the water cleanse you as it rolls off your skin. Even if you cannot see them, your body knows the sensation and the smell of rain on your body.

☆ If any type of sensory imagination is too hard, play music in the background instead. It doesn't have to be calming music in particular, just something you can enjoy and zone out to. (I have been known to meditate and even nap to breakcore). Let the rest of the world fade away as you absorb the music fully, listening to every note individually and as part of the whole. Alternatively, you can try counting. Just start counting, out loud or in your head, up from 1 or down from 1000, and let that be the only thing your mind focuses on - the steady rhythm of the numbers.

☆ Consider using white, brown, pink or green noise to help you focus too. White noise doesn't sound good to everyone, and the various types use different frequencies which can be soothing for some.

The whole idea is to move away from the focus of seeing things in your head, while still allowing you to build up energy when concentrating on an end goal like meditation or a spell.

How do I practice regularly?

Methods of visualisation can very easily be simplified to make them faster and easier for regular practice.

☆ You could try seeing or feeling the energy around you or around an object such as a crystal or a tree, or the energy moving through your body.

☆ Try closing your eyes when it’s sunny and recalling the feeling, smell and sound of rain. Or the other way around. Feel the warm sun on you in the winter, or a cosy fire in your hands.

A good idea is to practice during meditation as often as you can. Remember, being able to visualise in some form is incredibly useful for energy manipulation. (Including but not limited to shielding, centering, grounding, manifestation and wider spellwork).

As always, thank you for reading. Please drop a message/ask if you want to see anything particular in future lessons.

from Missouri Skies facebook

Resourcefulness in the Craft

You can divine by throwing twigs and pebbles onto a graph you made with a sharpie and some printer paper, or use said printer paper to make your own cartomancy deck.

Use cool stuff you find outside as offerings if you want.

My mom taught me how to make wreaths out of porcelain vine or wild grape vines when I was a child, try it. Or teach yourself how to weave a basket.

Use dried "kindling" twigs to make a small besom in the fall.

Find interesting places outdoors, mark them on maps. Create your own correspondences for components you find while out and about.

Raid your own art or office supply storage boxes.

Use twine or tape for binding spells, use staples for curses, fold origami for attracting abundance, use paperclips for memory spells.

And sticky notes for sigils. And felt for poppets.

And a binder with loose leaf notebook paper for your grimoire! Spice it up with dividers for different topics!

Spending money on the tools and ingredients to make a money bowl is incredibly counter-intuitive. Grab stuff from the kitchen like rice, cinnamon, and basil, and stuff from outside like broadleaf plantain, blades of grass, and a cool rock. Scribble some sigils on yellow or green sticky notes, gather some loose change, and toss it all in a bowl you already have with your intention layered between your ingredients and components.

Magical practitioners have always used what was around them. Being resourceful is part of the practice :)

here’s my hot take of the night:

the e-temples that have been cropping up lately are cool, and im glad to see people making specific spaces to come together to worship. that’s awesome! i’m very here for that as a concept. i love nothing more than to see the theoi get the praise they deserve.

that being said, i am very wary about the amount of people i have seen calling themselves priests/priestesses lately. not even just in the e-temples! ive seen multiple people in the tags who have in their bio “priest(ess) of [deity].” i realize most people probably don’t mean harm by it, but it gets under my skin. to call yourself clergy implies a specific level of knowledge and experience with a religion (which isn’t my business to get involved in your praxis like that, that’s personal unless you wanna share it), but more importantly, official recognition by an established institution. there are not that many of these (that i am aware of) for hellenic polytheism. calling yourself clergy is simply that — calling yourself that. there’s no backing for it, and it genuinely concerns me.

we as the polytheist community talk a lot about harmful practices in spirituality, things like spiritual psychosis or cultural appropriation, which are important topics to discuss. it’s been said before and i’ll say again — people claiming to be spiritual authorities of some kind without any kind of proof can be very dangerous. i don’t assume anyone has bad intentions. i give people the benefit of the doubt and assume that everyone is just trying to help other people worship. but it doesn’t change the fact that calling yourself a priest(ess) will make impressionable or unsure people look up to you, and that is a hell of a lot of responsibility. i am concerned that there are minors running these kinds of blogs. that’s a lot of pressure on someone’s shoulders, especially to put on someone who is still growing up and developing their research and critical thinking skills. i don’t want to gatekeep or anything like that. im very glad to see minors having really good experiences with their faith, that they’re excited to share it with others. but it just concerns me.

im certainly not as experienced as other practitioners on this site, having had about two years of experience at this point, but i am very wary of anyone who claims to be any kind of authority on anything unless you can back it up. regardless of if your blog says that you’re not an authority, calling yourself clergy of any kind implies that. people will take it that way. it inherently implies a level of authority, knowledge, and experience on a particular subject, which is usually backed up by having an official institution that recognizes you.

perhaps this is a little callous of me, but in the same way that when someone makes a claim about the theoi academically, i expect them to have sources to prove it, i expect clergy to have some kind of proof of their authority. otherwise, what are you doing that’s different than any other tumblr blog?

to be clear, i don’t have an issue with these devotional spaces. i simply take an issue with people referring to themselves as clergy when that is a particular term with a particular context and a particular implication. words have power. i earnestly think if people just called themselves something like ‘stewards’ of a particular temple, i wouldn’t be so bothered by it. or just call yourself a devotee of a particular god. ultimately, at the end of the day, the words we use have power and implications, and that has to be acknowledged and respected. send tweet

Witch things to add in your room, poor person edition

Fuck it Most of witchcraft people tell you to buy shit. So here's some stuff u can do for free

grab some sticks from the ground, bind them together in a shape you like, add intent (usually protection), hang it up

make a flower crown, add protection intent, dry it out, hang it up. protection spell and real ward. regularly recharge intent.

dry plants, set warding intent, hang them up.

crushed eggshells on your window sill to prevent bad energy.

wear a bandana or veil somewhere on your body, sometimes i use mine as belts, to protect from bad vibes.

paint your nails in the color meaning you want. mine are pink for self attraction rn

when you light up a candle always ask if theres a spirit or entity there, pyromancy skills can be learned through google, tumblr, and tiktok.

Regularly clean and rearrange your altar if you can't practice everyday, this keeos the space clean and shows entities around that even if ur not active, you're still a witch

A cup of water can be an offering to anyone, imagine being an entity and you can't have water at all for centuries??

If you have glasses, draw a sigil on them while you clean them (i usually wash mine with soap and water to make it extra clean ((and dry with paper towels)))

Give your wall art jobs. Sure they can be decorative, or they can be extra eyes to watch you while you sleep to make sure no one messes with you. (Ive had so much wall art fall in the middle of the night and turns out smth was trying to get in my room...)

If you have black-out/thick curtains, let the sun in!!! I keep them tied during the day so i can use natural light and ease up my electricity bill

Change ur bedsheets semi regularly, it doesn't need to be every week, but keep in mind bedbugs and other entities can get trapped there... or even try to get there to make your sleep unrestful.

If your room is a bio-hazard, at least make pathways so you can walk without injuring yourself.

Thats all i have for now <3 blessed be and fuck capitalism

Witchcraft Ask Game - April

I'm bored and I want asks so I'm starting an ask game. Feel free to send questions or reblog! I'll try to post one of these every month.

1. What's your moral stance on love spells?

2. Have you ever had a "paranormal" experience? If so, please describe it.

3. Share your favorite plant and some of your personal correspondences associated with it.

4. Share your favorite animal and some of your personal correspondences associated with it.

5. Share your favorite gemstone/crystal/rock and some of your personal correspondences associated with it.

6. Would you ever consider charging money for a working or spell (aside from divination readings)? Why or why not?

7. Have you ever had a "psychic" experience? If so, please describe.

8. Do you consider yourself initiated, by either group, self, or spirit initiation? Share your experience if you're comfortable doing so.

9. What's a skill that you want to learn but haven't gotten around to yet?

10. What are you currently reading and/or what's next on your reading list?

11. Share a photo of your favorite tool(s) and describe what you use them for.

12. In relation to your practice, would you ever consider taking on a teaching role? Why or why not?

13. Do you have any ongoing projects? Please describe.

14. Has an acquaintance or stranger in real life ever asked you if you're a witch?

15. What do you consider to be your greatest skill?

16. Is there a common practice or skill that you're really interested in but have trouble with? Please describe.

17. What's your opinion on treating household pets as familiars?

18. How open are you with friends, family, colleagues/acquaintances, etc. when it comes to your practice?

19. Is there a part of your practice that you perform daily or very often? If so, please describe.

20. What's your favorite holiday and how do you celebrate?