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The Akashic Records aren’t real.

This one might definitely get me into some trouble, but I think it’s time we be mature about this. The Akashic Records stem from the cult of Theosophical theology, which has its roots in the early 20th century among some of the most deplorable people the spiritualist community had to offer. It’s where we get the terms like “black and white” magic, it’s where we get magic spelled like “magick” for no good reason, and was home to the likes of Aleister Crowley. These people were incredibly racist, groomed children, and were a literal cult.

If that wasn’t enough of a yikes for you, the fact of the matter is, is that I have never seen cohesive information about the Records. I looked, years and years ago. Because of course I did. Everyone was talking about it back then. Some sources would say that you had to get permission from this angel, and this guardian. Some said you had to have a special key to get in. Some said you needed to enter a special state of being to gain access (whatever that meant). Many people on the internet disregarded all that and said that it was freely accessible to anyone. All that inconsistency is questionable as is, but consider this:

If the Akashic Records were real, and held all the information of the universe that had been, is, and will be, why didn’t anyone use it for more than just past life stuff or whatever folks were doing? If I had access to that kind of information, I would spend a crazy amount of time there. I would gather as much information as I could. Study hard and apply it to every inch of my life. I could see how each route of my life would play out and I would choose the best one. I would manipulate things to work out in my favor. With that kind of information, all spellwork, divination, divine relationships, etc. would become OBSOLETE. Why bother using divination if I can just look in the records for what I need? Why make petitions to the gods when I know how to make it work myself? Why would I even need witchcraft to make things work in my favor when I just know how to make it happen anyway? It would take away all meaning of life, all purpose and drive would be lost, the inherent power of uncertainty that is intrinsic in nature would be removed. The very concept of the Akashic Records goes against nature.

learning about plants in ur area is wild. like you also learn about the histories of the plants. Like oh! Thats garlic mustard! That was brought over from europe as a crop! it smells just like garlic and you can cook with it!  And thats yarrow!  Its been used for tons of stuff and pollinators love it! Oh hey! Thats hemlock! They killed Socrates with that! 

FIRE SAFETY BITCH

Witches please remember to never leave candles unattended. Some of thee (you know who thou art) tend to be a TAD careless with fire. Let us perhaps look, listen and think before we light any fires. Please do not let anything bad happen to thee!! thine safety is of the utmost importance my dear!!!

The gods can’t protect you if YOU LIGHT YOUR FUCKING HOUSE ON FIRE. Clear your working place, remove hanging sleeves, hair and jewellery, DO NOT reach over a flame, test to make sure your fire alarms are working. If lighting incense ensure thine space is well ventilated!! And there are no pets or babies in the vicinity. I fare thee well, BE SAFE!!!!!!!!! OR I WILL BITE THEE ON THE ANKLE!!!!

Creating a Backyard Land Spirit Profile

Working with land spirits can help connect you with your local ecosystem, and for some practitioners is a crucial aspect of bioregional magic. Some folks, like myself, consider themselves to be initiated by one or more land spirits.

When I use the term land spirits, I am referring to a few different things. First are the collective spirits of various plants, animals, and insects present in a specific bioregion. An example of collective, in this context, means that if I'm petitioning help from the spirit of violets, I am working with the spirit of all violets present in that area rather than a singe flower that grows in my yard.

The next is the land guardian, which in my practice is a more powerful spirit with claim over a specific territory, like a forest, river, or neighborhood.

Sometimes these two concepts are separate and sometimes they're interchangeable. It all depends on personal practice, culture, local folklore, etc.

One thing that has been extremely beneficial to my practice has been creating a backyard land spirit profile. This method has been useful for spirit work and "green" magic, but more importantly, it's helped me immerse myself in my local ecosystem and I get to meet a lot of cool animals and plants.

Here is an over-simplfied example of my backyard land profile:

Ecosystem: Central Interior and Appalachian: Mixed woodlands, close to possible floodplains

Soil Type: Clay in garden bed, Loamy near/beneath shrubs, Sandy in sunny areas of the lawn

Flora:

Cultivated- Paradise Apple, Highbush Blueberry, Rose of Sharon, Dog Rose, Black-Eyed Susan, Sundial Lupine

Native - Bloodroot, Wild Strawberry, Common Violet, Wrinkle-Leaf Goldenrod, Blue Wood-Aster, Horseweed, Fireweed, Deer-Tongue Witchgrass, Common Milkweed

Invasive - Round-Leaved Bittersweet, Yellow Toadflax, Creeping Bellflower, Common Mugwort

Naturalized - Dandelion, Broad-Leaf Plantain, Deadly Nightshade

Notes - Various mosses, unidentified mushrooms growing on lawn and lichens found on some trees/shrubs.

Fauna:

Mammals - Raccoon, Opossum, Striped Skunk, Grey Squirrel, Chipmunk, Feral Cats, Deer mouse, House Mouse

Birds - Cardinals, Chickadees, Catbirds, American Robin, Downy Woodpecker, Turkey Vulture, Crow

Reptiles and Amphibians - N/A

Fish - N/A

Invertebrates - Dotted Wolf Spider, Leopard Slug, Tiger Bee Fly, Monarch Caterpillars, Peach Root Weevile, Narrow-Winged Mantis, Fireflies

Ecoregion and Soil Type

The first thing I did was determine what type of ecosystem my yard used to be. In an urban/suburban area this was a bit challenging.

I started by identifying a few wild plants and finding out where they usually grow. Most of them seemed to prefer shady woodlands and rich soil. There were also a couple of pioneer species present in the sunnier and more disturbed areas of the yard.

Next, I took a look at surrounding wild areas. We are close to a mountain and a large river. There are woodlands near and within the city made up of mostly hardwood and conifer trees. I knew from memory that certain areas close to my home are likely floodlands.

After that, I found a bioregion map of my country which showed that my state fell under the category of Central Interior and Appalachian. I searched this region on landscope.org and was able to determine my specific ecoregion (not shared here for privacy reasons).

From there I started making educated guesses. I determined that my backyard was likely a mixed hardwood and conifer woodland sitting very close to what might have been a floodplain.

For my soil type, I took samples from different areas of my yard and used an online guide to determine what kind of soil I had. Most of it was sandy or loamy, but my flower beds seemed to have some clay.

Using all this information, I had a general idea of what kind of plants and wildlife would be present without human intervention. It also helped with deciding which native plants to start growing.

Plants

Throughout the year, I went out to the yard with a wildlife field guide and a couple identification apps and identified every plant and insect I found. I grouped the plants into four categories: native, invasive, naturalized, and cultivated. This isn't shown in the example, but I also grouped them by season and the time of year they appear.

Naturalized refers to plants that have integrated themselves into the environment without inflicting damage to the local ecosystem.

You'll notice that under the cultivated section I included a few native plants. This is because those plants were introduced by me and would not be present without my intervention and I wanted to make that distinction.

The importance of native and naturalized plants is obvious, but what about cultivated and invasive? Keeping a profile of invasive plants helped me keep a record of which noxious weeds I need to remove. From an ecological perspective, their removal is crucial to the survival of my native plants and garden crops. From a spiritual perspective, this can be an offering or act of service to the local land spirits. Some of these plants, like Common Mugwort, are both valuable for workings and fine to harvest in large quantities since they are invasive.

Cultivated plants are also important. Many of these plants, like my Blueberries, Apples, and Rose of Sharon, were here before me. The importance of plants introduced by humans is greater than you'd think. First, they are usually crops and flowering plants and provide food for both humans and the local wildlife. Secondly, I live in an urban area, and my land spirits are likely very closely associated with people.

I researched all of my plants and took note of growth patterns, toxicity, medicinal uses, ediblity, native region/habitat, ecological significance/impact, etc. Then I moved onto folklore and symbolism and started working with the spirits of a few plants, performing divination, leaving offerings, harvesting them and including them in rituals and spellwork. I did this in groups to avoid feeling overwhelmed.

Please note that you should always properly identify plants and be aware of potential toxicity before harvesting, especially if you plan on burning or consuming said plant. Also steer clear of protected or threatened plants and keep harvest to a minimum even for abundant native species.

Wildlife

My next project was writing down every species of animal and insect that I had encountered in my yard. I grouped them into several categories: mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and invertebrates. In real life my invertebrates section is separated into several subcategories (orb weavers, beetles, etc.).

Next, I used basically the same system I did for plants, researching their native range, preferred habitat, behavior, diet, ecological importance. Then I started looking into folklore.

Finally, I started integrating them into my practice and working with their collective spirits. This involved using animal symbolism in rituals, leaving offerings, and performing a lot of divination.

Remember to never interact with or directly feed wildlife. If I'm making offerings outdoors it is usually fresh water, scattered birdseed, and acts of service like creating habitats and growing plants that a specific species enjoys. If scattering birdseed, do so in the morning to keep too many animals, like raccoons, from entering your yard at night.

Side note: Keep a record of what appears in your yard each year! For example one year we had several chipmunks and one year I saw none. One year we had no fireflies and the next our backyard was covered in them.

Tying It All Together

Once I had my backyard profile completed, I started working with the collective spirits of select species. I have an offering schedule, perform communication, and petition these spirits regularly in spellwork. I use certain plants that I harvest for offerings and use for tinctures, infusions, cooking, and crafts. I use symbols of local animals in crafts and spellwork.

After working with the "smaller" spirits, you can start seeking out specific land guardians by using a combination of divination and research of local history and folklore.

On a mundane level, I am now able to cultivate an appropriate ecosystem for the local wildlife and start projects to support it. Examples of this are pollinator gardens, stick and brush piles for fireflies and small animals, growing seed-rich and fruiting plants for birds and mammals, winter shelters and TNR plans for feral cats, and more.

I also like to take notes on plants and wildlife that I encounter in my general area that don't usually make it into my backyard. For example there have been coyotes, foxes, bobcats, and black bears spotted in my neighborhood.

I want to stress that I live in a semi-urban and relatively populated neighborhood and I have a small yard. The brief example of of my land profile doesn't cover even a fraction of the wildlife I have encountered in my backyard. There is so much life in urban and suburban areas in need of our support.

not to be maya on side but please do not call someone or something “mayan” when talking about our people, culture, etc. “mayan” refers to our language family (a language FAMILY, in which there are plenty of unique languages). we are the maya, not the mayans. i am maya, not mayan. it is the indigenous maya community, not the indigenous mayan community. 

Every time I lose a strand of hair while in outside I like to think it’s an offering to the hummingbirds and other critters who need it for their nests! 🪺✨💁🏻‍♀️

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 actually love hearing about reformed people's stories. I love hearing about people who were in toxic communities or people who used to objectively be dickheads talking about how they got out of that. How they made themselves better.

I hate how most people's initial reaction to stories like that are things like:

"How could you have ever done those things?!" "Oh my god, you believed those things?!" "Well it doesn't un-do the harm you did!"

People incessantly advocate for change but then refuse to allow people who have changed the grace of being acknowledged and given opportunities and chances.

I love hearing about ex-antis talking about how they don't spend their days being angry and sending death threats anymore.

I love hearing about ex-homophobes who realized there's no magic law about what is "natural."

I love reformed bullies talking about how they made amends with their victims and spend their days being considerate of others.

You can't scream about wanting people to change but then expect them to spend the rest of their lives stuck in the past and on who they used to be. You can't expect people to spend the entire rest of their lives grovelling and apologizing and demeaning themselves.

Instead of clinging to who they were, latch onto who they are.

Ask how they got out of it. Commend them on changing. Enjoy that there's one less cause of harm in the world.

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!

I saw your ask on animal guides! I recently decided to reach out if I had any who would like to work with me, and I entered this kind of partnership with the collective spirit of Owl. I had a feeling they were around, I always felt weirdly drawn to owls out of seemingly nowhere. So far I'm kinda just working on getting to know them and asking for occassional help. Do you have any ideas on how I can further connect when I live in a city and owl sightings are extremely rare (Never see one before but google confirmed they're around)?

That is amazing, I'm so happy you've found and connected to this relationship and I'm sure Owl has so much they can teach you!!

I have plenty of ideas on how you can further connect to them!

Owls are difficult to spot generally, but if you're determined to try - find and join birdwatching groups (there's almost definitely at least one local group on facebook) and ask for advice, locations etc!

Research owls! Everything from the different species (local to your area and outside), to how and what they hunt, to their breeding habits, familial groups etc! There is so much information you can learn!

If you visit a forested area with owls, look for owl pellets! These can help you see what they've eaten recently and are just super cool generally (or I think they're cool)!

Paint, draw, write poetry about owls! Be creative and express your appreciation and devotion through art!

Read folklore about owls - there's a lot of different interpretations of owls in different cultures from being wise, magical birds to harbingers of death.

Just speak to the Owl spirit - a simple goodnight, offering of water or basic conversation is all it takes. Just speak to them without expecting a response all the time.

These are the main few ideas I can think of!! I wish you luck with your relationship. PLEASE keep me updated, I would love to hear more about your relationship and don't hesitate to dm me or leave another ask if you want more advice or just a conversation!

heres a very simple explanation on what Law Of Assumption is because you seem a bit confused:

The way you speak to yourself has a powerful impact on your mental and emotional state. If you constantly tell yourself negative things like, "My life is terrible, I hate myself, I'm so unhappy," you'll likely feel exactly that—unhappy and insecure.

However, if you start to replace those thoughts with positive affirmations, like "My life is beautiful, I love myself, and I'm happy," you'll begin to see that positivity reflected in your life. This is essentially what the law of assumption is all about: your inner dialogue shapes your reality.

That's really all there is to it—it's simple. We all have thoughts that mirror our emotions and the state of our lives. The key is learning to shift those thoughts toward something that aligns with the life you desire.

I’m not sure how any of this—just thinking positively—could be considered a cult.

Oh, this is a simple explanation, all right. In fact, it's so simple that it's downright dishonest.

See, if this was really all that you people were teaching, I wouldn't have a problem with it. But I know, and I'm pretty sure you know, that the Law of Assumption goes a little bit beyond this.

Let's start with the concept of revision. In The Pruning Shears of Revision, Neville Goddard wrote about this whole thing he did, where if the day didn't go his way he'd go and imagine it happening differently. He basically claimed you could change your whole life with it. Now, lots of Law of Assumption bloggers are claiming that you can use this technique to change everything from bad grades to your ethnicity and the country you were born in. At least one person even claimed that you could use revision to bring back the dead.

Let's talk about Everyone Is You Pushed Out. In that very same book, Goddard claimed that "you are absolutely responsible for every being you meet in this world." That's an exact quote. He claims that you can change "evil" people with this. And now, there are Law of Assumption bloggers who take Goddard at his word and go around claiming that you can change literally anyone, including longtime abusers, and it's basically your fault if they don't change. (This is not to say that abusers can't ever change, but it takes a whole lot more than one person believing in it hard enough.)

Let's also talk about the numerous LOA blogs repeating the claim that the 4D (your imagination) is the true reality, or at least more real than the 3D (the physical world), and that "the 3D has no choice but to conform to the 4D." Literally how the fuck do you (general you) know this? You don't. You (still general you) just believe it's true because somebody said it to you in a really confident-sounding tone. Once you actually stop and think about this claim for a few minutes, it totally falls apart. Just for one example, if the "3D" actually worked like this, then we should all be living in a universe where the sun rotated over a flat earth, because nobody would have any reason to start thinking that the world was round and rotated around the sun. The fact that the physical world constantly behaves counterintuitively to our expectations is proof that the 3D doesn't really give a damn what you think.

Again, if all you people were doing was what you described in your message, then I wouldn't have a problem, and we wouldn't be here. But we both know that the LOA encompasses a little more than what you're describing, and that's why we're here.

To anyone reading this: If you are leaving or questioning the Law of Assumption and need help, please see this post.

a gentle reminder: everyone's practice looks different. your devotion is not determined by the size of your altar; whether your decor and offerings are handmade, thrifted, or bought new; if your prayers are long/short/pre-written/made up on the spot.

I am spending today cleaning my space and crafting small polymer clay altar items for some of my deities and the thought was on my mind. the most important thing is that your practice is done with respect, intention, and care. 🖤

Hot take. But just because something is an open practice or religion, it doesn't mean you shouldn't look into the history and context of worship and respect the culture and rituals. Yes, even if you are an eclectic pagan.

Example, even if you just want to worship/work with Ra or Osiris, you should absolutely respect the 42 Laws of Maat. And if you are a greek polytheist, you should absolutely look into miasma and respect the customs when it comes to it as much as you can in modern day society. If you are a roman polytheist, you should cover your head during rituals (correct me if i am wrong on that one!).

Gods will also appreciate your effort to worship them accordingly in this society that looks down on pagan religions and waters them down to "mythology".

Of course, you don't have to do everything 100% the way it was done in ancient times, but it's the thought and effort that counts.It's NOT a great mindset that you can do whatever you want with open religions!

The person who re-blogged this wants you to know that they are open to questions regarding their spiritual path, witchcraft and faith, and in fact, would love to talk about their spiritual path with you and have a casual talk!!

(this applies to me pspspsps HMU , don't hesitate, i am always open to respectful discussion of our spiritual paths and just being friends!!)

I haven't prayed to god in a church in ages. I pray in libraries, in fields, in the summer heat and in the first bite of a warm meal.

I don't pray to god anymore, I don't think I ever did.

I pray to the world around me, to the bugs in the fields, the sunflowers on the side of the road, the water in my garden and to the rain coming down.

I pray to everything beyond this world, to the stars, the planets, all the different masses that fill the space around us.

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

What Native people say about the use of sage: you can use sage, but you cannot smudge as nothing you are doing (waving sage around) is actually smudging. Smudging is a ceremony and you are, we promise, not smudging. Please buy sage from either us, or someone who sources the sage from us. White sage may not be considered endangered by the US government but corperate sourcing is making it difficult for us to source sage for our own religious purposes. Let alone to sell it.

What white people hear: never use sage ever, don’t ever buy it, don’t own it, don’t even look at it.

Look, y’all. There’s a couple of facets to my talk today.

1) Yes! You can buy sage! You really, truly can! Buy it from either native sellers (go to a powwow! Eat our food, buy our stuff, watch some dancing!) Or buy it from a seller who sources the sage from native people. Pick one. And no, buying it from 5 Below doesn’t count.

2) you CANNOT smudge. This isn’t just you “shouldn’t”— this is a YOU ARE INCAPABLE OF SMUDGING. Waving a sage stick around your doorways IS NOT SMUDGING. It is smoke clensing. Smudging, depending on the tradition and tribe, could easily have dancing and drums involved. You, as a white person, do not have the cultural BACKGROUND to even know how it works. At all. Period.

3) please, for FUCKS SAKE, stop making posts here on tumblr where you tell other white people about cultural appropriation and what they can and cannot do. Please stop, your license has been revoked because none of you bother to get the facts right. We native people are FULLY CAPABLE OF DOING IT OURSELVES. Consider instead: a) reblogging our posts where we talk about it! We’re here! We have made posts!! b) Making a post that states what we said and then LINKS BACK TO US. Screenshot with a link if you must. Stop centering your own voices in these conversations. You are already centered in everything, stop centering yourselves in a native space.

I’m tired of this nonsense, y’all.

Thanks for coming to my TedTalk ™