🕓 Weekly Witchy CHALLENGE ~ Catch-Up!

Sivonnah · January 28, 2024, 2:48pm

CHALLENGE ENTRY #3 Handcrafting

At least some of you know I’m a crafter! I love painting, although I’m not much of a freehand painter, I’d say I have a gift. My husband says I “bring life” to what I paint. Art, in general, has always been magickal to me. My mom loved to paint and create things. My dad did a lot of leather crafting when I was younger. He carved The Last Supper into a piece of leather. He was so meticulous and detailed in his craft, it was reflected in this piece as he even carved their toenails and fingernails!
Currently my dad and brother make cigar box guitars of very fine quality. They get orders from around the country. My brother is quite crafty with creating art using technology. My dad also makes bottles stoppers, bowls and candle holders out of wood on the lathe. My husband is pretty crafty as well. We work in tandem to create. He cuts items out of wood and I paint them. He developed his own technique for cutting. As you can see crafting has been part of my life for a long time.
Enough bragging …

Why did I find art magickal? I couldn’t understand how people could create such beautiful things from their imagination. I found it in paintings, architecture, sculptures, etc… Also, painting and crafting has always brought me joy, as well as serenity and calmness. Very therapeutic!

How do I incorporate magick in my art today? I use correspondences and mindfulness. I use correspondences in regards to the season, colors, incense, flowers, etc…
I practice mindfulness by appreciating where the wood came from. It’s smell, it’s feel, how it looks. I appreciate the colors and how they were made and the people that made them. I frequently use flowers and animals so I visualize those to select colors and paint technique. I think about the feelings these things evoke.
So here’s some of my magickal handcrafted art!

Artemisia · January 28, 2024, 2:56pm

Challenge Entry #2 - Reading Auras

Reading auras has never been in my practice nor a skill that I have had. But I thought I’d try it out for this challenge.

I wasn’t sure where to start to learn how to see auras but after an online search I picked this video to start

I started the first exercise last night but felt I was too tired to really concentrate so I tried again this morning. Holy heck!!! I was able to see a blue aura around my hand. I was blown away!

Blue
Those with blue auras are emotionally sensitive and are self-expressive. They may be shy in letting their innermost feelings be known, which means you should listen when they do speak. Source

If You Have A Blue Aura, You’ve Probably Been Called An Empath Once Or Twice
Because of how empathetic you are, you’re highly susceptible to accidentally taking on other people’s energies, especially out in public and in large crowds. “Blue’s natural state is to be calm, serene, and in its essence,” explains Hill. “But if they go out into the world and they’re not spiritually protected, they will be bombarded with [other aura colors].”
source

Boy is this spot on.

I’m still practicing on the second exercise with trees. It’s a work in progress!

Ostara · January 28, 2024, 3:52pm

You’ve done a beautiful job! I wish I had talent. Lol!

Ostara · January 28, 2024, 3:53pm

I’m going to try this out. Thanks for sharing!

Artemisia · January 28, 2024, 4:16pm

Challenge Entry #3 - History of Magick

I have to admit this one is harder for me to do than the other entries. While I love to research and compile information in my pursuit of knowledge, it’s been yeeeeeeeears since I’ve routinely written a research paper. That skill has left the building

I chose to informally write about Robert Graves and his impact on Magick.

Robert Graves (1895–1985), a prominent British poet, novelist, and scholar, played a noteworthy role in influencing modern witchcraft. Born on July 24, 1895, in Wimbledon, London, Graves came from a literary and artistic family background.

Published in 1948 “The White Goddess” explored Graves’s theories on mythology, goddess worship, and the poetic inspiration drawn from the feminine divine. Despite its controversial nature and lack of historical grounding, Graves’s poetic and symbolic reinterpretations, particularly the Celtic Tree Calendar, gained traction within some magickal circles.

Celtic Tree Calendar: Graves popularized a version of the Celtic Tree Calendar in “The White Goddess,” associating each lunar month with a specific tree, Ogham symbol, and poetic meaning. While his interpretation is more imaginative than historically based it has been influential.

Triple Goddess Concept: Although not originating from Graves, he contributed to the popularization of the Triple Goddess concept – maiden, mother, and crone – which has become a significant archetype in Wiccan and magickal traditions.

While I have personally struggled with trying to reconcile that there are recent additions to the much older historical practice of magick, I am becoming more comfortable acknowledging and accepting Robert Graves’s lyrical reinterpretations and esoteric insights into my practice.

AIRAM · January 28, 2024, 5:13pm

CHALLENGE ENTRY
finding your magickal name

https://animagia.gr/2022/08/11/μάγισσες-της-σμύρνης-λίγα-λόγια-για-τη/
I got my magical name from the Witches of Smyrna, an excellent Greek series
From the fortune-teller Maria who, when she acquired the gift of fortune-telling from the great Mystria of the Attartis series, named her Airram
is the reading of the name Maria backwards from the end to the beginning

starborn · January 28, 2024, 6:24pm

Challenge entry #1 – Dream Magick

I’ve done the Eurynomous ritual described by Tracy here:

https://forum.spells8.com/t/dead-and-breakfast-virtual-witch-bar-cafe-alcohol/47058

And so, I would like to take this moment to talk about my dreams a little. The magick itself is contained in the above post.

As for my experiences…

I did this one with my partner. We have a little shelf where I’ve put some auspicious items and we are collecting ancestral items there as well. In front of it, I had placed a long cushion meant for making benches more comfortable to sit on and that is where we sat for this.

Following this ritual, my dreams have been… It’s hard to me to talk about them because I feel that the small details are important, but they don’t really mean anything unless I give a book load of backstory.

But I can that that it feels as though I’m going through a journey of what has been and what could have been. I’ve seen these lives in different contexts, with similar people or even the same people. I can feel the build-up before making decisions that have a great impact on myself or those around me, and I can feel the weight of those choices as I enact them.

Whether these experiences are merely dreams or glimpses into past/future lives, I can’t say. But they resonate deeply. As though my soul is going on a journey through another life and coming back with lessons learnt.

And so, I shall continue to dream. Dream the dreams of infinite potential trapped in an insignificant glass vessel, bounding through the universe with but a glimpse of the totality that exists beyond.

starborn · January 28, 2024, 8:12pm

Challenge entry #2 – Witch Brews & Potions

I would like to share two combinations that I have been using over the past year. Both of these are for working with the crown and third-eye chakras. These blends are designed for spiritual connectivity and nurturing a deeper connection with the higher self.

Hair Oil

The first is a topical oil that is designed to help with hair growth and tapping into psychic abilities. The idea is that hair acts like a bunch of tiny antennas, picking up and sending out subtle energy. This oil combines various plant-based ingredients and oils to connect hair and mind with a kind of light energy.

This energy is special because it can move through anything, carrying energy, info, and even consciousness between different places. This is believed to be a key factor in how telepathy works.

180 ml (approximately 3/4 cup) unrefined coconut oil
180 ml (approximately 3/4 cup) cold-pressed olive oil or another carrier oil of your choice
180 ml (approximately 3/4 cup) castor oil
15 ml (1 tablespoon) cold-pressed neem oil (this is optional)
118 ml (1/2 cup) ground fenugreek seeds (also optional)
45 ml (3 tablespoons) henna powder
45 ml (3 tablespoons) amla powder
5-20 ml (1-4 teaspoons) MSM powder (optional)
7-10 drops of rosemary oil
7-10 drops of peppermint oil
7-10 drops of lavender oil
7-10 drops of tea tree oil

Massage this oil into your hair roots weekly, focusing on the scalp, to stimulate the crown chakra and enhance hair health.

Bath Ointment

This blend serves as a luxurious bath or massage ointment, incorporating dried herbs and flowers, each selected for their spiritual and therapeutic properties.

240 ml (1 cup) sunflower seed oil
30 g (2 tablespoons) beeswax
15 g (1 tablespoon) dried European mandrake root
15 g (1 tablespoon) dried mugwort
15 g (1 tablespoon) dried blue lotus flowers
15 g (1 tablespoon) dried pomegranate flowers
15 g (1 tablespoon) dried rose flowers
15 g (1 tablespoon) dried lavender flowers

Here, you can substitute dried ingredients with their oil equivalents where possible for a more concentrated blend. (I do, where I can.)

It is ideal as a massage oil or added directly to bathwater for a spiritually enriching experience.

Preparation methods

Infusion Method: Combine ingredients and allow them to infuse for several weeks. This method is particularly effective for the hair oil blend.

Heating Method: Gently boil the ingredients for a few hours, then strain the mixture into a jar. This faster method is suitable for both blends.

Either way you go, keep your homemade blends in a cool, dark place to preserve their potency.

Safety Reminder: Always conduct a patch test before using new skin products, particularly when using potent ingredients like European mandrake root. These blends are for external use only.

Ostara · January 28, 2024, 9:02pm

I decided to put the fairy garden in my herb garden for now. Fairy’s love Thyme and Rosemary and (thank the gods and tarps) mine are doing good through this winter. There are these crazy looking mushrooms growing from all the rain last week. They look kind of alien. I have been trying all day to get a decent pic, but the sun is in the wrong place. So here is one of the not so decent pics. This is the temporary winter home.

Ostara · January 28, 2024, 9:04pm

I just realized there is a kitty sleeping in the background. I didn’t see it when I took the pic. Lol!

brandy20 · January 28, 2024, 9:29pm

Challenge Entry: Deities & Deity worship; #1
I have been working with Persephone Goddess of Spring and Goddess of the Underworld! We have done meditation and our favorite way to communicate is tarot! I have also made some Persephone oil to anoint a candle when I talk with her. She is helping me find my voice and to stand up for myself instead of backing down and just doing what others ask of me to keep the peace! Her presence to me feels comforting and safe but also like it’s time to get my message through that hard head of yours . My first meditation with her I got very emotional and cried but I felt so much better afterwards. She definitely holds a special place in my heart!

Challenge Entry: #2 Finding your Witchy Talent;
So for this one I make my own intention candles, wax melts and bath salts! I have been making candles for a year and had my own small business but had to shut it down for a little while because of life! I just made my own ritual candle for Persephone, my most popular among my customers is the Positive Energy candle, and I have had positive feed back that the candle helps rid the negative ugh feelings out of their homes! I do enjoy using the craft to help others!

Challenge Entry: #3 Peering into Past Lives
I did the three links on past lives that were listed and here’s the results.

Slate’s Reincarnation Machine- Cozy PowellColin Flooks (29 December 1947 - 5 April 1998), better known as Cozy Powell, was an English rock drummer, who made his name with many major rock bands like The Jeff Beck Group, Rainbow, Whitesnake and Black Sabbath. More from Wikipedia Victor Emmanuel ||I (Italian: Vittorio Emanuele III; 11 November 1869 - 28December 1947) was King of Italy (29 July1900 - 9 May 1946). In addition, he claimed the thrones of Ethiopia and Albania as Emperor of Ethiopia (1936-41) and King of the Albanians (1939-43), which were unrecognised by the great powers. During his long reign (46 years), which began after the assassination of his father Umberto I, the Kingdom of Italy became involved in two World Wars. His reign also encompassed the … More from Wikipedia » Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (February 8,1591 - December 22, 1666), best known as Guercino or Il Guercino [gwertfino], was an Italian Baroque painter and draftsman from the region of Emilia, and active in Rome and Bologna. The vigorous naturalism of his early manner is in contrast to the classical equilibrium of his later works. His many drawings are noted for their luminosity and lively style. More from Wikipedia » Anna Sophia of Prussia (11 June 1527 in Königsberg - 6 February 1591 in Lübz) was a German noblewoman. She was a duchess in Prussia by birth and by marriage Duchess of Mecklenburg. More from Wikipedia Ashikaga Yoshimasa （足利義政，January 20，1436 - January 27, 1490) was the 8th shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate who reigned from 1449 to 1473 during the Muromachi period of Japan. Yoshimasa was the son of the sixth shogun Ashikaga Yoshinori. On the August 16, 1443 (Kakitsu 3, 21st day of the 7th month), 10-year-old shogun Yoshikatsu died of injuries sustained in a fall from a horse. He had been shogun for only three years. Immediately, the bakufu elevated Yoshinari, the young shogun’s even younger … More from Wikipedia »
Past life Calculator- WHO YOU WERE IN THE LAST LIFE:You were a male in your previous birth. You were born somewhere in Australia. Your family had connection with Government people.WHAT YOU DID IN THE LAST LIFE:You were living nearby a forest. You were involved in cutting the woods in your previous life. You had cut off many trees in your life time and out of that you earned a lot of money. The sins committed by you in your past life will have their own effects on your present birth. Either yourself or one your children will have severe health problems in this life. There will be problems from Government and you are liable to lose money.
Past Life Regression Test- Your answers to this test indicate that your most important past life lesson is learning how to be more grounded. You might be feeling unsafe, insecure, unbalanced or unstable in your life right now as a result of your present or past life experiences. However, once you learn now to be more grounded, you will feel more centered, stable and secure.
Here are some tips:

Connect with the energy of the earth.
Go for regular walks, strolls or jogs.
Walk with bare feet on a patch of grass.
Sit underneath a tree with your back to the trunk.
Get enough vitamin D by spending time in the sun each day.
Consciously spend time with other people. Put down your phone, laptop, book or other distraction and allow yourself to experience the joy 74 of being with another human being. Wear red colors (the vibration of this color is linked with the root chakra).
Visualize a red stream of light extending from your legs and feet deep into the earth.
Dance.
I also done the Lunar Nodes and that one was very interesting. You’ve spent many lifetimes tending to your spirituality, which shines through your South Node in Pisces. This means you’re naturally gifted when it comes to strengthening your intuition and refining your connection to source. Chances are, you’ve spend many lifetimes as a religious monk or maybe even a priestess for an ancient goddess. You have no problem being on your own, because you know that meditating in solitude is the fastest way to connect with your higher self. You may have been a mystic, a Tarot card reader or a healer.
You could also have been an artist who used creative mediums to explore the outer realms and express your imagination.
However, in this life, you’re meant to become more present in the current moment. Instead of dreaming of distant realms and faraway lands, your South Node in Virgo wants you to refine your connection with the material realm by doing something that requires focus, diligence and a more organized and strategic routine.

starborn · January 28, 2024, 10:06pm

Challenge entry #3 – Lunisolar Calendar and Chinese New Year

This was a bit long, so I posted it over here:

MeganB · January 29, 2024, 12:32am

I wasn’t sure which direction to take this challenge. I don’t work with the fae or fairies at all - I keep a respectful distance Anyway, I grabbed one of my books that I haven’t read yet on Fairies and wanted to share some information with you! This book is Fairies: A Guide to the Celtic Fair Folk by Morgan Daimler.

This passage reminds me of the conversation we were having about familiars where @john1 mentioned that someone could have a fairy as a familiar! If you have this book, this passage is on page 161.

The familiar spirit, often simply called the familiar, is one of the most well known companions of the classical witch. When most people think of the traditional witch’s familiar they automatically imagine a demonic one; However, there is a long history of fairies taking the role of the familiar spirit with some witches in Europe, just as some witches met not with the Devil, but with the Queen of Elfland. In these cases the fairies seem to have been less like servitors, as some classic familiars may appear, and more like advisers who aid the witch by giving them knowledge and acting as a go-between for them with the world of Fairy.

…

In Eastern Europe there was a concept of witches or healing women having either good or evil spirits who aided them. In some views what differentiated the familiar as either a fairy or a demon, as either a ‘good’ spirit or an ‘evil’ one, was the actions of the human being and the use they put the knowledge they gained from the spirit. This reflects a deep-seated conflation of Elves, fairies, and demons that existed, particularly in England, and shows a striking similarity in the supernatural afflictions caused by and magical cures used against both groups. This gives us not only a blurry line between fairies and demons as familiars, but also shows us that there was truly no hard and fast line nor rigid definition separating the two types of spirits in common understanding.

This section is super long and has a lot more information in it than I can quote here, but it’s very interesting to me how fairies have been associated with witches and familiars – I learned something new because I had never heard of this before!

MeganB · January 29, 2024, 12:40am

I’ve always found spirit flight and hedge riding very difficult. It’s one of those skills that requires quiet and concentration, both things that are lacking in my house I’ve done it a few times, but it’s never been easy. I find dream walking easier, though I’m not sure if that counts as hedge riding… who knows! Anway, I wanted to give you a recommendation for hedge magick and spirit flight if you’re looking to learn different techniques. It’s titled A Broom at Midnight: 13 Gates of Witchcraft by Spirit Flight by Roger J. Horne!

Each chapter, each gate, is a different technique for spirit flight that the author shares. It’s got a lot of information for anyone looking to venture into spirit flight and crossing the hedge! I thought I had done a book review on it but I must not have. If I find it, I’ll link it here, too.

john1 · January 29, 2024, 12:42am

What I believe about familiars is they’re just the spirit even if you’re familiars physical vessel passes away you’re familiar spirit will stay with you until there next vessel to go inside of

MeganB · January 29, 2024, 12:46am

A very simple yet effective method of magic and spellwriting involves a pen and a piece of paper - that’s all you need! Take your paper and write down what you want. Really think about it - get detailed and put your energy into the writing. Then, carry this paper around with you somewhere it won’t get lost. A wallet works really well - bonus points if your manifestation involves money it reminds me of writing lines when we would get in trouble at school. If you write it enough times, you start to believe it. When you start to believe it, the doors of possibility open to you. When that happens, anything is possible!

Artemisia · January 29, 2024, 1:01am

Awwww how cute, I see the grey kitty now that you mentioned it!

Love your fairy garden, it’s so cute!

Ostara · January 29, 2024, 1:07am

I showed it to my husband and said do you see anything? He didn’t see the cat until I pointed it out. Lol! I didn’t see the cat when I took the pic!

Ostara · January 29, 2024, 1:10am

I love that Megan. It’s so true! It’s just that simple.

Artemisia · January 29, 2024, 1:10am

I bookmarked this one, seems like a good one to have on hand! Thank you for sharing it.