Just In Case Anyone Was Confused

Just in case anyone was confused

Dead Man's Dust

Intent: For preventing spirits from following you home.

Ingredients:

1 pt Chili Pepper (any type)

1 pt Salt

1 pt Basil

1 pt Garlic Powder

1⁄2 pt Dill

1⁄2 pt Lemon Peel

Optional: Add a pinch of Curry or Cumin for extra oomph.

Note: Powdered versions of most herbs are available online. I recommend Starwest Botanicals and Penn Herbs for quality products at reasonable prices. Also, if you can get your hands on a good electric spice grinder, you can make your own powder from dried herb products. If you don't have premade powdered herbs, grind each ingredient separately to produce fine powder. Sieve the material through the mesh strainer into the collection dish; this removes the larger unground pieces and gives you cleaner powdered herb. (Pro-Tip: Putting a funnel under the mesh strainer reduces lost material and makes collection much easier.)

Combine the component powders in the collection dish, mix well, and bottle immediately. Label with the name, date, and ingredients for future reference.

This powder performs one of the functions of Banishing Powder, but with special attention to warding off pesky ghosts. After visiting historical or haunted locations, or any time you feel spooked while walking home, sprinkle a palmful of powder on the ground and scrape your feet on it (as if you were wiping off dirt) to keep anything ghostly from following you home. Take three steps backward and spit toward the powder, then continue on your way.

For extra protection, toss a pinch of Banishing Powder, Threshold Powder, or Black Salt over your doorstep when you get home.

Note: For safety's sake, make sure you never cast this powder into the wind and wash your hands after use. Leftover particles on your skin can cause pain and irritation if they come into contact with your eyes or breathing passages.

-adapted from Pestlework: A Book of Magical Powders & Oils, (c) 2017 by Bree NicGarran

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As truly as God is our Father, so truly God is our Mother.

Julian of Norwich, trans. Fr. John-Julian, OJN

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…

🕯 Jewish Entities 🕯

Many folks know that Judaism is a closed practice, but don't always know how to spot appropriation. Here is a list of Jewish entities that aren't shared with Christianity, meaning they are closed to non-Jews.* This list isn't fully-comprehensive, but I've marked some of the more popular ones. (For Jewitches, this could also be treated as a list for Jewish spirit workers who want to reclaim some of these entities as part of our own path!)

*Note: Some of these entities ARE shared with Islam (another initiatory tradition,) so they would still be open for our Muslim friends to work with but still restricted to the general public. Those entities are marked with an asterisk*.

Angels

Erelim

Hashmallim

Ishim/Eshim*

Lailah

Metatron*

Se'irim

Demons

Agrat bat Mahlat

Alukah

Lilith

Mazzikin

Naamah

Samael

Tanin'iver

Creatures & Monsters

Broxa

Chalkydri

Dybbuks

Estries

Golems

Re'em (Unicorns are okay, just don't call them Re'em!)

Ziz

I miss witchblr. Will you interact if you’re into:

ancestor veneration

folk Christianity

tarot

astrology

Celtic paganism

I want to follow you!