Grounding plays an important part in witchcraft. It’s just a fancy way of saying you’re completely aware of your surroundings. For me, a lot of grounding techniques are too boring and I get distracted easily. So here’s a list of grounding techniques I use!
Grab pretty much anything. Notice how it feels. Notice the textures, the sounds it makes as you touch it and move it around. Notice the colors, the smell, maybe it’s taste.
On both hands, tap each finger to your thumb. Tap your fore finger to your thumb, then your middle finger, ring finger, pinkie, and go back. Make sure you do this on both hands. Using both hands activates both sides of your brain which in turn helps you become more aware.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Look around the room. Find 5 things of one color, then 4 of a different color, and so on and so forth. For example, you could find 5 things that are red, 4 things that are green, 3 things that are black, 2 things that are blue, and 1 thing that is purple.
You can do the same thing but with your senses. 5 things you can see, 4 things you can touch, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell, and 1 thing you can taste.
Hold ice in your hands.
Eat something spicy or sour.
All of these were taught to me by my therapist and can be used by anyone. Feel free to change them up as needed whether it be to make it more witchy or just more comfy for you
no one tagged me, but i wanted to post six selfies…
that hair… HOW YOU DO THAT HAIR PLZ TEACH
😀
Buckle in, because this is going to be a LONG post. And I’m going to talk about BOG MUMMIES.
For reference, the hair in question:
This updo was actually what convinced me to grow my hair long in the first place (back in ye old 2008), and it has been strongly influential in my personal aesthetic ever since.
The story starts in 1938. Actually, it starts even earlier than that. In ~280 B.C., a woman died, and her body was placed in a bog, where it stayed until it was discovered in 1938, so well-preserved that the hair was still there.
This bog mummy is referred to as the Elling Woman. Here’s a bit about her.
The article talks a bit about her hair, but it’s kind of an unsatisfactory description. I found out about it when the article reached the Long Hair Community Forum in 2008, resulting in a 40-page (and counting!) thread wherein a bunch of long-haired women figured out how to recreate the hairstyle.
The ladies of LHC looked at the images of the hair, and were like: “Yep, that’s a rope braid.” “Here’s how you could do a 7-strand braid with 2-3-2 sections.” Etc. And basically, they tested out different versions, and came up with something that was cool-looking, comfortable, and practical.
Here’s the ~official~ reconstruction on the Tollund Man website:
And here’s a (very confusing) diagram of how the style is supposedly constructed:
There are several different recreations of the style floating around the LHC and youtube and the wider internet. The style also looks and works differently with different types of hair. I had to grow mine out until I could make a waist-length braid before I could really successfully do it with my hair, but my hair is medium-thick and fairly fine, so YMMV. Some people on the LHC did it with much shorter and thicker hair.
The LHC thread about it is a fun read, but it’s a bit long and meandering, and there are several conflicting sets of instructions there, so I’ll just talk about the method that I use. If you want a video aid, what I do is basically this, except I do rope braids for the bottom 2/3s instead of English braids, and I finish it by wrapping the thick braid around the middle braid, like this (I’ve never actually tried that particular method for forming the big braid, but finishing up the bun is the same).
Here’s a written description:
Take the top 1/3 of your hair and braid it in a basic 3-strand braid (a.k.a. an English braid) down to a little past your neck. Tie it off so that it stays braided while you braid the rest of your hair.
Separate your remaining hair into two sections (each about 1/3 of your total hair), one on the left side, and one on the right.
Braid each section into a rope braid (a two-strand braid that’s made by twisting both sections in the same direction, then twisting them together in the opposite direction). Tie them off so that they stay braided. Also, I’ve found that it’s better to make the rope braids so that they’re coiled in opposite directions.
Take the two rope braids, and braid them with the top/middle section of your hair that you’d braided into an English braid. You’re basically making one big English braid. After I’ve started braiding it, I slip off the elastic tie that I’d used to hold the middle braid together temporarily.
Braid it as a 3-strand (that’s made up of two 2-strand rope braids, and one one-strand section that started as a 3-strand braid, so it’s sort of a 7-strand braid!) English braid all the way to the end of your hair. Take out the elastic ties around the two rope braids when you get to them.
Tie the whole thing off with a single elastic tie at the end.
To make the bun, you lift up the simple English braid (the one you made in step one), and you wrap the thick, complicated braid around it in a spiral.
Tuck the end in as best as you can, and then secure it with whatever you want. I’ve used everything from a hair stick, a hair comb, a few bobby pins, and even a single barrette before.
You’re done!
There wasn’t any evidence of any hair pins or anything like that to secure the hair found with the Elling Woman’s body. If your hair is very oiled and/or very unwashed, it might be able to hold itself in place without needing to be tied or secured. As it is, this style does work better if your hair has been oiled, or hasn’t been washed for several days.
This hairstyle is really cool for a lot of reasons, but it’s also extremely comfortable! The middle braid essentially holds the whole thing up, so you don’t experience any of the pulling you feel with some buns.
Basically, if I had to wear the same hairstyle for thousands of years, I’d definitely pick this one. It’s beautiful, versatile, comfortable, and has a really cool backstory.
“On the top of the tallest pine trees stood a murder of vigilant crows. Their caws, infrequent and hieratic, sounded to me like a calling, a familiar language that urged me to follow them in the forest. So I did. I walked into the thickness of the trees until there were no more paths to follow. The white veil that wrapped everything made it so that what was usually invisible would show itself. Any distinction between real and unreal suddenly lost its meaning.”
To anyone who needs this post, I am sending gentle and loving energy your way. Know that grief is meant to hurt, and with time it WILL get easier (but may not go away, and that’s okay). Please utilize this post only as a supplement, and talk to a therapist or loved ones if you need to.
“Don’t work with death, because then you invite it into your house.”
Death is already in my house. Death is everywhere. Death is what decays the plant matter that feeds my garden. Death is what feeds the herbs I use in my spells, for each grows from what died before it.
Death is what feeds my family – death of plants, the death of animals. I would not disrespect the spirits of that which feeds us by ignoring their sacrifice.
Death is the veil between my ancestors and myself, keeping them at rest and then acting as the gate for them to step into their next life.
When I do hospice work and sit with someone who is accepting their approaching death, I don’t tell them death is something to fear or avoid. I tell them death is the friend that walked beside them, every step of their life, maintaining the balance of the world, and waiting for them with open arms, to escort them to rebirth.
“Don’t work with death!”
I would not ignore life’s partner, not for arrogance or fear or ignorance. When I go to my own, I want to greet death with respect, acceptance, and gratitude.
The Summer Solstice has finally come! We are officially halfway through the year. This energy is great for manifesting, expressing gratitude, and making changes in your life for the next few months. Now is the best time to create new morning rituals, to not only enhance your living but to enhance your magic as well! ✨
What is a Morning Ritual?
A morning ritual is anything you do to get your day started. In the witchy world, a morning ritual combines mundane tasks with everyday magic practice.
Sometimes the morning is the only time we get to practice magic, with our lives being so hectic and busy.
How Long Should it Be?
Your morning ritual can last anywhere from 10 minutes to 1 hour or more.
First figure out how much time you have to spare in the mornings. Do you have 9am classes or work really early in the morning? Set your alarm for 10-20min before you have to leave, and do your morning ritual then. Work overnight and only get the mornings to sleep? Set an alarm for early afternoon, the exact time doesn’t matter. Mornings completely free? Set up I comfortable time to rise and you use as much time as you’d like.
The ritual should last as long as your activities do. If it takes you 20 minutes to do yoga and you’d like to include it in your routine, try to allot time for that. Which brings us to the next point:
What Practices Should I Include?
Anything that you want to become habitual and/or anything you’re trying to improve at.
It takes 21+ days to create a habit, and 1,000 hours minimum to get good at something, so including these things in your morning ritual will help speed up that process.
A normal morning ritual consists of regular activities like: making tea/coffee, stretching, taking a shower etc. When you’re coming up with your list, make sure to include these tasks that you’re already used to doing. (this will be helpful in figuring out how much time you need, as well)
To spice up your morning ritual, try to turn those mundane tasks into something more magical. Then, consider which of your witchy practices require little energy and can start you up for the day.
Some examples of ritual activities include:
Pulling tarot/oracle cards for the day
Showers/baths for cleansing 🚿
Smoke cleansing 💨
Making tea/coffee with herbs corresponding to your intentions for the day (ie. rosemary before going to any classes/lectures) 🍵☕️
Doing chakra meditation focused on a specific chakra ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🧘🏾♀️
Sun Salutation Yoga ☀️
Creating a quick crystal grid
Going outside and walking barefoot, for grounding 🌱🌿
Burn incense with scents/herbs corresponding to the day’s intentions
Write out affirmations/intentions for the day in a notebook/journal
Dream journaling! ✨
Working on a page in your grimoire 📕
Playing music and dancing around the house to stir up energy 💃🏽🎶
Lighting a candle on your altar or around your sacred space (bonus points for color based on intention) 🕯
Quick self-love/glamour magic 💎
Etc. etc. etc.
Your list could include one, a few, all, or none of these things. It’s all about what feels right for your individual practice. If you don’t already know what you want to do, look into what other witches or spirituals in your belief do on a daily basis. For example, practitioner of Norse Mythology often work with runes, you could definitely include that in your morning ritual.
But most importantly your morning routine is your own. Make it what you want it to be. It can be as long or as short as you’d like, and as eccentric as you please. The most important part is that you enjoy what you’re doing, and you feel energized doing it.
If you have anything else you like to do in your morning routines send them to me or reblog under this post 🖤
It seems that more and more, in order to be accepted in Lokean spaces you’re expected to outright reject portions of the lore, and accept questionable UPG to fill in the resulting gaps. We can’t have Loki actually killing Baldr. We can’t have Loki actually playing a part in Ragnarok, or Ragnarok being a thing. We can’t have Loki being bound, because OMG you are so mean, how could you possibly bear the though of Loki being bound? Any mistakes or morally questionable things our gods do or even pain that they experience must be Christian propaganda, because clearly it’s impossible for pre-Christian Scandivanians to have and a totally different, non-black-and-white, non-Christian view of morality.
And to be honest, that’s not really the sort of god I want to worship, or the form of morality I want to have. I’m drawn to Loki because he has fucked up and he has experienced trauma and he is worthy anyway, you know? I’m drawn to Heathenry because it lacks those moral absolutes.
I was hoping this stuff would die down with the Marvel fad, but honestly, it’s not, and it’s frustrating.
may the bridges I burn light the way 