Money Powders

Money powders are an often under utilized magical tool that is so easy to create and use. I use money powders quite often in my money spells and in general day-to-day money handling.

For All Sorts of Money Powder by This Crooked Crown

First, let’s cover what a money powder is. Simply put: it is ground magical ingredients enchanted to bring money or financial boons to where-ever it’s placed. So if you sprinkle money powder on a spell candle, that spell will be affected. If you sprinkle money powder on the floor or in your laundry, then your home and laundry will be affected. Simple, right?

Money powders have endless combinations and composition. Pretty much any ingredient under the sun can be used in money related spells in some way or another. Deciding what to put in a money powder and how many ingredients to put into it will entirely come down to preference.

Want to know my secret for money powders? Here it is: You need to believe it. Not necessarily that the magic will work or the spell is working. Or even in the powder itself. Here, belief is more about knowledge. You have to “know” the ingredients are good for money magic.

 

 

For example, roses aren’t super well-known for money magic but I do sometimes use roses in a money spell, especially when I want to increase money for an art-related thing or for personal beauty. But I wouldn’t use it in a money related spell for gambling. I’d probably pick cinquefoil and clover.

There’s also a difference what kind of money you need. If you start looking at herbal folklore texts, people didn’t always use the same ingredients for personal wealth versus business wealth. This may come down to how that piece of folklore is written down and shared but in a comparison of seventeen herbs pulled from three different sources only mint and cinquefoil was on both lists. Also, spells to find employment only share ingredients about half the time, I’ve found.

By the way, those seventeen herbs are as follows: For increasing money Scott Cunningham in Magical Herbalism suggests almond, basil, hyssop, mint, bryony, ciquefoil, High John the Conqueror, honeysuckle but for business pursuits he recommends mint, peony, cinnamon, benzoin, and cinquefoil. Almanac.com suggests sage for increasing business and Miranda Seymour in her delightful little book A Brief History of Thyme and Other Herbs also suggest sage but adds valerian and dill to the business increasing list.

 

Common Money Spell Ingredients by This Crooked Crown

 

That being said, sometimes you might just need money from any source and you don’t care where that money comes from. For situations like that, an all-purpose money powder is your go-to. For our purposes, a business related spell or money powder is directly you selling goods or services for money. it may cause your job to get a big new client or for you to get a raise. Personal wealth spells may cause any of those business related things to happen but it’s also likely to have you find twenty bucks in a forgotten pocket or have someone pay you back for lunch from five years ago out of the blue.

My favorite way to use money powders is to sprinkle them across the threshold of my work-space or even on my desk overnight. In the morning, I simply sweep them up and toss them in the compost. I keep a jar of all purpose money powder at the ready for candle spells and throw a pinch of non-dying powder in my laundry for events.

 

For All Sorts of Money Powder by This Crooked Crown

 

Ready for a recipe? Straight from my own recipe book, here’s two. All you need to do is to ground the ingredients together in a coffee grinder or mortar and pestle. Or take the smart route and buy the ingredients pre-powdered such as ginger powder or almond flour.

 

For All Sorts of Money (All-Purpose Money Powder)

  • Basil
  • Cinnamon
  • Nutmeg
  • Sugar
  • Mint
  • Clover
  • Cinquefoil

 

For Personal Wealth (Non-Business Money Powder)

  • Basil
  • Sugar
  • Mint
  • Cinquefoil
  • Cinnamon
  • Almond flour
  • Ginger

 

For Increasing Business (Non-Personal Wealth)

  • Basil
  • Salt
  • Mint
  • Cinquefoil
  • Cinnamon
  • Sage
  • Coffee

 

For All Sorts of Money Powder by This Crooked Crown

 

Of course, if you’re not into the mixing and grinding, you can always pop over to my shop and buy an ounce for yourself.

Remember that the recipes above are just a place to start. You get to have fun and personalize your recipe according to your own preferences and practice. Experiment with what you can create and see what kind of magic can happen!

You Hold No Power Over Me [Spell Saturday #52]

Illusions are one of those types of spells that everyone hears about in fantasy games or novels but rarely sees in the magical community. Save for glamours, which are a type of illusion, this sort of spell work is rare.

But rare doesn’t mean it can’t be troublesome. Illusion magic is not unlike a curse in that you may find yourself disoriented or lost and not sure how that happened. Confusion and an irresistible but unexplained draw to something you normally wouldn’t be drawn to is also common.

Here’s a simple spell to ward off illusions and to disperse them from you. It works excellent on glamours and, better yet, is extremely low key. Perfect for date night. Make sure to check the notes for some useful tips.

You Hold No Power Over Me by This Crooked Crown

 

What you’ll need:

  • A clear drinking glass
  • Drinkable water or drinkable liquid

 

Get a clear glass of drinkable water. It you’re out in public, simply order a glass of water. There should be light shining through your drink and drinking glass so you may need to move around a bit until this happens.

Keep your target in sight and run your finger around the top rim of the drinking glass.  As you do this, think or say softly,

“You in my sights

I see through your charms

I see through your spells

I see through you

You are as clear to me as glass

You hold no power over me”

Since the above verse is a bit long to say, you can shorten it the following but I find that it isn’t as directed and thus isn’t as useful as the full above verse.

“You in my sights

You hold no power over me”

No matter what verse you use, take a drink from your glass while keeping your target in sight at the end of the verse. You should  become disillusioned from the target now and they may seem less attractive or less desirable than before. If nothing happens, you may need to ramp up your spell casting to a cleansing or analyze whether what you’re feeling in genuine interest in that person.

Chocolate Rose Tea Love Philter by This Crooked Crown

Notes:

  • The drinking cup should be clear-ish. Tinted glass won’t change the spell but opaque glasses such as solid plastic cups will.
  • Water is used in this spell but any drinkable liquid is just fine so long as it reflect light a bit. You can definitely cast this spell with an alcoholic beverage.
  • If you really can’t get your hands on a clear drinking glass and you need this spell in a hurry, tilt the cup back and forth until your drink reflects in the light. Do this a few times and carry on with the spell. It’ll work in a pinch.
  • This spell could easily be used for other spell dismissing or even a way to separate yourself from someone overbearing.

Happy casting!

March Round Up

We made it to the other side of March. Yay! This month has been truly insanely busy for me between medical appointments (everyone’s OK, no worries!), caring for sick people, chasing after paperwork, birthdays, funerals, and a small snowstorm. I signed up for a bunch of stuff that I’m now scrambling to complete because I can see the end of March and those deadlines are looming.

When it comes to the blog, I unintentionally took the first week of March off. I needed the rest but I truly dislike leaving everyone without content to enjoy. I’ll try not to let that happen again. The posts that did make it were more on the spiritual side of things.

 

Secular Witchcraft Defined by This Crooked Crown

 

Tumblr followers know I identify as a secular witch and this month tackled how I define and work within my paradigm to some degree. Secular Witchcraft Defined proved to be an interesting read and one I hope will help out new witchlings in understanding this newer form of witchcraft. To counter this, I talked about my current focus of Getting Back to My Roots on a spiritual level. I even offered an Awakening Spring Ritual for some ideas on how my witchcraft and spirituality are separated. For those thinking about working with spirits, which is a bridge between my witchcraft and my spirituality for me, How to Know What Spirit You’re Talking To might offer some insight for you. If you’re looking to see those beings, check out Enchanting Objects for Second Sight for a helping hand.

Spring is here in the Northern Hemisphere although the snow storm and cold snap recently sure doesn’t feel like spring here in Rhode Island. If you’re trying to counter the final winter push, try the spell Burn Away the Winter Blues.  If you need a push to get over that winter lethargy, give the Forged in Fire spell a look. It’s mean to kick procrastination in the ass and celebrated fifty Spell Saturdays. (There, uh, should be more but let’s celebrate our victories and not failures, OK?)

We also saw the Curse and Blessing of the Sun which is a spell that can be a curse or a blessing, depending on your intent. My brother the Necromancer has really been into the Sun as a being of worship recently so I’ve been inspired to create a shrine for him and some spells. By the way, the Curse and Blessing of the Sun has been updated. I originally said that you should create two boxes if you want a curse and a blessing at the same time but I don’t know what I was thinking. Clever wording can create both in one box so check out that spell for new tips.

 

The Curse and Blessing of the Sun Spell

 

I don’t really work healing spells too much so I rarely post them but the Sand Healing Spell is specifically designed for those with chronic illnesses that spend a lot of time in one place. It’s a jar spell and one that’s very low key. It’s not designed to heal you but rather focus on alleviating pain and symptoms. I hope it helps!

On a more practical and mundane front, I wrote a guide on Where to Buy A Tarot Deck which is a question often asked to me and others on social media. We also saw two reviews this month, one on the beautiful Scrying Ink Lenormand deck by Siolo Thompson, the creator of the Linestrider Tarot. There was also the book view for The Soul Searcher’s Handbook by Emma Mildon which scored a 4.5 out of 5. I love both of these things so I’m really happy to recommend them to you all. Speaking of things I loved I started a new mini series I’ve nicknamed “Obsession” which dives into what I’m currently working on or obsessed with right now. I hope this gives a fun insight into the everyday workings around here.

 

Heart

Heart from Scrying Ink by Siolo Thompson and Nourish the Sacred Feminine from Sacred Creators by Chris-Anne Donnelly | thiscrookedcrown.com

 

Other quick news for This Crooked Crown:

  • I recently changed up my newsletter to come out twice a month – once at the full moon and again at the new moon.The newsletters are smaller but contain mini divination readings for the current moon phase which is always fun.
  • Flying Salves arrived in the shop at the end of February and quickly sold out. I hope to have them in again by the end of May, if not sooner.
  • We reached out first goal over on Patreon. I’m always, always floored by the support I receive from everyone and cannot thank you all enough.
  • I received the absolutely amazing  Idiosyncradeck Tarot and the Amethyst Oracle from Jessica Bott who is probably better known as Cracked Amethyst. I’m absolutely in love with them both and can’t wait to do more readings with them.

 

Getting Back to Your Spiritual Roots by This Crooked Crown

 

So that’s what was up this month at This Crooked Crown. It was super busy in a way I wasn’t expecting but I’m thinking I’ve made the most of it. What were your favorite posts? What do you want to see more of? Planning on trying any of the spells? See you in April!

 

How to Tell What Kind of Spirit You’re Talking To

Spirits are hard. How can you tell who you’re talking to? Are they really who they say they are? Can you really trust them?

The short answer is no. No you can’t trust them and no they should not expect you to automatically trust them any more than you should automatically trust a stranger.

The long version is no as well but it’s kind of a complicated no.

 

How to Tell What Kind of Spirit You're Talking To by This Crooked Crown

 

Spirits sometimes cannot or will not tell you who they are. They could be doing that for several reasons. They could be worried about being bound by their names. They could be working for someone who doesn’t want to be known. They might not even have a name.

This is also somewhat true for what kind of spirit they are. After all, how often do you just blurt out your genealogy to random folks off the street? Can you even sight your ancestry? Do you know who owns the company you’re working for? Can you name the mayor of your town? Would you tell a random person that you’ve just met all of that information?

Yeah, I thought not. If you can’t or won’t do it, then you can’t expect a spirit to want to do it either.

I’ll be honest, I don’t usually bother figuring out what kind of spirit I might be talking to. They are themselves and I’ll treat them according to how they act. That being said, it’s still important to be able to figure out who or what you might be talking about. Here’s how

 

Observe them

What do they love? What do they hate? How do they speak? How do they interact with others? You can figure out a lot by channeling your inner Sherlock.

For example, if a spirit loves cucumbers then you might guess that maybe they’re a Kappa. Or they could be related to cucumbers in some way. Or they’re the spirit of a farmer. Or maybe they just really love cucumbers.

Observing them will tell you what that individual likes. Observing that spirit in a group of similar spirits can tell you what that kind of spirit is like as a whole.

 

How do others treat them?

Do others balk and run away from them? Are they treated in a lordly manner? A polite manner? Do people give them the stink-eye?

This gives you some idea on whether or not this spirit is considered important or is tied to someone important. Depending on the context, you might be able to figure out that they’re a servant to a faerie court or that they’re very wise and thus respected.

If they’re getting dirty looks then maybe they don’t have the kind of stellar reputation they’ve been gloating about. They could be an information broker, murderer, or just a known liar. They could even be a contract breaker (which is bad because that means they will definitely break their word and probably stab you in the back).

 

Ask them for a small favor

See what happens when you ask them for a small favor which you will pay in kind. This could be something like “hey, want to try my ice cream and I’ll try yours” kind of deal or it could be something like “can you go over to this faerie court and pass along this message and I’ll go over to this spirit marketplace and buy that thing for you”.

This should be an inconsequential favor. Don’t ask them to do something for you that’s actually important.

How they treat this request and how they complete it (if they even agree to it) can tell you a lot about their operating methods which often allows you to figure out spirit type.

 

Keep notes

If there’s a specific spirit you’re trying to figure out, keep notes. Write down the things they like, dislike, and do. Write down their appearance to you, even if they change appearances all the time. Every so often, google those attributes and see what comes up.

 

 

That’s all you can do. Since most of the time you’re not going to be dealing with many of the same spirits, you’re always going to be battling the question “is this how all of them act or just this individual spirit?”

A good way to deal with spirits is to remember these rules:

  • All spirits can hurt you
  • All spirits have the potential to be benevolent or malicious
  • Spirits are not there for your benefit. They live their own lives and you’re just a person in it.
  • Spirits have their own culture, beliefs, and needs. They don’t need to make sense to you.

 

Make no mistake, knowing your mythology and folklore can definitely help you figure out who you might be talking to but it’s not the be all that ends all. You could be talking to an anthropomorphize spirit of freedom or a minor spirit of winter. How might those spirits be summarized? Can you even summarize them neatly?

Spirits aren’t animals or plants that can be so easily categorized. They’re people. It might be prudent to ask yourself if you even need to know what kind of spirit they are. If you’re worried for your safety, then act according to that potential danger. Otherwise, you might fall into the trap of expecting someone to betray you because their species is a known trickster and that’s not really fair to them – or you.

Sand Healing Spell [Spell Saturday #51]

This is healing spell designed specifically for chronic or long-term illnesses. Will it heal you and solve your illness? Probably not. Will it alleviate those troublesome symptoms so you can actual feel like yourself again. Hopefully.

Sand Healing Spell by This Crooked Crown

What you’ll need: 

  • A open bowl or jar (no lid)
  • Safe place to put your jar near your bed (the floor totally counts)
  • Sand
  • Healing crystals (optional)

Find yourself a jar, bowl, or other clear container without a lid. Clean and cleanse it on a day where you have lots of good energy. Let it dry completely.

Fill it full of sand. Where this sand comes from is up to you. You can buy it at a craft store or pick it up off a beach. Up to you.

Add in crystals and stones devoted to healing. You should completely connect to the stones you’re putting in the jar. Don’t pick something that feels weird to you but is suppose to be good for your illness. Put only good things in this jar.

Stand over the jar and say the following:

“Precious sand, you are like time,

Alone you are small like seconds, 

But together you are great and are eternity.

Do not allow my time to be wasted,

Take my pain, my fear, my exhaustion.

Bind it to a single piece of you,

And sink it to the bottom.

Take it away and lift me up,

Let me rise.”

Keep the jar next to your bed or where you hang out the most when feeling ill. If you need a boost, touch the sand. If the sand starts feeling gross, just bury it outside or toss it in a water. Clean and cleanse the jar and repeat the spell. Remember to give yourself time to deal with your illness and recover!

Happy casting!

Enchanting Objects for Second Sight

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If you’ve hung around fairy tales long enough, you’ve run into the concept of using objects to achieve second sight.

Second sight is the ability to see things that are beyond normal perception such as spirits or energy. Some people are naturally gifted at this and others train themselves to use it. It sits firmly on the line between psychic ability and intuition.

Enchanting Objects for Second Sight by This Crooked Crown

Let’s be clear on one thing – just because someone has the second sight does not mean that they’re seeing spirits all the time. It doesn’t mean that they’re able to see all spirits. It doesn’t mean that they are always seeing spirits with their physical eyes. Spiritual beings aren’t always able to be perceive with physical eyes. It’s far more minute than “can you see that ghost?” even if it doesn’t seem like it.

There’s lots of folk information on how to achieve this. Looking through a hagstone or enchanting object are just one of the ways. You can use sandalwood, wisteria, wild thyme, and a number of other herbs to see what’s beyond normal vision. Trance inducers like flying ointments also work in this manner.

Look through a hagstone or doorway is another way to see these things. It’s about threshold crossing which is known to allow one to step between the worlds. (Hence the word “hedge-crossing”). Using this method, you’ll look through a hagstone (a stone with a natural hole in the center but shells with holes in the center work well too) and see what there is to see. Threshold crossing can be any kind of threshold. Stepping between two poles could be a threshold. Crossing between a wall and a hedge could be a threshold. There’s tons of ways to cross like that.

Weirdly, enchanting objects to allow you to see things is common in folk stories and fairy tales but not a common technique shared in modern day. I have no idea why this is.

In order to enchant an object to see what’s beyond normal sight, you’ll first need to pick an object that can be held up to your eye. Eyeglasses and sunglasses are absolutely the easiest and more available for this. A camera could also be used. You may want to pick a necklace you can hold up to your eye. This will be a constant spell so it’ll always be working.

That could actually be a problem. Anyone who has the second sight can tell you that it can be really distracting to see stuff that isn’t there. I’ve braked suddenly while driving thinking I was going to run over a dog that wasn’t there. I nearly jumped out a chair just last night because I thought something ran across the wall directly next to me – but nothing was there. If you’re not use to seeing these beings, you can absolutely end up looking a bit weird. It’s not a consistent thing but at least once a week I end up being startle by some spirit shenanigans that I wasn’t expecting and no one else can see.

You could also pick an object that you wear in order to give you second sight. This gives you more control over the ability. A pair of earrings is a good choice but a necklace or even an article of clothing can be a good choice too.

The technique is very simple but gathering the ingredients can be very complex. It can take up two or three months to set this up if you don’t have any of the materials on hand. For best results, it could take years because you should collect the water and plants on the first of May and then cast the enchantment then as well – which could be difficult if the moon’s not working with you. You could, alternatively also or exchange May Day for October 31st or some other spirit important holiday. I don’t bother because that’s a lot of hurry up and wait for me but to each their own.

First gather water from an old water source – an old river, well, the ocean, etc. I specifically mention old as a pond newly made in a golf course isn’t going to have the same kind of results we want.

Gather the first morning dew for about seven days. You can do this by placing a jar outside overnight and picking it up as the sun rises the next morning. It probably won’t amount to much but that’s OK.

Create full moon water and new moon water by placing jars of water in window sills under the moonlight (or lack of moonlight).

Pour water from each of these sources into a bowl and place any of the following into it: calendula petals, wisteria leaves, powdered sandalwood, mugwort, ash leaves, violets, wild thyme, lavender, or woodworm. Pick as many or as few as you’d like. Let this sit under the full moon for a full night but remove it from sight before the sun rises. You can strain this water now, if you want.

Cleanse the object you intend to enchant. Wash the object with each water source. Make sure that you concentrate on the surfaces of the object. For a pair of glasses, you’ll trace the water along the eyeglass frame then wash the lenses on both sides. Repeat once more with the herb infused water.

Sleep with the object at your side on the night that you wash it. Then it’s ready to use. To use it, concentrate on what’s before you with your mind to see if there’s anything there for you to see. This should allow you to see spirits and energy far more frequently than before. As stated above, you may not physically see things with your eyes all the time but you should be able to sense things and see glimpses more easily.

In addition to the problem mentioned above with reacting to things as if they’re physically in front of you, there’s another thing to be aware of. When spirits begin to notice that you’re able to see them, then they start paying attention to you. This can be fun for some people and terrifying for others. It depends on the beings you end up meeting and how you interact with them. If you’re not thinking about spirit work, then you might want to consider against this entirely. In the end, that’s a choice you’ll have to make.

It can be difficult to see spirits. Sometimes they simply don’t want to be seen or the circumstances aren’t right. Or maybe they don’t even have a physical form for you to see. You may need to just roll with whatever they give you. Good luck!

Getting Back to Your Spiritual Roots

Ever stop and take a look at who you were once or what you once believed and cringed? Who hasn’t? But many practitioners tend to develop their practice over a long time – and lose the foundation of their practice in the process.

I’m an animist. More than anything else, I’m an animist. I grew up believing that things had spirits. There has never been a time in my life where I haven’t believed this. For me, knowing that things have or could have spirits is a fact. It’s the same thing as air – I cannot see it but I know it’s there.

My spiritual practice has taken me to some weird places. Some of those places I miss deeply but do not (or cannot) reclaim. Other places I don’t miss at all. When I first started witchcraft I tried Wicca… for about five weeks when I was nine. I couldn’t get my mind around the whole witchcraft religion thing so they’ve pretty much been separated my whole life.

Recently I was binge watching some TV while working on a project for this site when I realized that what I was watching had a pattern. Not just genre related but each thing had a distinct callback to certain aspects to each other. Anyone else would have said, “well, yeah, they’re all based in the same setting or theme” but for me, each invoked a feeling of looking back at my past – and I missed it. I suddenly realized that those aspects and feelings weren’t a major part of my practice or life anymore. They’ve been put on the back-burner and in the background. I was missing them and I didn’t even know it.

Honestly, that realization struck me as a bit weird because I hadn’t even realized that I was missing something until then. I didn’t realize that I was feeling a bit lost. Or, even worse, that I was going through the motions without connecting to it all.

I decided that I needed to get back to my roots. Here’s what I did.

 

Getting Back to Your Spiritual Roots by This Crooked Crown

 

Re-read books that served as inspiration and foundations for my spiritual practice.

There’s a reason that people reread their religious books often. Even if you study the material closely, sometimes you just need to stop studying and instead read it. Just read the material and see what you get through that.

Books have always served as the basis for which I’ve developed my life around. I was always as a child and I’m always reading something today. Even if it’s not a book, there isn’t a day that goes by where I haven’t read something for the express purpose of reading and enjoying that information.

I don’t have a set spirituality and my practice actually developed twice- once as a child, once in my late teens and early twenties. That’s two sets of information to reacquaint myself with. Much of my inspiration also comes from fairy tales, mythology, and fairy tales. None of it actually comes from new age sources so it can be a lot to sort though. I’m relishing the opportunity to dive into some of my favorite classics though.

 

Follow social media accounts involving those foundations

I didn’t have internet until I was in middle school and we didn’t have a home computer until 2000. It seems weird now because so much of my life involves technology but back then, it was expensive and not really necessarily. So my knowledge developed according to what books I could find in the library.

The internet, my college library, and access to new and different people caused that second evolution in my practice. But facebook was just starting out. In fact, it was still restricted to just college students at that time. (Yeah, seriously) So while I had a huge library to play in, people to talk to, and the internet to explore, I didn’t have social media accounts to follow and interact with. This means when my social network drifted off and I left that university, I lost access to those connections.

These days we have social media so we can talk to people all over the world without have to slough through our emails to have a conversation. But while I interact on a daily basis with fellow witchcraft practitioners and people of other faiths, my own spirituality isn’t so easily defined so I don’t really interact with people on a spiritual level. That’s OK with me. My spirituality is actually meant to be solitary and intimately personal – it’s the Hermit tarot card. Solitary but full of wisdom and guidance.

Recently I’ve taken to following practitioners or researchers that follow similar beliefs on various social media platforms. I might not be talking to these people but that’s not as important to be as being around their knowledge and reading it.

 

Write down what you believe

This might be a long journaling process and you may need to goggle some questionnaires to really get to the heart of things if you’re at a loss for words. When you do get some words down, look to see which ones are repeating and which themes are continuous.

For me, personal freedom is incredibly important. I need it and crave it. I cannot stand being trapped. My belief in animism is absolute. These are things that are non-negotiable to me and form my foundation as a spiritual person.

Sometimes we just need to write things down to figure out exactly what we’re feeling and thinking. Getting those thoughts out there can really reaffirm what your roots are and why they’re important.

 

Change up your routine

Going with the motions without thinking about the motions is often the sign that people are disconnected. Switching out your day to day with something new and different can help you shake the dust off your soul and reconnect.

For me, I spent several days wandering about nature during the day and came back at night to read heavy tomes of fairy tales. This is what I grew up doing and where my roots developed. Going back to that old routine and getting lost in my own world allowed me to reconnect to who I was and what I really feel and believe.

 

Examine your ah-ha moments

I don’t really have an ah-ha moment. I remember reading a book and suddenly coming to a complete understanding about the concept of animism while standing outside of my high school’s pool. The humidity was an intense wall but I stood with my heavy backpack weighing me down and read my book while waiting for the bell to ring. I remember staring at the blue tiles as I sorted through the information I had just read. I have no idea what book I was reading but something about the way animism had been explained in that book made me realize that I was an animist.

That being said, I don’t really have a click moment where I suddenly realized what I believe. I don’t have a come-to-Jesus moment or a spiritual epiphany. Spirits have always been around so I never really lived without knowing of their presence.

That being said, looking back at the several poignant experiences I’ve had over the years that are so, so important to me reminds me of what I find precious in my spirituality.

 

Keep learning

People who have been doing their spiritual thing for a while now sometimes forget to keep learning. Never stop learning. Read a new book, skim through a new article, find some new source of inspiration. You don’t have to be reading deep academic tomes or personal accounts. I’ve found great spiritual attachments in fiction novels and manga. Don’t forget that you can always find inspiration in unlikely places.

 

Do I feel like I’ve really reconnected with myself spiritually? Yes and no. I know I’m on the right track because it feels right again. The sensations are so there. But I’m not quite there yet. I need to keep rereading old foundation books to see how they connect to me now. Some of those books aren’t accessible right now but once I get my hands on them, it’ll be like coming home. I know it’s coming, that experience that tells me I’m back. I can’t wait for it.

My spirituality is deeply intrinsic to who I am. It’s a cool night overlooking a seaside forest. It’s the Hermit. It’s the creature in the night that’s not quite human but not quite monster. Getting back to my roots is like coming home to a place you’ve never been to before. If you’ve been feeling lost or just  out of sorts, consider going back to your roots for a little while. Things tend to sort themselves out from there.

 

Review: Scrying Ink

 

Scrying Ink

Scrying Ink by Siolo Thompson © Bay & Willow

Status: Currently reading with it

Best for: Any style of readings, spiritual readings, personal readings

Favorite cards: Crown, Broom, Crossroads, Scissors

Acquired from and date: Siolo Thompson’s shop Bay & Willow. September 2016.

 

Heart
Heart from Scrying Ink by Siolo Thompson and Nourish the Sacred Feminine from Sacred Creators by Chris-Anne Donnelly

I’m a really big fan of Siolo Thompson’s work. I absolutely adore the Linestrider Tarot and watched this deck develop in absolute excitement. Scrying Ink is a Lenormand style deck which made me even more excited. This deck combines everything that I love about Lenormand decks with the beautiful art of Siolo Thompson.

Overall, the deck’s really solid as a Lenormand. It’s a 40 card deck not a 36 card deck – it has extra cards in it. Namely, an extra set of Male and Female cards plus the Crown and the Broom. The Scythe has been swapped for the Scissors. I’ll go into this in a bit but I’m always interested in decks that are slightly outside the cookie cutter norm so this was more of an incentive to me.

For me, the deck feels “cooler” energy-wise than the Linestrider Tarot does, perhaps less attached. I think that partially comes from the fact that the Linestrider Tarot was the artist’s first deck and this is their second. That first creation always has a ton of energy. That being said, the deck reads beautifully and has the feel and voice of a wise guide or mentor that lets you work out for yourself what you need to do rather than handing you answers.

You’ll have to know your Lenormand to use these cards appropriately. Or, you can use them as an oracle-style deck, but you’ll still need to have developed a fairly strong association game to really get to the cards. I find that despite there being very set meanings for this style of deck, it’s those very set meanings that sometimes requires additional intuitive insight to get to the bottom of the problem. Perhaps because of the additions and changes in this deck, I find that using your intuition can be helpful in getting to the truth of the matter.

 

 

If you’re familiar with the Linestrider Tarot, then expect the art of the Scrying Ink to be much of the same. Splashes of colored ink over black and white drawings on typically on streaked backgrounds.

The art is beautiful as usual and the color is used in brilliantly. There’s drips of inks here and there rather than coloring the whole card. For example, in the Broom, only the lacing is red. In the Crown, blue ink forms a secondary crown alongside the actual crown image – which is so brilliantly done because while a ruler might be free to do as they wish, they’re also imprisoned by their obligations and responsibilities to their country and people. The blue ink forms a secondary crown, yes, but it also forms bars over that crown, like a jail cell door.

The line art really reminds me of the art from classic fairy tale books I grew up, such as Grimm’s fairy tales. This seems to stand out more than it does with the Linestrider Tarot, perhaps because there are so few humanoid images in Lenormand decks. Lenormand cards are comprised of animals and objects mostly so it sometimes has only a handful of humans on the cards at all.

The type is clear, solid, all capitalization, and easy to read. That’s not something easily found in Lenormand style decks. I’ve a few Lenormand decks that have tiny type or just the numbers leaving you without that keyword to work with or requiring you to use the imagery or look up the number in a book.The cards are not numbered, however, so that’s something to keep in mind.

The backgrounds are something I’m kind of on the fence about. They’re typically a light gray or cream colored streaking that is different for each card. Ink is usually used to add color to the drawings such as with the Ship. But I don’t know. Maybe it’s because the streaking is hard to photograph or maybe because it’s sometimes distracting but there are some cards where the background stands out more than others when I don’t think it should. That being said the backgrounds also help tie it together. This might be a weird thing to nit-pick but it’s one of the very few things I’m sometimes not thrilled about with this deck.

Another weird thing for me is the card backs. It’s a black and gray design that reminds me of tattoo ink at first then fairy tales second. It’s also somewhat “hazy” and on close inspection, you can see how it’s printed on the card. I wouldn’t look at the back of those cards and be able to guess what the Scrying Ink is actually like from it.The card backs are also not reversible which isn’t a big deal at all as Lenormand style readings aren’t meant to be read in reverse anyway.

 

 

I like the Crown addition (of course I do) but I especially like it because it fills in that space that handles where our responsibilities lie. The Crown might appear if we’re taking on too much responsibility or if you need to own up to your own responsibilities. It’s like the Tower card in this sense but with less emphasis on isolation or the unattainable.

The Broom and Whip have been separated. If you’re familiar with Lenormand decks this the Whip (11) can be confusing. I typically like to think of the Whip more like the Whisk – it can stir things up but it can smooth things out too. I think the Whip’s original meaning has a lot of historical implication lost to us. Remember the Lenormand came about in the 1800s or so. The whip would have been used to imply punishment or hurrying – you whip a servant for theft, possibly child for disobedience, and a horse to hurry. This kind of thinking wouldn’t have been unusual at all at the time so we have to remember that. Since we do not allow such things anymore, most people don’t really think of the whip much anymore. Save for Indiana Jones and “whipping yourself into shape”, whips aren’t commonly thought of. We’ve lost touch and meaning to the original intent of the card. It became more of a whisk or even a broom. This still has historical merit and meaning. the Whip is known for aggression, disagreements, discipline, and violence. It’s the card of physical activity. On a more modern scale, it comes up when you’ve had a disagreement with your spouse or parents and it something of the “oh shit” card in my book when it comes to household stuff. It’s the text message saying you’ll be receiving surprise visitors in fifteen minutes and you have a sink full of dishes and laundry scattered across the house. It’s annoyance and anger. It’s abuse and it’s harsh reality.

The Broom and Whip helps separate out some meanings. Now the Whip stands more of what it was originally intended for. The Broom is used for clearing away what happens after the Whip – the hurt, the dust from physical activity, etc. The Broom is a healthy separation whereas the Whip could mean a nasty break up. The Broom is compromise or a fresh start. It’s cleaning house. It’s also work so that physical aspect isn’t missing from the Broom either. The Broom also helps bridge the gap when it comes to swapping the Scythe for the Scissors.

The Scythe for the Scissors was an interesting change and one I wasn’t particular fond of when I first got the deck. Now I love the change. I personally associate really well with your standard Scythe card. The Scythe is the cutting of ties but it’s also reaping what you sown. It requires rapid action. The Scissors encapsulates all this meaning is a more understandable fashion for modern readers. I find that the Scissors associates well with the Broom because that clearing away the unwanted idea. The Broom now covers that aspect of the Scythe card, allowing for clearer and cleaner readings.

The Male and Female cards are some of my least favorite cards in any Lenormand deck. I’m not fond of the binary system (though I get it and it’s easily worked around in any Lenormand deck) so I tend to just use the Male/Female cards as “self” or referring to a particular individual when it comes up in an oracle-style reading for me. In this deck, there’s your typical humanoid Man/Woman card (Lord and Lady) but there’s also Female and Male. These two cards associate directly with the Child card. How? They’re deer. The Female card is a doe, the Male card is an antler, and the Child card is a fawn. I adore this. I read this as a subtle difference between Man and Male. The Man card might refer to a co-worker whereas the Male card suggests a masculine energy instead – that could be your female non-nonsense boss. The difference is subtle but extremely useful for my readings. It allows for people to be able to subscribe to a card more easily. If you’re non-binary, you might select any of these card depending on your mood at the time. I’m still searching for a deck that offers a more options in terms of sex and gender but this is a good alternative to the Man/Woman style cards.

Overall, the cards given an impression of a wise mentor, as stated above. The energy isn’t as mischievous as the Linestrider Tarot can get but isn’t afraid to throw down as needed. I find this deck tells you exactly what you need to know but sometimes leaves you to draw conclusions and the details of the situation. For this reason, I find myself using this for answers and personal readings. I don’t just mean my own readings for myself but the readings that dive into my own mentality and spirituality. It’s rare for me to have a deck like this so it’s really very perfect in my opinion.

 

 

 

The deck itself is large. It’s not as big as Blue Angel Publishing decks are but larger than my smartphone in width and as tall as a it in height. While at first I was surprised at the deck as they’re still a bit large for my hands, they’re a good in between size for a large deck so it’s still fairly easy to shuffle. According to the website’s information, the deck measured 5.75 by 3.5 inches.

The deck’s matte but has a slight sheen to it when you turn the cards in the light. To me, that’s the perfect sheen for a deck. I want to be able to take photos without messing with a thousand camera settings and lighting to get it.

The card stock is thinner than I expected but that’s not a bad thing. Because of the size, the flexibility the thinner card stock has allows for it to shuffle easily. This immediately solves the “my deck is too big to shuffle issue” because while the deck is on the large size, the flexibility of the cards means that it can be shuffled or even bridged without worrying about the cards bending. The cards are smooth with a noted rounded edge which I like.

That being said, I’ve noticed minor almost invisible scratches from finger nails and some wear on the card sides from overhand shuffling. I typically have short to medium length nails so I’m not surprised about the scratches. I’m not gentle with my overhand shuffling so the wear isn’t surprising either. All decks develop these sorts of things so I’m not sure why I notice it more in this deck. If you’re gentle with your cards and not a brutish monster like I am, you’ll probably be fine. (Seriously though, I really am not gentle with my cards so you’ll be fine. The cards are high-quality.)

My Linestrider Tarot is the Kickstarter version and it arcs. This means is does not lie flat when placed on a flat surface. This is probably due to my riffle style shuffling technique but my only issue with that version of Linestrider Tarot so I worried about it with the Scrying Ink. I needn’t have bothered. The Scrying Ink lies perfectly flat and I have no worries about arcing.

The deck is nicely packaged. It came in a plain cardboard but labeled box with a note card, a card introducing the Scrying Ink, briefing sheet about the Houses of the Grand Tableau, a black burlap bag, the guidebook, and the deck. It’s almost too much stuff. The box is large and strong enough to be keep around but it’s not a tuck box. I kept the sheets and stuff the deck came with in the box on the shelf separate from the bag, book, and cards.

 

Scrying Ink

 

When I fist opened the box, I was surprised at the burlap bag. It’s not super soft so it’s not really a material you’d expect a card bag to be made out of. Plus it’s a good size larger than the deck – four inches taller and about an inch wider. It made sense though once I saw the guidebook. The guidebook fits perfectly inside the bag. However, putting the book inside the bag means that the bag doesn’t close but it does cinch at the top. I haven’t had traveled with the deck yet so I don’t if it’ll survive being tossed in a suitcase or backpack but for storage in my home it’s good enough for me.

The guidebook included is your typical soft-covered stable based book with 53 pages. It’s nothing fancy in that regard. It has a little about section with a how-to in reading the cards. It includes an explanation of a three card spread, a nine card spread layout, and a breakdown of the Grand Tableau. Then it jumps into the card meanings.

The card meanings are number appropriately to Lenormand style. The Rider is number 01 and the Whip is number 11 and the Cross is number 36 and so on. Additional cards are at the back of the book.

Each card description comes with keywords, a general description, and playing card cartomancy equivalent. It also includes what to look for in particular readings and suggestion combinations of cards in these particular readings. (Dog + Man in a career reading could be a loyal business partner, co-worker, or boss whereas in a romance reading it probably means that your partner is loyal). This is all fairly standard when it comes to Lenormand guidebooks and each card takes up about a page in length of the guidebook, give or take. In the four additional cards, a little description on why those cards came to be is offered in place of the breakdown for particular readings.

It’s a good book for an small indie creator as it’s doing exactly what it’s suppose to. it might not be perfect bound or super fancy but it’s far more useful than a LWB.

It’s good to note that the first printing was limited to 250 copies and hasn’t been restocked. I don’t know if it will ever be restocked. A mini version of this deck (2.48 inches by 3.46 inches) available now with a different card back on Bay & Willow. While I don’t own this one, it’s on my list to pick up largely due to the size (I love pocket sized decks). I don’t know if it’s limited edition so snatch it up while you can.

Overall, I adore this deck. I like the changes within the deck quite a bite and my worries about the quality due to the Kickstarter version of Linestrider Tarot are alleviated. It’s a beautiful Lenormand deck that fits right in with more traditional decks while still being modern and approachable for everyone.

If you’re going to read this deck like an oracle and not Lenormand style, then it’s very beginner friendly. If you’re looking at this deck and hoping to learn the Lenormand style of reading, then you may want to learn with a different deck. The changes made in this deck will throw you if you’re not use to the cards or not reading intuitive.

It’s definitely a deck I recommend – if you can get it. It’s a lovely deck and one I wholly appreciate. I find myself pulling it out often to help with everyday questions or even help with journaling or writing.

 

Scrying Ink by Siolo Thompson © Bay & Willow

Rider and Nourish Your Sacred Feminine cards in the images from the Sacred Creators by Chris-Anne Donnelly

Forged Through Fire Spell [Spell Saturday #50]

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This is a spell to change aspects a specific aspect of your life. It’s not meant to be a gentle, guiding spell but a rather a boot in the ass kind of spell. It’s meant for you to cut the shit and actually change an aspect of your life. It’s for when you need to say to yourself “Quit the procrastination and just go do the thing already”.

Forged in Fire by This Crooked Crown

 

What you need:

  • Two pieces of paper
  • A red double ended candle or a single red candle
  • Fire safe smooth dish
  • Fire safe bowl (if not using a double ended candle)
  • Your honesty
  • Herbs, oils, and candle-dressing materials (optional)

 

Write down exactly what you want to happen. You want to go to the gym three times a week and get totally serious on your health? Write that down in explicit detail. You want to stop procrastinating on finding a new job and just go find one that you actually like? Write that down. Want to start that project (or finish it?) Write that down. You need to be completely honest with yourself.

If you’ve been procrastinating because you’re lazy or want to watch reruns of Supernatural instead write that down. Be completely and totally honest with yourself. This isn’t about the legit reasons why you might not do something. If you weren’t able to work because of illness or obligations, then this spell isn’t for you. This spell is to combat procrastination rather than just giving you a boost.

Once you’ve written down what you want to happen and what the problem is, get your candle and dress it for power and energy.

Place the paper for how you currently are on your non-dominate side (so if you’re left handed or your left hand is your power hand, put the paper on the right side). Place the paper for how you want to be on the opposite side. The candle and fire-proof bowl should be between the two. Light the candle.

 

spells and herbs

 

If you’re using a  double ended candle, light the candle on the side with the paper with your current state or being/ the problem. Burn that paper and let is go completely to ash. When the paper is completely gone, blow out that end of the candle and declare that how you were is over. Light the other end of the candle and burn the paper with your intentions in it, affirming to yourself that this is how you’re going to be.

If you’re using not using a double ended candle, then burn the paper with how you use to be in the fire proof bowl. When the paper is ash and you have nothing but embers left, declare that how you were is over. Light the candle and burn the paper with your intentions on it, affirming to yourself this is how you’re going to be.

In either case, as the intentions paper burns,  let the wax from the candle with your intentions drip onto a smooth, fire proof dish. Let it cool so it’s cool enough to handle but so not cool that it isn’t malleable. roll the wax between your fingers to form a small ball and carry that wax ball with you each and every time you try and do the thing.

Once the intentions paper has burned, you can blow out the candle. Keep and use whenever you want to reaffirm yourself to you intentions.

Red Candle by This Crooked Crown

Notes:

  • The candle can be scented or dressed in any of the following oils, scents, or herbs: Allspice, apple, carnations, cinnamon, hyssop, vanilla, rosemary, cinquefoil, dragon’s blood, lemon verbena, marigolds or calendula, thistle, and thyme. If you use any of these scents/oils/herbs you should definitely use them to remind yourself in the future to go do the thing. So if you used apples, then an apple colored gym bag or aromatherapy oil should be motivating.

 

 

Secular Witchcraft Defined

Secular witchcraft is a rising star in the witchcraft scene but it’s also one that is heavily misunderstood.

Secular Witchcraft Defined by This Crooked Crown

As a secular witch, I practice a style of witchcraft that is separate from my spirituality.  The word separate is absolutely key. What this means that I may have spiritual or religious beliefs but they do not touch upon my witchcraft. The witchcraft practice and the spiritual/religious practice are not used in conjunction. They’re two separate things in my life, just like how your witchcraft may not touch your work life or family life.

It’s important to note the separation rather than the absence of spiritual connection. Much of the misconception is centered around this confusion. On the surface, absence and separation may appear to be the same thing but they’re not. If you combine oil and water in a glass, they separate but not disappear. Or you might think of your spirituality as a box and a separate box holds your witchcraft. Just because they’re apart doesn’t mean they don’t exist.

For example, as said I’m a secular witch but I’m also a hard polytheist that’s loosely tied to one god on a family level and another on a personal level (and maybe a third merely because the other two are around). I never use those deities in my witchcraft. They’re simply not a part of it. I don’t need or want them involved in the witchcraft portion of my life

 

 

Witchcraft itself is the art, science, and skill of a witch. Witchcraft is not and cannot be inherently secular. This is another misconception that has been made. By saying that witchcraft is inherently secular denies the existence of spiritually connected paths and systems. It denies witchcraft religions such as Wicca. It denies the idea that magic can be pulled, derived, or invoked through sacred or divine means. It denies quite a lot of historical magical practices too. So let’s cut the crap now – your practice may personally be inherently or originally secular but witchcraft as a whole cannot be.

The tricky part with secularism is where to draw the line between spirituality and secularism. What portions of your life count as witchcraft? What acts are religious to you? How to separate them will entirely depend on you. Secularism requires an ability to separate intimate parts of your life and for some people that’s difficult or undesirable.

For me, my witchcraft is spell casting and manipulating the world with magic. That’s how I define my personal practice. My spirituality is more of convoluted and difficult to describe but it doesn’t include using magic or spells to change things. Spirit walking and divination are separate skills from either of these two. While I do use spirits in both my spirituality and my witchcraft I don’t enact a spell while doing a spiritual ritual at the same time. And divination is used in neither except for very rare occasions.

This means that I can be having a spiritual crisis and still be able to perform readings, cast spells, or deal with spirits. Or I could be feeling super disconnected to my witchcraft or spirit work but still be able to read tarot or feel spiritually connected.

 

 

It’s extremely difficult to decide what believes are secular and where to draw the line. What makes up how you view the world? How do you define magic? How do you define spirituality or religion? What things are spiritual or sacred to you? Do they hold a place in your witchcraft practice? Can you cast a spell without using divine or sacred things in it? Ask these questions and see where your answers lie.

Many witches may call themselves secular when in actuality, they’re loosely religious. That’s not the same thing. You can’t sprinkle religion on top of secularism – it breaks the secularism, by definition.

Similarly, you can be an atheist and be a witch. Again, that belief of atheism should still be separate from witchcraft in order to be defined as secular witchcraft. Otherwise it’s simply atheistic witchcraft.

 

 

Many secular witches try the secular thing and eventually go away from it. Or they come to secularism from a religious or atheistic place. Which is perfectly normal. Our practices grow and change as to match how we as people grow and change. If your practices doesn’t suit the person you are or want to be, then it’s probably not anything more than a hindrance.

Secularism witchcraft isn’t for everyone and that’s perfectly normal. There’s no singular one size fits all for witchcraft. It’s perfectly OK to try secularism witchcraft and say “Nope! Not for me!” To each their own.