@Mistress_Of_Herbs
Did you make these wonderful tools?
Beautiful and wonderfully crafted. 3 
for ingenuity.
Love and luck
Garnet
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āCatch Upā Challenge Entry #1: Your Magickal Roots - The Spirit-Rider / Ancestral Serpent Wisdom
- Resource: āCommuning with the Ancestors: Your Spirit Guides, Bloodline Allies, and the Cycle of Reincarnationā by Raven Grimassi.
For myself, Ancestor Veneration is an essential part of my path. I ran across this concept of an ancestral spirit rider a few years back that I thought would be perfect for sharing under the āYour Magickal Rootsā challenge.
We have all at one point in time told someone to āHey, Get Off My Back!ā
Acknowledging its meaning of being driven or constantly hounded by that person. We often regard these situations as one of annoyance, but there is another āback-riderā that wants to help; it is a Spiritual and Ancestral Back-Rider who can bestow guidance and wisdom from those who came before you.
Who or What is the Spirit-Rider?
Ancestor Veneration is practiced and prevalent in many countries and cultures around the world. In one teaching or concept, it is believed that we are accompanied in life by one of our Ancestors from one of our collective lineages. This being is sometimes called the āMind-Rider or Spirit-Riderā.
The Spirit-Rider is an Ancestor that can come and go between the Mortal Realm and the Ancestral Realm. It is said to attach itself to the spine of the descendant and to ride with her or him. The Spirit-Rider is seen as a serpent form, resembling the shape of the human spine. Itās a lot like the concept of āKundalini Energyā, which is said to be like a snake, coiled at the base of the spine waiting to be released. It is the same for the Spirit-Rider who works its way up the spine wrapping and wielding itself until its head is positioned in the area of the brain stem.
Ancestral Serpent Wisdom
In Ancestral wisdom the serpent is revered, the serpent can move easily between the worlds and inner dimensions. We see this in the theme of the Cosmic Serpent or World Serpent. It is the serpent who is the mover of tides and can be seen as those very tides. The serpent originates and maintains the tides; more specifically it carries the tides of life and death.
In ancient artwork and myth, the serpent is carried by those Gods and Goddesses intimately connected with the Dead. They are deities like Hekate, Cernunnos, Hermes, Apollo, etcā¦
Just like these deities, the Serpent is the messenger between the physical world and the non-physical world, between the world of mortals and the spirits of the Otherworld and Underworld.
The Gift of The Spirit-Rider & The Ancestral Eye
What makes the Spirit-Rider special isā¦ The Spirit-Rider carries one eye in its open mouthā¦ āThe Ancestral Eye of The Past.ā So, as the Spirit-Rider with its winding movement representing the flow of the generations across time, aligns āThe Ancestral Eye of the Pastā with the descendantās Third Eye.
Through the Ancestral Eye, and through us, the Spirit-Rider can see the world of the Living, and it can help us to see the world of the past. āThe Ancestral Eye of the Pastā allows us to look upon the world of Ancestral wisdom, to see it as it was in its day, and to see it as it is within us now.
The Spirit-Rider at times can give the descendant vision into the future which is called āfetchingā; this means it can take the descendantās consciousness to another place or realm. Spiritual or magickal visions are often the result of being fetched away. The Spirit-Rider can also fetch another Ancestor and bring it to the descendant.
Without understanding āthe fetchā and how it works, most of the work of the Spirit-Rider goes unnoticed by the conscious mind unless the person has had some training or alignment practice. However, some people experience the āchill of affirmationā which is that tingling feeling up the spine. It manifests when some greater truth is acknowledged in our being.
This sensation is the Spirit-Rider moving in the spine; it is drawing our consciousness to appreciate the words being spoken or a message to pay particular attention to. It often comes with a revelation about some matter in the descendantās life.
Now with that being all said, The Spirit-Rider does not always remain with the descendant but can and does rejoin the Ancestors in their realm from time to time. For all things must return, from which they came.
What We Canāt See, Sees Usā¦ Watching & Waiting With Wisdom & Guidance
From time to time in life we can lose the feeling of spiritual connection, of connection to many things in our life. We can lose our rootedness to the Spirit of the Land and to the Ancestral Spirit. In time we can return to our Path or to what carries us forward in life.
Itās comforting knowing that we have a Spirit-Rider with us. It means we are not alone and not disconnected from those who came before us in our lineage. To have a Spirit-Rider means that there is great work within us, it is one of meaning and purpose to our lives.
Like the serpent, however, it slips away from time to time; it disappears into an underworld, only to return again. Just like the Sun, Moon, and Stars above, it goes into the realm of the West and disappears below the horizon.
Ancestral wisdom knows that light is at home and is at times found in darkness. So, the next time you see the celestial lights passing above our world; remember that just like the lightsā¦ our Ancestors and one-day even our own being will be āRidingā someone down our lineage, visiting but not staying, returning home when all is said and done.
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Lolā¦ I have to go through the last 10 & figure that out myself 
Iāll find them thoughā¦ I have to see which creative juices decide to start flowingā¦ 
So far i have enjoyed everyoneās entries! Iām sure Iāll find some great inspiration once I look through them 
@Garnet thank you! I appreciate it very much
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@Garnet no i wish i had. A friend of mine did. She made them for me out of resin. She also made me all of the major arcana of tarot, so i would have them, bc i donāt have a tarot deck
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I have decided that my entry will be the Weekly Witchy CHALLENGE - Reading Auras
I have seen greyish/brownish-black shadows around certain people and places since childhood. I never knew they were called auras till I was an adult, and, as a child, I assumed everyone saw them.
I cannot say whether they are truly auras because I donāt see other colors. So, I will be attempting to read or see auras, starting with my own.
Iāll keep you posted, in case my blunders help others! 
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Well thank you very much Garnet, that means a lot coming from you. I have always enjoyed reading your posts, Challenges, feedback and so on. This was one of my three (3) Challenges that I did but did not download them here in time. Have a Blessed and wonderful safe weekend.
Blessed Be,
Medea 
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@Wysteria_Norn I cannot wait to read this Challenge. I had 2 different women, who I specked were Witches, walk up to me and said you are Special; you have a vibrant aura about you. I just smiled because I did not know what she was talking about. About 3 hours later, another women came up to me and said the same thing. She also told me to never forget thatā¦hmmm, ok.
Blessed Be
Medea
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@Kasandra Iām sorry about the family troubles (
), but Iām glad that despite what happened you were able to enjoy a lovely Night of Hekate and work some peaceful moon magick 
And look at those brownies- YUM! 
@Amaris_Bane I know right!?! 120 is crazy- Iām always surprised when I check the list and see how long itās gotten Canāt wait to hear which themes youāll choose!
@catherine11 Thatās big progress- congrats to you, Catherine! 
And I just have to say that Iām really proud of you for sticking with it despite the challenge. Youāre very strong to keep working towards improvement, and step by step youāre going in the right direction. Great job! 
@MeganB Your prosperity altar is so lovely, Megan- it has such a great ambiance and warm, homey feel to it 
Thanks for sharing, wishing you much abundance and prosperity! 
@Medea That is it exactly, Medea, thank you for very much for letting me know which challenge and badge- youāve definitely earned your new title! Thank you so much for sharing everything- I got especially excited about your tea leaf reading, I love tasseography 
As for the Demon Banishing Potion, it is a veryā¦ curious recipe. I remember LiveJournal used to be a place to go to read fantasy (fanfictions especially), so Iām surprised that there are witchy resources there too? I know you mentioned it may not be the right method for you, in which case Iād recommend sticking to the tea readings and perhaps holy water crafting. For demon banishing, maybe a Banishing Spell might help? Either way, great work, Potion Brewer, and thank you for sharing your experiences! 
@ashley69 I really enjoyed reading about Spiritual Riders! Looking at the picture, it seems familiar- like someone I knew had a tattoo or drew it before. Next time I see it pictured, Iāll be able to recognize it, thanks to you! 
Thank you for sharing your wisdom, Ashley!
@Wysteria_Norn It sounds like you have a natural talent for seeing auras, Wysteria! 
Wishing you all the best with your aura work this week- Iāll look forward to hearing how it goes! Good luck!
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Challenge Entry
Iāve never done a challenge before, but here goes -
I had purchased some āMoney Money Moneyā spell oil from my local metaphysical shop, so decided to put it to good use.
I took 5 $20 bills and placed them in a circle - sprayed them with the oil while meditating on prosperity - also sprayed the inside of my wallet and my purse. My next step is to spend the blessed bills before the new moon, thus sending out the money energy. Without being greedy, and harming none, my intention is that the prosperity energy will return to me (at least!) threefold.
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Challenge Entry
Weekly Witchy CHALLENGE - Tools of the Witch Trade Catch-Up 11/18/22
#1 of 3 Challengesā¦
OK, new girl here, so I feel like I have no idea what I am doing. 
But, I would like to try. Following, Iām gonna try to share (show off) some of my tools and my Altar, which once was my dresser, lol. So here goes, wish me luck, and thank you anyone who checks out my post and pics! 
Have a Blessed Day
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Challenge Entry
Weekly Witchy Challenge-My first catch-up is Trying something new. This started on Monday when @BryWisteria posted the weekly news. I have studied a few Goddesses over the last year, but when she posted about the Night of Hecate, I decided to learn more about her and I am so happy I did! My witchy room is full of crows, owls, skulls and keys! I even have a cast iron key holder in shape of a skeleton key that I use to dry herbs. All week I have listened to YouTube videos and even bought an audio book that I listened to twice. I ended up buying it because I want it in print. I made an altar for her on Wednesday morning before I left for work and on Wednesday night I went to a cross roads and left a bulb of garlic. I am excited to begin my journey with Hecate.
I have been on my witchcraft journey for almost a year now. I have grown and learned so much over the past year and I am proud to say that I am no longer a Christian witch!
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I discovered i have 63 challenges i still need to doā¦ hmm, now my work week is over i can properly have a better look which ones to do. Its hard to decide and i got so many ideas 
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I am the same way! I had to make a spreadsheet. Lol!
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Today is my 1 year anniversary! I just saw the cake. Lol!
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Oh, I am super excited for this opportunity since Iām new and have seen so many challenges I wished I had been present for!! Working on the INTO THE LIGHT challenge at the moment and have a questionā¦I so want to heal a rift in my family, but am also angry at some of my family members for the behaviour that caused this rift in the first place. Am I working against myself since I do feel this anger accompanied with the desire to heal?
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I try not to do a spell when I am in a bad mood. They seem to back fire on me when I do. I try to relax and quite my mind. Maybe a hot bath or shower before. I believe there is a past challenge about Freedom in Forgiveness. I may look into that one to!
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Even though they donāt look like the picture they still look pretty tasty! 
Amazing entry Medea great job!
I havenāt heard this term in a very long time! Thank you for the reminder Although I hadnāt heard it like this so this was some new information for me 
Auras are something that Iāve been kind of interested in for a while but Iāve never really tried to see them I look forward to your attempts!
Thank you! It sits on a bookshelf right next to my desk where I work so 
fingers crossed every time I refresh it that it does its job lol
So mote it be! I hope youāll keep us updated on how it works
Welcome to your first challenge! Youāre doing just fine ā I look forward to seeing your altar and tools
Congratulations on your journey! 
It sounds like you had an amazing time learning about Hecate and creating an altar to her. I wish you all the good blessings! May Hecateās torches light your way 
Thatās a tough question RedJoy I think that you being angry and also having the desire to heal the rift shows how much you want to heal for yourself, too. In my opinion, you might have more success healing yourself first before healing the rift in your family. Healing from whatever happened doesnāt mean you have to forgive the person (though we even have a forgiveness challenge lol) but it might help you alleviate some of that anger so you can move forward with a clear mind.
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Excellent Ashley69! That was a great, detailed informational Challenge. I have never heard of The Spirit-Rider* before. The picture is kind of creepy, with the eye in mouth.
The Serpent Power by Muata Ashby, Paperback | Barnes & NobleĀ® (barnesandnoble.com)
I came across this book and thought I might read it.
Again, great Weekly Witchy Challenge. Blessed Be,
Medea
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Happy Anniversary,
Medea
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