Category: A day in the life (personal)

Snippet from the Demon Feast

I slip my arm through his and nudged him through the grand doors and into the moonlight balcony gardens. The roar of the sea under us was great and the wind whipped across my flesh, instantly cold and utterly satisfying. I sigh with contentment, abandon him, and step up to the very edge of the balcony, the pressed sand wall pushing into my knees. Annoyed, I concentrate for a moment and the sand parts at my will. I take a final step closer, toes curling over the edge as close to the ocean as I could get without being in the water. I take a cool, deep breath and suck in the sharp salt air. Distantly through the roaring of the sea, I hear the dock hands and sailors on the ships that have anchored on the newly built docks, still mostly under construction and barely heard of. Soon, they will be bustling but for now they are empty, dreams that have been birthed but not yet started to live.

He is silent, as always, but watching me. I spin and smile at him. “I miss the sea.”

He waves with his non-sword hand, barely a gesture before the hand returns to a fighting post. Always ready to fight, my warrior. “We’re right here.”

I shake my head and step closer to him. “I miss the sea in my physical form. It’s too far. I need to bring it closer.”

He tilts his head. “You have a plan then.”

My grin is wicked and razor sharp. “Don’t I always?”

The Spirits That Serve and Busy Times

Radio silence was brought about by the busyness of my schedule (which I’ve added to the right menu, I believe). For the moment, I have a reprieve as this is the week of my birthday (June 6th) so much of my time is visiting with friends and family as well as renewing personal protections and goals.

I’m not going to talk about that much. Instead, I’m going to introduce three sets of spirits that work with me. (Also, congrats to me for making 50 posts. For those who caught it this morning, I made and deleted a test post for something that was technically the 50th post. I had to write a real 50th quick post to make up for it).

First, quick information. These spirits work alongside me. They’re not guides in the traditional sense although I suppose they could technically be termed that. They work for me and they get something in return. It’s a pact, not something done because they like me. (Well, they wouldn’t hang around me if they didn’t like me but you get what I mean.) A lot of this is wrapped up in my position on the other side and complicated with secrets and spoilers but essentially, I’m in a position to get them what they want so they work both for me and alongside me for my goals, whichever those may be at the time. I call them allies, vassals, or when I’m being snarky minions (but only if one remember the original etymology of minion being “dear one” and combining it with the common usage of “lackey”).

The Maidens – I have the least control over these spirits. There’s four to five of them, agender although they tend to appear as beautiful maidens for the most part to me. They aren’t hived minded but they think similarly enough, I believe, to be able to know what each other is thinking which gives the appearance of sharing a mind. They’re matchmaking spirits. It’s their thing. They enjoy messing about in the realms of love and aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty to do it. Patient and impatient, they have an Agenda and Plans and those Plans tend to muck up everyone else’s plans. They’re more focused on romance than sex however and that should be remembered. (Not that they don’t also have influence over sex, it’s just not a focus.) They also influence beauty, which is so closely tied to romance. They truly get people which makes them fabulous in other areas of life, like fashion. Honestly, they’re a bit catty but I love them for it. They are fierce entities who champion romance above all else.

Serrah – Serrah’s snarky and is what I’d call a crossroad merchant spirit. This is a spirit that parks itself at the crossroad and either sells wares or gathers and/or sells information at crossroads. They derive their energy from these crossroads and the energy of those passing through the crossroads. Nearly ubiquitous, they have a tendency to come off as slimy car salesmen most of the time. Serrah’s not oozing yet but he can be very smug unnecessarily. Still, he’s (and that’s just the pronouns he picked, he sometimes appears as a woman) very good for folks who owns a business as he can offer advice – for a price. Be sure to check the fine print and watch your words as he’ll use loopholes and mistakes against you far quicker than most spirits that double as guides. You may also want to check for a knife in your back, just in case betrayal is a thing.

The Warrior – Probably the most mellow-tempered and reasonable, the Warrior is just as he sounds: a warrior. Highly skilled, he was originally a human spirit who became something else. These spirits are the best to deal with for beginners as they’re easier to understand. While they aren’t human any longer, they tend to retain enough of their humanity to make it easy to work with. The Warrior in particular beat out several dozen other warrior-eque spirits for his current position. He (definitely prefers male form and pronouns) tends to variate in appearance but is mostly ghostly, which is somewhat odd in my experience.

Fox Guard House – An entire family clan of a spirits. Rather fox-like (hence the name), they are golden and are very similar to light or fire. They appear as bipedal foxes, a little shorter than five feet tall, and nearly identical to one another. Incredibly cunning. Take extreme caution when dealing with them. For a personal example, we made a deal and they were planning, as a whole, to murder me to get a better position, so to speak. I outmaneuvered them, reminded them why I am who I am on the other side, and then raised my original offer alongside the original pact. I fully expect them to attempt assassination again but it’s not a huge priority for them right now. Other lives to destroy elsewhere, for the moment.

So what do I do with these spirits? Since they’re in my employ, they do what I hired them to do. Serrah’s busy building up a port town in the astral, for example. The Warrior checks over battlements and ensures that the Fox Guard House doesn’t put their original plans of murdering me into effect. The Maidens just sit around and cause havoc in the name of love which is actually what I hired them to do. (Yeah, on purpose. It’s a long story) The Fox Guard House does what they can to connive others and be a general pain in the ass for other spirits. (Yes, this was also planned.)

The thing with working alongside spirits is they have plans and agenda to see to. They have desires and goals and because they have those things, they can be worked with like any other being. Just be very careful because cultures are different and that can, of course, cause issue. When making a deal or pact with a spirit, be certain of the terms of exchange. Know what you’re expected to give up and what you’re getting. Know what ways that spirit can backstab you and take off with whatever you were to trade and what you came to get.  Working with spirits is absolute fascination and a lot of fun – there’s so many different things to see, learn, and talk about. I know I wouldn’t give it up for the world.

Vigils at the Crossroads

I don’t mention it much but I live at the intersection of several crossroads and some of those roads are corpse roads. My house sits on the corner of four streets, which may sound like a regular crossroad but isn’t.

Corpse roads are roads used to transport the dead to their final resting place. Traditionally they’re old dirt roads or paths. Sometimes these roads were only used for transporting the dead, depending on local tradition and superstition. Most of the traditional corpse roads have been lost to time but new ones are around. I live behind a funeral home and one of the streets my home is situated on is a shortcut to and from the highway.

Legends surrounding these corpse roads are numerous among a lot of different cultures. I recently read several Russian fairy tales along the same vein but it is common in cultures that transport their dead, especially for burial. Vigils next to the dead are also very common, usually so spirits won’t possess the deceased’s body.

When I say four streets I mean four SEPARATE streets

This is the best I could get of the crossroads ridiculousness I speak of. The white and brick house with the pink and green trees is my actual house so you can see how convoluted the streets are. There’s the street the house faces and the street to the right of it. The street on the right splits at my driveway into two other streets (behind my house and where the blue bin is). The funeral home is on the same side of the street the photo was taken on.

In the past I served as a medium to spirits and deities. I don’t do this much anymore for a wide variety of reasons but I still have the knowledge and capability to do so. However, I thoroughly enjoyed doing the works so I continue it privately now and my family home is perfectly situated for this.

Since I live at crossroads and corpse roads, it’s pretty spiritually active around here. There’s a lot of energy given our proximity to running water (two blocks away), the ocean (.8 miles), schools (three of them within two blocks), a main thoroughfare (top of the street), plus the funeral home (in front of my house) and a social club (end of the street). There’s a huge sewer network under my house (which is why it floods so much), plus we’re on the top of a hill. In fact, the roads are so ridiculous around my house, to back out of my driveway you need to back into an intersection.  It’s a busy road for not being a major road, both spiritually and physically. Spiritually, we get a lot of paranormal events from ghosts to non-human spirits. These beings are always transients and I guess we’re something of an inn. I tend to deal with the non-humans and my brother, the Necromancer, takes on the humans.

However, the crossroads and corpse roads are also a place for beings to linger. Lost or simply unwilling to move on, these spirits hang around and drain at the energy. Children, already more susceptible to possession and influences by spirits (however rare it may be), are especially fine targets. To protect and preserve the clarity of the energy and land, I hold vigils at the crossroads every so often.

There’s typically four or five a year on various dates (often in the spring where funerals are most common as burying the dead was not feasible in the winter in ye days of old). During the vigils I put myself into a state of being that allows for easier spiritual communication. Sometimes that’s fasting, other times it’s using entheogens, or hours of meditation. The method depends on my mood at the moment so it’s not something that’s specific. I meet with the spirits that linger and attempt to get them to move on – whether that’s to pass from this land into the next to just to go haunt some other location depends on the spirit themselves. I’m not one to force a spirit, human or otherwise, to do something they don’t want. If a human spirit understands that they are dead and they’re still not ready to move on, I’m not going to force the issue unless they start hurting people or other spirits. Then I turn into a dragon and start destroying things, so to speak. I’m protective, what can I say?

These vigils last typically twenty-four hours and can be very boring. Bound to not leave the area, I tend to amuse myself (and those I’m keeping vigil for) by singing, dancing, reading out loud, or telling stories. Most often, I listen, pour drinks of purified water and clear alcohol, and lay out offerings of coins and snacks. Divination is also incredibly common, since some spirits have difficulties in speaking through a medium.

At the end of the vigil, I “reset” the area, not exactly cleansing the area but more of dispersing negative energy clumps or untangling clogged energy to get it moving better. It makes the area feel better, safer, and more exhilarating for the spirit.

I really enjoy these vigils not only as a service to my community but also as a way of connecting to spirits around me. It’s one of the rituals I’ve developed that I intend to continue no matter where I live or what the future may hold for me.

 

Why I Hate the Current Usage of the Word “Godphone”

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I wrote the following post a while back and never published it. Since I was recently asked about godphones so I’m posting it here so I can link it then I’m heading off the internet for my Silence Festival until Monday. Warning for cuss words which are abundant. Continue reading →

Silence Festival

The Silence Festival is coming up quickly on my personal calendar and for once I’m looking forward to it. Between February 21st through February 23rd, I am to be silent. This is more than just not speaking to people. It would have to be to be meaningful in today’s technological world. No posts are to be made, unless they are scheduled or queued. Social media is to be silent. No emails are to be sent, no texts, and to even keep writing to people to a minimum.

I also keep my consumption of directed media to a minimum. No reading of blogs, emails, or letters. Movies or TV (except for documentaries), video games (except for simulation games with no prose driving it), and music (unless educational and requires no speaking on my part) are to be banned as well but I’m allowed to listen to the radio as I don’t have a choice of what that radio plays. I can read books but not novels. Annotated fairy tales are OK, as they’re more scholarly at that point than not but mostly I’ll read scholarly materials.

Additionally, I will cast no spells, do no magic, read no one’s future. I will not astral travel and I will not speak to spirits. Essentially, the same rules as above applies. This is both easier and harder than it seems. It’s easier because that’s three days of spiritual laziness but I’ve been doing magic for so long that simple, everyday tasks are boosted by magic. I use magic to make water boil fast and spells to make my plants grow healthy. For three days, none of this can happen.

There are exceptions to this. There would have to be given how many people rely on me. If someone’s in danger or I need to give information to someone (like a nurse at the emergency room or firefighters) then I have to respond. This isn’t just practicality, this is part of the festival, to speak only when necessary. More than that, I feel that the goal I’ve charged myself with – to help them when asked to do so  and to protect as much as I can – supersedes all of my religious festivals and holidays. Spells to protect people or to be done in an emergency is also an exception. Likewise, I cannot help if I’m struck with a vision of someone’s future. That’s out of my hands.

Why would I put myself through this? I rarely do anything that doesn’t have a point to it in some way. This is the best time to take a breath. To simply breathe and focus on myself. To step back and remind myself of that I came from isolation and isolating myself is comforting, basic, natural state for me. I use words so often, I speak, sing, write, and do magic constantly, to fill the silence and loneliness I grew up with. With none of those things to do, I will instead do little crafts to amuse myself, window shop, and sew. Cooking and baking will fill the gaps of boredom eased by scholarly books. I will think and I will write. I have a novel to finish after all and I’m so close I can taste the resolution. Three days of silence will be perfect.

February is the perfect month for this. The coldest, driest, and bitterest of months for many, it it a silent month in and of itself. Often in New England we are encased in snow and ice. There is no where to go and nothing to do. It is a quiet month only broken up by Valentine’s Day and a few other civic holidays. Crocuses are about to bloom and crack through wind-swept icy covering of snow, bright purples against brilliant white. On March 4th, The Awakening begins on my calendar and I saw goodbye to Jack Frost for another winter and welcome the dawning of life again in the coming spring.

The Silence Festival is a time for personal introspection, to plan my final hurrahs for winter and Jack Frost before spring comes again, and to rededicated myself to whatever I need to do. This is a time to remind myself that I am the most important person to impress for myself, that only my opinion matters to me in my life, and no one can or will control my life but me.

New Year’s Resolutions and You: Witchcraft version

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Every New Year’s Day there’s about a million posts online that tell you how to make good resolutions and/or keep them. The most popular are saving money, read more, quit something (smoking, drinking, a hated job, etc), learn something new, and exercise/eat healthier1. However the most common ones are also the easiest to break2. However, magic practitioners have a leg up on every else.

How? How don’t you?

The following will inform you just how very easy it can be to keep that New Year’s resolution – or at least have a better chance at keeping it.

  • Knot spells – Trying to quit a bad habit? Get an elastic band and braid over the elastic with thread or ribbon. As you braid, make your confirmations that this is what you’re going to do and how you’re going to do it. Pro-tip: use elastic made for clothing makers or crafters and tie or tape it together. The elastic will last far longer than any other. Put it on your wrist and every time you go to do that habit, snap it.
  • Cast a spell – Write and cast a spell for your purpose. Want to lose weight? Print out a picture of yourself, now draw the shape you want to me. On the waning moon (yeah, that’s right, moon phases, I don’t use them for anything but this sort of stuff) cast a spell to encourage your body to change. Don’t forget to actually exercise and adjust your diet as needed to achieve the weight loss in a healthy way.
  • Money jar – This is great for just about every resolution. Get a nice clear jar with a lid. Write (or tape on a note) your resolution on it. If you’re making a few resolutions, just write “resolutions”. Now every time you do whatever your resolution is, put money in the jar. I tend to put pocket change in mine so it might be a few pennies one day and a handful of coins the next. Keep that money to help fund next year’s New Year’s Eve drinking or to help pay for Christmas presents or whatever. But how is this witchy? Enchant that money jar to WANT money. Every time you pass that money jar, you’re going to want to put money in it. And to put money in it, you need to do one of your resolutions. (So, read a book, exercise for fifteen minutes, Google up a new craft to learn, whatever)
  • Reminders! Use your phone and computer for reminders. I log everything into my Google calender. I’d be lost without it. Schedule your workout or time to read or whatever. That’s not really witchy but it can be! Color code each of your resolutions with a color that will make you want to do it. Now print out that color and use that as a spell to encourage you to do whatever it is you need to do.

Why are New Year’s resolutions helpful for witchcraft? They totally can be. I know some folks who make resolutions like “I want to do 30 spells this year.” “I want to divine more.” “I want to start worshiping a god”. With resolutions like that, how could they not be witchy? And yes, creating object that want or encourage you to do your resolution helps.

Other reasons why to keep your resolutions may vary, and all of them can be useful in your witchcraft, spiritual, or religious practices. Let’s take the top ten resolutions according to Digital Spy from 2013 3:

  1. Read more books – Hey, why not read books on topics you want to study? Kindle is free to download on the computer and smart phones and there are lots of free books on just about every subject. Many libraries also have online e-book libraries as well to borrow from. If you spend a lot of time reading blogs, try to keep track of how many pages you read and count that towards a book.
  2. Save more money – Copy bills and put them in your freezer to stop them from increasing. Do every money spell you can get your hands on and, if spending is an issue, enchant a jar or savings book to WANT that money and enchant your debit card and wallet to be less attractive for you. Want to reward yourself at the end of the year for saving so much? Buy yourself an expensive book or tool for your practice.
  3. Lose weight – I’ve described above how to do this but another good reason is some people feel more in tuned with their energy and have more energy after they’ve exercise. I know that when I actually keep my exercise regiment, I feel much healthier, sleep better, and slip more easily into trances. Spirit work and astral travel also seems easier, but that’s my personal experiences. Yours may very well vary.
  4. Redecorate – This is the perfect opportunity to witchcraft your house and put up new protection spells! If you’re painting, don’t be afraid to write on the old paint spells, symbols, sigils, etc to protect you house and paint over them. Buying curtains? Draw or stitch sigils or symbols onto them to protect. You don’t have to just protect! You can also stuff or buy pillows for your couch or bed to help heal or sleep better.
  5. Take better photos – Photography seems odd but actually can be really interesting. You can protect your photography by putting an invisible sigil watermark on them. Want to use your photography in your witchcraft? If you’re working on a witchy garden, use photographs to document it. If you’re doing spirit work with local spirits attached to a tree, photograph the tree each week or month to see the growth and changes as you’ve built a relationship. It can be very affirming.
  6. Go traveling – Travel doesn’t have to be far or overseas! Look around to see if there’s any Pagan Pride Days nearby or if someone’s hosting an event or workshop you want to attend. Do money spells to earn up the cash to go and spells to encourage travel.
  7. Sell old unwanted stuff on eBayIf you can sell them, look to trade. Think of all the new shiny witchy stuff you could have it you do sell it! Use money spells to encourage sales.
  8. Buy a tablet – Money spells are your friend here.
  9. Organize photos – While organizing your photos, keep a photograph of each person you want to do a spell for. Want to heal your aunt? Help your brother get a job? Want to curse that ex of yours? Organizing your photos is the perfect excuse to find the best photos for spellwork.
  10. Do something for charity – This can be used as a sacrifice for your gods, depending on which deities you serve.

So you see, there’s a lot of reasons beyond the regular or obvious ones why you should want to keep your New Year’s resolutions.

My New Year’s resolutions for 2014 will be the following:

  • Exercise for at least 10 minutes once a day to improve flexibility, energy, and strengthened previously injured limbs – can be stretches, heavy house cleaning, going for a walk, or full workouts. Pro goal: 30 minutes at night and 10 in the morning.
  • Write more – at least non-blog related 1500 words a day. Pro goal: finish a book and be published.
  • List one new item a week in the shop. Pro goal: 5+ items a month

I intend to accomplish this by implementing the above tips. A money jar has been selected and constructed and will be used for all three resolutions. I have a yoga mat I will be enchanting to encourage me to use it more often and I’m putting a glamour on the fridge and cupboards to seem less attractive – no more snacking just because it’s there. Writing’s a bit trickier as I use my computer for it but I’m going to enchant my rug next to my bed (which serves as my desk) so that every time I step on it I will want to write. And for the shop, I’m going to hang a “siren’s call” type charm bag in my workshop to encourage me to work.

There’s a lot of ways to witchify your New Year’s resolutions even if the resolutions themselves aren’t terribly witchy. I find that thinking of ways to make your not-witchy stuff work better through witchcraft makes doing that stuff a little more special and fun.

Closing and the Leaving Festivals

Last night was the closing festival for my Demon festivals. It was the final Court day. And today marks the start of the Leaving. Well, until next year. Last night began a mass exodus for the next two days while spirits leave my area and festivities to return from whence they came. Some will be returning to their patches of the spirit realms, whatever those may be, and others will be returning to locales they’re from.

I feel like I should post a “Spirit Crossing” sign somewhere. Perhaps one day I will.

The last three and a half months have been amazing. The spiritual activity has been vibrant and full of import. Occasionally ridiculous and fun, mischievous and devilish. Other times it’s been sad, depressing, or inciting rage and soberness. These are all things I expect when working with spirits. I keep my doors open to all spirits, all demons, all fae. Everyone’s welcome, even the marked enemies. This is a time for celebration, for striking deals, for making plans, for avoiding and even waging war.

And deals have been struck. One new alliance has been founded, an assassination has been avoided, and another alliance and acquisition is in the talks and will likely be concluded before winter season truly begins. I’m grateful for what’s occur during this time and I’m fascinated, as always, by the political and social mechanisms of spirits.

The last few nights have been interesting around here personally. A lot of things have fallen over or been moved. Dials have been turned that haven’t been touched in years (like on the sewing machine), items placed at the bottom of the trash have mysterious been taken out of the trash, twice, once the trash can was knocked over, an empty drink can tossed across the room, and a towel thrown. Gravity could be to blame, certainly, but it is suspect. Additionally, the giggling and conversations that have been occurring around here when there is no one to be having said conversations is worth noting. The goblins are preparing to ride out, to bring their chaos and deviltry to others. You’ve been warned.

Other spirits, stronger, older, wiser, more politically strong or personally powerful spirits are preparing their appropriate entourages and preparing for their own journeys home. I wish them the best, sincerely, and hope to hear from many of them soon. (And, well, maybe I’m sort-of looking forward to the gifts I’m always given at the end of the season. Maybe.)

Most notably, because of this mass movement, those who are looking to work with spirits may wish to put out offerings for them. Just remember, because I work with all sorts, be sure to give a few days trial before setting but anything long-term. Just because they seem sweet in the beginning does not mean they always are. For example, those trash-throwing goblins also broke no less than four drinking glasses this season. In two days.

Seasonally, it’s starting to feel like the middle of fall. Jackets and coats are needed and sandals have been tucked away. Scarves are out in full force and whispers of snow tipple from the lips of news reporters. While we wait for the snow, pedestrians get their final warm days in, their shoes crunching in the brightly fallen leaves, taking in the beauty of the decay around them.

My next festival isn’t until the Feasting at the end of the month, where I bake up a storm to celebrate the United States’ holiday of Thanksgiving, but also invite friends, both human and not, to join in on new recipes, home brews, and delicious food. To celebrate our friendships, gossip and talk trash about since we’ve last seen each other. Some of the spirits that have been here for my Demon Festivals will be there was the Feasting and this further ties out alliances closer together. It’s also a great time to enchant food consumed by loved ones for their prosperity, wealth, and good health.

I love celebrating with spirits. I love enjoying their company without ever requiring them to give me something in return. And I love giving them the chance to interact and ask questions about humans that’s in a no-pressure sort of way. Sometimes spirits don’t want to be worshiped. They don’t want to help us, guide us, or even be offered something. Sometimes they just want to do the spirit equivalent of running to the store for milk. And my festivals, although sounds highly ritualistic, are actually just giant parties where spirits can let down their not-always-metaphorical hair and breathe.

But at the same time I’m very glad for the festivals to be over. Some things I’ve let slid since the festivals started, partially because I’m only partially here; there’s always some bit of me there, traveling and riding in the wild hunts, celebrating and raising a glass.

It’s been a good run. Now to start thinking about buckling down for winter.

Stipulations

I barely give permission before I am pulled over.  Al shows me around a glen not too far from the sea and I sense people beyond it. I manifest a more appropriate outfit for meeting folks than a simple shift and move with Al, hand in hand.

Before me the entire family is laid out, working on various spells for this and that.

“We want to make you as strong on That Side as you are on This Side. Someone worth following.”

I express my appreciation and after a while pull back. Al asks if there’s anything else I want, anything else they can do for me.

“You do know,” I said, casually but seriously, “that I will cull your entire family, everyone you ever will or have loved, everyone your family relies on if you attempt to usurp me, right? I don’t mind you trying to rise up amongst the people and become my second. I don’t mind that you intend to gain power and prestige for your entire family through me. I don’t mind any of that. I don’t even mind if you claim a nearby kingdom with the power I’ll give you. I don’t care about that. But I will destroy everything your family holds dear if you try to take my throne from me. You understand that right?”

Al hesitates for only a minute. There is a moment of gravity where Al considers my words and realizes that I may not be the fool they assume me to be. That I am just as dangerous as rumored and to tread carefully in case my ire is set upon them. Al answers as confidently as before,  “I will ensure that the entire family is aware of these stipulations.”

“See that you do. Now when will these spells go into effect?”

Boiling Water

Last night a friend came down from Boston to visit. We did a little shopping and spent the rest of the day making cookies and hanging out, watching dumb Disney movies. Now my friend is not entirely a skeptic. They believe in the paranormal because they’ve experienced it but they don’t entirely buy into the whole magic thing. However, they’re really nice about it, open-minded but rational. Essentially, they’re not a dick.

So Friend is manning the stove as we make dinner, waiting impatiently for the water to boil. It’s been well over twenty minutes and it’s just starting to simmer.

“How fucking long does water take to boil on your stove?”

I shrug, dicing carrots. “The electric coils are dying. The back burners are a bit better but not much.”

They look over their shoulder at me, annoyed. “And you can’t magically fix it?”

I half-laugh and dump the carrots into the salad, switching to shredding a block of cheese. “No. When I use my magic on technology it does revive the item for a while but when it dies again it dies permanently. That’s why I have to replace all my electronics all the time. Why else do you think I need a new cell phone every year? And have you ever heard an Xbox make the noise mine makes?”

My friend is quiet for a long moment and the silence isn’t exactly uncomfortable but it’s considering. Feeling the need to add in a qualifier, I say,

“Well, that’s my theory at least. For me personally. Other witches have better luck. Anyway, that’s why I don’t use more magic on my Jeep. I can’t afford for it to die forever. Besides, I love that damn thing.”

We work silently for several minutes. Finally the water boils and my friend dumps the homemade pasta in the water, stirring expertly. Their voice is slightly resentful but at the situation at large rather than me, “I don’t know why you don’t land yourself a sugar daddy.”

I throw back my head and laugh. “Because I’m worse at love magic for myself than anything else. Really though, I can’t seem to do rubbish for me.” Done with the cheese, I go over to the stove and stir the bubbling pasta sauce.

“Aren’t you the one who said that it’s important for magic practitioners to use their magic for themselves first, then others?”

I shrug, moving the sauce off the other burner. “Oh yes. But I understand why it works that way for me. It’s a personal hang-up, rather psychological in nature. I have a hard time accepting that I’m worth something outside of helping people and my writing. In turn, that means I’m my own worse enemy when I do magic for purely selfish reasons. Money magic is easy for me because it helps pay bills, fulfulling responsibilities. But love? That’s just selfishness.” My tone is matter-of-fact as I pour the wine.  “I’m aware of my flaws. Now, which movie shall we watch?”

The next morning we both grumpily crawl out from our blanket cocoons and tea, toast, and eggs are in demand. My friend take the toaster out and sets out toast enough bread for an army. I fill the kettle, switch on the burner, and dump it on. My friend groans.

“Tea will take forever.”

I make a noise, because it’s too cold to form sentences, and pull the lid off the kettle, dip my finger in the water, then spin it clockwise to speed up the boiling process. I work my magic and, as always, when the power is raised my arm twitches uncontrollably for a moment before, satisfied, I clamp the lid back on and get to heating the pan for eggs.

“Get out the tea you want. Tea boxes are right in front of you.” I wave at the cigar boxes that hold my tea bags and small amounts of loose-leaf tea. “I have herbs if you’re looking for something that isn’t there.”

“Earl is fine with me. I know it’s your favorite.”

I reach over the frying eggs to pick up the kettle, and set to warm up the teapot.

“That water isn’t boiled yet-” My friend says, because it hasn’t even been five minutes yet, and yet the water comes out just boiling. It heats the teapot quickly.

“How-”

“Magic. How else?” I dump the water into the dirty dishes, plop the tea leaves inside the teapot, and pour the rest of the water in the kettle over the tea leaves.

“You can magically heat water.”

“I can speed up the heating process. Whether I can actually heat the water or it’s a trick of the mind is up for theoretically debate.” I tuck the kettle away.

“Why the hell didn’t you use it last night?”

I hand over an empty mug, “I wasn’t done making the salad yet.”

Let’s talk servitors

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I have a wide variety of spirits and beings that attend to me. I don’t work with them or for them. They work for me. Some run messages and collect gossip, others protect various things, a few have specific roles, and others still run business for me on the Other Side while I’m away. I have a small army of folks working for me. In trade for their services, I grant them various things according to our arrangements and, most importantly, protection.

I’m gathering from what I’ve seen on the internet this is somewhat unusual. Frankly, on the other side I have a huge tract of territory and people inside that territory. Mostly, they do their thing and keep what few laws I have and I leave them alone. They need help I help them. They don’t then I don’t. Simple.

Now, I tend to group things together. All spirits are spirits. They could also be demons, fae, ghosts, local deities, etc but I call them a spirit unless they have a specific title they want me to use. Most don’t bother defining themselves so I don’t bother defining them. I might have suspicions on “what they are” (whatever that means) but it doesn’t usually factor into anything for me.

Yes, all this is important for this discussion.

I also group all servitors, constructs, thoughtforms, egregores, and even some familiars together. If they are a being created by a person, they get dumped into this category. I actually use thoughtform, egregore, construct, and servitor interchangeably. But I also personally define them as separate things. Thoughtforms, for example, are creatures made of thought, usually for specific purposes. Egregore is a group thoughtform. Servitor is a created creature that serves while a construct is just a created creature without that desire to serve built in. Thoughtforms and egregores are purely non-corporeal and totally reside in the realm outside the physical (although they may exist in this physical realm.) Servitors may, but not always, be connected to an object or have a body whereas constructs, for me, will always have a body it cannot go far from.

These beings can evolve or go from one title to another. A construct can develop into a servitor and extend itself from its body far more than it should. A thoughtform or egregore can become servitor or construct. It’s all really fluid.

For example, I may make a construct for a spell. I might put together a clay poppet or something and place it at a crossroad to become a guardian of that place. I might make a construct to ruin someone’s life, literally creating a spirit who will torment a person. (Hey, I warned you all I’m not a nice person.) I might make a construct to protect someone.

Now I have a construct that is attached to some jewelry. I developed it so it would eventually work as a weapon and, with any luck, activate itself if I was in danger and didn’t know it or was unconscious. At first, I needed to be aware of its existence and truly activate it to get it to work. Over the last year or so, it has slowly but surely become more active, more self-aware, and more self-sufficient. It can now extend itself out of the body and home and it can be about a hundred feet from its body with no trouble so long as it remains on my body. I’m thinking that it could now ride storms if we had such storms at the moment.

Anyway, it has begun to develop its skills and has branched out from its original purpose to new ones – which is super awesome and exactly what I want. I’m totally OK with my servitors becoming self aware and eventually leaving my service if it so wants. Most people who work with servitors don’t like that because 1) that servitors know all your shit 2) it can become unruly and destructive if not properly cared for or malformed.

So why a servitor? It depends on the person themselves. I like having a servitor to watch my back. Often, my servitors remember shit way better than me and can remind me of shit I need to do. It’s companionship and someone to talk to. My servitors also are required to have some sort of attack. I like them to be able to defend themselves and me if necessary. If they are body-less and more free-moving thoughtforms, I send them on missions for certain things. To check the status of this herb in the wild or to find someone to serve my needs for something. They’re useful as shit – if you’re willing to do the work. Much like a pet or child, you have to train them, care for them properly, or they can become very destructive and unruly. And it really, truly sucks having to destroy what you’ve created like that.

It’s a pretty classic magician sort of thing. Familiars work similarly but I tend to find that familiars are spirits that find you not beings you create. Do you need one? Hell no. You don’t need a guide, familiar, servitor, or any damn thing if you don’t want it. It is a being that is useful but takes a lot of time and energy to make and create and if you don’t consistently care for it and forget it (which is super fucking common) terrible things like hauntings and nightmares can occur.