My name is Debra, but on forums, I usually go by Puppet Mama. I am 42, almost 43. I’m autistic. I’ve been studying and practicing magic for 29 years. I’m in the broom closet, mostly because I not only live in Alabama (part of the Bible Belt), but also because I live in the same neighborhood as my parents, one of my aunts, one of my great uncles, and most of their children. And let me tell you, they are all conservatives and all Christians.
Besides witchcraft, I’m into Five Nights at Freddy’s, fashion, Barbies, Barbie fashion, and Whole Food Plant Based vegan cooking.
I have three autistic children. One of whom has graduated. The other two are in school. We homeschool and have since the oldest was old enough to start their journey of education. We have our good days and our bad days. This year, we’re adding magic to the curriculum. They are old enough to get what’s going on and to not talk about it in front of the rest of the family. My middle child is very resistant to new ideas and change and isn’t sure how to feel about the subject. But my youngest is loving it!
I’m married. He is also a practitioner and has studied and practiced for about the same amount of time as myself. We also have a dog. She is an English Shepherd and a rescue. Someone just dumped her out in the country, but we took her in and never looked back.
So a little about my practice: I consider myself eclectic with a heavy concentration on cottage witchery. I love kitchen magic, house magic, hygge, self care, and divination. I’m having trouble thinking of anything else at this time, so I’m going to wrap it up here. Feel free to ask me anything.
Welcome @PuppetMama! That was a great introduction!!
It’s amazing that your children are learning about Magic and can keep it quiet in front your conservative relatives! I think as long as you teach them to be respectful of others’ beliefs they will be fine! And about the middle one, I’d say let them make their own decision and see if they want to practice or not!
I loved the concept of hygge since I learned about it from my Danish friends! It’s a great way to enjoy the dark/colder part of the year and as we approach it we’ll appreciate it more!
Feel free to navigate the forum and comment on any topic you’re interested. Blessed be!
@Francisco While I understand what you are saying about letting my middle child make his own decision, I must clarify something about the nature of his autism. He has the same reaction to math, grammar, and Spanish. He tends to balk at anything new. We have to spend a good bit of every day going over the fact that it’s okay not to know something because learning is a process. Not knowing things gives him a lot of anxiety.
When I told him we were going to learn magic, his first reaction was, “But I don’t know how to do magic!” And his breathing rate started to increase. He had the same reaction when I handed him a worksheet to help him learn to write in cursive.
After his lessons, though, he always hugs me, apologizes for freaking out and arguing, and that day, he took me to his room to show me where he would like to put up an altar.
He’s also very hard to read. When we celebrate the sabbats, he loves to participate. He always wants to light and put out candles, and he will join in on the family activity. While during esbats, he sits out. He showed me where he wants to set up an altar, but when I told him I had ordered him his own tarot deck and pendulum to learn with, he said, “Okay,” and went right back to his Transformers.
I don’t want to leave him out and make him feel like I don’t care if he learns because I know that doing so can make him feel really hurt and left out, even if he doesn’t always show it. That was why I decided to teach them during homeschool. That way, they’re learning at the same time about the same things, and if he wants to later not participate, that’s fine. If he really doesn’t care, even after his understanding has grown, he knows that we’re pretty chill around here.
You sound like a truly amazing mother! I imagine one autistic child is more than a handful already!
Have you tried combining any rituals with his learning process? I noticed you mentioned candles, have you experimented with aromas, sounds, or crystals?
I’ll say it again @PuppetMama, you deserve a gold star for home teaching like that. I’d lose my mind. Then again I don’t do well with kids at all, I was always the outsider and they can feel that I think. LOL.
Welcome! I’m Christina and I’m from NY. I never introduced myself. My oldest son is autistic and I do too. I’m very high functioning. My son is too but not as much as I am. We love FNAF! And I still have my barbies from as a child. My daughter has so many. Since covid, I’ve decided to home school my son bc he does not do well with change. We need routine routine routine! Well I guess we have a lot in common then. I look forward to talking with you soon
My son loves lavender and lepidolite helps. He’s autistic. Maybe they’d help your kids @PuppetMama? And crystal singing bowls help calm us right down! I have mine packed but we use videos from youtube.
Amazing! I’m Krissie from Cape Cod. My daughter likes crystals and to celebrate the Sabbats with me more by helping with the activity I think she’s interested but still a salty girl and her heart and soul are the water in the summer. She will be at home for school this year. It will be my first year. My older two sons have graduated. My oldest has processing delays and other learning with a Chiari Malformation. My middle son has ADHD learning disabilities. My daughter has a heart murmur and I believe she inherited my hEDS. Children definitely each are a piece of the beautiful family.
I am also at home so my husband has been working up to 6 days a week and super amounts of overtime to keep us going. It’s something I struggle with because I am not home by my choice, but by my Dr’s choices. I have mental and physical disabilities such as hEDS and Fibromyalgia related joint and tendon issues.
My husband doesn’t practice but supports me in any way he can for whatever I may be doing. I recently found myself and dealt with a lot of trauma, so I take it day by day and try to take it as it comes, but sometimes that’s all at once. I’m learning meditation and self care for my anxiety and other coping skills that seem to be really working for me.
I would love to talk to you more! Merry Meet and Blessed Be!
Warm greetings from Poland! I’m also originally from the USA, although I never made it to Alabama. You’ll meet many others here in the forums from all over the world- feel free to chat and hear their stories!
I love that you are learning and practicing as a family And so many wonderful aspects of magick, too! May I ask what kinds of divination you enjoy?
As others have mentioned, make yourself at home here in the forums and feel free to jump in on or create new discussions We all have so much we can learn from one another!
It is a pleasure to meet you and I’m looking forward to talking with you more soon! Blessed Be
@Francisco Thanks. They are more than a handful, but I love them so much. When they were younger, it was a lot harder. But now that one of them is legally an adult, one is a teen, and one is a pre-teen, it’s a bit easier. They have their special interests that keep them entertained.
I haven’t tried combining rituals with the learning process, yet. That is part of the plan for this year. They love candles, scents, and I ordered them their own sets of crystals when I ordered the cards and pendulums. Sound can be a bit tricky. They’re all very sensitive to sound, to the point where I have to announce my intention to use the food processor. I want to try singing bowls, @christina4 but it may be a no go. And we do seem to have a lot in common.
I don’t have many Barbies from my childhood. My mom let my kids play with them, and they buried them in the sandbox. I have my collector Barbies, but now I have over 200 from the new Fashionista line mostly.
@Amethyst Hygge (pronounced hue-guh not hoo-gah) is a Danish word used when acknowledging a feeling or moment, whether alone or with friends, at home or out, ordinary or extraordinary as cozy, charming or special. It’s a way of staying sane when it’s really cold because it come from Denmark. It’s a lot of warmth and baked goods and good books, etc.
@Susurrus Wow! That’s a lot. I had to look up Chiari Malformation. I had never heard of that. You seem to have a lot on your plate. I hope you find some solace among like-minded people here.
I always wanted to stay home with my family. That was my dream. My husband was working until he got really sick back in 2009.I worked while he stayed home and recuperated. He went into a diabetic coma and suffered a stroke during that time. It took him many years to recover, and we struggled hard because I didn’t have as good a job as he did. He’s back to work now with an even better job. And though he still has some trouble due to his health, they work with him. He’s working from home, which is good for all of us.
It’s a scary world when you’re already sick and knowing that there’s a virus out there that can kill you. Your disabilities are no joke, and I hope you are staying safe. I have chronic bronchitis, so I’m terrified of going out, but there’s no way around it sometimes. IT sounds to me like you have a great husband. Merry Meet and Blessed Be!
@BryWisteria@Missa erry Meet! I love many different forms of divination. I guess it depends on the situation. I use tarot the most. Second would be oracle cards (specifically Sacred Path cards, Angels Gods & Goddesses cards, and Enchanted Oracle). Third would be my pendulum. Fourth would be my astrology dice (I usually use it for clarification purposes in other readings). And fifth would be runes.
@PuppetMama I forget that people don’t always know what a Chiari Malformation is, he was born with it but we didn’t find out about it until he was 3 years old and he started displaying some weird symptoms when he would come out of his room. I think he is on the autism spectrum, but they put his learning disabilities as processing delays and issues.
I love staying home because if something happens then I am available. I don’t have to tell someone else that I have to leave or if something happens with me I can take care of it.
I hope you and your family stay safe also. I’m doing my best with my daughter because of her asthma, but she is only around the people we know and are pretty close to.
Welcome @PuppetMama Debra! Glad you joined I totally understand and feel you with the broom closet thing. Im not apart of the “Bible Belt” but I’m in Kansas which is a pretty conservative state. Most of my immediate family are conservative and catholic/christian.
What kind of divination do you do? (scrying, pendulum, tarot, oracle, crystal reading, etc?) Id love to hear about it!
I know a little bit about Dice Divination, but I’ve never used Astrology Dice! That sounds very interesting- is maybe there a zodiac on each side of the dice? I would love to hear more about how you use them to clarify/strengthen your other divination readings
I look forward to talking with you soon 
And so many wonderful aspects of magick, too! May I ask what kinds of divination you enjoy? 
We all have so much we can learn from one another!
lovely to have you here
That sounds very interesting- is maybe there a zodiac on each side of the dice? I would love to hear more about how you use them to clarify/strengthen your other divination readings 
