Ex Penna

I've talked about this a lot--here and elsewhere--and you know what I think:  magic should, nay must, have an element of beauty to be at its best.  The two are interwoven and exist best when their influence is anything but subtle.  Think about every time you've been moved by

Trudging through ritual, reading from a printer-paper copy of a hastily-written ritual you found online and thought it "seemed pretty good" is not only pointless, it's also powerless.

Put some fuel in that mess!  I can see at least 5 places in that scenario where a little life could be injected to make you crave being in that circle.  As it stands, it appears that my hypothetical caster doesn't even want to be there.

Rituals are a Parade with No Spectators

Critter Bits


This is a hot-button topic, but definitely a traditional part of what we do as magic makers.  To that effect, I hope this article will inspire thought and conversation.

As you may know by now, I am not against the use of animal parts in my own magic as long as the animal's death was accidental.  Roadkill is my main source of fur and bones, and I go to great lengths to respectfully collect and clean them for my spells.  As a vegetarian, this is a tricky topic for me to successfully find solid footing, but I'm willing to to accept that witchcraft--like most other areas of life--doesn't always offer up easy answers.

This may sound odd coming from someone who owns a shop selling ten-plus candle colors, but it's true.  Of course, this doesn't take away the usefulness, beauty, or pleasure of using a variety of candles.  It only means that, like so many other spellcasting techniques, it's not a necessity.  If you find yourself low on funds, personal space, or both, excess candles are the perfect place to cut back.

Let's take a moment to dig into the 3 traditional colors of witchcraft!

Black, Red, and White as Staple Colors

White 

Untouched, Constant, and Stoic

As you well know I am enamored with spoken charms and this is one of my very favorites.

To find power in a spell, first there must be beauty.  To find beauty, you need only be struck by the subject's uniqueness, its ability to radiate a deep well of self-awareness, shining like the refraction of moonlight on the walls of a watery cave.  That sparkle is beauty and the inspiration that stems from its power.

This charm, originating in the Finnish epic Kalevala, has an incredible amount of just such glow.  Though simple in language and lacking in direct imagery, it is a joy to speak, to feel on the lips, to read, to share.  How could such excitement fail to spread when it is used magically?  Remember this the next time you're driving a foggy road or, perhaps, beset with a more creative, metaphorical fog of mind or spirit.

Remember and recite.

To Banish Mists

Oh how I love Aeclectic Tarot!  If you read the cards ad somehow haven't been there yet, stop what you're doing (except for reading my blog, of course) and go there straight away!  Deck reviews, card images (for those of us who like to see more than the box's one or two sample images before we buy), tons of articles, and discussions make this the perfect hang out for tarot lovers.  But this is especially fun: new and unique spreads!

If you're ready to branch out and try something different from the same old Celtic Cross, give these a go!

Unusual Tarot Spreads

It just might be me.  Or you.  Let me explain.

In the most simplistic terms, magic is freedom and those who use it to better their lives are free.  We have realized our right to be happy, our right to withhold ourselves from those who don't deserve us, our right to choose the course of our lives.  We are self-aware and capable of handling the responsibility of being so.  That is the very nature of freedom, and to the establishment under which we live, it is a terror.

Those who are free don't feel the need to do what others do.  They don't rely on convention to train and control them.  They don't want what others want.  They are unpredictable, and that's a scary thing.  Are you that sort of unpredictable?  Do you go your own way no matter where it may lead?  Take a look at the following list of brave and bold thoughts that just such a person thinks and see just how dangerous you are!

1. Your Rules are for You

A witch doesn't have to subscribe to your ideas of right and wrong.  Not only do many of us take our magical practice as a spiritual discipline--and therefore hold values separate and distinct from other belief systems--but we also have a unique understanding of how right and wrong are measured, what happens in the event of each, and how imbalances are rectified. 

Because we have these feelings of our own, we're not waiting to be given limits by society.  Because we see how we are different, we know that options exist and are not afraid to choose. 

2. Doing What Needs Done Does Not Mean Waiting for Karma

Sitting on my ass was not in the brochure.  A powerful person who watches wrongs be committed, and then does nothing to prevent, stop, or serve justice for it, is culpable for that wrong.

Occultists are powerful people with talent and training behind us.  We can and should make things right.  I would never let the greater suffering of harm against an innocent exist just to spare myself possible retribution for harm against the guilty.  That's the price I pay for desiring the knowledge I now have.  If I can do something, I must do something.

3. It Doesn't Matter if We Agree

I genuinely don't care if we can't find common ground.  I didn't ask your permission any more than you asked mine.

That sounds a little harsh, but completely true.  I feel this way whether I'm being scorned by religious types who disapprove of my lack of godliness (despite following many more gods than them! Hmmmph!) or discussing my outsider attitudes with other magical folk.  We can talk about it but when it comes to being capital-R Right, I am going to throw up both hands and call it a day.  It isn't something that can be decided by two humans with disparate beliefs in intangible topics.

And I've got things to do, kid, I can't stand around arguing all day.

4. Freedom Gives Me Strength

I like--no, wait---I adore setting my own standards.   The gift of freedom is that I can choose what I personally feel is important, what is my weight in the world, and how I know if I'm doing the right thing or not.  That's far more than fear of divine smite.

5. Wisdom is Actually Really Simple

Because I Have Experienced, I Have Learned. Because I Learned, I am Wise.

It's just that easy.  And exactly that painful.

If you don't dare, you'll never understand, and understanding is the basis of all the great things humanity wishes for itself.  You must go into the scary, dangerous places to find treasure.  And this goes double for the places that the world around you keeps telling you is scary.  Don't follow in the fears of others.

6. I Have a Low Tolerance for Bullshit in My Personal Life

Ya know, I might cast a low-level curse on you just because you annoy me.  That's what the Evil Eye is all about, so don't start getting high and mighty on me!  I'll tell you like it is and then, if that's not enough, I'll mess up your world.  Simple as that. 

Witches must realize that who we are in magical terms is the same damn person we are in the mundane.  If you're a horrible bitch to me when you see me in the neighborhood, but then look down your nose at the thought of hexing because you'd never taint your soul that way, you've totally missed the train on your own ethical code.  And though you revile mine, I'm actually living by it.  Go figure.

So there's the rub--my love of all shades of magic can be unpopular in certain occult circles, but I dole out wickedness in my magic to the same degree that I do as a regular person.  I wouldn't run up to a stranger and punch them in the face, and neither would I cast a curse on someone who had done me no wrong.

The simple fact is that if you are in my way enough, bad enough, mean enough, and detrimental enough for me to bitch you out in regular life, then you can definitely expect a healthy dose of black magic coming your way.  Consider yourself warned.

7. However, I Have a Much Higher Tolerance for It in My Professional Work

This is where being objective really comes into play.

I'm not going to agree to curse your cousin Debbie just because she made you look stupid at the last family reunion.  Get your shit together.  I will offer advice--maybe a free tarot reading, too--but I'm not ruining people's lives over your small, unpleasant experience. 

Unless you pay me really well--then we'll do this thing!

And there's the other side of being a business--I'm selling what you're buying and not the other way around.  I set my limits on what I'll do with my magic, naturally, but sometimes the line drawn can be moved as the price rises.  I've turned down offers to blight, to disease, to tear relationships apart--and I've said no.  And then again, for other situations, for much, much higher fees, I've done all those things and been pleased at the results.



Real morality is complex and real freedom is almost frightful.  The level of accountability that comes with both is too much for some people, and defiantly too much for some witches.  But for those of us who tread outside the norm and dare to find our own way to the great repository of wisdom waiting for us all, the rewards are too great to ignore, the call to adventure too thrilling to let pass by unanswered.


Images from:
giphy.com/gifs/strength-tarot-cards
folkmagicfestival.com/2016-folk-magic-festival-schedule-of-events
gothicandamazing.tumblr.com

Continuing in the vein of my adoration for Hoodoo is this week's offering: Hot Foot powder.  If you've never heard if it before, sit yourself down and get ready.  If you have, well, watch where you walk.

Do you have shitty neighbors?  Hot Foot them. 

Does your co-worker annoy you, sabotage you, or get in your way?  Hot foot them. 

Is that ex-friend still hanging around talking smack about you to others?  Hot Foot them. 


The swifter you clear out what threatens to derail your success, the easier it is to achieve it.



Now before you go at me with a wagging finger and disapproving glare for giving unwelcome people the boot, consider how affecting they can be.  Consider the stress they cause, the ensuing arguments, misunderstandings, and undue tension just from their presence.  You're not killing anybody, merely relocating them.  That can actually be a good thing, if they choose to see it that way.

But that's not your problem.  They are your problem and the solution is to make them disappear.  So here we go.

This is another formula without exact measurements and ingredients, but there are a few herbs that must be present in the basic recipe: hot pepper, sulphur, and salt.  Everything else--including the amounts--is a matter of individual tradition and taste.  I've seen others use High John root, Black Mustard, gunpowder (to make it work even faster), wasps' nests (to make it meaner), and the toxic Bluestone.  Here is the one I use:

Hot Foot Powder