Tag: Witchy Things

  • I Ain’t Afraid of No Ghosts…

    The paranormal has always held a fascination for me. I was always the weird girl who would check out books on hauntings, cryptozoology, witches, and anything else a curious seven year old could get her hands on. I already believed in ghosts because I had lived in a haunted house.

    At one point we, my mother and I, lived with my Grandparents in a nice 50s style ranch home in Heath, Ohio. It was a typical three bedroom one bath house with basement rec room. There were a couple of things that happened in that house. Sometimes late at night a man made of static would come out of my closet and walk toward me across the room. I would cover my face with my blanket, but then I could still feel him staring with his face inches from my covered face. That seriously creeped me out, and it should be said that I was afraid of the dark so there was always a nightlight on in my room, so all of this happened by soft light and not in the dark.

    The other thing that happened in that house was that sometimes I would hear an adult (my mother or a grandparent) calling for me, but when I went to them they would say they hadn’t called. Then I knew that my friends were calling me from the basement. The people in the basement were white and they would peek around the corner when someone was coming to see if it was me. They were smaller than the static person, but still had no real features just a basic human form in white. They would play with me in the basement. I remember that, but I cannot remember what I played with them.

    So…by the time seven year old me was checking out all the paranormal books from the school library I was pretty old hat with ghosts.

    Many years later when talking about that house my mom revealed to me that the couple who had lived in the house before us the husband had been killed in an accident at a local factory. The wife went crazy with grief and had painted nearly the entire interior of the house black. So that when grandma and grandpa moved in they had to work super hard to cover it all with white paint. I feel like some of mg experience in that house was just the remnants of the wife’s grief. I wonder if people still experience things there.

    I still believe in ghosts, and I am a witch. I feel like there are still many things in this world that have yet yo be explained and I am open to the possibilities.

    Do you believe in ghosts? Have you ever had a ghost encounter?

  • The Ghost in the Hall (Who may or may not watch you pee)

    I went to a pool party at a friends house yesterday, and it was the first time I had been to her home. A couple of us were standing around laughing and chatting and waiting for everyone to arrive when the woman who’s house it is, Robin, says, “Oh, I don’t know if you are sensistive to it, but this house is haunted.” Robin tells us that they have named the ghost carl, and that he appears to be wearing a trenchcoat and a fedora like Dick Tracy or a noir detective. Her son has seen him, and another friend of hers after using the bathroom came out and told her that it was just polite to warn guests that a ghost might be watching them pee. Robin said she laughed when her friend said this and gave the warning from then on. Her grandson can also see the ghost and will sometimes not want to go into the bathroom because Carl is in there. I peed a couple of times, but did not experience the ghostly peeping tom, possibly because we were drinking quite a bit.

    This brought up the question of whether we believe in ghosts. I am a believer in ghosts in a couple of different ways. One I believe that sometimes what happened in a location was so horrifying that it leaves an imprint of the high emotion that happened there ie: hospitals, asylums, prisons and crime scenes. I also in intelligent haunting, where a ghost has retained some piece of it’s personality and nature that can be communicated to the living. I do not pretend to know how that works, but I have experienced “ghosts” that were able to communicate.

    When I was a little girl we lived in this house in Heath, Ohio. It was a cute little ranch in a nice area, but I always had odd things happen to me. At night if the closet door was left open a “person” who looked like they were made of TV static would walk out of the closet and come to my bed. I would pull my cover over my head, and if I looked out the face would be right above my face just inches away. In this same house there were the white people in the basement who would call my name in the voice of my mom or grandma, and if they were not at home or hadn’t called me then I knew I should go play in the basement. When I would look down the stairs I would see three or four white faces peeking around the corner of the stairs at me.

    Many, many years later my mom would tall me that the previous owner of the house died tragically in an industrial accident. After his death his widow went insane in her grief and painted all of the walls and cabinets in the house black. When my grandparents moved in they had to paint everything back to white, which apparently wasn’t easy. I feel like a lot of the crazy things I experienced there were the manifestation of the widow’s grief and rage.

    I have been listening to a really fun paranormal podcast Ghosted with Roz Drezfalez where Roz, an LA based drag queen, brings on guests to tell their ghost stories and strange run-ins with the paranormal. Stand out episodes are Kyle Ayers, Selene Luna, David Oman, Rain Phoenix and Casandra Peterson (Elvira). Roz has his own fun and interesting tales and honestly the show is just delightful.

    I have not seen or heard a ghost since becoming an adult, but I can sometimes feel them. I honestly wish I had retained some of the sensitivity I had as a child. Can you see, hear, sense, smell or taste (Yep it is a thing) ghosts? Do you believe? Do you have a good ghost story?

  • Blessed Lammas/ Lughnasadh

    Blessed Lammas/ Lughnasadh

    It is difficult in the heat of August to think that Fall is starting. In Ohio we have at least another month of summer like conditions to go at the beginning of August, so for me Lammas is less a Fall/Harvest festival than it is a celebration of the continuation of summer. It is the time when all the county fairs begin, and when the schools are getting ready to open again for the school year.

    Lammas is a bright golden sunny holiday; it brings with it the glance of fall that comes when you think of children going to school, football games, and bonfires at night. Corn is not quite its ripest or sweetest, but it is working toward it. August is when you start to work overtime to do all the fun summer things you wanted to get in before the season was over. Lammas is a warning that your summer is winding down, and your autumn is on the horizon.

    Enjoy the last days of your summer. Go to a baseball game, eat a popsicle from a truck, go on a picnic, do all the things that make summer what it is.

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  • Magickal Monday – Witchy Haul!

    Magickal Monday – Witchy Haul!

    Happy 4th of July Eve to my American Friends! To everyone else Happy Magickal Monday!!

    I have done some witchy shopping in the last couple of weeks, so I thought I would share some of my recent purchases.

    From a little shop in Yellow Springs, Ohio called House of Ravenwood I bought a piece of statuary that is a Merlin/Wotan – Odin. The workers and I thought it to be Odin. The box called him Merlin, but to me he is an Odin as the wanderer piece.

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    From my friend Seamus’ shop The Magical Druid I picked up a beautiful copper bracelet with pentacles on it. I also picked up a gorgeous piece of peacock ore, and a nice chunk of Black Tourmaline.

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    And a new oracle deck called The Halloween Oracle. The imagery on this deck is beautiful. I love Halloween, so this deck is right up my alley.

     

    I shuffled until a card popped out as a simple one card spread and I got the card:

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    Nightsong – Hidden Talents:  Should this beautiful but shy bird sing to you by appearing during your divination, know that you must unwrap the present of yourself. Look! Some of the gifts within you remain unopened! The time has come to step into your true potential and claim all possibilities for yourself. There is no more time to waste. No more excuses! – Stacey Demarco

    I am so excited to continue working with this deck. I think it is quickly going to become a favorite.

    My younger sister has gifted me with a beautiful picture which I am planning to frame to add to my altar space. I have no idea where it is from, or who the artist is, so if you know them please let me know.

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    I also made a trip last Thursday to my friend Heather’s shop Violet Flame Gifts in Newark. I was picking up the gorgeous drinking horn she made that was just begging to be owned by my husband. While I was there I found a gorgeous wand that I could not resist. Labradorite and Turquoise are two of my favorite stones. I am thinking of this as my Pisces wand, because of the shells and starfish motifs on it. I am so in love.

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    That is all, and enough, lol. Expect to see more of the oracle deck, and of that wand.

    Bright Blessings!

     

     

  • Magickal Monday – Grimoire Thoughts

    Magickal Monday – Grimoire Thoughts

    I have a problem with Grimoires (Books of Shadows, Mirrors, Light, etc.). My problem is that I never know what to include. I don’t want to treat it like a journal, but I also don’t want to make it impersonal. It is a struggle for me. I am getting ready to jump back into it again, and I am trying to decide what I want from my grimoire.

    In the past I have done a lot of copying from books, and adding pages from the internet. I really do not want to do that again. I want something more personal. I am thinking that rather than regurgitating what I find online, or in a book, I should be recording my personal take on things.

    Molly Roberts has a couple of amazing videos about this. This video and this one are both good starting points to giving your grimoire a makeover.

    I am going to go back over some pages I have made that I am not very happy with. I will share what those look like as they happen.

  • Magickal Monday – My Magickal Life

    Magickal Monday – My Magickal Life

    I mentioned at least once during my 30 days of introduction writing challenge that I am a practicing witch. I took a Wicca 101 course when I was 18, and I have been practicing since. I started as a wiccan, but as I have studied and read I have taken to calling myself an eclectic cottage art witch. That is just a fancy way of saying that I borrow from many different traditions, use items that I can find easily in my home, and make art as a type of magick.

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    My Dining Room Altar at Halloween. 

    I am a tarot card reader. My current favorite deck is the Deviant Moon Tarot. Some of my other favorite decks and oracles are: The Wildwood TarotRobin Wood Tarot Deck, and The Faeries Oracle. These are pretty common decks, but I am always on the lookout for new and interesting decks to play with. I love to watch unboxing videos on Youtube from other witchy people getting new decks. There are so many beautiful decks out there.

    I am going to use Mondays to talk about all things magickal; what I am reading, loving, working on, studying, and such.  I may do some tarot work and post it here, and I will show off magickal art. It will be a Magickal Monday on this blog. I hope you enjoy. If you have something you would like to see here, or learn more about feel free to leave a comment.

    Betsy

     

  • Beltane Blessings – A Witchy Post

    Beltane Blessings – A Witchy Post

    It is Beltane and in honor of the day I am using a Tarot Spread from Llewellyn called the May Queen.

    May Queen

    May is a time of fertility and high spirits. By Beltane, the dark time of the year is a distant memory and the possibilities of life seem sweet. Use the May Queen spread to regain or confirm a sense of abundance and safety. If you have a specific question in mind, ask it as you shuffle the cards. Shuffle the cards and place them in positions one through five, as shown.

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    Position 1: Safety. Emotional security. What you need to feel safe. Where are you secure in yourself? A seemingly negative card describes a situation that needs your focused attention. Work with the energy of that card to produce feelings of safety.

    Position 2: Abundance. Feelings of plenty. Abundance may encompass monetary prosperity, but it also describes the emotional breadth of your life that is full and sweet. A challenging card directs you to constricted energy flow; by releasing the block of a challenging card, emotional abundance will follow.

    Position 3: Regeneration. Exploring the possibilities. The bold action needed to grow and flourish. A challenging card will show you the block that keeps you from your heart’s desire.

    Position 4: Love. Emotions and relationships. All forms of love, from friendship to sexual passion. Only you know your heart. Look at the suit of the card: what does it tell you about your life right now? (Wands = passion or anger; Cups = love or friendship; Swords = loving the intellect, heartache, or painful decisions; Pentacles = sensuality, the body, or the value you place on love; Court Cards = personal characteristics in your relationships; Major Arcana cards = the big picture, karma, or the spiritual aspects of your relationships.)

    Position 5: The Future. The present conceivable outcome based on the flow of cards one through four. What story do the cards tell? The lessons to be learned and the potential for growth. How does position three, regeneration, relate to the future?

    1. Safety: Page of Wands (Reversed) – My place of safety is within my creativity, but I can also use it as a crutch and an excuse. I also have a bad habit of procrastinating which is always pushing the limit of what I am capable of doing. I need to be smart and do my best work and best thinking early when I am at my highest self and most creative.
    2. Abundance: King of Cups – My abundance lies in my creativity. If I learned nothing else from my mother it was how to make something out of nothing. I need to make the most of this.
    3. Regeneration: Five of Cups (Reversed) – I need to make the most of new friendships and relationships. And also keep myself open to the return of old relationships. Or, be social, Betsy!
    4. Love: Four of Pentacles – Per the chart above I feel stable, and somewhat possessive of my love, which is true. I am in love with our love, in all it’s aspects.
    5. The Future: XX Judgement – I am coming to a time of renewal and new beginnings. It is time for a good hard look at myself, and some decisions about where I am heading. It is time to start a new part of my journey.

    It sounds like my future is auspicious. I am working on a Job spell, so hopefully much of the tarot reading is an omen toward that. I hope you have a beautiful Beltane.

  • Writing Challenge – Day 17

    Day 17: Post about your zodiac sign, and whether or not it fits you.

    Sun sign: Pisces: February 18 – March 20

    Strengths: Compassionate, artistic, intuitive, gentle, wise, musical

    Weaknesses: Fearful, overly trusting, sad, desire to escape reality, can be a victim or a martyr

    I have always felt that I am a pretty accurate representation of what a Pisces is supposed to be for good or for ill. As I have learned more about astrology I know that I am a pretty good amalgam of my sign mixture: Pisces Sun, Cancer Moon, and Aquarius Rising. The Pisces makes me creative, tending toward escapist, intuitive, and artistic. The Cancer makes me sensitive, homebody, with intuition, and deep ties to family. The Aquarius makes me odd, attracted to the offbeat, curious, creative and unaffected by wealth or status. So, I am ridiculously sensitive, intuitive, creative, a little odd, and interested in everybody and everything. I like to be alone, but love to be out with people. I am honest, and expect honesty from others. In many ways I am a giant juxtaposition of myself. And I am happy to be so. 

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  • Writing Challenge – Day 4

    Writing Challenge – Day 4

    Day 4 – Write about someone who inspires you.

    Earlier this year I was introduced to a lovely pagan blogger, youtuber, artist and musician named Molly Roberts (http://mollyrobertsmagick.blogspot.com/).

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    On her Blog, Molly labels herself a City Witch, Magick Junkie, Artistic Mystic. She is the front woman of the band Tigernite. She writes beautiful and inspiring meditations. She wrote a beautiful book called Art Witch, in which she explains how to manifest magic through art. Her youtube channel is full of beautiful and inspiring videos. And if you are driven to support her on Patreon or to join her mailing list she will send you extra inspiring and beautiful videos, meditations, and pictures throughout the month.

    There is just something about her calm demeanor, beautiful nature, and creative insight that just speaks to the soul of me. One of her recent writings was a reimagining of the Call to the Quarters, which is a very traditional wiccan ritual opening. In her version she calls to the spirits of the city, and the version speaks so well to a witch who has never lived outside of an urban area. She calls to mosh pits, gutters, and smoke stacks in a way that evokes all the emotion and spirit of the original call.

    She talks about Pop Pantheons and using the imagery that inspires and speaks to you the most. If that means invoking Wonder Woman, or Frida Kahlo, do it. The magick is made when you believe and commit, so whether you pray to Athena or David Bowie the Magick happens in you.

    Whether you are WWP (Witchy, Wiccan or Pagan) or not, Molly Roberts is a beautiful source of inspiration. Find her and enjoy.