• Do words have inherent power?

I absolutely believe so. The ancients did. To quote Terrance McKenna:

“The syntactical nature of reality, the real secret of magic, is that the world is made of words. And if you know the words that the world is made of, you can make of it whatever you wish.”

• If you use language in your practice, do you rhyme anything?

Sometimes I do. I always found echoes to be magical, and have been known to chant into a chasm to hear my words reflected back to me. Rhymes mimic the effect of an echo.

• Have you ever changed or altered someone else’s spell?

Yep.  Not like I published the damn thing, but that’s what other people’s spells are for!

• Have you had someone ask you to do a spell for you?

Yes. Many times. I don’t always agree to do it, but I have.  People ask for some stupid things sometimes and I am really not into sticking my neck out for stupid.

• Do you let people know that you are a witch?

To people important to me, I do. I want to be more out, but I am not the attention-getting type, and as it stands right now, I am closeted in my  community to protect someone close to me from being ostracized, my father. He’s a pastor and it could actually land him and my mother on the streets if it were known.

• What is your favorite aspect of witchcraft?

Being my own boss.

• Do you perform divination?

Yes. I read Rarot, Runes, go into trance to get visions, automatic writing, and interpret dreams.

• If you use candles, do you use beewax, soy, paraffin, or some other type of material based candles?

Yes.  I prefer beeswax and soy, but paraffin is plentiful. For really  important things, I get the more expensive stuff.

• If you use candles, do you use ones you made, or ones that you bought?

Both

• Do you worship anything at all?

I don’t like to call it worship, but some other people do. I honor, adore, and love my goddess.

• How are the five senses (Sight, Hearing, Touch, Taste, and Smelling) incorporated into your practices?

How are they NOT?  I use tools, color, incense, food, music, the spoken word, the written word, symbols… The only way I would not use my senses in my magic is if I didn’t have them. If I were blind or deaf, for example.

• If you use representative symbols [colors, objects, sigils], what are your favorite?

The pentagram without a circle is my favorite symbol.  It is a symbol to me of power, freedom from restriction/containment (as a circle is), of nature/the Elements, and of science.  I do use the contained pentagram (circled), but on purpose to contain power.

• Do you know at least one method to break a curse or hex?

Yes. Several candle spells, a burial method, and the usual cleansing/uncrossing methods.

• Have you ever made a witches ladder?

Not yet.  I’m in the planning stages of one, but it isn’t a traditional one.

• Have you ever looked into a witchcraft tradition and decided that it wasn’t for you?

I started off with Wicca. I like Wicca very much, but I don’t much care for the restriction.

• How do you feel about harvesting organs from animals?

I understand and condone it in a proper context done respectfully and for the right reasons.  I personally have a phobia.  This isn’t to say that a spirit isn’t nudging me, and I may be heading into the direction of preserving the skull of an animal who died of natural causes (storm-hit bird), but I’m very trepidatious about it.

• What is your opinion on using wood in witchcraft?

I like wood. A lot.  I use a lot of wooden bowls and trays. I like wands and staffs.  Sometimes groves need to be maintained by clearing sapplings. Sometimes an old tree needs to be cut down to keep it from falling and hurting something. Trees need to be pruned occasionally. Some trees happily will give a branch for a wand. I don’t believe in clear-cutting, but I have rescued a bit of wood that was a result of someone else clear-cutting.

• Do you make anything in your witchcraft?

It’s my favorite thing to do. I make candles, pouches, spell kits, jewelry, wands, and lots of other things.

• Have you ever created an egregore?

Egregore requires a group. I’ve created a servitor.

• Name the first thing that comes to your mind when you think about the worst spell you’ve done [worst meaning any way you take it]?

Be careful what you ask for.

asksecularwitch:

If you reblog this, please keep the title of Witchcraft Survey attached. This is not a Pagan-specific survey, and it can be insulting to people who are Pagans but who are not witches.

I don’t want anyone upset or made to feel that they are unwelcome because of reblogging error. -Thanks Secular…

Psychic/spiritual development/True Gnosis/High Magic  and prosperity magic.

2. Your least favourite type(s) of magick. 

Ineffective magic

3. How you feel about the Trifold Law (if you follow it) 

n/a

4. How did you first meet your spirit guide/animal. 

Found an injured mourning dove after a storm.  It died in my arms.  The next morning, a cacophony of mourning doves cooed in the woods near my home.  I took this as a sign.  Mourning doves appear before great change in my life.  I have other spirit animals, but mourning dove was my first.

5. Your opinion on death (murder) curses. 

99.99999999% unnecessary.

6. When do you feel your most powerful. 

When I’m on a tangent of learning new things or when I’m inspired to be creative.

7. How would you keep a hex at bay. 

Cleanse self and home.  Do a reversal spell.  Shield and ward.

8. Do you work with the dead

Ancestors

9. How do you feel about using dead animals. 

Ok with it.  I don’t go out of my way to procure roadkill, though.

10. Do you use blood for any casting. 

Usually in those “Oh shit! I need this done right now!” moments

11. What’s your opinion on complicated rituals/spells. 

Not sure what complicated means.  I’ve never looked at a spell and said “Meh, too complicated.”  

12. How did you begin your Craft. 

1998.  I was 20, into nature, and heard about this thing called Wicca in an AOL chat.  Bought Amber K, Silver Ravenwolf, Scott Cunningham, and Buckland and started a Geocities website with annoying graphics and stupidity.  Did spells, sabbats, and esbats right off and never looked back.  It only took a year to figure out how to not be fluffy.  I no longer consider myself Wiccan.

13. What magicks have you used on yourself. 

Mental, emotional, energy, cleansing, protection, health, motivation, love, friendship, dreams, astral projection, divination, visions, prosperity, luck, memory, servitors, warning, time manipulation, manifestation, attraction, beauty, invisibility, glamour (to be perceived as someone not to fuck with when alone at night), 3rd eye opening/closing, other chakra work, healing

14. What magicks have been used against/at you by another/others.

Attempted mind control,  evil eye, seduction, dream invasion

15. What type of record do you keep of your information (spells, potions, charms, etc). 

Various composition books, journals, a data backup external hard drive, and a huge master grimoire/scrapbook

16. What type of curse was the last one you used. 

Magically exposed corruption and bad behavior which resulted in career/reputation of someone really deserving worse.

17. What magickal artifacts do you use most. 

A few choice crystals, mortar and pestle, cauldron, pentacle/peyton.

18. Which of your magickal artifacts did you make yourself. 

Wand, besom, smudge fan, jewelry, curse box

19. What are your personnal beliefs regarding:

19a. Gods/Goddesses. 

Exists as rulers over certain forces, aspects of the Universe, guardians/guides of lower beings.  Ascended beings, may have once been mortal.  I have no one theory or opinion and my mind shifts through various perceptions of the divine depending on my current paradigm.

19b. The Fae

They are an amalgamation of ancestors, genius loci, elementals, deities, and multi-dimentional beings.  Not cute girls with wings as we are often led to believe.  

19c. Demons. 

Aspects of human conscious and subconscious mind…  which is why they’re so tricky.

19d. Gremlins, brownies, pixies, ghouls. 

Falls under faeries, except ghouls, which are human enslaved spirits.

19e. Black vs White magick. 

No such things

1. What are your opinions on curses? 

I’m not above them.  With power comes responsibility and sacrifice.  Who am I to turn a blind eye when Justice is ringing in my ear?  To deny my hand in keeping balance would be wrong.  I’ve cursed on a whim before, but I’m not proud of that.  I prefer to have control over my emotions.  But I do feel sometimes as if a higher power stays my hand.  I think it’s mostly better and safer to just not go there.  One needs a sense of balance and neutrality to consider things rationally before raising and unleashing a curse.  Sure, you can go in half cocked like a Zimmerman, but that comes with some nasty consequences.  To play judge is a heavy fucking burden, and I’m glad I’m rarely called to play that role.

2. Last Spell done?

For physical/mental energy.

3. Favorite witchcraft saying or quote or phrase?
 

To know, to Will, to Dare, to Keep Silent

4. Where do you stand on making some infertile?

Interesting…  

5. Why do you do witchcraft?

I can’t imagine not doing Witchcraft.  Maybe I was a witch in a past life.  Maybe a combination of aptitude and life experience.  I have been doing magic since I can remember, and was curious about how the Universe works.  Being a witch gives me the ability to decide and push my own boundaries,  ”seeing how far the rabbithole goes”, if I may borrow a phrase from What the Bleep. I feel it was just the most natural course for me to take.

6. What are realistic spells/potions that witches make?

Realistic spells:  I see nothing as impossible, just levels of improbable.  I’ve done things that shocked my sense of reality that I’m reluctant to talk about here, because it  doesn’t fit with most people’s accepted paradigm.  But I will say that there’s spells out there that are, in the accepted paradigm are complete bullshit, that for the right mindset would actually work.  Just that these spells and most books do not teach how to achieve that alchemy.  It’s a lot easier, however, if you are ignorant of what is “impossible”.  

Potions:  Tinctures, incense, oils, loaded candles, sachets, teas, bath products, elixirs, aromatics, vinegars, entheogenics, ointments, medicine, attraction, banishing, energizing, cleansing, power transfer, memory.

 
7. Do you chant?

Sometimes.

8. Do you pray?

Yes.

9. Do you use herbs?

Yes.  I grow them,  meditate with them, talk and sing to them, baby them, respect them, wildcraft them, use them for magic, cooking, medicine, and housework.

10. If you use Menses, how do you use it?

I prefer to prick my finger if it’s important.  My menses are time for rest as it takes a lot out of me.  +My cat went into her first heat before she was spayed and bled on one of the pages of my grimoire that contained a sigil of a servitor.  Does that count? She was a voluntary familiar for five years.  Now she prefers retirement.

 
11. If you use urine, how do you use?

Just for protective Witch bottles that I make whenever I move somewhere.

12. Do you post spells on your tumblr?

Yes.  I love a well written spell, and like to show my approval.  Lot’s of spells on the internet are craptastic (i.e. poorly worded, correspondences not on par with my standards, not specific, unfocused, too many ingredients, invoking bad asses unnecessarily, etc.) So when I see a good one that I might consider using, I share.  When I have completed a spell with fabulous results, I also share.  I also think prewritten spells are very inspirational. I know there are great spellcasters who just don’t have a way with evocative words, and don’t have resources for the kind of research I’ve already compiled.  If I know something works for me, it is likely it will work for someone else. They’ll know if it feels resonates with them and their situation, and hopefully they’ll personalize it and make it their own.

13. Do you practice or do spells with others?

I would, and have, but currently, no.

14. Do you work with the Dead?

I work with my ancestors, so yes.  I don’t bother people on the other side I don’t know, but sometimes they come around anyway, and they are mostly ok.  A few I’ve had to forcefully tell to GTFO, but I seem to attract pretty friendly spirits… probably because I’m pretty obsessive about protection since I have young children.

 
15. How do you feel about witches charging money for their services?

I charge for readings (except my 3-card offer), and I charge for making magical items.  I sell arts and crafts, oils, incense, brews.  My spellwork is woven into the craft, but not given a separate fee.  I personally have an ethical problem doing spellwork that the customer can’t have something physical to take away from it.  If a person pays to have a service done and has nothing to hold, or memory of witnessing a working on their behalf, then I feel they are not getting the full benefit of a paid service.  If I were the customer, I’d want some sort of proof the worker was actually doing as they were paid to do.  Most people haven’t developed their awareness enough to feel power from a distance, but most people can hold a charged amulet or talisman created just for their need and feel confident that the work was done.

16. What do you believe happens after you die?

Reincarnation, but it’s not that simple.

 
17. How long have you been practicing?

13 years officially 

18. What was the hardest spell you’ve done?
  

Healing a relationship.  There was no business of cast a spell and be done…it was gut-wrenching, painful, hard work.  It was coercive and full of the purist kind of unconditional tough love.  We were and still are married, but he cheated. I held him to his own vows. The miracle that we’re still together and our mutual forgiveness tell me I did the right thing in that situation.  I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone, but  Love doesn’t always follow a set of rules.  It does what it must.

19. What is your opinion on cursing rapists?

Yes, and twice as hard for child abusers & molesters!

20. How do you feel about people who exclude others from their practice?

I’m ok with it. You can teach knowledge, but a person has to earn wisdom.  Sometimes knowledge has to be protected from those who don’t have the wisdom to respect it.  I don’t see the need to invite incompatible people into your sacred space, either.

Do you have a magical name?

I do, but it’s secret.

Does it have a special meaning?

Named after a body of water and its symbolic meaning is time.

 How did you find Wicca/Paganism?

The spirits called to me.

How long have you been practicing?

  13 years

Solitary or group practitioner?

Solitary right now. Group in the past.

What is your path?

Chaos Witch

Are you out of the broom closet?

What broom closet?

Gods/Goddess

Who is your patron God?

Mercury in his trickster form.

Who is your patron Goddess?

Isis

 Which God/Goddess do you worship?

I don’t believe in worship. That is demeaning to humanity.

Do you fear dark aspects of the Gods/Goddess, or rather, respect them?

I work with them, and I respect them. It’s natural to fear all higher powers, dark and light, and to say you don’t, you’re either naiive, or you are lying.  The point is to face your fears and deal with them.

Do you worship the Christian God?

No

Do you ever worship animals?

No

Or plants?

No

Nature

Do you regularly commune with nature?

Yes

Ever walked barefoot in the woods?

yes

Taken a camping trip just to talk to nature?

Yes

Describe the moment you felt closest to Mother Earth?

When I held my daughters in my arms after they were born.

What is/are your power animal(s)?

Snakes, grackles, doves, and spiders

Do you have a familiar?

I did. No longer.

Have you ever called upon the powers of an animal in ritual?

Snakes, yes

Or a plant?

Yes.

Do you hug trees?

No. Do I lose environmentalist/newage/witchy cred for that?

Give them gifts?

Sort of.

What is your favorite flower to work with?

I’d have to agree with the guy who said cannabis. Such a magical plant. Has a great spirit, and very much a teaching herb.

 What is your favorite tree to work with?

Cedar

Wheel of the Year

What are your favorite holidays?

Samhain, Imbolc

 What if your least favorite holiday?

Ostara

Have you ever held a ritual on a holiday?

Yes

Ever taken a day off work to celebrate a pagan holiday?

Yes

Do you celebrate Yule on the 21 rather than the 25?

I celebrate it all.

Have you ever felt the Veil thin?

Yes

Ever danced the Maypole?

Yes

Know what the Maypole symbolizes?

It’s a big erect penis.

Ever made love on Beltane?

Yes.

How do you usually celebrate the pagan holidays?

Cooking, music, ritual, dancing

Divination

Do you use Tarot?

Yes

Do you use runes?

Mostly in spellwork, not for divination.

Do you use a pendulum?

Yes, occasionally.

Do you use dowsing rods?

No

Do you use astrology?

I read my horoscope sometimes.

Any other form of divination?

Scrying

Spells

What was the first spell you did?

Spell to make my boss like me (not in a hanky panky way…)

What was the latest?

Health/longevity and personal power

Ever done a love spell?

Yes

A job spell?

Yes

A healing spell?

Yes

What was the most powerful spell you’ve ever performed?

You wouldn’t believe me.

Do you believe in Vampires?

I believe there are people that believe they are vampires.

 Werewolves?

I believe that there are people that believe they are werewolves

Shape shifters?

Shamans can transform their spirit into animals and live as that animal, and receive knowledge that way.  I take the form of a serpent when I travel astrally.

Elves? Faeries? Dragons? Nymphs? Sprites? Mermaids? Sirens? Satyrs?

In the spirit world.

Angels?

Yeah

Ghosts/Spirits?

Yes

Ever “seen” any of the above?

Faeries, ghosts, draconic-like being

Ever talked to any of the above?

Yes

Ever called on any of the above in magic?

Yes

Do you have one of them as a personal guardian?

Yes

Random

Do you see a rabbit, a man or a woman in the moon?

Yes, so?

Own a cat?

yes

When you meditate what does your sacred/safe place look like?

Caves, rivers, forest

Do you work with Chakras?

Yes

Do you believe in soul mates?

Yeah, but they’re overrated.

Ever met one?

Yes

Do you have a Spirit guide?

Yes

Is it always love and light?

There is more love in the darkness, more hate in the light. Look around you, it’s true.

1) How do you label yourself as a witch? (pagan, Wiccan, eclectic solitary witch, gardnerian Wiccan, asatru?) 

Chaos Witch

 2) Do you believe in or follow any gods, goddesses, entities? If so, which ones?

Isis is my patron deity, and through her, I connect to other Egyptian deities such as Osiris, Horus, Hathor, Hapi, Sekhmet, Set, Nepthys, Nuit, Ra, Bast, Wadjet, Thoth, Maat, and Anubis. I also have a great affinity for gods and goddess outside the Egyptian pantheon. Celtic: Brighid, Dagda, Lugh, Cerridwen, Morrigan.  Greek: Hecate, Persephone, Dionysis, Apollo.  Italian: Aradia, Lucifer, Diana (Gospel of the Witches—Lucifer was the God of Light, and the Bible mistranslated “Morning Star”.)  I also believe in angels, and know that they existed before the Abrahamaic religions got ahold of them. I have a great love for the archangel Michael.

 3) Name three simple things that make you feel like a witch.

Being outside. The smell of incense. Singing an offering to my Goddess.

 4) Are there any aspects of witchcraft in which you excel or have a stronger pull towards (e.g. herbs, candle magic, healing, or animal magic)? 

I’m really good with crystals.

  5) What is your stance on curses? 

Fuck with my family and find out!

  6) How many people (if any) know that you do witchcraft?

Oh, about 50 or so… Pagans and friends and my immediate family.

 7) What age did you start practicing witchcraft?

20

  8) Are you pulled closer to the light or darkness of witchcraft?

I consider myself middle of the road but there are times when I’m darker and times when I’m on the lighter side of things.  I think that’s the natural way to be.

 9) Name your favorite animal, plant and color to work with in magic.

Animal: Snakes for shapeshifting, transformation, renewal

Plant: Rosemary… multifunctional

Color: Black… multifunctional and so often maligned.

  10) Do you have any witchy friends where you live?

There is a Pagan community around here, I just haven’t met them yet.

 11) Is your spellwork done formally (all planned out with specific clothes and rituals done before starting) or done on the spur of the moment?

Both. Depends on the situation.

12) Have you made your own tools before? If so which ones?

I made my wand out of a 1 inch by 12 inch block of ebony and attached a crystal, silver wire, and a snake charm.  I’ve made lots of wands, but end up selling them or giving them away. I altered my athame by attaching a small pentacle to the blade. I’ve made more things than I can remember, but mostly jewelry.

  13) What are some talents that you have that don’t pertain to your spiritual self (e.g. singing, dance, artwork)?

Everything about me ties back to my spiritual self, so it’s kinda hard to answer that. Artwork is sacred. Writing is a spiritual experience. Being a mother brings me closer to the divine. Humor is magical. All acts of love and pleasure are her rituals.