🦄 Weekly Witchy CHALLENGE - The Bestiary

[marsha]

Weekly Witch Challenge - The Bestiary

For my entry this week, I’ve chosen Nature Sprites

Cosy by Tamarar

What is a Sprite?

The word sprite is used as a broad term for elf-like creatures, elementals of the air, spiritual beings like ghosts, and any creature that is sprightly. ~ Mythology: Sprites

These little critters go by many names and they are an adorable addition to any home. Whether they are called Hobs (England), Zashiki-Warashi (Japan), or Haltija (Finland), these sprites concern themselves with the welfare of the families they adopt. They need to be respected and nurtured even though they are rarely seen. ~ How Household Sprites help Humans

How Sprites Manifest:
Why do some of Wee Folk seem to be able to manifest themselves at will in physical form while others cannot?

Clearly, some Sprites seem to be without material substance, while others seem to have physical bodies – at least part of the time. Others yet seem to be immaterial, but dependent on the physical universe for energy. One thing all Wee Folk have in common is the ability to communicate by projecting ideas telepathically. This means they can make ideas appear in the minds of others.

1. Some sprites are entirely spiritual and independent of the physical universe. They include Devas, Angels, and others. From the point of view of physical science, I have no idea how this works, but it nevertheless seems to be the case. (Yes, I realize I used the word, “seems.”)

2. Some sprites are spiritual but derive at least some of their energy from the physical universe. These sprites use transfers of physical energy to power their intelligence and actions. The great majority of Wee Folk I have recognized as such are of this type.

3. Some sprites are aware of being spiritual but are manifest in physical bodies. All Fairies and Elves can do this, though most, I am told, do not. Gnomes or other Elementals do it by habit, living in such inanimate bodies as rocks, clouds, and streams. Among Shape Shifters it is the rule.

~ American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Wee Folk

Here’s my story:

Once upon a time, I lived in a house with shadows with my children and my cats. I saw my cat chasing a sparkly light up the stairs and the lights would flicker as it passed by. I wondered what it was as it continued to happen. One day, I heard the word “Sprite” and I thought what’s a Sprite? But I also knew in my heart that’s what it was. I was afraid at first but realized it was playful and had no bad intentions. My feeling was that it had followed my daughter home from rafting in a stream close to us. When the time came for us to move, I wondered if our friendly Sprite would go with us, but sadly it did not! And even though we missed our Sprite, we all lived happily ever after.

I know I wrote this as a fairy tale, but it is true and actually happened. As I did the research for this challenge, I learned that “Wee Folk” communicate telepathically, which is exactly what happened.

[melinda6]

love that series!!!so good!

[BryWisteria]

@Susurrus A ring of flowers! I wonder if a ring of flowers functions that same as a ring of mushrooms aka a Fairy Ring? Definitely worth exploring- let us know what you discover!

@Jessica72 Your entry is amazing- it gave me quite the laugh, especially about the vegemite Drop bears!?! How have a never heard of drop bears before!?! What a fun (albeit also terrifyingly cute) mythological creature to have Also that list of Australian mythical creatures is a gold mine- the Hooroo!?!? Absolutely wild- I love it! Thank you so much for sharing!

Wishing a happy birthday to your dad, Jessica- may you and your mum have a meaningful time honoring his memory. Going to the zoo and enjoying happy memories sounds like a great way to spend the anniversary And wishing you all the best with your spirit communication too- I hope you can find out the identity of your visitor!

@Phoenix_Fire I can’t say I’m a fan of eating vegemite, and I don’t know if I’d be happy with putting it behind my ears either- sticky gooey messy oh my! But that’s a good point about the color- black is indeed used in magick for protection!

@Ostara So glad you think so! It was certainly a fun theme to write up- so many possibilities when it comes to mythological creatures!

@TheMuslimWitch Gorgeous book and cards- what a great find, and perfect for the challenge! As for angels and demons, demons were mentioned in the intro but I think you’re right that angels would also be a very good area to pursue for this challenge- angels and demons both have strong followings in magickal and spiritual practices I don’t currently work with either in my practice, but there are many Angel discussions in the forum (as well as Demon discussions too) with more info as well as related rituals- I recommend taking a peek and seeing if anything resonates with you!

Here are two that jumped right out:

• Do Angels have a place in Wicca?
• Demonology: What are Demons?

@Amethyst I’m sure there are some who may disagree about putting cryptids in the same category as mythological creatures, but I would definitely consider cryptids to count towards the challenge! Things like the Loch Ness Monster and Wendigos cause a lot of debate about are they real? Are they fake? But whether or not they do actually exist physically in this world, they certainly have a place in the hearts of many people!

Is there any cryptid in particular you are interested in, Ameythyst?

@Jem1 Hooray, Jem- looking forward to seeing what you’ll do!

@Kasandra While living in Japan, I heard that as foxes grow older and gain experience they gain more and more tails- a Nine-Tailed Fox is supposed to be the oldest and wisest (not to mention the most powerful) of all the foxes I’ve never seen an official statement on what kitsune would mean in magick, but my best guess would be things that deal with illusion, increase, secrecy. Also, on a darker side, trickery and deception In Shinto, they are the messengers of the Goddess Inari, a deity of rice, harvest, and sometimes trade

Lots of exciting possibilities there! Good luck and have fun with your exploration of kitsune, Kasandra

@Garnet Lions and tigers and dragons oh my indeed, Garnet! I am loving your enthusiasm- and don’t sell yourself short, my friend- you are wonderful and imaginative yourself! I am loving your entry- so many exciting creatures, thank you so much sharing! We were actually just at a restaurant called “The Sphinx” yesterday, but alas- it was just the name. No sphinxes to be seen, unfortunately First I’ve hear of the Aqrabuamelu scorpion man, very interesting! Great work here, thanks so much for sharing!

@Martje Hooray! Loving your enthusiasm and passion, Martje- I’m really looking forward to seeing what creature(s) you’ll choose for the challenge. May I ask if there are any special folktales/magickal creatures in the Netherlands that you like? I don’t know much about folklore in the region, but I always love to learn!

@Rachel21 Yay! So glad you enjoy the theme, Rachel- and same here!

@Marsha You’re amazing for slaying those dream demons, Marsha- may they leave you be and let you sleep in peace! I loved learning about Nature Sprites from your entry- and that picture!? Something about it makes me want to cry from happiness- it’s just so cozy and welcoming and perfect- I want to snuggle up with a big kitten by the warm fire too It sounds like your sprite is a blessing in your home. I hope that, when and if the time is right, another friendly sprite comes to make you smile again someday Beautiful story- thank you so much for sharing, Marsha!

[martje]

I am not really familiar with the Dutch folklore I must confess. We have the white wieven ( dialect for woman) in the northern part. I looked for some information.
They are floating lights and mists. They dance in the area of berk trees or in swamps and heather fields . They live nearby the hunnenbedden. In English they are called the white ladies. The white ladies can help you like faeries, but they can also sabotage you, specially when you don’t leave them in peace. You can favor them by leaving pancakes, cake , cookies or ale.

Hunnenbedden are prehistoric grave yards. This is me there a few years back.

[martje]

This is my entry
Years ago I read this book. When I read about this challenge I had to think about a practice from this book, I did then, and this gave me fun, but also a lot of insight about where I stood in my life.
It s about casting a circle and visualize all possible magical creatures in every direction. So one for each direction. You call them to you.
I did this again, and the images came fast. I began to communicate with them.

In the East came an orange dragon. For the element of air. He helps me to distance myself from strong emotions to get a broader perspective and an overview. He took me up on a very high mountain

In the south an old fashion witch, in black with a broom and a cauldron for the element of fire. She helps me to look my fears in the eye so they can transform and I can empower myself.
I had to stir in the cauldron and it was a copper liquid substance. Because copper is a good conductor. She asked me what I wanted to achieve and I said self confidence. And within a short period of time the copper got into sunlight, a bright yellow color. From the cauldron white birds flew into the sky.

In the west I saw a transparant thin and airy creature. Female. I had to use my hands to also feel the energy to see her. There was a blue, green energy. She said that she comes with images and feeling, not so much with words.
And then several images came to me.
Images of hyroglyfen, Egypt.
Then a Swan in a still lake
And then a lovely beautiful woman with a lot of ribbons, swirling around her.

In the north a gnome.
He was spitting the ground to make my ground ready and fruitful. So sometimes things have to shake up a bit to make better things to come.
This creature is also working with images but they are very clear and immediately understandable
I Also saw him with a wheelbarrow and the meaning of that was that I sometimes need help and I do have to accept that and ask for it.
The last image was of him building a wall. I felt resistent but he said, if you want to manifest you have to build with blocks. Concrete actions.

This was it
I am going to read this book again. I think I will get other things out of it now. This book is ofcourse in English and there is a lot of symbolism out of fairytales , magical creatures, and this book can help you to get insights for your inner yourney

[Amethyst]

@BryWisteria

Is there any cryptid in particular you are interested in, Amethyst?

Either Moth Man or Sheepsquacht, both of which are West Virginia cryptids. I used to watch that Mountain Monsters with the AIM team on it before Trapper got sick. It was a hoot!

[Susurrus]

Just for reference, this is what I am talking about:

Even better, I don’t remember which flowers those could be. On either side are bundles of yellow daylilies. However, when I saw it, it is a definite ring of flowers coming up & I have never seen my flowers come up like this before. I have been in & out of the garden this week weeding & getting leaves, acorns, driveway rocks, sticks, etc… out of there.

I am going to look into this because my first thought was the fae. I mean it could just be that’s the way they came up for the first time in about 10 years, but something is just telling me that it means… something but I also feel like I need to see the blooms before I know much more about it. So we will start small with plant sprites/fairies… see what I can find about rings of flowers associated with them.

[martje]

That is certainly magical!

[Susurrus]

Something about it just gives me really good feelings & I’m just drawn to looking at it & working around it & inside it to clean it out. I feel like there’s something with that feeling… so I want to look into flower fairies/sprites or garden fairies/sprites

Apparently, this week is the front garden that I will be working on & the area between my back porch & central air unit… so many leaves & sticks collected there & that something new decided to take root that needs to be either moved or removed… not sure what type of plant it is yet & I have dogs & other animals around the neighborhood.

Voles to Coyote… which reminds me the voles ate the roots to the grass all around two of my hostas, so they have rings around them too! This is my year for rings in my yard/gardens.

The front yard is like an animal sanctuary that I make pretty with flowers & plants for them we don’t let the dogs in there, we don’t walk through there. We keep the grass higher than anywhere else in the yard & let it do its thing for the most part so bunnies & other animals feel safe there. There’s a ton of clover there. I made a ring of lilies & they get pretty high so it’s a place they can hide easier when they need to. We’ve made friends with a few bunnies that way, they just keep doing their thing while we do ours. They don’t immediately turn & run away when our door opens & we walk down the stairs to the driveway. My husband won’t use the lawnmower out there because they make nests in our front all the time & well… so he uses a line trimmer & walks through cutting down what he can or leaving something if he finds it so it nothing happens to anything that shouldn’t.

We are such mushes when it comes to small animals & local wildlife We have 4 birdhouses around the yard, corn for the ducks that frequent the large puddle on our street when we get a lot of rain (Bread makes them sick & they don’t digest it properly), bird feeders around the house… we are such softies… my dog sometimes will find a nest & then looks at us like… “Hey, I found these & I think I need an adult now.” He’s so gentle when he finds them & brings us right over to them. So we have him on a lead closer to the house so he isn’t unintentionally uncovering nests very often… he won’t hurt them, but I don’t want him to move them or disturb them before they are ready to be moved or try to protect them because he’s a softie too & they are tiny in the nests. He’s such a love, wants to be friends with everything. Even little things… he & my daughter’s hamster were best buds when the hamster was out in the main house

Okay, rambled enough… off to research a book on the Morrigan & flower sprites/fairies/fae

[Torista]

I started doing research on the Quetzal bird of Mexico. I was looking at mostly illustrations then I saw a picture of one mid flight. I think it get it. This bird is gorgeous.

[marsha]

You’re right, it’s so beautiful. Thank you for sharing!

[Artemisia]

Ooooo how exciting! I can’t explain why but after reading the intro to this challenge I immediately knew that I wanted to research Selkies. I don’t remember the tale I must have read many a year gone by but the idea of such a creature always stuck with me.

And then there are fairies… hmmmm… may have to be careful not to have too many plans and not actually do anything

Excited to work on this tomorrow morning!

[BryWisteria]

@Martje Thanks for sharing about the white wieven, Martje- they are really interesting to hear about! They do indeed remind me of faeries and perhaps foxfire as well And I love how you can win their favor- cakes and cookies are great ways to make friends! Such a great picture and in such a cool place too!

The directional ritual you did sounds amazing- it sounds like you encountered and befriended some truly magickal creatures during the journey. A traveling dragon, fiery witch, airy spirit, graceful swan and woman, and a hardworking gnome. They each carried an important message and beautiful moment for you- I feel really honored to be able to read about your experience, Martje- thank you so much for sharing!

@Amethyst I just rushed to Google to search for “Sheepsquacht”- I absolutely love the “White Thing” of West Virginia, I can’t believe I hadn’t heard of it before! I love it As for Moth Man, he is always a winner! No bad choices when it comes to exploring cryptids! Mountain Monsters sounds like a fun show!

@Susurrus Ohhhh pretty! The leaves look similar to low-growing flowers like Iris, Daffofil, Tulips, etc… I’m really curious to what your lovely flower ring is going to bloom into! It’s really cute, Siofra- how fun!

@Torista That is indeed a pretty bird- look at those bright, vibrant colors! Have fun with your studies- looking forward to hearing what you learn

@Artemisia Selkies!?! Oh, what a fun one to explore- it sounds like they are calling to you, Kat I’m looking forward to seeing what you’ll do- have fun with it!

[martje]

Thank you Bry , I am still doing the spiral ritual, now they are part of it

[Phoenix_Fire]

Can i say that around the wednesday mark when one challenge ends and while waiting for the next to begin i get so excited to see what the next challenge would be. Like its something i look forward to ( which is something that i need these days, having something to look forwatd to, so thankyou for giving me a positive thing to look forwatd to each week, esp since it is in the context of a community ( and a positive one at that) which i also feel i need as i dont have that ao much in person. Well actually in person not so much butva few friends stay in touch with on messenger who used to work with n a friend as well n since dont see family that muxh they also keep in youch with online but its individuals n now n then, but here its community n sense of belonging n its positive which in person i dont have anymore, so its appreciared).

With that out of way, this challenge made me think of how my family has animals they feel connecysd to or that they like or feel like their personality or person is like. Most were normal animals though my SIL is totaly into dragons lol come birthday or Christmas you know thats what she will ask for something dragon related. Her house is full of figurines, artwork, even furnitire with dragon theme. Me i always struggled to identify what animal i was. I have animals i associated to or even feel maybe in a past life i might of been lol but one animal, for a long time i didn’t know what animal represented me most. One day i figured it out, after all the trauma id been through and everytime i felt my life get torn apart and have to rebuild over and over again only tk have it torn apart again, go down in flames, burnt to ashes… maybe you know where this is going lol if you figured the phoenix tgen youd of guessed right. At some stage ocer the past few years id adopted the phoenix as a metaphor n as my animal i identified with. It wasnt till moving from christian to pagan that how i realised tgis made more sense esp finding out there was such a thing as working with dragons, dragon spirits or deities or dragon energy . I wondered if there was suxh a thibg as working with a phoenix, phoenix energy or deity that is associated with a phoenix to connect with that animal. Its somethingg id like to look at…

Also on a side note n partly associated, id duscovered an app callrd indie goes collection whivh has a collection of oracle decks that can be downloaded as individual ones as well but id been trying out a bunch to help self care and with staying positive ( as some also had affirmations) when surrounded vy negativiry n conflict all day. Its had to keep from being bombarded with all that when its all day long coming from so many directions n ppl. Id been likung the decks trying. Some have beautiful art work, others affirmations and some others also had crystal suggesrions as well ( we know hoe i love my crystals lol) but a few decks had the Phoenix card n i was like omg even if just for the phoenix card being included. Lol but its got 7 day free trial per deck so ill have to work on which decks im happy to pay to keep at end of week. They also have angel ones n while some make reference to ‘God’ which cause its angels im not sure if its christian God or just God (God or Goddess as in deity which ever follow ) n i dont follow the christian God but several celtic n norse Deities both God and Goddesses.

Disclaimer or explaination so no misunderstanding of offence taken: now my hesitation towards the angel decks even if do mean christian god is not to disregard or reject or offend ppl who do follow the christian god ( which i only recently discovered was even posdible to have a christian witch) i dont have any issue with chrustians who may follow the christian God ( as long as they arent attacking me for not) or witches that might also have angels or the christian God as their deity or one of their deities or spirit guides , but my hesitation to work with the angel cards was part from the idea christians n christian God n angels were portrayed to me growing up as in same category n witches n other spiritual paths anothrr, i didnr know there could be christian witches or tgat witches or other spiritual paths could work with angels because the church portrayed tgat as well it just didnt happen. But since leaving the church and discovering paganism n other spiritual paths n pravtices n magical practices n spirits etc, i just have to work hard to not let past trauma n programming from churches went to mean i disgard the idea of working with angels… just because the church portrayed angels as being against anything that thry the church or Christian god might be against ie magic or other spiritual crafts other than christianity… i just thougyt i shouls explain that so no one misunderstands or gets offended if thet think i was being disrespecftul towards any one may follow christian god or work with angels, my hesitation to work with angels was only becausr i was brought up to believe angels wouldnt work with anyone not following the christian god. I think that is what im trying to explain. Some decks so sound like tgey are related to christian god n mention heaven n hell but not cause i dont recocognise the chrisyian god as being a deity but rather because he isnt a deity i follow is only reason i might choose to use certain angel decks, but if anyone does like to work with angels n follows Christian god ( whether alone or with other deities you might like to check out tge app n see if like tge decks. N free trial means if dont like them your not out of pocket, but thst goes for all the decks too. .

But yeah disclaimer done, i wasnt sure bout those ones that were based on working with angels ( but kept an open mind) and cause some of those deities i do follow are connected to birds such as Freya witb the feather cloak, Rhiannon with the birds and air element ( as well as horses but my connection to her is through birds n fearhers i find), also Arianhod associated to owl n maybe other animals cant think of right now but one oracle deck has a feather theme n uses coloured fearhers as it’s cards n messages which i thought was cool.
These a deck for animal spirits whuch the animal images are made of fluro streaks light to create animals and also one deck called lion heart encouragement cards. I think more normal animals but i definatly feel drawn to animal spirits and energies.im discovering over time things that always kinda felt connected or drawn to but didnt fully understand like rocks and crystals, feathers and birds and animals and the elements, night sky and even the night energy, love taking a walk at night maybe it was protection of the night to be less seen or the calm or that moon and stars could ve seen or even nocturnal animsls not disturbed by all the himan hussle n bussle during the day etc. It was just lil things in background but i am really able to enbrace this more now ive discovered my path in this spiritual and magical context and aspects of myself onve not understood or acknowledged or accepted before are now able to be fully embraced in my magical practices and spiritual path. Sometimes i feel and can almost see i guess with third eye?? I never understood it before but ive sometimes felt i had an animal walking beside me, protecying me and watching over me like a dog or wolf or even other creatures. I just thought i had good imagination even if some of these creatures i couldnt of known about but what if even as a kid id been connected to that spirit world n tjose creatures or the spiruts if them whether based on livibg type of animsls of mythological ones. …

Ok that actually brings a question, ive been thinking that magical creatures in tgis challenge were related to what might be called mythological creatures like dragons or phoenix etc and been trying to keep even if mention animal spirits of dogs etc to bring it back to the 'mythological ’ but do magical creatures also include things like animal spirits or only those that might be thought of as mythological. Cause then where to angels fit in cause ppl have seen angels or fairies, people as i recall have said they seen fairies while others have found the actions of fairies or creations. Im still figuring out the concept of the Otherworld or other realms where fairies may live etc n how that practically applies to working with them in this realm.and then wonder how that works with things like working with dragons or other creatures or spirits. Obviously my perception of workibg with angels may be coloured still a bit by the perceptions of the church so if anyone who does work with angels can explain how that works id appreciate undersranding that more. Also if anyone knows if animal spirits even if that of animals that are in our physical world like dogs or birds or stag, i work with Cernunnos so ive had that come up when doing a shamanic journey and i have druid animal oracle cards that have both aninals of our realm butvalso do include elementak dragons.

Ok i know this is a long one and maybe the idea of mythological or magical creatures is one of those ive always connected to without understandinghow muchba part of life it was ot what it meant but in building my inner temple id wondered about inviting deities and animal spirits or working with energy or spirits like say dragons or Phoenix etc in the inner temple. Im not sure yet to do it in outter world in regards to the big animal spirits like dragon or phoenix but when it comes to any spirit ( animal or otherwise like fairies or angels etc) or deity world in inner temple is it safe to invite spirits etc into that place? Is there sonething or things need to do to stay safe or even to cater for those beings ie show respect or create a specific space to invite them into and what hapoens if u invite some thing in or sone one in that turns out not friendlt or benevelant n how do you protect the space again if they are in or if your invite animal spirits or other being into inner temple like fairies o r angels or dragons how do you make sure anothef spirit or veing not invited cant get in. Im not sure if thats made sense. I feel this is a big part of my life thats veen therr fot a long time but not fully explored but now i can embrace it fully im lookingv at ways to invorpoate them into my magical n spiritual practuces. Hence why i had the thought of inviting in animal spirits or deitues or other beings wished to work with into inner temple. But not sure how to do that n what need to consifer as ive not veen ablr to fully explore that in physical world as much as like due to time space or not being able yo be obvious im doing someyhing pagan or witchy at the time. If tgat makes sense. N this is all still very new to be able to explore n embrace all this. So any advice on that is appreciated.

So sorry its been a long one here. Lol i think this challenge is another topic im going to ve exploring for a long time to come n it coming up as a challenge has just sparked a whole lots of enquiry and explorations n inspiration n ideas lol

[martje]

It s the same for me, I am just new but I love this challenge, I am also looking forward to it and it gives me such motivation! So thank you @BryWisteria you are really doing a wonderful job!
I can understand your resistance to everything dealing with bad experiences related to religion. I think it’s quite normal that you have them, and it takes time to loose the hook, the sting of it.
To me angels are not really attached to any religion but it really doesn’t matter if you feel they do. There is so much out there, and you have the choice to find the creatures and magical beings that feel good to you! That s what matters I think.

[JollyStar]

For my entry to this week’s challenge I was inspired by @Susurrus and her fairy ring. Well my fairies don’t have great flower dresses but hopefully they are still cute. I decided to just do a drawing. It’s not great but it works. (I hope.)

[Susurrus]

@JollyStar I have seen a lot of types of images of fairies, & your drawing is amazing is one that makes me think of flower fairies or plant fairies. Wonderful job, I love the lines & colors. I could go on, but it would get sappy but I love it

Thank you for saying that my rings inspired you, that makes me feel really good about my entry & my yard

[martje]

Very beautiful

[marsha]

That’s lovely. I love the bright colors.