💯 Weekly Witchy CHALLENGE - The Hundredth Challenge

[AileyGrey]

Books, Tomes, and Tales: Book Lover - Challenge Entry 5

I am an avid reader. My New Years goal is always to read at least 52 books…1 a week for the year. I usually surpass my goal (I’m on book 43 of the year now!) I love reading and I do it all the time!

I started this magickal journey in early April: so it goes without saying that I have been grabbing up every book that sarks my interest related to the magickal arts. I do a lot of e book reading and audiobook listening in the car… but here is my recently read list.

Wicca for Beginners by Kelly Murray

The Path of a Christian Witch by Adelina St. Clair

The Morrison by Courtney Weber

Hecate by Courtney Weber

Making Magic: Weaving Together the Every Day and the Extraordinary by Briana Saussy

Scottish Witchcraft: A complete guide to authentic folklore, spells, and magickal tools by Barbara Meiklejohn-Free

Sea Magic: connecting with the oceans energy by Sandra Kynes - finishing now

Moonology: Working with the Magic of Lunar Cyles by Yasmin Boland - started but not finished

A Spellbook for the Seasons: Tudorbeth - browsing by seasons… the illustrations are magical themselves!

Witch: Unleashed, Untamed, Unapologetic by Lisa Lister (to be read)

The Illustrated Bestiary by Maia Toll

The Compendium of Magical Beasts by Dr. Veronica Wigberht-Blackwater - so much fun… my kids keep stealing it!

They have all been interesting and helpful as I grow as I grow in my practice, some more than others. I am always up for a book recommendation if you have them (and no worries, I already browse the book club regularly!)

[AileyGrey]

Claws, Paws, Tails, and Scales: Animalis Magum - Challenge Entry 6 (Last One!)

I am 3 months in to my journey with the craft. I have learned so much and sometimes I am completely overwhelmed at what I don’t know (though I realize it’s the journey over a lifetime that makes it worth it) and sometimes I feel like I’ve been doing this forever! Honestly, I have been doing this forever, i just didn’t realize it. I am constantly surprised at how the things I do daily without even really thinking about them are kind of an essential part to my craft. It just comes naturally and it’s amazing!

I love “coincidences”.

I have been really enjoying the daily oracle and tarot and rune posts on the forum. I decided awhile ago that I wanted to get a deck of oracle cards… but the choices completely overwhelm me. I even tried to look at some apps for oracle cards and I can’t commit to one because I am afraid it won’t be the one I’m really meant to have. When I get like this, I know I need to pause, I’m rushing. I decided I would just relax and the right deck would present itself to me. Y’all, get ready… this is great!

I bought this book at the Renn faire right after we did the bestiary challenge. I’ve glanced though it and read the reflections. I pulled it out to show my college kid who has been home after my husband’s surgery and I just happened to flip to the back cover. There’s an envelope full of oracle cards that match the illustrations and reflections in the book. I was so excited! And the college kid, in true college kid fashion says…” well it says they are included right on the cover…”

I’ve had these cards for over a month and didn’t even realize it!

So, I decided that the universe must be telling me that these are the cards I need to learn from right now.

Here is the animal part of this challenge. Every card and corresponding pages in the book are lessons to be learned from our animal friends.

I copied the talented @Susurrus (the sincerest form of flattery right?) and shuffled the cards 3 times, took off the top 3 and drew the card and drew black bear. I went to the book and got a really nice reminder about seasons. With the chaos that drove our week last week, I definitely needed a reminder that it was ok to tuck in and rest!

So, for the next little bit, I will be feeling out these surprise oracle cards and learning from my animal friends… because that’s what the universe has it in front of me. I’ve had exactly what I’ve needed all along!

[MeganB]

Here is my entry for the Weekly Witchy CHALLENGE - Spell Swap Meet entry

With the SCOTUS decision here in the United States to overturn Roe v. Wade and give the decision on uterine healthcare to the states, thus removing the protection for uterine freedom from those with a uterus, I have decided to share this spell from Michael Hughs’ book Magic for the Resistance.

Trigger Warning

This spell speaks of menstrual blood, blood, and the fight against anti-choice people, politicians, and establishments. I have included it under a “read more” for those that don’t wish to see it.

Hands Off, Laws Off: Hekate Invocation for Reproductive Rights

Hands Off, Laws Off: Hekate Invocation for Reproductive Rights

This is a spell for the protection of women’s reproductive rights. It can also be done for protection of women’s health clinics and their doctors and health care workers. Perform this ritual during your period (if you have one), in response to antichoice votes or initiatives, to protect clinics under siege, or during the full moon. Do this ritual at night, never in the daytime.

Components

• Red candle with the words “Hands off” inscribed on one side and “Laws off” inscribed on the reverse. Use a pin or a nail.
• Your menstrual blood (if during your cycle) or consecrated olive oil
• Incense charcoal
• Cauldron or ashtray
• Bay leaves and myrrh
• Photo or name paper of politician, representative, judge, preacher, or other figure opposing a woman’s right to choose; or the printed logo of an antichoice organization
• Piece of red cloth large enough to wrap around the candle

If it is during your period, you may want to anoint the candle with your menstrual blood. It is an extremely potent magical substance, so you only need a tiny bit spread across the surface.

At your altar dress the inscribed candle with your menstrual blood or olive oil. As you’re doing so, see and feel your fingers transferring your personal power into the wax while repeating in a whisper:

My blood, my life, my power.

Dab your blood onto the photo, name paper, or logo of your target. Feel the feminine energy overpowering your target. Set the candle on your altar, with the target paper in front of it. Perform the Centering Ritual and begin.

Light your charcoal. Light the prepared candle. Say the following prayer:

I call to thee, Hekate of the Crossroads
Queen of the starry cosmos
Lady of the dogs
Guardian of the realms of the dead
Come to me from the deserted places of the
night
I call you to my sacred chant
Please accept my gift of incense
And hear my prayer
Of Protection

Drop bay leaves and myrrh onto charcoal.
Watch the smoke as it rises to please Hekate.
Pick up photo, name paper, or logo in your left hand and hold it in front of you, just below eye level. Say with passion, ferocity, and strength:

Keep your hands off my body
Keep your laws off my body
Only life that is wanted
Shall we carry into this world
Only life that will be loved
Shall be brought forth from our bodies
Whenever the choice must be made
The choice shall be mine
My body
Is not your property
My body
Is not your domain
My body
Is not your god’s
My body
Is my own
Hands off
Laws off
Hands off
Laws off
Hands off
Laws off

Light the target paper on fire from your candle and say:

Not your choice.

Say with all of your focus and will:

MINE!

Drop paper into cauldron and let it burn.
When the paper is burning, say the words of power (see note).

AKROKODÊRE MOUISRÔ CHARCHAR
ADÔNAI ZEUS DÊ DAMNAMENEUS
KYNOBIOU EZAGRA

When the paper has burned completely to ash, say: The spell is cast. My body is protected.

Throw more bay leaf and myrrh onto the charcoal. As the smoke rises, say:

I give praise and thanks to Hekate of the crossroads.
May you go in peace, carrying my prayer. So mote it be.

Extinguish the candle. Clap three times to end the ritual and ground. Wrap the candle tightly in the red cloth. Keep it stored in a safe, secret place, as a ward to protect your body and your choice, and ready to be used again if the need arises.

** Note: Pronounce the “barbarous” words of power, which are drawn from an ancient ritual of Hekate, phonetically to the best of your ability. If you’re feeling ambitious, look up ancient Greek pronunciation. We really don’t know exactly how the words were pronounced, so just say them with passion.

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Here is my entry for 🌊 Weekly Witchy CHALLENGE - Of the Element Water

I love water, water of all kinds. I’ve written before about how healing water is for me, how it is a liminal space, and how it is connected to a deity I work with. I wanted to share these images with you all from the night of the Summer Solstice. I had a pretty crappy day but for the final few hours I decided to go for a swim in my pool.

I’m the kind of person that enjoys being under the water. If I could be under the water for the entire swim, I would! But I mean, unfortunately I can’t breathe under the water I have a little pouch that I can put my phone in to take pictures underwater and that’s exactly what I did.

So from my water-loving heart to yours, here are my photos. 📸

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[martje]

That s a nice one

[martje]

Ah I ve seen these cards and book on Amazon. They are on my wishlist! Lovely illustrations!

[Susurrus]

I am doing the Weekly Witchy CHALLENGE - Of Seas, Sands, and Tides for the final badge that I need to complete one of each:

Challenge Entry

I had an unplanned family matter to attend to, so I wasn’t able to get to the beach itself. However, I did figure out what I would like to do next time I’m going though. I like to walk the beach where the water comes to the shore & returns back to the ocean collecting different items. I have more items to collect or uses for items I already have on hand in my room. I found a website that explains the properties & common uses for common & some uncommon (depending on your area) items. For a complete explanation & full list of items go to: Sea Magic: Otherworldly Oracle

Seashells Magical Properties

When gathered from the beach seashells have various magical properties, including: love, fertility, healing, emotions, intuition, and dreams. Look up the seashell online and identify the kind, which makes it that much more powerful!

Sand’s Magical Properties

When gathered from the beach and kept in a jar, place the sand anywhere around the house to bring the invoke powerful water magic. Set it on your altar. Use the sand to draw a magical circle for a sea ceremony or sabbat. Put the sand in spell bags, along with herbs, and charge it to manifest your goals.

Feathers Magical Properties

Feathers are always a fun find, no matter the location. When they’re found at the beach, they represent seabirds like the gull, heron, osprey, egret, sandpiper, pelican, etc. Look up what bird the feather came from for added oomph in your sea magic

Driftwood and Seaglass Magical Properties

These are two common things found at the seashore. Make driftwood into chimes or decorations. Place it on an altar or decorate it and turn it into a wand or staff. Put seaglass into bottles or jars or weave it into jewelry. Seaglass is a representation of transformation by the elements, a “return to the sea”. Use it in times when you need a direction-change.

Simple Water Magic

Don’t forget the basic beach activities are magical in and of themselves! By swimming in the ocean, you become one with the water element. This is water magic at its simplest! Ocean water purifies your body and soul of residual negative energy.

Sand Castles

Another fun beach activity is building sand castles. Who didn’t enjoy building sand castles as a kid? Adults build sand castles, too! While building your sand castle, charge it with your intentions or goals.

[AileyGrey]

They are beautiful! I love flipping through them!

[chaitea43]

Thank you! I subscribed. =)

[jem1]

My Challenge Entry-Magick in the arts and powerful protection
For some time now, I’ve been in a bit of a slump, so I decided to do something pretty simple.
I wad bored, so I decided to go onto a face reference pinterest board and draw some eyes. I then had the idea to make it a protection charm by adding some sigils and I the stuck it onto the wall behind my desk/altar to protect me,my family,home and altar.
Blessed Be

[martje]

I like your contribution Siofra! The fact that swimming in the sea alone is magical and building sandcastles to. Just doing it consiously makes all the difference.

[marsha]

@jessica72

I do have to end on a little bit of a sad note. Friday last week, so the 17th I had to say goodbye to Miles. My companion of 13 years.

I am so sorry for your loss of Miles Sending you love

[Murphy]

I loved this challenge (or challenges, I guess)! I had missed most of them, but having them in the back of my mind made me a lot more mindful of how much witchy stuff I get done during the week. So, here we go!

1. Meditation Magic
   I used to struggle with meditation, but over the past year or so I’ve made it a part of my morning routine. I actually miss when I don’t do it now. I usually just use a timer with some kind of sound effect, but this past week I decided to try some visualizations instead. I found them very effective and a lot of fun. I’ll definitely be incorporating more of these into my practice.

2. Tools of the Witch Trade
   This was completely unplanned, but I was in one of my favorite shops on Sunday (Curio Arcanum’s House of Curiosities – check it out if you’re ever in Austin) and found this gorgeous mortar and pestle:
   

   

I smoke cleansed it when I got home with some dragon’s blood incense and ended up cleansing the rest of the tools that stay out on my altar while I was at it.

3. A Touch of Tarot
   I’ve been reading tarot for a while, but I’ve been pretty lazy about really studying the individual cards. The ones I pull often I know pretty well, but I find myself reaching for a guidebook more often than I would like. This week I committed to studying a card each weekday during my lunch break. I compared the same cards from different decks and did a bit of journaling for each card. It’ll take me a while to get through all of them, but I hope it will result in a more personal understanding of the cards.

4. Powerful Protection
   My yard is constantly getting broken into. It seems like every few months I’m nailing my fence back together because someone kicked it down. Because of that (and just because it’s probably a good idea anyway) I always have a few witch bottles in the yard as well as an iron railroad spike hammered into the ground at each corner of the house. Also, security cameras and an alarm system. Nothing wrong with stacking the deck!

Last week I noticed one of the spikes was missing and made a mental note to fix it. I had almost forgotten until I glanced out my window and saw a strange man standing in my yard. Fun!

I actually had a hard time finding the spike so my husband came out with a huge magnet to help. It’s back where it belongs and we haven’t had any activity out there since.

Interesting side note to this. The witch bottle I keep on my front porch (where most people come and go) has to be changed every couple of months. The liquid in it turns black pretty quickly. The ones that don’t have as much traffic stay clear a lot longer. In fact, one that I have hanging in a tree in my backyard turned a beautiful greenish/blue and it’s been there for about three years now. I’ll try and get a picture and update once the rain stops.

5. Cat Magic
   This one was a little unplanned. While I was fixing the ward around the house, I had a little company. When we bought this house there was a tiny, gray cat who was always hanging around. She wouldn’t come up to us, but I would always put some food out for her. We started calling her the Baroness von Unterkat since she lives under the house.

Once we got our first dog, she got completely obsessed with him. Follows him around outside, snuggles on him, tries to give him baths. That was six years ago and she’s become an unofficial member of the family. Anyway, whenever I work outside, she follows me everywhere. So while I was protecting the house and all the animals inside it, I figured she deserved her own little protection spell. I’m not great at writing spells, so I just let her lay in my lap and repeated “You are loved, you are safe, you are home” a few times.

Ironically, the challenge I actually picked to do, I never got around to! Oh, well, always next time. I’ve loved reading everyone’s entries for this one.

[Amaris_Bane]

Adding another entry! This one is for the “Let a Witch Unwind” challenge. At the end of my work day, I have a small routine that helps me switch from work to home, unwinding from the work I did throughout the day. I start by doing a final check of all my emails (being a consultant means I get client email addresses and they don’t always like me putting them on my phone sadly) and Teams/GMeet messages, making any responses needed.

I then take a few minutes to tidy up my space - I clean my coffee cup and reusable k-cups, put up whatever I took out during the workday, and organize my desk. I then do my end-of-day journal writing. I have several questions to choose from but some consistent ones are (1) ranking the day from 1-10, excluding 7 (because if I ask you to think of a number 1-10, most people will say 7, lol), (2) writing down my wins for the day, and (3) writing down what I can do to make tomorrow great. I then do a 5-min headspace meditation before turning off my computer.

Once I’m back to my house instead of the office, I change into comfortable clothes, make a cup of tea, and sit to read for about 30 minutes. This is my decompression time. Once I have this, I am unwound from the day and ready to tackle my evening chores and hang out with friends and my husband.

[Ostara]

I have that same mortar and pestle! I got it at a shop in Conroe. I will definitely check out that shop the next time I’m in Austin, I bet it’s amazing!

[Amaris_Bane]

My last entry is for the Scrub-a-dub, Magick in the Tub challenge. I don’t have a bathtub so I’ve had to adapt bath magick to my showers. One thing I’ve done is I found aromatherapy shower steamers on amazon. They come in rosemary, roses, verbena, mint, lavender, and freesia. As I prepare for the dark moon period, I plan to do a cleansing ritual tonight, incorporating the rosemary steamer. I light a few candles and play some calming music when I do this.

When I first get in the shower for a cleansing shower, I take a few moments to just feel the water on my skin and take some deep breaths, inhaling the essential oils from the steamer that I am using. As I begin to cleanse my body, I imagine that I am cleansing away any negative energy and emotions that I would like to release. I “see” them being washed away down the drain. Once done, I step out and dry myself off. I then express gratitude to my body, my spirit, and my health for all they have allowed me to accomplish.

The final step is anointing myself with an oil that matches my intention. Where I apply the oil also depends on its purpose, with my wrist and neck usually being included as well as over my heart, the soles of my feet, or my temples for specific intentions.

[Ostara]

@Amaris_Bane you have done an awesome job on all of your entry’s this week!

[Amaris_Bane]

@Murphy

Curio Arcanum’s House of Curiosities – check it out if you’re ever in Austin

Now I have an excuse to force David to take me to the hill country! Not like he minds going to Austin, we LOVE the food.

[Amaris_Bane]

Thank you! A lot of them are things I already do, it was just a matter of writing it up. Still trying though!

[Ostara]

Have you tried the Black’s Barbeque in Lockhart? Me, my husband and sister in law went about a month ago and it was great!

[Amaris_Bane]

No I haven’t! I’ll have to add it to my “To Try” list. We are trying to take more trips but this year’s early heat is not cooperating.