Remember Shadow Work Is All About Unlocking Your Subconscious. This Helps You Understand Yourself Better

Ways to honor Lord Hades

Play with dogs and be kind to them

Make a candle for him, typically foresty smelling- next to Persephone’s

Find coins and keys for him

Use mint or peppermint and rosemary

Respect the dead and graveyards

Collect black stones or crystals

Talk to him and give respect

Do more research on him / the myths

Picture from pintrest

"Prayers in Greek religion, as scholars have noted, generally have a tripartite form, consisting in a preliminary invocation, some sort of argument or narrative that explains why the divinity should grant the prayer, and the actual wish itself. The invocation serves to get the god's attention and request the god's presence, often invoking the god by a variety of epithets and titles that identify the god. Such addresses are not so much to make sure that the prayer reaches the right entity as to begin the process of establishing the identities of the prticipants in the prayer relation...The process of identifying participants in the relationships continues in the argument section, which often sets out a narrative of the god's past deeds or of the previous relationship, the history of the interactions and exchanges of favors between god and mortal. The actual wish of the prayer may come at the very beginning, but often comes at the end of the prayer, following all the descriptions of the status of the god and the mortal and their relationship that provide the reasons why the god should grant the mortal's request."

Drawing Down the Moon, Radcliffe G. Edmonds III, p. 155

How to Organize Your Book of Shadows/Grimoire

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A great recommendation on how to do so! Remember, though, this is only an opinion: always follow your intuition and include what feels right! There may be topics on this list that are not applicable to your practice and/or don't interest you, and that is okay. Each book of shadows/grimoire is unique item that should be personal to you and you alone.

Stormy's Spellbook

How to Organize Your Grimoire

Have you ever bought a journal with plans to turn it into a beautiful grimoire? Something directly out of the 90s show “Charmed”? But you ha

Working In Graveyards & Graveyard Etiquette🕯

Why Incorporate Graveyards?

Graveyards have always been associated with the supernatural and metaphysical. In both ancient and modern cultures, funerary rights and the dead have always held great significance in society. When working in these spaces, the most important thing to remember is respect. The dead are not as mutable as the living and it may take longer to rectify a mistake and earn their trust again than it would have been to learn the proper etiquette from the start.

Which begs the question, why work in these spaces and with these spirits? Well lots of reasons, some people choose to only work in graveyards that they have a direct ancestral connection with (ie. family members or distant relative are buried there). Others, like myself, find it a good way to honour the local spirits. Even spirits of people you don't know and have no connection too are worth honouring. Some people believe that since all of humanity has a common ancestor, we are all related and so even cemeteries you have no direct connection to, are connected to you by our common ancestor (another reason I am quite fond of). Maybe you just think it's cool, which is valid. Whatever your reason, just make sure you have one and are not going there with insincere intentions.

What is Graveyard Etiquette?

Graveyard etiquette are the ways in which we should behave when entering and visiting a graveyard in order to be respectful to those resting there. Although there are general rules of thumb which many witches follow, as you develop a relationship with a particular graveyard, those customs can change. Here are some I like to follow:

Leaving an offering- I always bring an offering of coins or flowers. If I'm visiting a graveyard that I've never been to before, I will leave coins at the gate, for the guardian and at some of the older and unkept headstone (also graves of young children if I find any). During regular visits, I leave offerings with the guardian and at headstones of spirits I've developed a relationship with.

Walking the entire graveyard- this is not something I do every time but I like to walk around the entire site and introduce myself especially if I plan on having a working relationship with the spirits there (this may be more difficult for larger sites, I recommend picking an new area each time you visit if that is the case).

Entering and leaving through the same gate- this is not one I stick to every time if I know the spirits really well. If I've never visited before I will always leave through the same exit that I entered from.

Throwing salt or spinning- I heard this one from ChaoticWitchAunt (on TikTok) and it's something that I've just always done. They recommended spinning around three times before leaving to prevent spirits from following you home. I've also thrown a bit of salt over my left shoulder outside the entrance for the same purpose (beware: salt is not good for the earth). This is definitely something that just resonated with me after a bad experience and that's why I continue to do it.

A Note on Necromancy & Death work:

Necromancy is often a term used in many scary movies and cult fiction. It is actually a form of divination which utilizes the dead. Anyone can learn necromancy however it is an integral part of death work. Death worker (practitioners who practice death work) are involved with crossing spirits over. The job requires some level of mediumship abilities and can be very taxing on your mental health. Some death workers take on the lingering emotions of the deceased (pain, fear, anger, etc.) in order to help that spirit. Death work is much more than the small bit that I've described but it is important to note that the path is not for everyone. You can still work in cemeteries and utilize necromancy without doing death work (& a big thank you to the death workers who continue on their path despite the toll it takes, we love you!).

*All images are from Pinterest*

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Witchcraft: Fruits

Apple:

Protection, immortality, romance, longevity, adoration, endurance, warding, happiness, and love.

Apricot:

Admiration, compassion, cheerfulness, devotion, bliss, love, happiness, romance, and optimism.

Avocado:

Compassion, adoration, contentment, optimism, pleasure, romance, happiness, lasting love, and positivity.

Banana:

Fruitfulness, affluence, sexuality, lustfulness, fertility, prosperity, passion, bounty, sensuality, and desire.

Cherry:

Resurgence, reawakening, prosperity, revival, rebirth, sensuality, romance, rejuvenation, and fortune.

Coconut:

Purifying, revolution, rejuvenating, reawakening, exclusion, cleansing, transformation, and banishment.

Dragon Fruit:

Conquest, opulence, strengthening, excellent luck, victory, energizing, achievement, and success.

Grapes:

Extravagance, lushness, prosperity, fruitfulness, magnificence, regard, bountifulness, fertility, and luxury.

Lemon:

Cleansing, invigorating, cunning, purification, dexterity, refreshing, intelligence, and banishing.

Lime:

Regeneration, cleansing, stimulating, sustenance, reformation, revitalization, purification, energizing, and transformation.

Lychee:

Good fortune, sophistication, love, attraction, wealth, excellent treasure, elegance, romance, splendor, and abundance.

Mango:

Cheerfulness, success, happiness, delightfulness, prosperity, pleasure, abundance, and blissfulness.

Orange:

Cleansing, creativity, energizing, positivity, purification, refreshing, regeneration, Solar Energy, successfulness, and transformation.

Olives:

Camaraderie, coherence, cleansing, harmonization, restoration, purification, cooperation, synchronization, and healing.

Papaya:

Escalation, inspiration, contemplation, love, prosperity, and compassion, attraction, introspection, and romance.

Peach:

Vitality, perseverance, rejuvenation, wellbeing, spiritual rebirth, vigor, fertility, longevity, vitality, and fecundity.

Pear:

Synchronization, intelligence, wellbeing, affluence, endurance, harmonization, healthiness, prosperity, and longevity.

Pineapple:

Decadence, magnificence, affluence, knowledge, abundance, understanding, good luck, and opulence.

Pomegranate:

Fruitfulness, attraction, majesty, magnetism, lushness, fruitfulness, splendor, magnificence, and fecundity. 

Tomato:

Relationships, accomplishment, dignity, reward, triumph, desire, connections, success, honor, bounty, victory, and lustfulness.

Watermelon:

Great fortune, fecundity, profusion, fertility, abundance, bounty, lushness, opulence, potency, multitude, and good luck.

Hades Devotional Poem #2

Ἁιδης Suffering floods and bursts in moments I weep into the soil beneath my  grasping fingers I question purpose, I beg for reason And in my choking state as I dig and dig Trying to find an answer You grasp my shoulder You stay my hand And with a gentle sigh “You are with me” When all have turned their back I know  you will always remain Humble and Prosperous Quiet and Knowing

Witchcraft Exercises

Just a quick compilation of the posts I've made about exercises to help improve your craft. These can be used as journaling prompts, inspiration for activities, or as methods for pulling yourself out of a slump and recharging your witchy inspiration.

Witchcraft Exercise - Quantifying Your Craft

Witchcraft Exercise - Dig Through The Ditches

Witchcraft Exercise - The Book of Lessons

Witchcraft Exercise - Home Brews

Prompt - Music to Witch By

Most of these are also available in the May 2021 bonus episode of Hex Positive (check your favorite podcatcher).

Happy Witching!

Symbols for Loki

We frequently receive requests for lists of Lokean symbols. I’m not going to lie: I’ve always been against the idea, and I still kind of am. I do not believe it’s respectful to treat deities as beings you can summon at will with the right combination of symbols and offerings. And I really, really don’t believe in encouraging people to base their practices on lists of symbols on the internet, since a symbol partly loses it meaning when divorced from its original context in the myths. But the truth is that people are going to seek this stuff out regardless.

And so, I kind of consider this list the lesser of two evils. Instead of just listing things, I’m going to include a bit on where each symbol comes from and whether it’s historically attested or a modern association. This list is no substitute for actual research or a relationship with Loki. It is meant only as a starting point for those things.

That said, don’t stress if you find out that some of the symbols you’ve been using aren’t attested in the lore. Remember, a symbol does not need to be attested in order to be valid. A symbol does not need to be shared with anyone else to be valid. Loki can and does make use of whatever associations we happen to have. A personal symbol can often feel more meaningful because it’s unique to your individual relationship.

Animals

Birds - Loki can shapeshift, but for some reason he borrows Freyja’s falcon cloak on occasion. For example, in Þrymskviða, he uses it to search for Mjolnir. He also has kennings associating him with crows (meinkráka, harm crow), hawks (barni öglis, hawk’s child), and vultures (gammleið, vulture’s path.) 

Flies - In Skáldskaparmál,Loki transforms into a fly in an unsuccessful attempt to win a bet against the dwarves forging Mjolnir.

Goats - Goats are traditionally a symbol for Thor. However, some Lokeans like to make stealth references to the story in Skáldskaparmál where Loki ties his balls to a goat in order to entertain Skadi.

Horses - In Gylfaginning, Loki is commanded to keep a giant from finishing building a wall in time so the Aesir don’t have to pay him. Loki turns into a white mare to distract the giant’s work horse and gives birth to Sleipnir as a result. The Edda is ambiguous as to whether this was consensual or not, so use discretion when considering whether you find it appropriate to use as a symbol.

Salmon - Loki turns into a salmon in order to hide from the Aesir after the events of Lokasenna. Unfortunately, Thor catches Loki with his own net.

Seals - In a tragically mostly lost poem called Húsdrápa, quoted by Snorri in Skáldskaparmál, Loki  steals Freyja’s necklace Brísingamen. Loki and Heimdall transform into seals and fight over it.

Snakes - Loki is the father of Jormungandr, the serpent that encircles the world. Additionally, when Loki is bound, Skadi hangs a venomous serpent above his head to torture him. In modern Western culture, snakes are usually considered very crafty (likely because of the serpent in Genesis.) They also transform and renew themselves regularly by shedding their skin, a very Lokean concept. However, it should be noted that the “Urnes Snakes” symbol popularized by the jeweler Trove of Valhalla is actually a modern design that, despite the company’s claim, does not originate from the Urnes stave church.

Wolves - Loki fathers Fenrisulfr. Another of his sons in turned into a wolf as a punishment. Finally, Loki is the blood brother of Odin, who’s heavily associated with wolves.

Foxes - Loki is never associated with foxes in the lore. However, foxes have long been trickster characters in our culture (see Aesop’s fables, Reynard, Br’er Fox, etc.) And because people associate tricksters with foxes, they associate Loki with foxes.

Spiders - Pretty much the same deal as with foxes. There isn’t solid evidence that Loki was associated with spiders historically, but spidery tricksters like Anansi and Charlotte have led modern devotees to see them as a Loki thing. A scholar named Anna Birgitta Rooth put forth the theory that the name Loki is related to Swedish locke (spider), but that theory didn’t gain much acceptance among academics.

Plants

Mistletoe - The plant Loki uses to kill Baldr in the Eddas, as it’s the only thing that hasn’t sworn not to harm Baldr. Keep in mind that mistletoe is not the same plant as holly. (You want the one with white berries.)

Birch - Because of the Norwegian rune poem. (see below)

Common Haircap moss, aka “Loke’s Oats” - In parts of Denmark, Loki was said to be “sowing his oats” when extreme summer heat caused things to look distorted and wavy. This was considered to be an act of trolling on his part, since the “oats” he sowed were useless and inedible.

Bentgrass, aka “Loke’s Grass” - Another type of inedible grass that Loki was presumably sowing instead of something agriculturally beneficial. 

Cinnamon - Modern Lokeans very commonly associate their deity with this tastiest of tree bark. However, there’s nothing connecting Loki to cinnamon in the lore. Surprisingly though, the Norse actually would have had access to the spice through trade with the Middle East.

Dandelion - The dandelion was colloquially known as “Loki’s bloom.” This surprises absolutely nobody who has ever had a yard.

Runes

Bjarkan - The only rune with an attested connection to Loki, in the Norwegian rune poem: “Birch has the greenest leaves of any shrub;   Loki was fortunate in his deceit.” 

Logr - His name starts with it. Also, water is a very liminal thing.

Cen - Based on SPG about Loki and fire. (see below.)

Pretty much all of them can be tied to Loki with some creativity TBH

Stars

Lokabrenna - Yes, really, Loki is a star. (But we knew that.) The Norse named the star we call Sirius Lokabrenna, “Loki’s burning” or “Loki’s torch.”

Holidays

Lokablót, the sacrificial celebration of Loki, has no set date. There is no evidence for the historical worship of Loki, and so modern devotees do their own thing. That said, a couple particular days have become somewhat popular.

April 1 - A lot of people think that April Fool’s Day is an appropriate time to celebrate Loki’s trickster nature.

Lokabrenna Day - Because the star Sirius was named for Loki, some people in recent years have decided to celebrate Lokablót when Sirius rises. (The same day Kemetics celebrate Wep Ronpet, basically.) Unfortunately, because of the laws of physics and stuff, that day is going to vary based on your location. Here’s a guide on how to calculate it. Yes, it’s kind of complex.

Colors

None of these are attested, but I include them for the sake of completeness and because it’s a surprisingly common question.

Green and Gold - These come from the Marvel character.

Red and orange - These, as far as I can tell, are SPG, likely tied to the aforementioned fire association SPG.

Misc

Fire - Wagner combined Loki with Logi, the fire god, in his Ring Cycle. And ever since, Loki has been associated with fire and magic  in pop culture. There are some very iffy pieces of evidence that Loki might have had some historical connection with fire (e.g., the Snaptun stone and medieval folklore about the Ash Lad) but the scholarly consensus is “Nope, blame Wagner.” That said, fire, with its dual roles of creation and destruction, enlightenment and passion, is a pretty potent symbol for Loki even if it doesn’t have a historical basis.

Red hair - Loki’s hair color is never mentioned in the lore, and there are some illuminated Icelandic manuscripts in which he is shown as a blond or brunette. The fire god mistake mentioned above probably popularized the redhead image. (Interestingly, Thor is canonically a redhead.)

Fishing Nets - In Gylfaginning, Loki weaves a fishing net while on the lam and hiding from the Aesir. (The story kind of implies it’s the first fishing net, although Ran is also credited with inventing them elsewhere.) Loki turns into a salmon to escape but ends up being caught with his own creation,

Earthquakes - The prose epilogue to Lokasenna claims that earthquakes are caused by Loki writhing in pain when Sigyn leaves to empty her venom-catching bowl.

Masks - While Odin, not Loki, takes the name of Grímnir (the masked one) in the lore, masks are a fairly logical thing to associate with a shapeshifter.

This list only includes things that are in the lore or that I perceive to be extremely common SPG. I want to reiterate that it is perfectly acceptable to have personal associations that have nothing to do with the lore. My goal here is merely to shed some light on where the most popular symbols come from. I hope it’s useful!

-Mod E

🌻 Sigils 101 🌻

Your friendly neighborhood witch is BACK with another rendition of beginner witch tips! This blog is beginning to turn into a digital book of shadows lmao 😅 I am starting to become obsessed with this little witch tip series and even if the posts get little to no attention I am refreshing my knowledge in the process so it’s a win win :)) 

What Are Sigils?!

Sigils are often described as a tool to help you in your craft, they can protect your or your space, be used in a spell to amplify your intention, and are a form of manifesting! Sigils are a form of symbolism that’s functional, this is where a lot of practitioners would say the mundane meets the magickal. 

How To Make A Sigil

There are multiple ways to create a sigil, and you can even create your own! I am gonna outline a few different ways that you could go about it, but feel free to take some creative liberty here

Write down your intention

 These should be in present tense (”I am..” “I will..) 

After you have written down your intention, cross out all vowels and repeating letters

Create a symbol (here’s where you have some variation in what you can do) 

You can create a symbol out of the letters you have remaining

OR you can number the letters and use a grid to create your symbol 

Here is an example of both of the methods I just talked about: 

I apologize for my messy handwriting </3

I personally prefer the second method just because the sigil is usually easier to recreate. Note that you don’t ever wanna post your completed sigils online because someone could easily take it and use it against you! NOTE: Don’t use sigils created by other people! You don’t know the true intention behind them, and if you use a random sigil you found online, that could end up biting you in the ass!

Charging/Activating A Sigil

So you’ve created your sigil…now what?

You can use this on a spell candle, a deity candle, a spell jar, outline your door with the sigil, whatever you want! Personally I like to create sigils with the intent to protect my house and then I write them in cleaner on the floor/mirror/etc and by mopping it up, I am breaking the sigil, in turn letting all the intention out into the universe. 

You can charge and activate a sigil in a multitude of ways, here is a list of ways to do so

Sigil magick is very simple and EASY to do! 

A big point many practitioners will harp on is that you need to forget the meaning of your sigil for it to actually work. While I do believe this is true, it’s not as hard as it sounds. You just need to forget the ORIGINAL meaning/phrase you have associated with your sigil. Like I created a sigil for good grades and when I put it on my assignments, I know it’s for good grades, but I forgot my original sentence I wrote when creating it. 

CITATIONS/SOURCES/OTHER RESOURCES 

Remember it’s always important to cross reference your information, for this post I used multiple sources I knew have been vetted by much more experienced witches than I am- but still! You need to make sure what you’re reading is credible

Charging/Activating Sigils

Practical Magick- Sigils

Sigil Magick: How To Create Symbols That Manifest Your Destiny 

Simple Spells: A Guide to Creating Your Own Sigils

Bookishblogging’s Warding Post