CHALLENGE ENTRY
I just recently started participating in the challenges and I have to say, I absolutely love them. Iām fairly new and have been confused on many things along my path. I just recently learned (since joining Spells8) about eclectic witch. I was excited to learn this term because I knew i was on the correct path in life but i didnāt feel that I was fitting in to one particular group. Now I feel like I have a true direction.
So I had a lovely TRE course today! 
I learned a somatic practice that allows me to physically release tension out of my body by triggering natural muscle tremors. The teacher was a familiar tantra coach, so she could bring that expertise to the classroom too.
She also made me realize that some of my feeling stuck and stagnant comes from repressed anger and rage. Having worked with these energies with the goddess Kali, silly me thought I had left it all behind, but thatās not really how it works. Itās cyclic. There are always new things that frustrate us, and if thatās not released, it stays with us. And it can block our capacity to feel pleasure, and other emotions weād āratherā feel.
I learned how to do something new this past week and I wanted to show everyone here! Iāve really been feeling like itās time to branch out in my practice, and Iāve been getting more connected with different parts of my practice that I wasnāt connected to before. Anyway, itās been a long journey on my road of burnout recovery, and reconnecting with everything is just another fork on that path.
So, I learned how to create sigils using the planetary grids. I donāt know how to fully explain it, and I will leave videos below to where I learned how to do this, but I wanted to show you how I did it and what my sigil looks like.
Now, because Iām using the grid of Venus, my sigil will most likely look like a straight line 
but thatās okay! I wanted to make a sigil to use with a face mask I plan on doing today. Itās pink and full of lovely smells that remind me of self love and self care. Thatās why I chose the Venus grid!
So hereās my intention statement: My inner beauty shines through me with ease.
And hereās the process!
Then you take those letters and turn them into numbers like this.
So my letters of MYNRBTSHGW turn into numbers ā 4 7 5 9 2 2 1 8 7 5
And then those go on the grid below starting from 4 and ending at 5.
And then hereās what it looks like without the grid.
So Iām gonna take this and probably make it more swirly rather than harsh edges, draw it on my face with my face mask, and then activate it by rubbing it in and then removing it when the mask is done!
And hereās where I learned it from. Her YouTube channel is called Ivy the Occultist!
ā What My Occult Planetary Magick Practice Looks Like š - YouTube
Love these. This is something that i discovered not too long again and have been building into my practice too because i am drawn the the planets and stars. I seem to be drawn to everything!
Oh, that looks fascinating @MeganB, Iāve wanted to try it too, now I have a resource easily accessible thanks to you!
You and me both, warm hugs to you! 
Iām starting my 4th year now. Weāre walking the path of Saturn here 
CHALLENGE ENTRY
I am an eclectic witch. Although my favourite area currently, and has been for a long time, is the tarot. I am really enjoying learning about oils, spells and energy work. I am learning so much here with this coven.
Growing up, I had exposure to different religions and philosophies, mainly Christianity, Taoism, and Buddhism. My mother read tarot, and worked with energy, and crystals. I have been to a few different psychics and pagan and Christian energy healers.
This has made me very open to pulling in from anywhere that which makes sense and helps me on my journey-as long as it is not harmful to myself or anyone else.
I have been told that the goal of life is to āknow thyselfā. I am reminded of Shakespeareās play Hamlet āā¦This above all: to thine ownself be true, and it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.ā I like that whole speech btw.
I have to say I have spent a crap ton of time getting to know myself. However, the more I learn the more I see it is not balanced and there is still more work to be done (always). Francescoās post on shadow work.
Being an eclectic witch has helped me see these things more clearly as it allows me to pull in from many areas to further my understanding and strengthen my abilities. I recognize it is also a hinderance at times as I donāt give myself time to delve deep and really learn on one topic before moving to another.
I love using the tarot and oracle cards.
I enjoy my moments in nature and thank the unseen folk and Mother Nature.
I stand out in some storms to allow that energy to cleanse me, create a shift, or inspire me, etc
I carry stones with me at times to help with grounding and courage.
I use herbs and essential oils for shifting energy and cleansing. I have infused oils and created sigils and spells to cast on the oils while infusing them and using them.
When baking for my family I focus on love and nourishment, when I remember 
.
Being eclectic is awesome for me. My next focus is to be a lot more adept at all of them. However, I am going to begin at the beginning as I now know in some ways, I havenāt really started. A strong foundation is key. I recently watched a video of @MeganB ās.. It will be hard for me to start with one thing but I think that is where I need to begin.
I doubt I will ever change from being eclectic, that is who I am by nature.
Thanks for this weekās challenge @Cosmic_Curiosity @Kasandra and @BryWisteria !!
@Nixi NewDragon
I had thought to address what posts I could but after I was finished, I read them again and your post hit a familiar note for me.
All of our lives, we (men and women)are encouraged to do ābetterā, but at the same time, weāre told we canāt do better for one reason or another.
Let me start with the truth. You, my darling girl, are as lovely as that little dragon youāre holding in your picture.
As kids, we were given an ā8 ballā. If you donāt know what that is. Itās a black toy ball, plastic, filled with fluid, and a (multi-sided die). Youād ask a simple, one-answer question and turn the ball over to read the answer that appeared at the bottom. The answers were yes, no, not now, etc.
WE are like those 8-balls. We donāt know or feel like we can do something but when shaken the answer turns up.
Miss Nixi, you are smarter than youāve been allowed to think you are.
The Trick, my little New Dragon, is learning to spread your wings, and as your belief in yourself grows, so will your wings.
In the meantime, each and every one of us is here to encourage you. Do you know why? We were all borne with wings, we just didnāt know it.
One day, as you grow in knowledge and strength, youāll spread those wings, and flyā¦
Be strong for and in yourself.
Be blessed, be safe, and know you be loved.
Garnet
Challenge entry 2
I am very much into art and craft. It is a means of me expressing myself. I thought about the different ways that i express myself in my magickal work in terms of what methods and practices I used. I decided to epxress this using my my art and craft work so am working on a scrapbook showing the different aspects of my magical practice.
This is very much a work in progress and does not show all that I use. When i considered it, i realised that I use many different aspects of magick and therefore could very much consider myself as eclectic:
Incorportating the Sabbats into my year
Using the power of the moon
Colour and candle.magic
Deity work and meditation
I also make use of
Astrology and the planets
Numbers
Essential oils and more recently, herbs and plants
Thats a lot! Is it because i am releatively new and still finding my way? Possibly. However, i do see the potential and suitablility of different aspects for different needs and it may just be that I will dabble in and out of the different areas of magick available to me.
Below I have added a video showing the progress of my electic scrapbook so far. As i said it is a work in progress and a project that I will continue to develop and grow.
Blessed be
Alan
Amazing journal!! You are talented!
Weekly Witchy Challenge for Amethyst.
Everyone seems to have grown up Catholic here. Iām weird. I grew up Methodist. I was an acolyte. I would light the candles at the altar and help with the communion and the passing of the offerings plate. Well, until I turned sixteen and got too fussed to do it. Long story there. It wasnāt long after that that I started to wonder why isnāt there a Mother Goddess if there was a Father God.
But I still remember lighting the candles so I always say a prayer over my candles when I light them, only now it depends on the day and the color.
Iāve been trying to remember more of the services from my childhood to see how theyāve affected how I do things today but other than that, and opening and closing my circles with a prayer, I donāt remember much except for playing with Nathan Lilly with the matches. LOL!
The things we do as kids.
I also consider myself eclectic because Iāve taken bits and pieces of the books Iāve read and used them. A little bit here and a little bit there, but I canāt point at one part and say this is why Iām Eclectic, it blends too much if you know what I mean.
So thatās my entry. Hope itās good!
So many great entries!
Yup! So glad I grew up without everyone having the ability to record every dumb thing I have ever done!
@MeganB I have book marked this post. I have started working with sigils and I like this grid concept and connecting it with different deities. I hope you enjoy your mask today, sounds heavenly.
Great insight and a great reminder to regularly cleanse and release.
Yay! Learning we can be ourselves without fitting into a box and yet still be a part of a group is great.
Agreed!
I have dabbled a bit in quantum physics. One day I plant to look again at it a bit more. If I have a question on correspondences I will reach out to you. Sounds like you are a natural!!
@Medea beautifully said!
@heather75 amazing garden! Inspiring! I need to get a move on and grow some plants.
Me too. I still believe in the teaching of Jesus. Itās funny to think I was a Sunday school teacher at one time 
This reminds me of what my mom told me about prayer- she said the end of every prayer that most leave out is āand I will do my partā. With witchcraft we are able to do our part and conscious of the need to do our part. Which is empowering and awesome.
Love unconventional! What an amazing journey of exploration and learning
@brandy20 what a beautiful journey! Maybe you will meet your grandmother again in an ancestral meditation 
@Garnet love your educational posts!
@TheMuslimWitch beautiful entry . I am grateful that you are here.
Nice mixture of different elements. I was intrigued with the coffee grounds use so I did a bit of digging. I am going to have a coffee bath later today. Can those stones go in the water? I am always so nervous with stones and water.
Challenge Entry
Iām pretty new at being a witch, (1 year and 4 months), but honestly, I think I was a witch from birth. I would talk to trees, plants, and animals for as long as I can remember. I have Cajun roots and I remember my Mom and Grandmother always seeing signs of things and nature and know what was going to happen. Things like if a broom fell, company was coming, or if cows are laying down in the morning, itās going to rain.
I started my witchy journey around 2007 or 2008. I was a single mother, working 12 hour shifts at night. No, I wasnāt a nurse, I worked in a jail. I did it for 9 years. I saw a lot in those nine years. Iām an empath, and it was tough. One slow night I was online and I took one of those quizzes on what religion you should be. My answer was Wiccan. I was Southern Baptist and had no idea what Wicca was. There wasnāt as much on the internet back then as there is now, so I bought books. I overwhelmed myself. There was so much information and I didnāt have the mental energy to take the time that I needed to learn at that time in my life. I knew that someday I would go back to it, so I packed up all my books and tools and put them in the attic. Fast forward to October or November 2021 cleaning out the attic I found āthe boxā and I was hooked.
I canāt tell you how much time and research I do every day. I just absorb information like a sponge. Spells8 was a godsend for me. I learn everyday and will continue to learn for the rest of my life. I know there is āno right wayā. Everyoneās craft is different and unique to them, and thatās okay, because there are no two of us that are just alike, and that is what being an Eclectic witch (to me) is all about.
I tried to find a good one for this challenge too, but wasnāt really happy with any of them, usually the results were very limited. I was more looking for one that would have a long list of religions and belief systems, and give percentage scores for each of them.
I did find one that had pretty good questions though! Here if youāre curious. I wasnāt very happy with the result though (āNew Ageā, what is this, the 80ās? )
My answers:
What is the number and nature of the deity(ies)?
The supreme existence is both the eternal, impersonal, formless Ultimate reality, and personal God (or Gods).
Are there human incarnation(s) of God (or of gods/goddesses)? Choose one.
All are equally Incarnations because God is all and all are God (or God is in all).
What are the origins of the physical universe and life on earth? Choose one.
All matter and life forms are manifestation (or illusions) of the eternal Absolute (Ultimate Truth, Universal Soul or Mind, etc.).
What happens to humans after death?
Rebirths occur (continually, or until uniting with God or the ultimate reality, or attaining eternal bliss).
Why is there terrible wrongdoing in the world? Choose one.
Egoism (self-importance) leads to desire, craving, and attachments, which can lead to unwholesome thoughts and wrong behavior, E.G. greed, hate, and violence.
One or more spirit being(s) exist who can cause human suffering.
Not applicable
Why is there so much suffering in the world?
Suffering is a state of mind (or illusion); only our spiritual nature is real.
In addition there were a lot of āyou mustā questions. I feel thereās only just one āyou mustā, and thatās for you to follow your own heart.
Awww, please do! 
@Garnet Excellent description of the elements!
@Estrella 
Lovely ritual for your much loved companion
Miss Celestia!
Hope you can hear me applaud!!! Brava!, well done.
Garnet
CHALLENGE ENTRY
This is going to be short because Iām not supposed to be using the phone or able to think very well
I fell again last night and this time I did some damage including a concussion and Iām on a 3 day brain break and canāt use screens.
This week I made Lavender Ink, yes lavender. It took many tries and the trick turned out to be isopropyl alcohol, a LOT of lavender and evaporation. The ink is a faint green, who knew, but visible.
I used the ink using itās purifying and calming properties using the ink to draw sigils to place around me, put some lavender in a bowl in and put it all in the floor on my āportable altar spaceā itās just a large altar cloth but my Altar, that also one of my cabinets and used to be a jewelery box, sits on a long dresser that I use as my work space is portable enough that I can take the cloth, altar and what I need to the living room when I need more room
I used the ink to make sigils for safe, protected and 2 more that I canāt remember right now, meditated breathing in the lavender and saying a mantra like chant that I canāt remember right now
I have it all written down but I am currently hiding in the bathroom with my phone and this is about all my head can handle
Love & Light
Nixi
Note to my entry, I placed crystals around me as always. In case anyone else likes to visualize descriptions like I do. I wish Iād taken pictures of at least the ink and sigils but I planned to take them when I made my entry
