Category: Spirits and Deities

Posts relating to spirits, deities, and other assorted beings.

Crown’s “Fuck All The Things!” Cleansing and Banishment [tumblr repost] (Spell Saturday #14)

Sometimes you just have to get mad.

There’s actually two versions of this spell split up but they really work best together. So here you go.

So you’ve some nasty creepers hanging around. A ghost is rattling their chain and banging on walls. What a rude fucker. What do you do?

  1. Summon your courage. Buck the fuck up. Look, ghosts are just dead people. Spirits might not be human but they’re still people. They might be assholes or they might be sweethearts. Don’t lump all ghosts and spirits together. I’m not saying don’t be scared because, fuck that, there’s invisible people in your house. That’s nightmare fuel. But you can be scared and still be brave.
  2. Get pissed. No, really. Get fucking angry. This sort of behavior isn’t acceptable. Think of alllllllllll the reasons you want them gone. Channel your inner Hulk if you have to.
  3. Open ALL the doors and windows as much as you can. Make sure you can get to every single window and door in all the rooms plus the basement and attic if you have one. Even the closets, crawlspaces, cupboards, etc. ALL OF THEM. I’m not saying fling open the doors that don’t or can’t be opened or let Spot the Housecat get outside but even cracking it the tiniest bit will help. Clean the hallways and pathways as you’ll need to move as quickly as you can. Locking up said pets in their carriers, crate, cages, etc. during this is helpful too. You might want to chase out other people too. I find exorcising shit works best when I’m alone or with another woo~ person or two is helpful. You can get kids involved too, as I’ll explain in point 7.
  4. Give a warning. I tend to ask politely first and, if the behavior continues after I’ve requested it a few days later, I step up to the swearing and cursing. Tell those dead intruders to get the fuck out. Threaten their ass with an exorcism and banishing.
  5. Now get the chalk, salt, holy / blessed water, and rosemary herb stick. FYI, neither salt nor holy water works all the time but it works most of the time. For an herb stick get a bunch of rosemary and dry it together in a bundle. Ta-da. Pour some salt in your water to dissolve it. I find sticking the water in a squirt bottle or water gun works well. Figure out a system that works well so you can carry the herb stick, water, salt, and chalk. I find using a small salt pouch clipped to my pants by a carabiner works remarkably well.
  6. Prep your protection shit. Get that shit ready to go. I tend to use rosemary, salt water, salt, chalk, and bay. Whatever works for you. Put it all in the same room you start in if you can’t carry it with you.
  7. Chase it the fuck out. Yell and move as quickly as you can. Tell it to get the fuck out. It’s not welcome here and it needs to fucking go. Tell it all sorts of lies like if it comes back you’ll eat it or sic your familiars on it. Just be as scary as possible. Start in the lowest portion of the house and work your way up. As you go, toss a light coating of salt at the windows, doors, closets, cupboards, etc. Spritz water in the same place as you’re throwing salt but also include the corners of the rooms and mirrors too. Slam door, window, cupboard, etc. shut. Now mark it with an ‘X’ in chalk. You could put a protection or banishing symbol up too. I just find the X easier. It should be clearly visible. If it isn’t, go back over it with the water. Do that with each and every room all the way up to the highest point of the house. It’s easier with more people and kids will have fun yelling at ghosts and throwing salt, squirting water, and slamming the windows and doors. If you’re lucky and have a third person available, they can come along behind you and lay on the protection right afterwards.
  8. Make your home a fortress. Lock that shit up. Coat the glass, mirrors, faucets, etc with protection oil or water. Wash the floor in a protection floor was. Go ahead and wash the walls and doors too. As you clean and protect each room, feel free to wipe off any of those chalk ‘X’s you run across. Make sure you bolster those defenses every so often to keep shit out.

You want to be subtle about it? Fine. Steep rosemary in salt water for 10-15 minutes. Pour that in a drinking glass and open one single window or door. Now go from each room as subtly as you can in step seven. Skip the yelling but just dab or flick the water. Be sure to get all the windows, doors, mirrors, and corner.

Now this second part can be used along as a cleansing of the self or to get rid of the feel of someone that’s in your life or if you’re just feeling gross.

  1. Open the windows and doors and clean the place up. Put shit back to where it’s suppose to be. Run laundry and do the dishes. It’ll take ten minutes top to clean the surfaces. Add some cleansing ingredients into the laundry if you feel it necessary. (I tossed in some salt and peppermint in a dark clothing load. Don’t put herbs in with your white or light color clothing. You’ll stain them. No, seriously, don’t.)
  2. Throw salt. No, I’m not kidding. Throw salt. At mirrors, at windows, at doors, at the floor, at the computers (watch those keyboards!), at the faucets, on the floor, and on the stripped bed.
  3. Incense the the place. This generally means you walk around with incense and let the smoke drift to all corners of the room. This step varies for me. Sometimes I’ll use incense, other times herbal sticks, or asperging. It all depends on what materials I have on hand. Make sure you get all the rooms and entrances (including faucets, mirrors, computers, windows, doors, archways, and corners).
  4. Wash the floors, doors, windows, and maybe even the walls. I use a mix of water + salt + lemon + whatever ingredients I think need to be use (for prosperity, I’ll do a floor wash with different things than I would for a floor wash for protection.)
  5. Pour a drink. Usually I drink vodka. Sometimes I have homemade lemonade. Depends on my mood. Whatever. Toss some delicious fucking food in a pan/oven/microwave. It could even be a sandwich. Make that food and drink and put it aside.
  6. Take that drink with you and hop in the bath and/or shower. Use those bath products you accumulate and forget to use. If you don’t have any “borrow” some from a housemate. Or don’t. Whatever the works for you. Pamper yourself. Put on music, drink your drink, and cleanse yourself. I tend to imagine the water taking all the shit and washing it down the drain.
  7. Eat that delicious food, sit your ass down and watch TV. Or read a book. Play a game. Take a nap. Pet the cat/dog/turtle/plushie. Surf the web (but avoid social media. You don’t need that shit right now. You really don’t.) Do something for just you for an hour or two. And ignore all the other shit for a while.

There. Congrats. You’ve cleansed yourself and you’ve given yourself the break you need.

(For those eyeing this and saying “but I don’t actually need to clean the place, do I?” Yeah, yeah you do. Unless your home is from the pages of a catalog, you need to clean off what catches the eye. Counters, a simple sweep, dishes, and obvious “that’s not suppose to be there” should be sorted. It helps hugely. It’s a physical manifestation of the shit you need to deal with and going around cleansing the place and yourself but not cleaning the house at least on the surface is useless. Really. If you don’t believe me try it yourself. One day cleanse the house/room and don’t clean. A few days later do it again but clean first this time. You’ll notice the difference. Promise.)

Now a lot of you will look at that and think “that’s not magic”. It CAN be magic – depends on the intent or spells you use during the process – but the simple act of doing mundane things and taking some time for the self can be immensely restorative. Having a clean home actually does calm the mind and helps you think. There’s less “ugh” feeling.

That’s it! Happy casting!

Originally posted on tumblr here and here.

 

Ouija Boards 101 or “Are Ouija Boards Dangerous?”

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Every couple of months I get this question “are Ouija boards dangerous?”. The answer, in short, is no. Not any more than any other tool at least. Then I get a whole slue of questions on how to use a Ouija board safely or properly. If you’ve ever asked those questions yourself, this is the post for you.

I use Ouija boards on occasion. I find they’re tools and that they are no more dangerous than anything else and like anything else they may become dangerous when used improperly or foolishly.

Ouija boards were originally designed as a toy, a game. (Not that something being a game originally means anything. Tarot it based off the game tarrochi after all.) And I find that the excessive fear of Ouija comes from the media or passed along stories rather than first hand accounts. And I do mean fear. People are afraid of these things which seems silly as most buy them in the toy section of Wal-Mart. I’ve come into possession of several Ouija boards simply by the previous owners being too scared of the boards and worried that they couldn’t get rid of it properly or that it wouldn’t burn or would come back if thrown away. (And these are learned individuals in the science and medical field). It’s fear-mongering, pushed by people who prefer to see tools as evil or to continue to parrot information without thinking on what that tool could mean or actually do. I often find people who say such things have never even touched a Ouija board in their life so I question their information and fear or demonizing of something they’ve never used or touched.

Honestly though. What the fuck makes people think Ouija boards are dangerous? What? Do you think Hasbro has spirits locked in a room somewhere that influenced the creation? Or they sandwich the spirits in between the paper and the cardboard?

Any tool can be used to contact a spirit. Any tool has the danger of being used to contact a “negative” or “bad” spirit. Any tool.

The whole idea that the board can be possessed by a spirit is legitimate, as spirits can possess things, but why bother with a piece of cardboard instead of say, a doll which had the capability to be mobile? I think the fear of Ouija stems from the very point of the board – to pass messages along from the spirit world. And to that I have to ask why anyone who claims or wants to work with spirits would fear such a thing. Isn’t that the point? If you get guidance from a spirit or deity, this is the exact same thing. The only difference is that there is no visual representation for you to converse with – which may actually work in your favor because there is no reason a spirit can’t fool your eyes and appear as something else, as this is traditionally an ability many spirits possess in folklore and mythology.

Realistically speaking, pendulums are more dangerous than Ouija boards. One method of using pendulums is to have spirits influence the pendulum and follow where that leads (if using it as a searching device) which is infinitely more dangerous than sitting in your living room with another person and sliding a plachette across a piece of cardboard. The implied information here is that a spirit would be more powerful to physically push or influence the pendulum (or the human hand holding the pendulum) than one influencing two humans to push the plachette around (and humans are, as science has proven, incredibly susceptible to suggestion).

It the end it comes to this: Ouija boards are misunderstood and demonized for truly bewildering and contrary reasons that makes me instantly suspect the speaker, especially if said speaker claims to or has worked with or is working with spirits. Claims that the boards aren’t useful in witchcraft, are extraordinarily dangerous, or evil are often employed by the uneducated or fearmongers.

Now that we have that covered, let’s move onto actually using an Ouija board!

Ouija boards spells out things by have a plachette (pointer) move around the letters. Each person participating should lay a hand or at least a finger on the plachette and focus during the moment the question is being asked on the question itself. In theory, the plachette spells out the answers to the questions.

Make no mistake: the plachette is moved around by people. Each person slightly moves the plachette around without noticing and another person responds. It’s OK to totally admit this. In fact, I find going into the procedure knowing that actually helps determine whether someone’s just messing around or if they’re channeling something. It also helps because it can calm you down when you start to get worked up (because groups of people can get worked up very easily when scared or excited.) Now, the question that should be asked is this: are they moving the plachette that way because a spirit suggests it or they intuitively know the answer? That’s something you’ll have to determine for yourself.

Here’s some tips to get the best enjoyment out of your Ouija board session:

Take breaks often. A lot of getting spooked happens when people build on experiences – it all rolls together and excitement builds to a point that anything’s possible. It especially happens when using it with other people and I believe is related to mob mentality – which creates a us vs them dichotomy, paranoia, and is often aggressive (which will chase away milder spirits). Taking breaks gives you a moment to pause and consider what’s happened before starting up again.

Eat and drink something but avoid excessive amounts of refined sugar, caffeine, alcohol, or stimulating drugs as these substances can create a sense of paranoia and in extreme amounts, hallucinations. Foods like bread and pasta are good but whatever works best for you is good.

Keep notes and write down information and responses given. Go back through those notes and repeat those same questions at a later date to help verification. Asking questions where you think you already know the answer will help from getting too excited because nothing new’s been added.

Atmosphere is fun and all but can create a sense of false importance of a situation. So lighting the candles and holding session in a darkened room may be part of your process but shake it up sometimes if you feel like that might be contributing to getting spooked.

Put some music on. I’d recommend music without lyrics as lyrics may be able to subconsciously influence your answers and create interference.

Putting out an offering, even just a glass of water, may add a sobering effect to your sessions but that depends on your particular perspective. An offering is polite though so it may attract more of whom you’re looking to speak to.

Time your sessions. If something goes on for a long time, it can build until you’re spooked out. Maybe only ask five questions at a time or ask questions for twenty minutes then take a break.

To end a session, go ahead and thank anyone that showed up (both humans and spirits alike), even if some scary stuff happened. It’s only polite. You may wish to cleanse the room and check protection wards afterward.

As mentioned above, eat something after the session and chat among yourself. Give everyone time to calm down before they go home or whatever. Again, it reduces the fear factor.

There you go! A quick 101 on ouija boards. Have fun!

This post is based on these tumblr posts here, here, and here.

How to Make Your Home More Inviting For Spirits

A lot of people work hard to make their home nice, safe, and spirit-free. Others prefer a little incorporeal company.

Spirit shenanigans aren’t uncommon in my household. Just earlier today I watched an indoor wind chime twist around, jangle loudly, and physical move for half a minute. the wind chime closer to the window and less than a foot away from the moving wind chime didn’t move a bit. I happen to be across the room at the time putting up my hair, standing next to my sleeping cat. Nothing I could see moved or touched it. It’s weird. I’m not saying it was a spirit but I’m not ruling it out either, you know? These kinds of events are pretty common in my household. In fact, you’ll probably run into a spirit just as often as you’d run into a visiting friend around here.

So how can you invite spirits around your own home?

First you need to consider your location. I live between two crossroads, at the top of a hill, down the street of a swamp, less than a mile from the ocean and a river, and behind a funeral home (in fact, my street’s technically part of a corpse road). My house is naturally attractive to spirits because of this. In fact, when we moved in, we had to kick spirits out because they weren’t willing to share. We get a lot of water and murky spirits here due to our location and a lot human dead. 90% of our visitors are transient and we never see them again. This is linked to our location. If you live on a street with a lot of flourishing gardens you’re more likely to run across fae than water spirits. If you live by the sea you’re going to see a lot more water spirits than anything else.

Trying to cater to your local spirits may be a good idea: take fallen branches from the yard and fashion them into an offering – hang it on the wall or leave it by an offering space if that’s what you’re doing. Otherwise, I just make wind chimes out of the fallen branches and leave them in the yard. I also tend to leave out animal-safe food offering such as sugar-free bread and purified water.

Next you need to decide what spirits best suit you. Our most prominent spirits, outside of the human dead, are goblins. They’re mischievous and tend to break shit for the fun of it. Most folks don’t invite them into their homes because they cause more trouble than anything else. I find them funny and honest, in a way. They’re intentions are typically selfish and I get that. We also like the transient spirits that come and go as that also suits our family’s personality. We’re something like a roadside inn. You don’t need to know what spirit you want in the home but what temperament is best. It’s not unlike trying to find a new housemate except that the questions revolve less around “do you smoke?” and more of “do you break shit just for the giggles?”

Once you decide what kind of spirits you’re looking at, do research. If you’re looking for a specific spirit, leave out offerings they would like. If you’re looking for just more spirits in general, read up on people’s accounts of living with spirits. It’s not always what it’s cracked up to be and you may find yourself wishing otherwise. (For example, when we first moved in here there was a spirit that would watch me shower and another that lived under the stairs and would turn the light on and off at will, even if no one used the stairs that day. Or, a few Christmases ago the spirit that set off the fire alarms four times, including at five a.m. That particular spirit refused to stop until it was given an offering. I threw it’s ass to the curb.)

This is also a good time to start catering your protection wards and spells to your new purpose. If you want to let in fae, then you’re going to have to make sure that your protection doesn’t hurt them or kick them out.

Before you do any serious inviting, be sure you can kick out whatever you’re inviting in. Sometimes, spirits just become assholes. Pick out a good binding and/or banishing spell ahead of time and be sure to have cleansing materials on hand.

Set ground rules. I have a few rules that each spirit is told upon entering the house. Generally, they seem to know ahead of time so maybe other spirits tell them but sometimes I need to make it a point. My rules are for them to stay out of the bedrooms, generally speaking, especially when we sleep and the bathrooms when they’re in use. Another is to leave the cats alone. The third is to not manipulate electronics (in case they break something) and the fourth is for them to leave my mother alone. Be firm with these rules and don’t be afraid to break out the cleansing and banishing materials if the rules are broken. They need to know that you’re serious and not playing around. I’ve even had spirits banished and come back at a later day, promising not to do whatever they did wrong previously again.

Offerings are nice but not always necessary. In fact, you may wish to make sure they aren’t a daily thing. This is where research comes in handy. A brownie may demand a gift every day in exchange for keeping the house running smoothly and a spirit guardian spirit may require one on specific occasions. Generally speaking it’s not good to spoil them too much. If you give offerings to the neighborhood spirits every week for two months, they’re going to be pissed when you don’t do it in that third month – and they may take it out on you. Re-negotiations may need to take place to remedy that situation. It’s better to not get into that sort of situation to begin with. I give offerings on specific days or events – Thanksgiving they get turkey soup, New Year’s Eve they get wine. If I spend the day baking, I give a bit of whatever to them. Outside of that, it’s sporadic and that works best for me and them. I have a few spots in the yard I leave offerings but I’ve recently installed a little house-shaped shadowbox for permanent offerings  by a window and I have a dish I leave by my coffee maker for the household spirits like brownies.

Most spirits like shiny things, so leaving a small selection of shiny objects like coins, rough crystals, bits of broken chains, etc may attract spirits. Avoid warding measures like knives, scissors, and nails in windowsills unless you want that room to be banned for them.

Make a formal offer. This may be as simple as trancing or meditating in your room and telling them to enter, taking a walk in a park, or puttering about the yard. I tend to step into the middle of our largest crossroad and make the offer. This usually ends up being “hey, if you want to swing in and say hi, go for it” and that’s about as formal as I get.

Having a space for household spirits is somewhat ideal. This may be the hall closet or, in my case, the boiler room. A lesser used room is typically ideal, although they may take up residence in the basement, ceilings, attics, and floor. A friend of mine had a spirit take residence in their unused chimney and I have several spirit houses dedicated for this exact purpose. This isn’t necessary however and in fact may be preferred that they’re more nomadic in the space.

It takes time, so keep that in mind. Spirits have their own minds, agendas, cultures, personalities, and backgrounds. It may take a while for certain spirits to warm up to you. You might need to readjust and reassess if things aren’t going the way you want them to. You can call up or summon spirits to speed up the process but you’ll want to be sure they’re the kind of spirit you want to hang around.

Keep records. I say this often about a lot of things but I recommend keeping a record of weird happenings if you’re attempting to attract spirits. This way you can track patterns that might be spirits communicating. If you have a busy household, it can even be fun for kids and guests to write down what they’re experiencing in a book.

I think that’s a good place to start. Generally, give it time and be friendly!

This post was adapted and based off of an ask from tumblr here.

Tips for Crossing Over, Being Safe and Coming Back (tumblr repost)

Breathing life into an old post. Tips for Crossing Over, Being Safe and Coming Back  is one of my more popular (and important) posts I wrote about two years ago. So here it is again.

ruiner85 asked: My bestie (thesecretlifeofpyris) recommended asking you about a reliable and safe way to contact spirit guides, I’m hoping to start out slowly & build a rapport so that I can go with my eyes open before even attempting anything astral. I’ve looked on-line and saw a lot about getting to the astral, but very little on staying safe or getting back. We’re currently researching formal rituals for contact and would appreciate any information or guidance you may be able to provide. Thanks

Hi! This is long and rambly. Hope your research is going well and sorry for the wait.

Unpopular opinion time! I don’t use spirit guides. I never have and, not to sound like an asshole, never saw the point in them. I still don’t. Logically I get it but…, eh, not really. To be honest, I don’t trust spirit guides. I don’t trust anyone who says they’ll helping someone just because they can. That sounds like a load of bullshit and I’ve NEVER met a spirit that’s acted like that. Ever. Even spirit guides get something by dealing with you, even if you don’t know what you’re giving them.

You don’t need them. Exploring the astral is like going to a large foreign city. You might speak some of the language but not all. It’s a weird culture and you don’t want to offend people so you’re super cautious because ajfdjalsj you don’t want to be an asshole but you also don’t want to be taken advantage of. Actually, I’m going to quote Doctor Who, since it’s always relevant on my witch blog:

“You can’t just read the guide book. You’ve got to throw yourself in, eat the food, use the wrong verbs, get charged double and end up kissing complete strangers – or is that just me? Stop asking questions. Go and do it”

– Ninth Doctor, Doctor Who, Episode 7, The Long Game.

All of that being said, the other side is a dangerous place and you have to be willing to accept that danger by going into it. Prepping yourself for it is a BRILLIANT IDEA THAT EVERYONE SHOULD TRY TO FOLLOW.

How to Stay Safe:

  • Remember that the astral/other side/spirit realms/faery land/whatever the fuck you call it IS DANGEROUS. IS NOT SAFE. IT IS DANGEROUS. I literally cannot stress this enough. It is not a playground.
  • Be flexible and adaptable. You were planning on heading towards a wheat field but ended up in a desert? Roll with it.
  • Don’t be aggressive (unless necessary). That’s pretty much asking for a brawl.
  • You have the right to defend yourself. And sometimes the best defense is offense. And running away is almost always an option, even if it isn’t the best option.
  • Remain vigilant and doubt everything. This sounds like a terrible way to live and it is. But this had saved my ass more times than I care to tell you.
  • Train yourself. Your body over there doesn’t have to be the same way here. Some people change shape depending on their mood, location, or job. I’ve met a few folks who never stop shifting, always moving. Others become their true selves. And more still just have little subtle changes in how they best reflect themselves. With this new ‘body’ you can do whatever you like. I recommend training your body to be respond yourself best. Maybe even train yourself with a weapon if you notice yourself getting into trouble.
  • Don’t get caught up on deciding what’s a spirit, fae, demon, god, etc. The lines get blurred. And really, what does it matter? They’ll either let you know or you can figure it out via context. And if you can’t, then it’s probably not important to know anyway.
  • If you’re paranoid then come up with a way to banish each and every being you meet.Seriously. If you’re that concerned about it, take the precautionary step. But if you are that concerned then you may wish to reconsider traveling to begin with. It’s not necessary. You can do witchcraft without it.
  • Don’t eat anything. This should be obvious. Sometimes you wander into faerie realms without knowing it. Accepting food offered (or eating random shit you find) is unwise and best and can get you seriously fucked up at worst.
  • Assume everyone’s out to get something. I have never met a spirit that isn’t looking for something. I know they might not say anything and maybe they’re acting really nice and generally are, but they ARE getting something. Maybe they’re studying humans. Or maybe they’re leeching energy off you or selling information about you to someone. You don’t know.
  • They are not human. Do not forget that. [UPG Alert!] I’m of the belief that many spirits don’t think the same way we do. They don’t hold things to the same level of importance, they certainly don’t seem to value the same things or have the same morals or ethics. You can’t expect them to act a certain way or do something in a particular fashion. It’s like expecting an alien from Pluto to be able to know all the intricacies and eccentricities of your culture.
  • Avoid politics. Politics is a game no matter who is playing it or what field it is on. A deadly, horrible, necessary game. Try to avoid it if possible. If you can’t (as many constant travelers cannot) at least keep your wits about you.
  • Know who’s top dog. There are a lot of spirits out there that  have territory. Some of those spirits are just holding that territory for someone bigger and badder than they are. And some of those territories have land that translates into a place on the physical realm. Yeah, you can literally walk into a spirit’s territory here by accident and have to deal with it over there.
  • You are not at home. Stop acting like it. You’re traveling. Tra-vel-ing. No one owes you a thing (unless they do) and acting like they owe you secrets and knowledge is a great way of getting no where fast and pissing everyone off. And ruining the party for everyone else.
  • You can get hurt. Spirit wounds happen. All the time. Sometimes it’s bruises, scratches, or random aches and pains that shouldn’t be there. I’ve woken up with visible six fingerprint and one thumb-sized bruises on each ankle even though I was in the house alone except for the cat and slept only three hours. I’ve noticed these tend to appear overnight and will last for much longer than normal, despite any treatment towards it (although, spells do seem to soften them). Hint: treat the wound on the spiritual realm as well as the physical.
  • Prepare yourself for the morning after. Using the assumption that you intend to travel at night, prepare your morning as you would if you expected a hangover. A hearty breakfast, lots of fluids, headache and nausea remedy. Sometime the herbals used to cross over will you give a hangover type feeling. This occurs even if the herbal is consumed via oil, ointment, or smoke. If it does occur, keep records and test it. Some people react to certain herbs that way, others discover it’s because they gave themselves too much or combined it with something.
  • Keep records. As mentioned above and previously, keeping records is highly important. I don’t even note in my records what I do (although that’s a personal preference). I just note that I crossed over at what time, what I took with the dosages (leaving a sample aside nearby my notes in case something goes wrong), and when I return what time I did that. This is also useful if you find yourself crossing over at random. Some folks get triggered by shit. It’s best to keep the records so you learn from it all. Do as you will. Most people keep everything in a journal. I keep mind in a binder and have a form I fill out each time, similar to a lab report. Ugh, paperwork but brilliant at the same time.
  • Your UPG is as valid and true as everyone else’s. UPG [unverified personal gnosis or some form thereof] means that what you’ve experienced is real to you. It’s valid and true if you say it is. No one should be able to deny your experiences (if they do then call them out although if you’re operating on historical or mythological fallacies someone will call you out on that.) That being said, your UPG does not have to match anyone else’s UPG. Sometimes they match up and that’s awesome. Others times you’re all by yourself. That’s awesome too. Just remember that just because you’ve experienced something and someone else experienced something else entirely, does not mean both of you aren’t correct. Treat other people’s UPGs as you’d like yours to be treated.
  • Spirits lie. They’re also assholes. All the time. Some they lie about who or what they are. They do it for reasons you can’t understand, for their own personal agenda, just for laughs, or to fuck with you. Gods are not exempt from this.

Getting back depends on how you got there in the first place. A lot of just ride it out till they come back. Others have a series of techniques like the ones below. It’s a good idea to keep trips short until you can find your way back without trying to (although, some people never get to that kind of familiarity with this so YMMV).

How to Get Back:

  • Return phrase. Some people have trained themselves to return to their senses when they utter a particular word or phrase. (Likewise, some people have trained themselves to cross over with a different word or phrase)
  • Alarms. If you travel while asleep or fall asleep while traveling, setting an alarm will shock you out of whatever realm you’re in, most of the time. This isn’t exactly recommended because it’s really disorienting. It’s best to use an alarm that starts softly and gains volumes as it goes. (You can usually find a digital one in a department store for around $12 USD, last I checked.) You can likewise try to use an mp3 that starts soft and gets loud to do the same thing if that works better for you.
  • Tether yourself. If you can, when you first cross over, try to extend yourself back and feel where your body is. Keep that feeling in the back of your mind and you’ll be able to find it again. You can make a “physical” reminder of this by wearing a rubber band or bracelet, ring, whatever, to remind yourself. Ensure that you appear on the other side with it.
  • If you travel with a spirit, that spirit can shove you back. (It should be noted that other spirits can do this too and will sometimes do it to be assholes). In non-allies, it’s a dominance play. Also known as a dick move.
  • Have someone sit by and wake you at a certain time. Switch out who watches who to make things even. And give that watcher something to do. It’s boring watching a sleeping or meditating person most of the time.
  • Have a start zone. Find a place where you will always first visit when you cross. If you appear anywhere else first, go directly to the start zone. This way, you will feel best connected to that spot and will feel most closely connected to reality there. Then you can jump back and forth as much as you’d like.
  • Food. This is going to sound weird. Traveling is draining to many people and I always recommend prepping a carb-filled or grounding food for yourself for after. If you eat the same thing after each trip (like ritual bread or whatever), remembering that smell, taste, texture, sight, etc can bring you back.
  • Keep records. As stated above. Not a way to get back but something to keep in mind.

I rambled a bit there and sounded a bit like a arse but I hope this helps!

[Originally posted here.]

Summertime Offerings

Offerings are kind of a big thing in the pagan world. You might make an offering or a sacrifice for your deity on some regular basis. Or you might offer something to local spirits by way of thanks. Whatever your reasoning and purpose, practicality has to be tackled alongside the spiritual considerations when handling offerings.

Here’s a few simple tricks, tips, and rules in order make sure both you and the offering recipient are happy campers.

Clean your space

  • Take a glance at your altar, shrine, or workspace. How long would it take to disassemble? Go ahead and time yourself. Regularly taking apart your shrine space and putting it back together (even if the layout is the same) will help refresh and renew the space. It’ll also keep you from putting useless stuff there.
  • Take 30 seconds to wipe down the surfaces of your altar, shrine, or workspace. This includes idolatry pieces like statues, table or shelf surface, and offering dishes.
  • Wash your offering dishes. It doesn’t matter that only dried rice or water was held in it. Wash it out.

Protect your space

  • Summertime can be the worst time for food and liquid offerings. Milk curdles, insects are attracted to offerings, and animals – and people – are everywhere. Make sure your food and liquid offerings are safely placed so children and animals don’t get to them.
  • Insects a pest? Grow plants like lemon balm, peppermint, or citronella around the altar if possible. If not possible, spray strips of cloth or rope with bug spray (I recommend natural but you do you) and hang or place it near the altar.
  • Have a lot of visitors this summer? Move all breakable items away from the edges. Introduce children to altar spaces and ask them not to touch unless you say it’s OK because it’s very important to you. Often times simply explaining the space and letting them touch or look at the items will keep them from grabbing and breaking something accidentally. This depends on the child, of course.

Use common sense

  • Leave out offerings of milk and honey for the faeries? That’s a great idea in the summertime right? You may wish to switch to something that’s not as easily spoiled in the heat for a while. Or, reduce the amount of hours the offerings are out for.
  • Ask the recipients before making any exchanges or substitutes for offerings. For example, my household fae dislike almond milk but don’t mind soymilk as a substitute for regular milk or cream.
  • Placement is key. Want to remember to make a daily offering? Put it next to the coffee maker or refrigerator. Make it memorable. I keep household spirit offerings next to the oven and by the coffee maker.
  • Always watch open flames. Always. Make sure there’s nothing for the flames to set fire to.

Substitutes and alternatives

  • Always ask before making substitutes for traditional or common offerings. You can even give a little explanation on why you’re making the substitute if necessary when making the offering.
  • Clear alcohol is a common offering that is generally accepted by many spirits and deities, including ghosts. It has the added benefit of not spoiling in heat or freezing in cold.
  • Water, especially purified water, is almost always an accepted offering. Only certain types of spirits, like those associated with fire, will disdain them. Deities are a hit or miss.
  • Nuts are often offerings and can last a long time.
  • Dried grains, rices, and beans are also great offerings but watch for worms and flies if left too long.
  • Non-food offerings like incense, music, art, actions and prayers are all offerings too. Don’t forget about them simply because there’s a focus on food items.
  • Can’t use candles or incense? Mist sprays made from light tisanes are great for cleansing and making offerings. LED lights work just as well for rituals unless you need to burn something (which I would then recommend waiting until you can safely and legally have a place to use a candle).

General altar and work space advice

  • Have a lot of stuff? Cycle it through by season or purpose to refresh the space. You probably don’t need all the stuff all the time.
  • It’s often desirable to have a beautiful altar or shrine chocked full with statuary, incense holders, associated objects, and offering pieces. Consider simplifying your space. Do you really need that athame out on the table surface or can it sit in a sheath until necessary? If you never put out food offerings but for special occasions then why have the empty offering plate there? Does that scrying ball need to be there if your deity isn’t associated or involved with divination? Consider what you have in that space and if it’s really there because you have no where else to put it or if it actively services your and their needs.
  • Use your terminology correctly. Work spaces are for you to do work on and doesn’t necessarily even have to have deities or spirits honored at all. An altar is where offerings and sacrifices are made. It’s general a table or shelf set up and can be a part of a larger shrine or temple. A shrine is a building or set up that will usually contain an altar or offering place. It is a holy space for the deities and spirits honored and is dedicated to them entirely. A temple is more of a place for worshipers to go whereas shrines have a tendency, especially in Western culture, to be reserved only for the priesthood or attendants of the honored deities and spirits. A temple could have a work space, altar, and shrine all in one place.Terminology does change somewhat depending on culture, especially the further east you go but this kind of language is something to keep in mind.
  • What you put on an altar or in a shrine should have meaning to both you and the honored being. You’re honoring them so having things they enjoy is just as important as having beautiful things you enjoy.
  • Take your time assembling your spaces. There’s a lot of beautiful inspiration out there and newbies have a tendency to want to rush out and buy all the things. Shop around and visit used goods store, flea markets, garage sales, and even online ads for things that would fit your spaces perfectly. You might even have earmarked some pieces for future altars that aren’t available yet from family collections.
  • Travel or pocket altars are incredibly useful if altars are important but you can easily assemble an offering from whatever when traveling.
  • Research, research, research. Look at what was historically offered for these beings. You don’t have to follow that strictly but knowing what those beings are use to and expecting can make introductions and foundling relationships so much easier to develop.

Simply put: don’t forget to use common sense when setting up your altar space.

Please, please, please remember that many times you do not need a permanent work space, altar, or whatever. It is not a requirement of most practices. You can make offerings without such spaces and you can easily work witchcraft without them.

Creating an altar can be extremely fun and making summertime offerings when fruits are plentiful is always a blast. But taking precautions is always ideal to make sure everyone’s safe and happy.

Aggression cleansed at the crossroads

I glance at my phone in surprise because the person calling can’t have left my house more than a minute ago, if that. I answer with a smile in my voice, thinking they had forgotten something. Instead I get this:

“When I was coming out of your house and passed through the gate is slammed a bunch of times and I heard footsteps follow behind me to my car. Then I saw a face in the mirror standing outside my car by the headlights.”

I pause, taking it in. “I’m sorry.” I say immediately because it is a serious issue for a guest to be harassed when leaving my home. I may live on the crossroads but my guests should always feel safe coming to my home.

“Don’t apologize. I just thought you should know.”

I swallow down a second apology and after a few more minutes we end the conversation. I glance towards my window and extended my senses. Yes, something was there, something new that hadn’t been there this afternoon when I dealt with a different, friendly spirit that afternoon. This new thing was aggressive, tumultuous and dark, filled with a confusion of emotions. Not one of mine.

My brother and I are both practitioners. Both of us are mediums and channel spirits at will, we both see them and sense them as naturally as breathing. I have always preferred the non-human spirits but my brother’s craft is that of a necromancer. He works almost exclusively with the dead. Our home is located at the top of hill between two crossroads, one of which is a corpse road. We live directly behind a funeral home and down the street from a swamp. Since we both share a household we split the duties of dual crossroad keepers. I care for the non-humans and tend to the cleansing of the crossroads and keeping the household wards, as well as serving as seer and vigil as needed. He keeps the human spirits, of which we have a great many passing through and serves as backup and exorcist when needed. It suits us and our practices.

Since this aggressive spirit wasn’t one of mine, I climbed up the stairs and tapped on his door. “Test the boundaries.”

“What?”

I repeated my friend’s story to him. He sighs and has me fetch out his equipment since I was closer. He shifts around his violin and murmurs to himself, checking. He sighs again.

“It’s one of yours, isn’t it?” I asked. “We can’t have it attacking guests. That’s just rude.”

“I don’t know. I think some of my friends could use a spiritual kick in the ass.”

I laugh, because he’s not wrong. We negotiate a price for him taking care of the problem I noticed (rather than me doing it myself) and he gets ready to go cleanse the crossroads and chase the spirit away while I set about doing the dishes. The spirit was being tricky. It kept moving between the front and back of the house, causing my brother to have to cross the house twice to find it. During that time, I dropped my active barriers, offering one room of my house as refuge for the spirits that would be cleansed from the crossroads.  I felt the house flood with new energy but the spirit my brother hunted was too distracted to take advantage. Other spirits didn’t take up the offer, including the one spirit I warned my brother against sending away.

Finally my brother stepped outside. I felt him issue a spiritual challenge of sorts followed by a dull response. Then two pulses of energy and the crossroads were cleared. My brother came in and announced it was done. I nodded, thanked him, and we set about making dinner.

A while later I returned to my flat downstairs. Many spirits had slipped back through the hole in the wards to return to the crossroads, to go about their business now that we’re not interrupting them. Others hid. I bent over and glanced under my bed where a small, fat spirit with a large face quivered, just under the blankets.

“Is he gone?” The spirit asks.

I smile kindly, voice soft, non-threatening, and very fond. “Yes he’s done. He’s not that scary. We just needed to get rid of that aggressive guy.”

The spirit understands and I straighten as the spirit comes out. Others move from corners and make their presence fully known. The room plunges into the cold but I ignore it and turn towards the affected crossroad.

“Hm, he did empty it, didn’t he?” I reached out and pushed my energy out towards the crossroad. The cold, empty feeling of the crossroad warms significantly and the spirits begin to move towards it, pleased. No one thanks me but the feeling of gratitude is there. I didn’t expect anything else. The crossroad’s reset and now it’s filled with energy and life, the way it should be.

“You really are a good [redacted].”

I whip around as a different spirit than I expected stood behind me. It was of the same class, so to speak, as the one from this afternoon and the one I told my brother not to cleanse. I drew myself up and nodded.

“I do my best.”

“It’s good enough.” It says and moves towards the busy crossroad. There was a finality to its voice, a hint that I was examined and passed a test, even if I didn’t personally cleanse the crossroads. This was going to be a new thing, clearly. This class of spirits has taken an interest in me. Internally I sighed and sit down to eat my pizza.

[Another episode of living at the crossroads. Commentary paraphrased and certain names and titles redacted but the events and essence of conversation was real.]

Where to Start?

“Where do I start if I want to practice witchcraft/magic?” I get that question all the time, especially over on tumblr.

My first questions to them are as follow:

  • What are you looking for?
  • What are you interested in?
  • Are you looking for a religion?
  • Are you looking for a path to follow?
  • Are you looking for guidance?
  • Are you looking to affect the world around you?
  • What do you believe?
  • Do you want to work with others or in a group?
  • Do you want to make up things yourself or would you prefer to follow someone else’s lead?
  • How much academic studying do you want to do?
  • Are you looking for something with historical precedent or something more modern?

The last question is especially important. Knowing, or at least exploring, how the world works and how you believe the world works is incredibly important to to establishing UPG – unverified personal gnosis. Now UPG is commonly misused within the community. Most people take it as UPE – unverified personal experience. The mistake is easy to make but the difference is incredibly important: gnosis refers to something that is a foundation belief, something critical to your worldview. An example would be the knowledge that your deity is masculine rather than feminine. I use knowledge because UPG is often a knowledge, absolute faith. You KNOW that the UPG is true. It is the very basis of your world-view. It’s canon to you. UPE is you have this experience that you’re certain is real and happened but it’s not essential to you. [1]

Now that’s a lot of technical jargon that boils down to this: you don’t have to know what it is that you believe but you almost certainly believe something and you need to be willing to explore that.

Now I believe in magic. I KNOW it to be real. I’ve seen it work, I’ve used it. I’ts part of the heart of my UPG. What magic is, precisely, is an entirely different topic I won’t get into, primarily because we don’t know. My answer is different than others and their answer is different too. Various paths define it somewhat differently. [2]

All of the above isn’t the point and most certainly isn’t exactly what you’re here for. You’re here for a how to of where to start and what “rules” there are for it. And here they are:

“Rules” or the stuff you need to know about before you begin:

  • Practicing magic or witchcraft is a personal choice.
  • There are NO qualifying markers to decide who is an isn’t a witch or who is or isn’t practicing magic. If you define your practice as such, then it is. Similarly, do NOT label someone a title such as witch unless they identify as one. It’s rude at least and deeply offensive at worst. [3]
  • You have NO right to information. You have NO right to appropriate from native cultures or religions, especially if those cultures or religions have requested otherwise.
  • Cultural appropriation is a thing and you should know about it. [4]
  • Sexism, transphobia, homophobia, misogyny, racism, agism, predators, pedophiles, rapists, crepes, criminals, and sex offenders absolutely DOES exist in the community. They exist in ALL communities. Ignoring the issues because you want to promote a good image is negligent at best and criminal at worst.
  • Critical thinking is absolutely critical. So is critical reading. For many practices and paths, research and proper research is important and even necessary. Don’t trust everything you read and question everything. [5, 6, 7]
  • There is no Pope of witchcraft or magic. There are NO rules. There is no ONE deity or pantheon “we” must follow.
  • The Rede and Karma does not work the way you probably think it does. And they are not universal but specific to traditional Wiccan and Hinduism, respectively.
  • Wicca does not equal witchcraft and witchcraft does not equal Wicca. Witchcraft is an art, science, and technical skill of a witch while Wicca is a religion. One necessitates a religious foundation and and the other is entirely secular from it. Witchcraft can be added to most, if not all, religious practices. Witchcraft and magic are not nature-religions. They can be incorporated into a nature religion, however.
  • Books on history, superstitions, folklore, mythology, and anthropology are often keystones to many researchers. Those people who write those accessible 101 books? Those topics are the ones they gleam their information from.
  • Many practitioners takes years to develop their practice, some even take decades. Others can develop their practice in a few months. Progress as fast as you need to.
  • Remember while you may have a divine, known UPG truth of the world, it is RELATIVE. Your truth is not my truth and thus you don’t get to force your beliefs on others.

That’s the basic information you’ll want to know before you begin. This is the basis of how we generate conversation and how to start separating the bullshit from the good stuff.

Now, got that covered? Here’s what you need to do to start practicing witchcraft or magic:

  • Ask questions. Even if you have a stupid sounding one, ask it. Ask it to different people. Ask it of yourself.
  • Read everything. Well, not everything but go ahead and read topics that interest you and articles that are in opposition of what you believe. It can at least let you know what other people are talking about and at most will inspire you to new things.
  • Explore. Do you like the ocean? Ask sea witches what they do and read fisherman’s superstitions. Like cooking? Explore kitchen magic. You don’t need to focus on one thing. Witchcraft can very much be defined into separate categories like sea witchery or kitchen magic but it doesn’t have to be (and, likewise, you can absolutely just focus on one aspect and ignore everything else.)
  • If you want rules, restrictions, or a specific THING to follow, try a define tradition such as Wicca or another religion.
  • You can absolutely make up your own path. I’ve been doing it for close to twenty years.
  • Be afraid to make mistakes. Misspeaking a word in a spell will 99.9999999999% of the time result is absolutely no changes from the original intent.
  • Gods, spirits, guides, and people lie. They can be malicious. They can hurt you. And they can do it just for the fun of it. Don’t trust anyone just because they say they have your best interest at heart. They almost certainly have a game plan. Also, you don’t need them to practice witchcraft or magic and you can worship deities without magic or writchcraft.
  • Don’t buy things in one go. Witch kits are often useful but I’ve seen far too many practitioners going into stores with lists of things and you end up not needing half of it. Start small and cheap and pick up things as you go. In addition to being gentler on the wallet, each new piece added to you practice will mean that much more to you. You don’t need an altar or a work space or tools, but many find them useful or important to their practice.
  • Find a teacher. There are absolutely people out there that teach witchcraft or magic. i’m one of them. Most often they require payment of some kind or another in return for their time. This isn’t an option for everyone and sometimes not one you’ll want. I, for example, never wanted a teacher. I wanted to learn and hone my craft myself.
  • Find a coven, community, or group. This, again, might not be for everyone but it could be for some. You can learn things from one another and can always leave if you don’t like it.
  • Go ahead and jump right in. You don’t have to be serious business about it all right now. Just try your hand at it and see what happens.

Yeah, yeah, but that’s not STUFF. That’s not spells and shit. There’s no magic there.

Here’s the magic how to:

  • Starting with a protection spell is probably the safest way to start… but money spells are the way to go to prove it works. Do both and enjoy the outcome!
  • Energy manipulation is an easy way to learn a lot about what people talk about with energy.
  • Offerings of water, clear alcohol like vodka, incense, bread, or honey are good for a basic offering to any deity or spirit.

That’s it? Yeah, that’s it. If you want to do spells, just jump the hell in. There’s more background information to be known than anything else.

Other things you really should read that will help (besides my resources)

Now, as mentioned in a previous post, I am working on getting up online classes for witchcraft. It’s a slow process as I’m a rather spontaneous teacher that prefers to adapt to a singular student rather than a unknown group but it’s still happening. Also, beginners can always ask me question here or on any media form I’m in.

Sources:

  1. What does UPG mean? http://thiscrookedcrown.tumblr.com/post/56115685958/what-does-upg-mean-ive-never-heard-the-term-except-on
  2. Rambling on This Crooked Crown’s personal belief on what magic is: http://thiscrookedcrown.tumblr.com/post/67771760381/what-would-you-say-makes-spells-work-youve-said-its
  3. Scroll down to read my breakdown of this post: http://thiscrookedcrown.tumblr.com/post/26522396392/deep-within-your-belly-come-all-witches-be-one
  4. Rant on Cultural Appropriation: http://thiscrookedcrown.tumblr.com/post/18294572929/a-pseudo-rant-on-appropriation-in-paganism-and-research (check the notes).
  5. On critical thinking and reading: http://thiscrookedcrown.tumblr.com/post/39901394182/okay-this-may-sound-really-really-dumb-but-how-do
  6. Hellboundwitch’s how to read a fucking book: http://blog.hellboundwitch.com/post/27502384651/how-to-read-a-fucking-book-i-cant-teach-you-how-to
  7. Spiritscraft’s how to read a 101 pagan book: http://spiritscraft.tumblr.com/post/27508266438/how-to-read-a-101-pagan-wicca-witchcraft-book

Uncrossing Oneself

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Rootandrock’s musing post got me thinking. I have several clients that come to me in need of an unhexing, counter-curse, or exorcism. I almost always recommend a cleansing because that helps open oneself up and clears out the muck. Sometimes though that isn’t enough and an uncrossing is needed.

What is an uncrossing?

Rootandrock said it best but essentially sometimes we are so use to living with the bad stuff that even when it’s going we don’t know how to live without that bad stuff so we keep repeating the same patterns and behaviors we were doing before – and essentially creating our own bad stuff all over again. This cycle must break. This is what an uncrossing does.

I tend to like to combine unblocking spells and techniques as well, as many of my clients want to be able to reconnect with the spiritual. Unblocking is just like it sounds – breaking the blockages are typically caused by too much negative crap in your life weighing you down and making you feel fuzzy. Sometimes they’re caused by curses or spirits. Realistically, unblocking spells are a subcategory of uncrossing techniques but that’s not really the point here.

So how do you do the thing?

Mundane measures:

Cleaning.

I always recommend a deep cleaning of the house and your living and working spaces (including your car!) during deep cleansings. The same goes for uncrossings. This isn’t just sweeping and mopping the floor. Change the atmosphere of your living and working arrangements as best you can to help yourself.

This doesn’t have to be an expensive process.  Just burning a scented candle, baking a delicious dessert, opening up the curtains and letting in a lot of natural light would help. Rearrange rugs, art on the walls, and/or furniture. Clean out your cupboards and get rid of anything you don’t routinely use (especially if it’s unhealthy) if you can. Focus on areas that you first see when you walk into a room – counter tops, tables, chairs, the floor.  Sort though your closet and donate what you don’t need (or refashion it).

For those of you who want a more permanent solution or can purchase things, add mirrors opposite of windows to extend and expand the natural light of the room and increase the size of the room. Have a different set of curtains, blankets, rugs, and even pictures to rotate in and out seasonally.

Why do this? It shakes up the energy of the room. Many magical practitioners don’t do this often if they can help it because it messes with the energy of a room. I did it just the other day – rearranged every corner of my house – and my servitors and spirits grumped about it for half of the next day. It also breaks up routine and adds something new to your life without having to do something.

I’m stuck! Having trouble doing this? Is your house too cluttered? Afraid that it would take too long or is a hopeless cause? Are you simply not able to get up the energy to do this? Check out Unfuck Your Habitat (especially if you don’t have the energy or your home is too cluttered) and HabitRPG (for you gaming type).

How do you do it? I use to be a huge mess until I was seriously shamed by an aunt as a kid. It made me want to show her I could be better than she expected. Since then I’ve been pretty neat. That being said the UFYH method of 20/10 (20 minutes of cleaning and ten minutes of rest) is a heralded miracle. I tend to do 20 minutes of one thing and then 10 minutes of something else and then start the next 20 minutes on the original thing (which is excellent for those who HAVE to keep at it or have ADD/ADHD) or I do 10 minutes of cleaning, 5 minutes on the internet, etc. I burn incense and candles to change the smells of the room. In the summer I put away my rugs and comforters and leave the windows open to let air in. In the winter, I put down lots of area rugs (mine were rescued  and repurposed), double up on curtains to keep the warmth in (and let the act of pushing those curtains aside to let in precious light feel all the more important), and lay on blankets in both size, warmth, and texture to give the room a better feel. I also find getting things off the ground helps with cleaning. IKEA is a great inspiration for this. Things feel less dirty when done this way. I recently did that with my under-the-stairs closet with a simple screwdriver and it was brilliant. It was customized, creative, organized, and really let me use every square inch of the space. Another huge thing I do is Do-It-Yourself projects. I’m a big DIYer and I love repurposing things. I find creating and making things for yourself lets me learn new skills, build a solid connection with whatever I’m making, and learn to love it (and myself) more. Every time I get a compliment on something I’ve made, I feel awesome.

Take a vacation

I don’t just mean book a cruise to Bermuda. Even taking a Sunday afternoon to sit or walk through a large park and breath in the fresh air is enough. Leave your cellphone on silent and maybe bring a sketchbook or a book to read. Combined with a spa day (even at home spa treatments) and a luxurious breakfast, fresh and crisp lunch, and satisfying dinner this can replenish you. The most important bit is to break your cycle.

If you’re a super busy officer worker and you live your life by a strict schedule, don’t schedule a thing during your vacation – go with the flow. If you’re the opposite, keep a strict schedule and have some sort of reason to keep to that schedule. Breaking your cycle of bad behavior is key. It will not be easy. You’ve formed habits and connections with these bad behaviors. You’ll have to actively work to change them.

Why do this? Routine is easy to follow. When the routine is broken, we begin to look at the whys, hows, and whats of things. This is important. If you continually have no energy and change your diet accordingly, but never do anything with the potential new energy, you’ll feel restless and caged. Similarly, if you do the same workout routine three days a week, you’ll never work out or strengthen other parts of your body. Change things up and inspire yourself. Decompress and stretch your body and spirit.

I’m stuck! Set up a reward/punishment system. For example, I use HabitRPG for a reward/punishment system to keep myself on track. If I’ve done something really good, I’ll make a special dessert for myself or buy myself something. If I’ve done something bad, I do something I don’t like such as weeding the garden, an hour at the gym, etc. (Although, this means I cement the idea that those activities are “bad” – so there’s inherent flaws in the system.) If the reward/punishment system doesn’t work for you, or you can’t think of a good enough threat, rope in a friend or set up alarms on your computer/cell phone to pester you to break the routine.

How do you do it? I take a roadtrip. This happen every couple of years but a roadtrip gives me hours of just me by myself and lets me decompress. If that doesn’t work or isn’t available, I go to the ocean. It’s an instant fix. I don’t live by a schedule or routine so forcing myself to adhere to one, even if only for a few weeks, is a huge change.

Stop buying things/start buying things

This obviously will only apply to some of you.

I know when I’m broke, I spent absolutely zero money on anything. That keeps me home and stressed due to lack of money. To break this cycle I save even as little as 50 cents a week and buy myself something – a new shirt, a coffee, whatever. It brings a little bit of pleasure and makes everything that much more special.

When you’re a materialistic person and buy a lot of stuff – stop. There will always be sales and you’ll probably be able to find whatever you want to buy on Amazon or eBay at a later date. Stop trying to fill the hole in yourself with stuff. If you go out a lot, stay in and try a new recipe or bake a frozen pizza or something. Change up your life.

Why do this? We live in a very instant, very demanding, very materialistic world. Switching off your impulse to buy things (or to hoard what little money you have and have the lack of ability to buy and keep up with the impulse buys) creates a new change in behavior at what is now a fundamental level of society – money and how we spend it. As mentioned above, it creates the break in behavior and allows you to evaluate how, what, what, and when you’re doing something.

How do you do it? I hoard money. When I have it, I spend it. I’m not a saver. However, because I am my own source of income, I hoard my money now and dislike spending it unless I have a cushion to fall back on – which is rare in this economy. So every couple of months I buy something new. New fabric or yarn for a piece of clothing I want to make, a new pair of shoes, pick up a new hobby, or join a club or event.

Change you.

This one’s a bit harder and would be if you seriously need some uncrossing. Changing you is the hardest part. There will always be bits of you that will never change. However, it can be a superficial change. Get a new haircut, buy, make, or restyle a new wardrobe, toss clutter that has sentimental value but things you wouldn’t miss (let’s be honest, there’s stuff most of us keep that might remind us of an event or thing but isn’t the only thing we have from great grandma – that’s what I’m talking about). If you can’t toss it, box it up and stick it in a closet. If you don’t miss it or think of it by the time you rediscover the box again, get rid of it. I pretty much only keep awards, yearbooks, etc or things I can use again (theatre programs I’ve designed as a part my resume). Change your style, if possible, or the way you walk, talk, or act in public. Again, this will not be easy and will be a difficult choice to make.

Why do this? If you’re so caught up in muck that you can’t break free, shed your skin and start anew. It sounds as harsh as it’s meant to be. This potentially is the most difficult advice I could offer because it requires you to discover a new you. It’s more than a breaking of the cycle – it’s breaking the old your and birthing a new one.

How do you do it? I’ve only done this a few times and each time it was making a truly difficult choice to modify my behavior. One time it gained me friends and a whole new lifestyle. Another time was to break the toxicity that lifestyle contained. I regret neither but it was hard at the time to deal with the overwhelming new situation – breaking through my shyness and expressing my opinions to strangers and then to break away from fair-weather friends and toxic situations. (And no, I know not everyone can remove themselves from toxic people or situations but it you can do so.)

Magical and spiritual measures:

Petition an entity, join a new religion, or become a follower of a new deity.

Sometimes we need help. Petitioning  a deity or joining a new religion is a great way of getting a helping hand. It’s not just deities but also spirits, saints, and other beings. This is a very common practice but if you aren’t doing it or haven’t in a  while, it may be time to give it a try.

Working with these beings can be as simple as asking for a blessing or sign and then receiving it. Ask for guidance or a path to follow, the power and strength to succeed on that path and finally the physical, mental, and spiritual health and will to do so.

Any deity or spirit can be a source of help but the following are especially known as potential sources of unblocking and uncrossing assistance or to see a better way of dealing with the problem (just be wary of cultural appropriation):

  • Papa Legba (source 1)
  • Ganesha (source 1)
  • Hecate (source 1)
  • Ogun (source 1)
  • Yemaya (source 1)
  • Anubis (source 2)
  • Dosojin (source 2)
  • Akasagarbha or Kokuzo (source 2)
  • Lubana (source 2)
  • Sarutahiko (source 2)
  • Amaterasu
  • Uzume
  • Amatsumara

Why do this? As mentioned, sometimes help is needed. Perhaps you need someone to throw you a floating device when you’re drowning. It’s not weakness to ask for help.

I’m stuck! If you’re not getting answers when petitioning a specific deity, send out a general, universal distress call but be VERY sure to read all the fine print before agreeing to anything. Please also remember that a deity can be communication with you without you directly hearing their voices or receiving a obvious sign. Deities can live within the everyday – you just have to find something that strikes you as meaningful.

What do you do? I’ve worked with a malevolent spirit before as well as two Norse deities indirectly and pop culture entities. The deities and pop culture entities were gentle guidance in an off-hand manner – I found solace in their stories than them as beings. The spirit and I came to an agreement of sorts but that’s not really a story I want to tell. I don’t tend to turn to deities when I’m in trouble. I’m independent however I’ve taken a lot of inspiration and guidance from the aforementioned. I literally could not say where I would be without the pop culture entities. I never worked with them as spirits or deities but their stories helped create the person I am today.

Divination.

Typically divination is used to diagnose a problem but it can also be used for insight to figure out way around a problem. Meditating with the meaning of a card or using the card’s deep meaning to help you understand a way out of or through your problem. Some cards can be used to progress through the problem (the Tower for example is a personal favorite). Some people even use cards in spells. If you do you can literally choose cards from your current status moving in realistic steps towards your uncrossed goal.

Why do this? Primarily, it helps identify and offers solutions to the problem. As a secondary measure it can be used directly to affect change on yourself as a spell.

I’m stuck! Get a reader to do a reading for you. In fact, ask a few different readers for advice, if you can. There are plenty of people that will give a free reading.  Try it yourself, if you’re able. Find people use use different techniques if you’re only selecting tarot cards.

What do you do? I’m a seer so I do divination daily. However, I’ve used the aforementioned spread to work through a problem and help write a spell for change. (I personally don’t like using my cards in spells as it adds energy the cards don’t need.)

Chakras and Reiki

I’m not trained in Reiki (although I know the basic principles, premises, and techniques) and there’s a lot of information out there. I recommend seeking out a certified practitioner. I can name a few very good ones for you. Otherwise, Google is your friend. Reiki is a defined practice with a specific education, rankings, and certified teachers and practitioners. The theory of of Reiki is more widespread but actual Reiki is pretty defined.

You can also cleanse your chakras and enable you to move forward. There’s a variety of ways to do that and, again, I recommend a certified Reiki practitioner or taking a Reiki class.

Why do this? Cleansing the body and chakras is a good way of resetting and refreshing the body. Reiki can also heal you which would be ideal for those with bodily afflictions.

I’m stuck! Please seek a certified Reiki master.

What do you do? As mentioned I’m familiar with Reiki as a practice so I usually do a session for myself. If I really needed a cleansing or assistance, I would contact one of the Reiki masters I know and have them assist.

Astral Uncrossing and/or Spiritual Uncrossing or Meditation or Shadow Work

This is especially useful it you’re being afflicted by a spirit or entity. You must first cross into the astral/fade/spirit realms, find the source of the negative muckery, and destroy it. Sometimes this will involve diving deep into the afflicted person’s psyche and spirit to rid them of the affliction. If you’re doing this on yourself, you’ll have to either lucid dream or meditation to achieve a deep enough state to rend yourself apart, rid yourself of the negativity, and patch yourself up. This is similar to Reiki’s techniques and . It’s not unlike Reiki in a cleansing but instead of energy, it’s more forceful and takes place either in your mind or in the astral. it can be very harsh and cautious must be made of clearing out too much negativity too soon as you’ll need to recover.

For meditation and shadow work, you’ll need to dive into yourself in a deep meditation state an discover the parts of you that are “bad” or “negative” and either come to terms with them or change them in ways to better yourself.

Why do this? This is, as mentioned, useful for when this is a state afflicted on you or it has set deep inside of you. This is excellent for people who are powerful spirit workers or are more powerful in their mind or in the astral than elsewhere.

I’m stuck! Some practitioners may assist you in this. Guided meditation may also be useful.

What do you do? Depending on the circumstances I either tear into the issue in the spirit realms or use my Mind Room (read: Mind Palace) to clear out the junk and fix myself.

Select Spells and Techniques

These are spells and techniques used specifically for uncrossing and unblocking. If you haven’t already tried a  cleansing spell or technique, try that first.

Uncrossing Oil (source 1, page 1056-1057)

  • Essential oil of hyssop
  • Essential oil of angelica
  • Essential oil of frankincense
  • Pinch of sea salt
  • Pinch of black pepper
  • Pinch of cayenne pepper
  • Sprig of rue
  • Sliver of fresh garlic
  • Section of broken chain
  • Castor oil and jojoba oil base

Add ingredients. The chain and angelica are the most important elements. Angelica has photosensitive properties so be careful of the sun if you use it on the body.

[Crown’s Notes: You can absolutely mix this spell up. I use different oil bases and herbs in my recipe.]

Crown’s Too Heavy a Cross Spell

Make a cross with two sticks and some twine. If you’re really burdened, add more sticks. Really pour your problems into the sticks as you make it. Douse is in Uncrossing Oil (recipe above). If there’s a specific area being affected, brush the over the area. Envision your negative energy and experiences as you set it on fire and watch it burn.

Uncrossing Spell: Rosemary (source 1, page 614)

This spell breaks a curse and will also lift the Evil Eye.

  1. Put nine drops of essential oil of rosemary in a glass of rainwater
  2. Add nine drops of Uncrossing Oil.
  3. Stir it up and place it in the window. Leave it there for three days.
  4. On the fourth day, sprinkle this water throughout the house, concentrating on corner, dark spots, and any areas that feel “creepy”.
  5. At the same time, add rosemary essential oil and Uncrossing Oil to your bath water.

[Crown’s Note: Be sure to only use a few drops of essential oil and Uncrossing Oil. If undiluted, most essential oils can be damaging to the body.]

Unblocking Spells (2) (Source 1, page 1014)

When your cross is too heavy to bear and you’re sick of being in such misery.

  1. Collect a bowl of rainwater or seawater. You can keep it in reserve. it’s hard to plan to do this spell: you will know if and when the right time arrives.
  2. Cry into the bowl of living water.
  3. When you can’t cry anymore, take the water and feed a plant with it.
  4. Nurture this plant; tell it your desires and dreams.
  5. Write your wishes on a piece of paper and bury them together with a small crystal beside the plant’s roots.

[Crown’s Notes: It could be a local tree if houseplants aren’t your thing. Pick something strong so it can carry and share your burdens.]

Scents and materials to use:

  • Benzoin (burn as needed to remove blockages)
  • Citrus (as described in the cleansing post, but all the citrus scented or flavored things! watch for the sun and photosensitivity)
  • Vetiver (boil, steep, let cool, add to bathwater for nine consecutive days)
  • Devil’s Shoestring (boil, strain, let cool, pour over yourself, air dry, for seven days)
  • Larch (burn to unblock yourself)
  • Peridot (charge and carry)
  • Sardonyx (charge and carry)
  • Quartz crystal (charge and carry)
  • Frankincense (burn as needed)
  • Rosemary (charge and carry or burn as needed or add steeped liquid to bath water)
  • Wahoo bark (infusion)

OK! I’ve done an uncrossing. Now what?

How do you feel? Better? No different? Either can be true and if you feel don’t feel different that doesn’t mean it isn’t working. Your next steps could be any of the following:

  • Healing spells
  • Protection and warding spells (for you and your home)
  • Luck spells
  • Financial assistance spells
  • Binding and banish spells (if a person or entity is involved)

Sources:

  1. The Encyclopedia of 5000 Spells.  Judika Illes.
  2. The Encyclopedia of Spirits. Judika Illes.

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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.