Ive Always Been Slightly Irked By The Idea Of Virgin Martyrs But Recently Ive Come To Realise That Virginity

I’ve always been slightly irked by the idea of “virgin” martyrs but recently I’ve come to realise that virginity for a woman of the past was something extremely difficult to protect and meant much more than just not having sex. Many of these martyrs and saints fought against men’s attempts to take it from them and paid with their lives. We always talk about virginity as being irrelevant nowadays but in reality, it’s representative of a woman’s agency over her own body. That’s something we value highly today.

It’s just another example of how complex the church’s relationship with women’s rights, sexuality, and intercourse has been over the last two millennia. Why would an institution we normally condemn as sexist and misogynistic (often for good reasons) hold disobedient wives and runaway brides up as an example of Christian virtue? Maybe the modern church needs to remember its past more in some respects…

💘 Venus shows what you find attractive in a partner and how you express love. The 7th house outlines the nature of your partnerships and agreements, reflecting the kind of relationships you'll end up in, not just be attracted to. It describes the initial stages of relationships, the "honeymoon phase," and how well you establish that social contract. The 8th house kicks in when you've moved past that initial stage and are now dealing with the nitty-gritty of sharing a life together, including emotional and financial entanglements. The 8th house can be a better indicator of long-term romantic satisfaction and emotional depth in a partnership, as it captures the complexities and challenges that come after the initial commitment.

Things on the Shrine

Here are some things that can be found on the shrine of a spirit or a deity:

A glass of water - generally 2 would be kept. One would be the spirit portal and is changed each day. It ensures that the energy is filtered and clear. The second is a general cup for libations and water.

Coins - depending on the deity or spirit, coins may be given. Coins are generally given as payment for a favour given. Sometimes the coin is used as representative of the energies of the shrine. Keeping coins or placing coins on the shrine of a wealth deity, for example, is found.

Candles - it can be interpreted that there are three constitutes for an altar. The water glass which sates the spirit and allows them to come forth and communicate, the candle which guides them (for one) but also gives them light to do their work. The last is prayer or invocation. That is the basic sense of how a shrine and spirit is petitioned for the first time. When you develop a relationship with the spirit, the shrine may extend more and become more intricate.

Food - general items include bread, fruits (especially oranges for the dead) and the like. Some spirits have particular preferences for food and will make this known.

Coffee - coffee is used a lot in spirit work. It invigorates a spirit and allows them to work strongly and quickly. Furthermore, it is a simple way to enjoy communion with a spirit or deity. Ancestors that like coffee would always benefit from this. I will make it known that some spirits do prefer tea and that should be taken under consultation with that spirit.

Incense - it depends on the work or spirit. Some spirits have incense made for them (particularly the Three Great Angels), but general things can be myrrh (especially for the Dead), Frankincense (good in general for empowering and worshiping of spirits and petitions), dragon's blood (a good general offering) and the like. Roses are also quite favoured.

Perfume - some spirits enjoy perfume. I've known a few spirits that would like for perfume to be sprayed on their altar picture or on their statue.

Prayer Cards, Medals, Beads etc. - there is a tradition that I've noticed that we adorn the statues of saints with our rosaries. There is also a tradition. Milagros are another example. I do also want to give the idea of making flower garlands for the spirits to adorn their statues. There is also traditions of giving clothes to the spirits (things such as wrapping good cloth, necklaces, ribbons and so on).

Witchy Studying Tips

As I’m currently studying for finals, I thought I’d share some of my favorite witchy ways to encourage myself to stay focused and avoid procrastinating while studying. Hopefully something here can help you out too!

✨Charm something that you will use while studying! This could be a specific pen, mug, or even a piece of jewelry! I do this by holding the object and filling it with energies that will be the most useful to my studying, such as focus, concentration, clear-mindedness, calmness, etc. You can do this with crystals, sigils, or just through channeling your own energy. I find it most effective to charge the object beforehand, and then when it’s time to study you’ll be able quickly boost those helpful energies!

✨Keep some crystals near you as you work! Here are some of my personal favorites to use while studying…

Sodalite: For intellect, logic, understanding, and efficiency. Sodalite also helps with communication, so it’s perfect when preparing for a speech or presentation! 

Quartz: For mental clarity and to enhance the properties of the other stones.

Tiger’s Eye: For keeping you focused by filtering out distractions, strengthening willpower, and helping you make practical sense of your work. 

Turquoise: For relieving stress

Citrine: For energy – I consider it my “caffeine crystal!”

Of course, you should use the correspondences and crystals that work best for you, these are just some ideas!  

✨Light some candles! Again, use the correspondences that work for you, but here’s my method! Because I’m not meditating or focusing on the candle itself, I’ll usually burn a scented candle rather than choosing the most relevant colored candle. The scent I choose will depend on the type of studying I’m doing. For anything requiring more creativity (like writing a paper), I use warmer, comforting scents, such as cinnamon and vanilla, and for more intense studying I’ll burn cool scents such as citrus, morning breeze, or pine. If you prefer to use color correspondences, I’d recommend either blue (wisdom, focus, calm), yellow (intellect, memory), or white (clarity)!

✨Connect with nature! Fresh air and the sounds of nature are one of the best ways for me to relax, focus, and concentrate on my work. Of course, the most obvious answer is to work outside, but that’s not always the most practical solution. Even just opening a window and getting as much natural light as possible (in daytime, of course) works wonders! If my neighbors are being too loud for this to work, I’ll sometimes pull up a nature sounds playlist on Spotify, or an atmospheric nature video on YouTube.

✨Try using the Forest app! Okay, I’ll admit this one is definitely not specifically witchy, but I find it very useful so I thought I’d mention it. Basically, it’s a productivity app where you specify an amount of time you want to stay focused, choose a tree species, and then while that tree is growing you can’t use your phone (there’s also a Chrome extension!). The virtual “coins” you earn by staying focused can even be used to plant real trees through Trees for the Future. It’s a super cute, nature-themed way to stay on task, and I think there’s a lot of potential there for other witchy things like setting intentions, meditation, etc. This app does cost money (I think it’s $0.99?), but there is a similar free app called FocusNow, I just personally prefer Forest!

I hope you found at least some of this was helpful, and good luck with your studying! 💕

50 KITCHEN WITCH TIPS TO MAKE YOU FEEL MORE WITCHY

(And other useful things I've learned over the years)

Hi! This is a list of dos, don'ts, tips, tricks, and other fun things that I've learned over the years. I always love finding more effective and efficient ways of doing things so if you have any cool things you'd like to add, leave them in the comments or reblog. I'd love to read it.

Anyways... On with the list ^_^

Light candles around your kitchen space (just make sure nothing flammable is near you)

Annotate your cookbooks with the correspondence of the ingredients.

Mediating is really good to calm the mind before cooking.

Cut oranges and lemons thinly, dry them, and hang them with twine around your kitchen

Need a cleansing tip? Open all your windows near your kitchen. Let some fresh air in.

Cutting sigils into apples, pie crusts, and carved potatoes.

Save lemon and orange rinds, freeze them, and then use them to clean the garbage disposal.

Make infused oils and honey: Things like garlic honey, lavender honey, herb oil, sun oil, moon oil, dandelion oil, and other different edible oils are very fun and useful to make.

Hid sigils in pages of your cookbooks and kitchen witch journals.

Add some plants! Snake plants and spider plants don't need too much light, and growing your own herbs in your kitchen is awesome too. Basil, lavender, thyme, aloe vera, rosemary, etc. are good fits. You could also add some plants that require more sunlight on the kitchen window sill. Like cacti and succulents.

Bring crystals into your kitchen space such as rose quartz, clear quartz, amethyst, or whatever you want the space's intentions to be.

I keep a small money tree on the sill, along with cacti for luck and protection.

Make a simmer Pot! Mostly because it makes the whole house smell good, easy, and fun.

Stir clockwise for best results!

Learning how to pickle things is actually pretty witchy. Plus, anyone could do it as it requires absolutely no kitchen experience. You could pickle any vegetable, even if you don't like pickles. I originally learned this after having to take shelter from a natural disaster. A person brought a bunch of stuff and taught us how to pickle things with different spices and herbs. Very fun!

Decorate your kitchen with your favorite stuff. Crystals, decor, heat mits, that cool mushroom cake stand you've been eyeing at the World Market for the past 2 weeks, cool looking curtains, sun catchers. Why stop there? Paint the walls, hang shelves full of marked-up cookbooks that are a little too well-loved and thumbed through.

Wanna be the person that has the amazing-smelling house every time people come over? Syrups take some time to simmer down, it's actually a pretty good time to leave it on the stove to simmer. Since syrups have a lot of aromatic ingredients, it acts as a really good-smelling simmer pot.

Hang up herbs to dry with twine from cabinets that are rarely used.

Invest in that new set of plates and cups.

Homemade jams, butter, sauces, and syrups are your best friend.

Crochet or knit your own dish rags, pot holders, etc.

Don't pour extremely hot things into a glass that's not Pyrex, it will break, and you will be very sad about it.

Don't cook anything while extremely upset or emotional (For safety reasons)

Make recipes you want to make, not just because you'll like the effect. Make it because you think it's tasty.

Chinese Five Spice works in place of herbs for protection and luck spells a lot of the time! It's cheaper to buy 1 spice than 4 different spices that total up to 15 dollars when you could just spend 3-4 dollars.

Take a shower before cooking (I don't know how to explain this one other than it makes you feel better)

Don't use microfiber/plastic material clothes on hot burners, it will fuse to the burner and melt. It is VERY hard to get off.

I don't know if I need to put this one but I did see someone do it so nonstick pan = wooden utensils and plastic utensils, metal pan = metal utensils. Do not use a metal spoon in a nonstick pan, please. It can make you very sick.

Keep your pets away from hot oil, open ovens, and hot pans.

You can proof bread dough in the fridge overnight if you don't have the time to bake, or want to eat fresh bread right in the morning.

Need a quick witchy meal for dinner in 12 minutes? Use premade tomato pasta sauce and doctor it up with thyme, rosemary, and garlic, for protection and distilling stagnant energies. Serve with pasta of your liking.

You can substitute Butter for Crisco/shortening, buttermilk for 1 cup of milk + 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice, and heavy cream for 1 cup of half and half plus 2 tbsp of butter.

Use leftover animal bones to make bone broth

Teach yourself the art of bread scoring (It's fun, and you can show it off to your loved ones!)

Collect and hoard your own and others' family recipes.

Sometimes the food doesn't have to be a spell, sometimes it just makes you feel good and you don't know why.

Listen to your favorite music in the kitchen, it makes the monotonous things like chopping veggies move faster.

Invest in a vegetable chopper if you don't like chopping vegetables.

Find a really good hot cocoa recipe and make it once a week. Master it. Just for your own happiness because hot cocoa is really good. You could also be the friend/family member that makes the best hot cocoa ever.

Focaccia Bread Lasts a very long time, and it's very easy to make!

Keep a first aid kit near where the oven is, in case of burns, cuts, or serious injuries where time is everything.

Quick Bread and no-rise loaves are simple for beginners, tasty, and take little time. They also feel very witchy to make.

Study a bit of Herbalism! It's fun and really helps better understand the herbs you're putting into your food.

While something is boiling, put your wooden spoon over the pot to minimize the chance of something boiling over.

Try a bit of coffee magick, it's simple to get into, and gives you a boost of energy to take on the day!

If you're over 21, wine-making is a very interesting way to celebrate the sabbats. Just with that, make sure you KNOW what you're doing. With anything fermented, there's always a risk if you don't store things correctly. Apple wines, strawberry wines, dandelion wines, etc. all very cool to experiment with. If you're not over 21, vinegar is a similar way to experiment.

Hang up some witchy things, sigils, photos, cool magnets, and other things that give you joy on your fridge. (Sometimes if you are lucky they have some fun magnets at five below)

If you live in the US, for some reason, there are a lot of books in the book section dedicated to witchcraft and spirituality. At least where I live. And they are all under 5 dollars!

Teas are the cheapest and easiest things you can practice being a kitchen witch.

The Fae

The Fae, the little folk, the fair folk, sidhe, faeries, there are so many names for this group of diverse and complicated beings. In this post we will go over what they are, what they aren’t, and so much more, read on to find out!

First let’s start with a disclaimer: Topics like this are always subject to bias and personal experience. I will do my best to give information that I find as unfiltered as I can, and my personal thoughts will be typed in blue and italicized for ease of understanding

Now, let’s get some of the basics out of the way, shall we?

What are they?

Fae is a broad term for a mythical creature or supernatural race of (usually humanoid) beings found in almost all cultures. "Fae" is an Old French term, and "fairy" or "faerie" is an Old English term.

These beings come in many shapes, sizes, and colors, and each kind has different abilities and preferences.

The specifics of the fae will be different depending on the language and culture you're interacting with. If you want to work with Irish fae, learn the types of Irish fae. If you want to work with Dutch fae, learn the types of Dutch fae. So on and so forth.

Where are they?

This depends on who you ask, honestly, but since there are fairy-like beings in almost every culture it could be seen that they can be found anywhere.

Wherever they are geographically, they are most likely going to be in nature rather than more urban areas. That doesn’t mean you can’t find them in cities, just that they probably won’t be as plentiful.

I am personally of the mindset that they can be anywhere, and will come and go as whenever and wherever they please.

Other Names for the Fae

The term you use to speak of the general "fae" rather than specific will depend on the language you're speaking in. In English-speaking countries, these tend to be used the most:

The Sidhe (Old Irish)

Aos Si (or Sith for the Scottish spelling)

Fey or Fay (Old French)

The Fair Folk (English, trans. from Irish)

However, if you know the specific type of fae you're working with, it's better to just call them that.

Speaking of which,

What kind/how many are there?

So many, and honestly I could just leave that answer there as there is so much lore across all those different cultures that you could consider Fae; many more than I am willing to write about in one post, to be sure.

However, I want to talk about some of the more commonly known names:

The Banshee. They are often misunderstood, people believing that they cause death, when really they just predict it.

Cat Sith, a species of sídhe. that takes on the form of a cat. They often said to resemble a large black cat with a white spot on its chest. 

Changeling are said to be human-like children of the Fae that get swapped with human children after their birth. 

Merrow, or mermaids, are depicted as mostly women with human upper halves, and fish below the torso.

Púca, pooka, or phouka, are bringers of luck–both good and bad–and are said to be shape-changers, often taking form as a dog, goat, horse, or other animal.

Dullahan, the headless horseman, exactly as you often see depicted during the Halloween season, Dullahan rides black or dark horses and looks all too human–but without the head, which he carries with him; either holding it or carrying it in a bag. Similar to the Banshee, the Dullahan prophesizes death, it’s believed that when he stops riding someone is about to die. 

Creideamh Sí, or “Fairy Faith”

The Creideamh Sí is the term used to describe the collection of beliefs, rituals, or practices observed by the folks who believe in and wish to stay on the good side of the Fae. This mostly involves offerings of milk and honey, baked goods, or fruits, as well as respecting the areas where the Fae roam.

How do I interact with them?

Honestly I’m not comfortable telling you in a Basic Information post how you can interact with the Fae. They are far from human, meaning their morals are vastly different than ours; and unlike gods, they don’t feel the need to be particularly involved with us or our human nature. That isn’t to say that they’re bad, but they aren’t necessarily benevolent either. They’re a pretty neutral bunch by human moral standards. 

If you’d like to learn how to interact with them, feel free to do your own research or look to the bottom of this post for a resource and further reading list. This is based more on English and Irish lore but may transfer through to other cultures. Be sure to do your research.

However, I will give you a few tips to start you off:

Never say Thank you or Thanks, it implies that you owe them something, and chances are you don't want to owe them anything. That’s not to say “don’t show gratitude”, it just means show it in other ways. 

Never say sorry, a "pardon me" or even "forgive me" would be better.

Always be polite when speaking to them. You don’t need to sound like a Victorian Noble or anything, just don’t be impolite. Treat the interaction like you would a really important job interview.

Don’t give them your real name, it’s said to give them power over you. You can choose a made-up name or a nickname. 

If you give them something it’s theirs, moving or disposing of it is seen as rude.

If you travel to their realm (trance, dreaming, or astral travel) treat it like you’re physically there. Don’t eat the food.

Cast iron, iron, pure silver and the sound of chimes is said to keep them away. 

It’s generally not a good idea to make a deal with them. They can twist words and suddenly you’re in for more than you bargained for. 

Are they dangerous?

Sure, they can be, but so can any magical or mystical being–or living thing, really. Hell, even non-living things can be dangerous! 

But for real, are they dangerous? 

Yes, especially if you have no clue what you’re doing. Some Fae are nicer than others, and certainly some are easier to work with. Some, however, are malicious--by human standards--and you’ll want to avoid them at all costs.

That being said, as long as you’re polite, and you do your research, you’ll probably be fine.

Resources and Further Reading

Misconceptions About Faries by @samwisethewitch

Fairies: A Guide to the Celtic Fair Folk by Morgan Daimler

On the Origin of Fairies: Victorians, Romantics, and Folk Belief by Carole Silver

Faery: A Guide to the Lore, Magic, & World of the Good Folk by John T. Kruse

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Updated for accuracy.