There Are Gods You’ll See On A Warm Summer Day, When The Sun Is Close And Ripe, And The Air Smells

Veles

The woods whisper.

The ancient tress, bent and scraggly, reach down to hush snicker, tricking and advising you, as you breathe in this stale, moist air, of this twilight place, neither here nor there. Here you are to be tested, to be changed, to become something new- or something old, if you wish so.

So you wander, through deep grass and clingy mud, through paths of mushrooms and bushes, ever shifting and deceptive. It is challenge, certainly, but one suited for you, one that will push you to your utmost limits, and make you grow beyond them.And so you walk forward, following shadows of wails, echoes of rain slithering over rocks, the eternal traces of things that haven’t walked Earth in long, long time (but will one day do so again).

He awaits you below, in cave whose entrance is secret yet can be found anywhere, carved out of soft mud and ancient dust and great stone. Water and earth meet, meld and meddle in each other’s business. Everything there is buoyant, verdant and vibrant, full of potential, of energy and life that seems as strong as hundred springs. Your ancestors crawl there, as they await for chance to fly back to life.  You are filled with need, with hunger to learn and ask, to challenge them and test yourself, to learn secrets of this place, even as your eyes seems to melt,  trying to pierce through shadows.

Men tried to describe him in many ways, and they all got something correct, and they all got so much that isn’t right. For how can any word, any shape properly contain him? You cannot guess whether he is constantly changing, or contains all forms of world, or whether he is something else, something unseen before (or at least in long, long time- he never got used to one shape, least of all human, for he is caretaker and guise of all creatures, patron of all things wild and free). You catch glimpses, just hints of truth, like looking for gold in murky waters, like going through earliest, foggiest memories-  here pair of antlers, there hooves, over there strength and width of bear, dignity and bearing of ancient tree right there.

You see his eyes. You see power in there, reaching farther then roots of mountains, as malleable and stubborn as water, as wide as underworld itself, caring as soil, as destructive as earthquake, as consuming as flood, as deafening as silence, as freeing as your favourite song. You see ages you can’t grasp beyond, time as heavy as illness upon you, and glint of satisfied mischief. You see wisdom there, earned and practical, born from curiosity towards specific purpose (and being what he is, there are so so many things he knows). It is gaze you know, from your brother when he talks about his work, from your father and grandparents and teacher when you were young, from mirror too, from all people who know something you don’t and are happy to learn ( all but one, though she is a thing of still darkness and deep waters, for her eyes are always veiled, and she hoards secrets even lord of dead and mystery doesn’t know, greedily keeps them for no other reason but their own sake), sharp and purring, inviting, never satisfied, always watching and waiting.

A cloak unrolls from top of his horns to below his paws-feet-hooves. It is a meadow and mountain, forest and field, swamp and moss.  He seems to wear whole of world on his shoulders, all things civilized and wild and in-between, and below it he hides soil and clay, stone and caves, and all things that crawl and slither and claw and slip upon and below. It grows and withers, rises and fall, living and dying, always changing, because nothing ever stops, because nothing remains the same, because nothing escapes his eye.

There is stick in his hand. A rough, wooden staff, scrappy and twisted, warped and bent, like branch left in tiny river for too long. It is an old man’s staff, to help him climb up the mountain, and fighter’s pole, in hands of skilled deadlier then a sword or spear, and shepherd’s stick by which he defends and leads livestock, and sorcerer’s focus, by which he bends world to his will. It is all those things and so much more, greater then any scepter, and it is part of him, for he is master of liminal spaces and times, lord of wolf and cattle, who guides and directs, tests and teaches living and dead.

‘‘Come.’‘ He says, doesn’t order, even if he has every right,because he doesn’t need to, because you chose this, again and again, and you come into his embrace, in arms that are paws  and claws and fur and leather, as calming as river that flows beneath ground, as comforting as shade of tree in summer field, and you smile, smile,  for there is no monster and no nightmare that can stand against what you devoted yourself to, against He who accepted you.

“E” is for existentialism. (via bretjturner)

Lissajous curve table

Some Black Salt Daily Uses

In a little bag under your pillow - ward of nightmares and bad dreams, ward of unwanted spirits and watchers

Make a line of black salt under the windows and/or doors - keep the evil out, avoid unwanted company, reflect jealously and slander back to its source

Use it to clean the house and ritual area - to wash away negativity

In bath water - To wash away depression and negativity

Keep it on your personal chair or desk - Take away bullies, bad attention of bosses and co-workers

Through into fire - with your worries and fears in a paper to rid them

And remember that salt can absorb pretty much anything, this salt uses will absorb a lot of negative energy, so you’ll have to change it sometimes. You can take the old used salt away by: -Grounding it on earth -Throughing it into the wind away from you -Washing the salt away in flowing water

Magical Metals: The Basics

I’ve gotten a few requests for a pared-down version of some of the magical properties of common metals. 

Aluminum: Invisibility, protection (though not very useful against metal-based magic), good for magic requires a high strength-to-weight ratio

Brass and Bronze: Auditory magic, music, communication, protection from wear-and-tear, resilience, opening doors

Copper: Health and healing, energy, warmth, utility, protection, change, protection, safeguarding and transmission of essentials

Gold: Beauty, glamour, appearances, wealth, love, overcoming addiction

Iron and Mild Steel: Protection, permanence, opposition to nature, urban magic, influence, destruction, curses, strength, blood magic, health

*Lead: (Caution, Lead is quite toxic. Do not touch it. in case of contact or possibility of contamination, wash the affected area rigorously): Curses, hexes and maledictions, and (maybe) their reversal 

Magnesium: Impermanence, fire magic, energy 

Pewter and Tin: Protection from wear-and-tear, home and family, every-day magic, utilitarian magic, illumination, knowledge and divination, softening

Silver: Boosting energy, warding illness (but not necessarily healing), good price-to-beauty ratio, domesticity, offensive magic (like the silver bullet)

Stainless Steel, Chrome, and Nickel: Permanence, glamour, greed, urban magic, brittleness, the home, opening doors

Zinc: Protection (Specifically from light-based magic or being seen in divination), warding, invisibility

Of course, in my practice, these properties change drastically according to how the metals are used. I’m a strong believer in ‘active’ casting- that is to say that i don’t just put things in a circle and speak a few words. My magic is typically cast by altering the objects or materials in some way. A hand-forged iron nail makes a better taglock when designated as a target during its making than a store-bought nail with a metaphysical nametag. Just my two cents. 

If I missed anything, hmu

Black Thread: A Witch’s Best Friend

I’ve met a lot of Witch’s from numerous backgrounds who have only ever used black thread as a means of keeping things out (black being a color for banishing negativity and numerous other bad spirits and mojo)

After listening to one friend describe how she used black string as a banishing agent for her windows WITHOUT first cleansing her house, it occurred to me how many of us don’t think about it keep bad things IN.

In short, I’ve started using it on curse objects and anything I use to absorb bad luck or anything of the like. For instance, if you are burying a box at the crossroads, tie it up in black thread to keep the bad or good inside and keep anything else out. You can even tie off your box of Witchy things with black string or thread to keep the good in ad the bad out. Or if you curse a poppet for future use and need to keep it in your witch box wrap it up in thread to keep it from tainting everything else in your box :)

Just a thought is all. :)

Celebrating Spitzer, One of NASA’s Great Observatories

As the Spitzer Space Telescope’s 16-year mission ends, we’re celebrating the legacy of our infrared explorer. It was one of four Great Observatories – powerful telescopes also including Hubble, Chandra and Compton – designed to observe the cosmos in different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Light our eyes can see

The part of the spectrum we can see is called, predictably, visible light. But that’s just a small segment of all the wavelengths of the spectrum. The Hubble Space Telescope observes primarily in the visible spectrum. Our Chandra X-ray Observatory is designed to detect (you guessed it) X-ray emissions from very hot regions of the universe, like exploded stars and matter around black holes. Our Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, retired in 2000, produced the first all-sky survey in gamma rays, the most energetic and penetrating form of light.

Then there’s infrared…

Infrared radiation, or infrared light, is another type of energy that we can’t see but can feel as heat. All objects in the universe emit some level of infrared radiation, whether they’re hot or cold. Spitzer used its infrared instrument to make discoveries in our solar system (including Saturn’s largest ring) all the way to the edge of the universe. From stars being born to planets beyond our solar system (like the seven Earth-size exoplanets around the star TRAPPIST-1), Spitzer’s science discoveries will continue to inspire the world for years to come.

Multiple wavelengths

Together, the work of the Great Observatories gave us a more complete view and understanding of our universe.

Hubble and Chandra will continue exploring our universe, and next year they’ll be joined by an even more powerful observatory … the James Webb Space Telescope!

Many of Spitzer’s breakthroughs will be studied more precisely with the Webb Space Telescope. Like Spitzer, Webb is specialized for infrared light. But with its giant gold-coated beryllium mirror and nine new technologies, Webb is about 1,000 times more powerful. The forthcoming telescope will be able to push Spitzer’s science findings to new frontiers, from identifying chemicals in exoplanet atmospheres to locating some of the first galaxies to form after the Big Bang.

We can’t wait for another explorer to join our space telescope superteam!

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com

eu·cha·rist

eat your gods.

EAT YOUR GODS. TEAR INTO THEM DEVOUR THEM LET ECSTATIC TEARS RUN DOWN YOUR FACE AND MIX WITH THE JUICE OF THEM.

get drunk on godflesh, stumble with divinity, whoop and shriek as they hit your bloodstream, roll in the dirt, suck their remnants off your gritty fingers, float, tumble, howl, chase, ascend, obliviate, transcend, transform.

wake disoriented, sick and aching with the loss of them. wipe your face, coax out your tangles, inspect your skinned knees and palms. leave your shoes where you threw them as an offering.

cultivate the hunger that only theophagy can sate.

consume them and be changed.

50 Simple Charms

Basil at the door, windows, or scattered in the home will increase money.

Lay thorny branches on your doorstep to keep evil from your dwelling.

Eat a pinch of Thyme before bed, and you will have sweet dreams.

Place chips of Cedar wood in a box with some coins to draw money to you.

Carry an Anemone Flower with you to ward against illness.

Hang a bit of Seaweed in the kitchen to ward evil spirits.

Keep a jar of Alfalfa in your cupboards to ensure the prosperity of your house.

Burn Allspice as an incense to draw money or luck to you, as well as speed healing.

Cut an Apple in half, and give one half to your love to ensure a prosperous relationship.

Carry an Avocado pit with you to let your inner beauty shine outwardly. Avocado is also an aphrodisiac.

Strawberries are an aphrodisiac.

Place a piece of cotton in your sugar bowl to draw good luck to your house.

Celery is an aphrodisiac.

Place Almonds in your pocket when you need to find something.

Scatter Chili Peppers around your house to break a curse.

Carrying a packet of strawberry leaves will help ease the pains of pregnancy.

Scatter some sugar to purify a room.

Throw rice into the air to make rain.

Carry a potato in your pocket or purse all winter to ward against colds.

Eat five almonds before consuming alcohol, to lighten the effects of intoxication.

Place a pine branch above your bed to keep illness away.

Chew celery seeds to help you concentrate.

Carry of chunk of dry pineapple in a bag to draw luck to you.

Ask an orange a yes or no question before you eat it, then count the seeds: if the seeds are an even number, the answer is no. If an odd number, yes.

Eat olives to ensure fertility.

Toss Oats out your back door to ensure that your garden or crop will be bountiful.

Eat mustard seed to ensure fertility.

Place Lilacs around your house to rid yourself of unwanted spirits.

Eat Lettuce to drive lustful thoughts from your mind.

Rub a Lettuce leaf over your forehead to help you sleep.

Add Lemon juice to your bathwater for purification.

Eat grapes to increase psychic powers.

Carry a blade of grass to increase your psychic powers.

Smell Dill to get rid of hiccups.

If you place a Dill sachet over your door, those who wish you ill can not enter your home.

Place cotton on an aching tooth, and the pain will ease.

Burn cotton to cause rain.

Place pepper inside a piece of cotton and sew it shut to make a charm to bring back a lost love.

Carry a small onion to protect against venomous animals.

Eat grapes to increase fertility.

Place a sliced onion in the room of an ill person do draw out the sickness.

Place an onion underneath your pillow to have prophetic dreams.

Place morning glory seeds under your bed to cure nightmares.

Walk through the branches of a maple tree to ensure that you will have a long life.

Mix salt and pepper together and scatter it around your house to dispel evil.

Smell Lavender to help you sleep.  (Lavender makes me fall asleep so fast).

Hang a pea pod containing nine peas above the door to draw your future mate to you.

Eat a peach to assist in making a tough decision.

Carry peach wood to lengthen your lifespan.

Carry a walnut to strengthen your heart muscle.