šŸ• Weekly Witchy CHALLENGE ~ Catch-Up!

I actually only have one challenge I can do for this catch upā€” Creative Crafting :hocho:ā€”and then Iā€™ll have all the badges! :exploding_head: Wow, what an accomplishment!

Just need to decide what to do. Maybe Iā€™ll do some drawing or some coloring.

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40 Weekly Witch Challenge ā€“ Catch up
Challenge entry. Garnet
040. All about altars. - reverent witch
It is my belief, that prehistorically, the ā€œaltarā€ came to be as a place to worship. I assume that they would find a special place to make their ā€˜altarsā€™. A lovely glen or a special tree, where they would commune with their gods.
In ancient times temples became a building or shelters.
I want to bring attention to some historical temples. To name them all would be a long writing, so Iā€™ll go by country and just the oldest known.

  • The oldest temple in the world so far is the Gbekli Tepe om S.E. Turkey. Built
    between 11,500-12,000 BCE In Egypt, temples abounded, from the
  • Temple of Hatshepsut. 1479 BCE Emense and elaborate, this is a beautiful
    Temple to Hathor
  • In Mesopotamia, temples were in most houses, and administrative centers.
    In modern-day Isreal, they had 'the Temple in Judaism, called Beit Hamikdash, and The first temple of Solomon 833 BCE
  • In Greece, temples were popular and frequent. To name a few, The temples to Demeter at Eleusis,530 B.C., the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, and the famous Parthenon to Athena, 550 BC. All contained altars, statues, and pictographs
  • In China, Temples werenā€™t always to the Devine, an example? The Confucian
    Temple in the city of Qufu. 478 BCE
  • India is famous for its Temples and buildings as is Indonesia. India has many temples that revere their gods.
  • Japan, Shinto temples honor spirits of the area
  • Rome boasted the Pantheon (113-125 CE) a temple to their gods. It was only
    preserved by Christians because they made it a church

Each of these temples contained an ā€˜Altarā€™.
This was a very short list of ancient temples.
My thanks to: Temple - World History Encyclopedia
So, Temples arenā€™t new, nor are places of worship to include Altars.
But, what is an altar?
A structure or flat surface where prayers, sacrifices, or some religious purpose.
They can be as elaborate as The Ghent Altarpiece, (Almost burned by Calvinists, it has been censored & stolen by Napoleon and Hitler, and in 1931, 1 part of the 12 was stolen and never recovered.) As simple as a pentagram, a colored candle, incense & cup. Or a mini travel Altar It is your choice. It is essentially your place of worship.

My current temple is a little fussy but so am I. It contains a mini chalice, and
Aladdin-type lamp (causeā€™ itā€™s cute). A mini Candleabra which holds birthday
candles. A statue of Gaia and a Cobalt bell & Star. This is devoted to Goddess.
Lots of small spheresā€¦
My 2nd altar is dedicated to Bast. I have a lovely statue of the Bastet with
wings on Her, Candles. A sphere stands with some pretty spheres on it. Itā€™s a
work in progress.
Thanks, Garnet

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140 Catch Up = this is # 11 - Books, Tomes, and Tales ](šŸ“– Weekly Witchy CHALLENGE- Books, Tomes, and Tales)
Challenge entry ā€“ Garnet

Books are so easily gotten on the internet. You can download both
free and purchased books. There are books and subjects that I shy away from.

Gerald Gardner.
After listening to several interviews on youtube I wasnā€™t too impressed by him or his detractors. Was Mr. Gardner excentric? Absolutely. He was also a person who exhibited behavior, that at the time was considered vulgar and done for impact value. He seemed rather obsessed with nudity. His hair was wild, standing on end. Just an odd individual. He seemed to enjoy looking sinister.
History of Modern Witchcraft | An Aussie Wytch's Book of Correspondencesmodern-witchcraft/

Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley was known by many names, 'the wickedest man in
the world, ā€ King of the Occultā€, and ā€œMaster Of Darkness.ā€ He was described as a man who was actually banned from Mussoliniā€™s Italy for acts of extreme depravity, and who also rubbed elbows with the most respected writers of the 20th century while penning textbooks on tantric sex magic.

Sylvia Browne
The late Sylvia Browne claimed to be a medium with psychic abilities. Iā€™ve read and or listened to many of her books and as with any prophecies, you take them with a grain of salt. Although she did foresee the Corona Virus in 2020. She was also the one who convinced me that if there was a God, How could there not be a Goddess? She was funny, you should watch one of her videos on youtube.

Deborah Blake
The Goddess Is in the Details, is a good book. Agreed with almost all
of the book. Would recommend it.
Blessed be
Garnet

140 - Catch up - 3rd entry ā€”

013 Foretelling the Future - Seer Apprentice
CHALLENGE ENTRY - GARNET
There are so many types of divination that I cannot name them
all.
Alphabetically?
Alectryomancy ā€“ divination through the study of birds, reptiles and insects.
Arachnomancy ā€“ Using spiders to foretell omens
Aeromancy ā€“ weather observation for divination.
Apantomancy ā€“ Chance encounters with animals. i.e. a black cat crossing your path.
Anthropomancy ā€“ the study of entrails
Cromniomancy - Fortune-telling with Onions
Belomancy ā€“ Divination with arrows. This one was new to me.
Throw 2 arrows into the air and make note of how they fell. The
position of the arrows would indicate a yes/no answer. Crossed
arrows meant no. They also used axes and swords. Not too different
from throwing a coin into the air and calling heads for yes and
tails for no.
Maculomancy ā€“ How about the divination of birthmarks? The study of
birthmarks and moles eventually spread into Europe. The
Gypsies were noted to use birthmarks along with their color, size, and placement.
I got it from an Encyclopedia Britannica dated 1960:
These were the most unusual and interesting ancient divination
practices. Today it would more likely be the use of Tarot, Scrying,
Smoke, pendulums Dousing, etc. would be used in divination. Sorry
Siofra, I forgot Runes!
I found this subject fascinating and informative.
Blessed be
Garnet

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decisions decisions and only 125 challenges to pick from lol

3 challenges to come

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Ooooo Iā€™m so excited got two already picked out :grimacing:

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echnologic & Modern Magick ā€“ Technomancer
challenge entry

I use tech more than I thought I did for my witch craft

  • I search online for spells, for details on spiritual meanings for herbs, animals, dreams
  • I follow fellow witches on youtube like @MeganB and @SilverBear
    -I keep track of my weekly challenges on google drive
    -I use apps for meditations
    -I use spells8 to connect with fellow witches and get some great ideas/advice
    -I use spells8 courses, albeit slowly, to keep learning
    -I use spells8 meditations and daily spells whenever I can

I canā€™t think of anything else right now.

Thanks!
Now I have to decide what other challenges to work on this week! Exciting!

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First
Weekly Witchy Challenge ~ Catch-up!

I do enjoy my gardens. I recently transformed a pile of old firewood into a future garden. By adding a few tons of compost over the old wood and then mulching it, the old wood over time will add fertility and cut
down on the need to irrigate the bed. The flowers will add beauty and the herbs will make medicine and increase interest in otherwise bland cooking. To our Great Mother owe everything. This challenge hopefully shows that commitment.

The new garden

Today I planted 3 large colocasia bulbs grow into beautiful 5 foot elephant ears.

I look forward to them.
Planted Rosemary by the path so it passes on its beautiful scent as I walk to my back door. Opens the mind as well as being anti-microbial and anti- inflammatory
Oregano- besides being delicious it can be a wonderful ant-biotic
Basil, Sweet- Anti bacterial and a culinary delight
Basil, Tulsi or Holy for its spiritual component

Many other herbs and ā€œweedsā€ abound in other gardens. Horseradish, rhubarb, sage, mints, sweet annie, etc.

The pantry is near overflowing with dried herbs and tinctures

All that I do in my gardens is with the Great Mother in mind. Making my own compost, keeping the ground covered in mulch. adding to fertility, supporting pollinators, not using poisons and appreciating the beauty and diversity that abounds.

Stay tuned for Challenge #2

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Second

Seems my phone doesnā€™t want to download pics today, so Iā€™ll just tell a story and hope it passes the challenge

I used to meditate A LOT a few years ago, but it seemed that Ritual was over taking Practice. Other things were happening also so I stopped for a long time. But while I was meditating I learned a great deal. The akashic library is open to all that work to seek it and it holds more knowledge than I could ever learn. Meditation was my favorite place to be.

While doing past life regression I travelled back to a few lives. One of the more interesting:

As I flew over a pristine area with ancient trees and fields, I looked down and saw people running.
Realizing I was not human, as I was flying, I saw terror in the peoples eyes, it became obvious they were prey. It scared me to see the others. If these were dragonsā€¦they were truly awful to behold. From another dimension, Not demonic just not of the same form as 3 dimensional beings.

I donā€™t see Dragons the way most people do. It is said by some that reptilians had some sway in human evolution and others had played with our genetics and sentience. It is believed by some that humans were food until that happened.

I was born a Black Water Dragon on the transition of the years 1952-53 in January. A wood person with a water personality according to Chinese and Feng Shui. Dragons always intrigued me, both as a child and whatever I am now. lol When my phone starts acting right I will add some pics of my dragon collection. Until then

and stay tuned for episode 3

Love and Light

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@CelestiaMoon By the power of love, friendship, and the divine- yeet that virus right out of your body! :raised_hands: :laughing: :heart: Being sick can drain a lot of our energy and focus, but it sounds like you powered through and were able to gather what you needed to work the magick- itā€™s a really beautiful experience, Celestia, and Iā€™m so happy that it helped you to heal! :heartpulse: :blush:

@Amethyst In some ways, I suppose sorting through what badges you have/donā€™t have could be considered part of the challenge! :wink:

@lisa67 The elemental challenges are a great series to jump into- and it sounds like you already have some ideas in mind! Silverbear has some amazing recipes- if you decide to give them a try this week, I hope you have fun! :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

@Medea Youā€™ve got this, Medea! Iā€™m excited to hear about your spellwork this week. Good luck and have fun! :heart:

@Artemisia Thatā€™s what Iā€™m saying! :laughing: :+1: Seems wild that weā€™re already at challenge #140- where does the time go? Iā€™m excited to see what challenges you pick out this week- good luck and blessed spellwork, Artemisia! :heartpulse:

@MeganB Oh! That is such a creative use of sigils- may it continue to work well and draw all those with an interest in magick to your lovely channel :blush: Also, I saw your entry for the Veil Between the Worlds in the separate discussion- once again, great work on your entries, Megan- they are always a delight to read! :clap::blush:

@stavroula It has arrived! :grinning: Hahaha I canā€™t wait to see which challenges you jump into this week, Stavroula- good luck and have fun! :star2:

@Kasandra The final challenge- you are amazing, Kasandra! :partying_face: That is a very impressive feat to have done them all. Congrats in advance to you! :heart:

@Garnet I love your enthusiasm for the challenges, Garnet- you always manage to make such great entries and so fast too! And you know I appreciate your wisdom and research on different cultures and places around the world :world_map: :blush: Thank you for sharing about altars and your altars in partciular- they sound lovely! Youā€™ve got some lovely magickal book recommendations and research on divination as well- thank you so much for sharing them! Every time I hear about new forms of divination itā€™s fascinating- there really are so many out there! :crystal_ball: :star_struck:

@Shadeweaver Decisions, decisions indeed! :wink: Youā€™re already off to a wonderful start- Green & Herbal Magick and Dragon Magick are both great topics to jump into! I can tell that you put heart and soul into your garden- it sounds like youā€™ve designed a really thoughtful space with plants that are going to be a boon for your practice :herb::blush: I always love to hear about past life experiences and I have to admit that the thought of being a dragon in another time and world is an exciting one (although the fear and terror not so much) :dragon_face: Thank you for sharing about your lovely garden work and draconic experiences- they were very interesting to read! :raised_hands:

@brandy20 Hooray! Wishing you all the best with your magick this week, Brandy- good luck and have fun! :sparkles:

@Phoenix_Rose It looks like youā€™ve found many creative ways to weave technology into your magickal practice, Phoenix Rose! Thank you for sharing about your techno magick methods- nice work! :grinning:

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Iā€™ll be back to reply to the amazing entries already!

I do know that I have Magick Inks & Oils to do & Interdisciplinary Magick & I believe the Fortune Tellers Gameā€¦ busy, busy, busy :rofl:

I have to pop out right now, but Iā€™ll be baxk in a bit to chexk out otherā€™s entries & see what I can come up with :hugs:

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Too right! Iā€™m hoping I left a hint in my bookmarks. LOL!

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CHALLENGE ENTRY

This week, I have decided to undertake the STAR MAGICK CHALLENGE. I have gone down a slightly different route, missing out the Astrology route as I earned that badge in a different challenge and wanted to try something else.

Some of you know that I work with Egyptian deities, mainly the Abydos Triad of Osiris, Isis and Horus. from previous reading, I had heard that Isis was linked to Sirius, the brightest star in the sky and I wanted to find out about its significance. I carried out my research and wanted to share my findings with you.

The star we call Sirius was known to the Egyptians. in fact, it had a really important role within their calendar. Known as Sopdet, the emergence of this star in the pre dawn sky marked two things: the beginning of the New Year and the beginning of the annual Nile Flooding. Therefore, the star was known as The Opener of the Year and The Fair Star of Water to the Egyptians. Interestingly, although the Egyptian New Year began in August/September, Sirius can help bring in the traditional western new year too as it reaches its highest point in the night sky at around midnight on December 31st each year.

Two days before the appearance of Sopbet is also considered to be the birth date of Isis. The star is visible for most of the year but disappears for around 70days of the year. Using an online calculator, I discovered that Sirius will disappear in the sky where I live on April 21st and will return on September 5th. This period of waiting is a good time for building relationships with and honouring your mother or a mother figure as it represents the time when Isis was in the womb of her mother, Nuut. This is not something I have yet done as my spiritual journey only steered towards ancient Egypt after this time last year. It is definitely something I will undertake this year though.

The constellation to the right of the star was known to the Egyptians as Sah. We call it Orion but it had significance to the Egyptians as it represented Osiris. Orion rises before Sopdet so it became representative of Osirisā€™ floating in the Nile while Isis (Sopdet) appears later, chasing the constellation as she looks for her husbands body. it is also interesting to note that when Sah (Orion) appears on the horizon, it is lying sideward. It becomes more upright as it rises and after the appearance of Sopbet. It is almost representative of Isis pushing Osiris upright as she resurrects him after his murder at the hands of Set. I used my star app today to show how this pans out in my local area Osiris will be upright with Isis following after 8pm local time.


Orion (Sah) appeared after 10am this morning


Gradually rising as the day went on


Tonight both will be visible as Sah stands upright with Sopdet behind

I also previously took this photograph which shows the star and constellation together from my back garden.

While Sopdet is visible, it may be the perfect time for me to Simply go outside and send a prayer or offering to Isis as she shines back at you or simply just enjoy her presence.

Finally, I discovered the idea of wing joined with your own star using a guided meditation which envokes Isis. I havenā€™t tried this yet but intend to at some point during the week, this links to this idea and the meditation are below.

I have found it fascinating reading all about this and it gives me yet something else to add to my practice, as now when am working with my deity, I can see her soul shining brightly above me (if the Scottish weather behaves!)

Blessed be

Alan

Sources
Isis and Sirius Rising
Itā€™s Time to Get Sirius about Isis
Joining with Your Star
Star Joining Ritual

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Bry!!! So funny, that made me snort-laugh! :rofl:

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All yeetā€™d out now, made that little virus taste the rainbow! :laughing: :sparkling_heart: :rainbow:

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@Susurrus Ohhhh all exciting choices! :star_struck:

@Amethyst Bookmarks to the rescue! :grinning:

@Cosmic_Curiosity Itā€™s always amazing to see the importance of astrology and the stars in peopleā€™s lives in ancient times- and even more neat to see the ways the cosmos continues to affect our lives and calendars today! :spiral_calendar: :sparkles: Thatā€™s an awesome constellation app- I really like the pictures it has for each of the constellations :dog2: :two_hearts: Wishing you all the best with any prayers or meditations you choose to do (and may the Scottish weather be kind to you!)- thank you for this lovely entry! :star2:

@Artemisia Hahaha if it made you laugh, thatā€™s a win in my book! :blush: Always happy to share chuckle :wink::two_hearts:

@CelestiaMoon Ha! Itā€™s my turn to snort-laugh- omg Celestia :rainbow: :joy: :+1: :two_hearts:

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Symbols & Sigils
Number 1 CHALLENGE ENTRY
Angels and elements


Archangel Michael element of Fire warrior

Archangel Raphael element of Air therapist

Archangel Gabriel element Water Creative

Archangel Uriel element Earth Guardian and Patron of Magic

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Thrifty Witchcraft!

Number2 CHALLENGE ENTRY
Magic with what we have at home
I bought Plants to have them whenever I need them very small plants that I put in bigger pots Now I have my own herbs


Sage for cleansing

thyme for Luck

Lavender for Love

Mint for money

Parsley for abundance

Vasiliko for prosperity
Now for my spells I have my basic Plants!

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Tools of the Witch Trade Number3 CHALLENGE ENTRY
My tools in my Craft


My sword when I want to open a big circle

My Athames when I have smaller work only on my altar


Rocks and candles

Bowl for burning incense

Bell to start and end a ceremony

Shells

chalice for offering


and cauldron essential

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Weekly Challenge Catch Up
All about Altars

I have been meaning to make a travel altar for a while and I finally got it done.



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I donā€™t know if this is a Noooooo or a Yes Yes Yes.
I always look forward to catch up weeks. For one itā€™s a quick way to hopefully spark my memory and itā€™s really fun.
Buuuutā€¦
Iā€™ve been so blah that I forgot about challenges and only just came back on. And Iā€™ve gone from not having my 7 month old granddaughter since February to now having her all day.
Ugh

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