Category Archives: Magic and Spellwork

Excuses, Excuses, Excuses…

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Warning! Before you read any further, I’m about to discuss politics and magic in the same blog post. If you’ve no interest in either, feel free to move on. I’m aware that politics is a highly divisive subject and likely to lose me as many readers as I might gain from it. That’s fine. Leave with my blessing. I’m not going to hide my opinions on this subject because it’s beyond finances or policies, it’s about preserving the lives and liberty of people I love, including myself. 

I consider myself a Social Justice Witch. I haven’t had to Work much for myself and my family in years, thanks to My Spirits. I have the time and the energy to spend on the World and making it a better place for everyone. I realize not everyone has, and that everyone believes anything can be accomplished through Witchcraft, or Magic, or whatever you want to call it. I have dedicated myself to this now for years. 

Unbelievably, there’s an article from CBN (Christian Broadcast Network) of all places, that is making its rounds in the magical world. Inasmuch as I would never consider CBN to be a viable news source, the original source, if you will, seems to be The Toronto Star, These witches are trying to use their power to defeat Donald Trump. From there, Birmingham, Alabama’s ABC affiliate dug into Reddit to find a post regarding witches discussing the feeling that their spells just weren’t doing it, Self-proclaimed Witches Say Spells Won’t Work on Trump. 

Then, and only then, did it reach the radar of CBN among others. So now, of course, the Christian Nationalists who are fans of the current administration and it’s beloved “Project 2025” are aware of all this. I finally became aware of all this through a couple of different YouTube channels that I follow who had their own commentaries on this. One channel is primarily politics, and laughed at the whole concept more, or less. The other, a “witchy” channel, unfortunately agreed.

I say unfortunately, because if you’re one of the people who believe this, you need to take a good long look at yourself.

My first take on all this is that if you don’t think your spells are working, or believe that they can’t work, they won’t work. I realize that “faith” is something of a dirty word in magical circles these days, but the truth is that faith has a lot to do with magic. Faith in yourself, your gods, the vibrations of materials, whatever, but it’s faith, nonetheless. You must believe.

Your disbelief will undercut every Work you do. This is one of the reasons that some people in Chaos Magic working with Sigils will do the best they can to actually forget what they just did. If you forget, you can’t doubt. You can’t attack and self-defeat your Workings. You set them free to do what they were engineered to do and go on with your life.

It’s one of the hardest things to do in magic, to forget, to not worry, to absolutely believe that what you’ve just done will have the effect you desire. It takes an amount of confidence that, frankly, makes some people in the culture socially unsufferable. But that’s a topic for a different day.

My next point is that it takes time. Sometimes, it takes a lot of time for spellwork to Work. Just look at how many different parts have to be moved and shifted in order to change something as HUGE as the President of the United States. Just “binding” him is a feat of extraordinary scope, and that’s if all the participants of the group effort have the same concept of what binding even is. Binding him might not even be the best action to take.

This is my own personal opinion, as a poly-spiritist and a Social Justice Witch. Your perspectives will undoubtedly be different but give me a chance to express myself here. I mean, it is my blog after all. Their “god” is not omnipotent, omnipresent, or omnipotent any more than any other god. There, I said it. If you’re worried about him being protected by prayer, well, give their god a prayer of your own. There were cultures upon-a-time that would actually bribe the gods of the enemy, often successfully. They would simply promise the enemy’s deity that they would take better care of them, dedicate a temple, or a shrine or something. Might be worth a try.

You could also pray to one of the other gods of their Holy Book. Turn him in to Elohim or Asherah, for instance. Historically speaking, Yahweh was likely originally a god in the pantheon that was ruled by El, and the pantheon would have been referred to as Elohim. Asherah was the wife of Yahweh. One of them might have something to say about Yahweh’s behavior. Or, as some Christian Witches believe, the “god” of Christian Nationalists might be an Egregore. In which case, appealing to Yahweh, the true God of Christianity, might set that straight. That’s all, of course, if you’re a cleric type of magical person. If you don’t Work with deities, you’ve got a lot of other options.

Don’t attack the tree, attack the roots. Use your Craft and go after the members of Heritage Foundation, the Republican Party, various YouTube Evangelists and influencers. Go after Shittler. Divide and conquer by sewing discord between the various factions who support this regime. Influence your local governments, open the eyes of people individually to see what is actually going on with the Republican party and how it’s been taken over and replaced by what appears to be pure evil. Much like the rebellion that finally started in the GOP when the regime began attacking Medicare, Social Security, and Medicaid, you might see reactions when they realize that artificial insemination, condoms, and porn are on the cutting block according to Project 2025 as well. Facts matter; it’s just a question of what facts matter in whose life.

For those of us who are seriously opposed to interfering with the free will of anyone, there are plenty of options. Protecting the most vulnerable in our society, the most endangered, would be at the top of my list. Or hiding them. Giving strength and energy to those who are on the front lines of the battle, protestors, politicians, independent journalists, etc., and protecting them as they voice their opposition to Cheetolini.

There are so many roles to fill, so many possible ways to put your energy out into the world where it will make the most difference. No one is completely protected. No one is completely shielded. We just have to find the chink in the armor, much like the loose scale on the belly of Smaug. We have to be creative, sure, and direct hits will likely be deflected. That doesn’t mean we give up. It means we fight harder and more consistently.

Fashionably Late, Part One: #OcculTea

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I watch an awful lot of YouTube videos these days. That habit began because I absolutely detest commercials, and only got worse when I started researching Etsy. YouTube is a wonderful resource for all sorts of educational information, if you’re careful.

As I’ve been “witchy” for about 35 years or so, I don’t normally watch a lot of pagan/wiccan/witch content. So much of it is just Wicca 101, or other 101 types of videos, and those are simply not relevant to me.

Or so I thought.

I got myself a TikTok account so I could watch my daughters’ videos. I quickly discovered TikTok isn’t really the place for me, or at least I’m not the TikTok video kind of creator. I like words, written words, so I can think carefully before expressing myself.

I also prefer longer content. I just don’t have the patience for tiny little videos and scroll, scroll, scroll…If a video is less than 20 minutes I feel jilted.

I did, however, find a few excellent creators over there who happened to have YouTube channels, and so I recently began following them. So that is how I finally caught wind of #OcculTea. As a woman with a lot of opinions, I couldn’t resist throwing in my two cents and change, so here I am.

This hashtag was started by three content creators from YouTube; Ella Harrison, The Redheaded Witch, and the Polish Folk Witch. Admittedly, I wasn’t following any of them, but I’ve now watched at least a couple of their entries about this topic. I’ll likely be watching more of them later, but I really didn’t want to be any later to this party than I already am. I believe the post was shared first to Instagram, not YouTube, but I’m not over there just yet so I’m not sure.

Introduction: Introduce yourself. How long have you been participating in the witchcraft online space? What practices and topics do you discuss primarily?

I have a whole page here as an introduction, but I’ll try to give a quick re-introduction in case anyone is here straight from the hashtag and hasn’t read it yet.

I go by Camylleon. Its a nickname I started with back when AOL first went to 13 characters from 8, and I was too excited that I was able to get a name that didn’t have to have numbers on it. That’ll give you an idea of how long I’ve been online.

I was immediately at least reading in the witchcraft spaces I could find back then, because it was a lifeline. Up to that point, I had been scrambling to piece together information from library books, what few books I could afford from a local metaphysical store, and what little they carried at Borders.

Yeah, dating myself again. Borders. That goes back, doesn’t it? I wasn’t posting as much back then. I didn’t feel like I had anything to offer. I was learning. I was looking for teachers, information, anything. Times were tough. I even went through a three-level Wicca school. Paid for a lifetime membership and everything.

So to answer the second question, how long have I been participating? Oh, I guess the mid 90s? If my math is right, let’s say about 30 years or so, give-or-take.

What practices and topics do you discuss primarily? I’ve only just gotten started, twice now, maybe three times really, with this generation of this blog so its still sort of hard to tell. I ramble a lot. I like rambling. I haven’t really ruled anything out yet.

My own practice right at this moment is hard to explain. I can’t call it worship exactly. I work with Ancestral Spirits, primarily, but there are a few Deities around as well. I consider myself an Omnist. All Entities exist and are valid; every last one. I might disagree about different qualities or aspects of the Entity, but I’ve no doubt they exist.

All Spirits are, at the end of the day, Spirits. I don’t believe that humans quite understand the differences between disincarnate human spirits, saints, orishas, lwa, demons, angels, demigods, daimons, gods, etc., etc.

Currently, I’m spending most of my writing on sharing my journey and how I got here from there. I think its probably the most relatable part of who I am. Its something we all have in common, we learn as we go. Sometimes its harder and sometimes its easier, but we seldom end where we began.

TOPIC ONE: IMPACT ON COMMUNITY

What is my personal reasoning/inspiration behind sharing my practice online? Do I seek to educate, learn, or connect?

I don’t know that I’ve actually thought much about it. I have a long history of having my privacy invaded, so I suppose in some ways this is the only way I can do it anymore. If its public, it can’t be violated?

Despite having an abominable experience a number of years ago with yet another couple of leeches, I keep thinking that maybe someone out there wants or needs to hear what I have to say. Maybe someone else out there feels the same way I do. Maybe they need the encouragement and information I wanted and needed 30 years ago.

What am I looking to achieve by participating?

Nothing, except perhaps to throw my opinion out into the void, get it off my shoulders, and move on. Its a release.

As far as educate, learn, or connect…

I’m always looking to learn. I’ll happily share any knowledge I have if that counts as educating. I’m leery of “connecting,” though, as the odds seem pretty much against me in that department. Although I will say that when I connect and it sticks, I do pretty damn well. The few friends I’ve kept are some of the best a person could hope for.

I just get hurt more often than not. Still, I’m here so I suppose I’m willing to risk it. Therapy. Therapy helps a lot.

How do I believe social media, as a whole, has impacted the community?

Its all at once wonderful and horrifying.

But then, I keep saying it is what you make of it. So I suppose that explains it. People are all at once wonderful and horrifying.

If you fill your feed with cute puppies and kitties, that’s what you’re going to get. If you fill it with seething hate-filled rants from people who have the complete opposite views from you because you love to argue, that’s what you’re going to get.

Social media is us.

How do I think social platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube have each impacted education/sharing information?

To me, two of those three haven’t done anything terribly good for either education or sharing information.

TikTok, in particular, is horrible. Sharing is easy, too easy. Anyone can do it, and it can be difficult for someone who is coming in with a blank slate to tell good information from bad.

There’s an awful lot of bad on TikTok.

There’s some good as well, but if I were going into it with no background information or damn good intuition to guide me, I’d be more confused or more misled, one or the other.

Both Instagram and TikTok are big on looks. The better you look, the better your following. They’re shallow platforms with unrealistic depictions of the “ease” of witchcraft, and if you ask me, the aesthetics of witchcraft.

I get it, its cool. Don’t get me wrong. I love the crystals and the mood lighting and the dried plants hanging all over. I want to live in the Practical Magic house, too. But that’s Hollywood, not reality. TikTok and Instagram are quite good at packaged sound bites of cute, repeated information. Not so good at actual education. At best, if you were looking at the Linktrees or other links in profiles, you might be able to find quality information if you dig. A lot.

Sharing, well, they’re both too good at that. Bad and good information travel like wildfire, and sometimes do as much damage.

I’ve also seen how peer pressure functions in those two platforms. There are fads, fashionable types or genres of witchcraft that I find suddenly everyone is practicing. Sometimes for the wrong reasons.

YouTube is slightly different. Not that there isn’t the same percentage of bad to good there, but to me there’s more variety. Longer video time also means its possible for those who want to provide information can share detailed, quality information. If they want to.

The problem there is that YouTube doesn’t exactly promote quality. It also promotes the pretty, the angering, the strong emotional reactions. So if you rely on the algorithm to suggest videos to you, you’re not going to find much. You have to be actively searching and in control of your feed.

It is also what you make of it. 🙂

Additionally, there’s a lack of good advanced information, and an awful lot of 101. I believe there are a lot of creators in all the different subjects on YouTube who just get burned out with being stuck in entry-level information. Its as tedious for them as it is for viewers.

Is consuming witchcraft content becoming a substitute for practice?

Not for me. Could it, though? Sure. Its not much different than people who read and research and research and read but never practice. That was me for an awful long time; I was simply not secure enough in my knowledge to do it myself, by myself.

That’s what can happen when people don’t have IRL guidance. When you have someone there to hold your hand, to walk you through it, its easier. Much easier, like so many things in life. Especially when people are shouting from the sidelines about whatever “law” you might accidentally break.

I finally got off of my ass and got to work, and once I did, I realized how silly I had been. I would imagine there are a lot of new, “Baby” witches in that same position. No shame.

There could also be people who will never actively practice. I don’t have a problem with that either.

If you know Christianity, or any other mainstream religion really, you quickly figure out that there are priests, lay people, and congregations. Not everyone is made to do the Spiritual Work. That’s one of the many reasons there’s televised services; not everyone can or wants to attend church, but they want it in their lives.

It doesn’t mean they’re any less believers, they’re any less pagan or what-have-you. Its just not their calling. They might attend large gatherings for holidays, post happy solstice messages on their social media, and watch as many witch or pagan videos as they like. It doesn’t mean they’re any less dedicated.

There’s a place for all of us.

Alright, I’m leaving it there because its quite long enough already! Part Two to be written when I’ve recovered!

The Laws

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Yes, there are laws in witchcraft. Not that “threefold” thing. That’s Wiccan, Wiccan only, and not even all of them. Some day I might even tackle how that happened, but this is not that day.

No, today I’m going to talk about those layers I mentioned. Y’know, layers. Like an onion.

Layering, much like onion, can give flavor and a little kick to your spellwork. It makes it yours, makes it unique, and covers more bases. Because as much as knowing what you want from it, and setting those intentions is absolutely necessary, layering just makes it that much better.

Unfortunately, because witchcraft, spellwork, and all kinds of magick in general, is largely self-taught, even the most practiced of practitioners will miss things in their studies. For instance, I’ve known many avowed Wiccans who had no idea who Aradia is supposed to have been, and never read about the roots of Wicca. Granted, it has changed a lot even just in my own lifetime, but it seems like now people just go straight to Llewellyn books or the latest Witchtok craze for their knowledge. Which is fine, you’ll make it, but if you want more, stay tuned.

The Laws I’m talking about here were first formulated only about a hundred years ago or so. I don’t remember who penned it first, but I came in contact with it through James Frazer’s The Golden Bough. Seems like this volume is out of vogue these days, and I can’t say I blame anyone for skipping it. But you’re missing some absolute gems. The Laws have been modified and added to over the years, so we’ve got a more comprehensive set of additional layers for our use.

I’m going to start here with one that’s likely the most obvious, and you’re probably more than adequately familiar with the concept. The Law of Similarity.

This is the basis for why most statues not only represent gods/goddesses, but are used as gods/goddesses in worship. Why symbols for peace represent peace. The color green is used for prosperity magic sometimes because, well, money is green, at least in the States. In a different time, prosperity magic would be represented by the color green because green is tied to healthy, fertile, living plants and a farmer’s prosperity was inevitably tied to the land and the fertility of it and his animals.

As this represents Mother Mary, She could actually be watching you, thanks to the Law of Similarity

A poppet looks like a person, so its used to represent a person. The more similar it is to the person, the more accurate the spell will find its intended target. This is why a picture or the date of birth or full name of the person is so useful when creating a poppet. Candles shaped like people, or like body parts, are similar to what you’re trying to enchant, so they represent that person or body part you’re trying to heal, curse, control, what-have-you.

So a thing becomes a thing. They are similar therefore you can substitute one for the other. Its just that simple. Laws don’t have to be complicated to work. When you know the laws though, and you know how to use them, they will only make your Work better.

Good Intentions in Witchcraft

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My daughters are the sole reason I found myself with a TikTok account. I’ve been fairly burnt out on social media for a few years now, and going thru the depths of APD in general, making me uninterested (to say the least) in meeting new people or socializing much, either in person or online. But someone was being mean to Panda.

Mama Bear woke up to come out to “play.”

There are few things in this life that I have a lot of confidence in. My ability to verbally or literally defend (or offend) is one of them. I have a knack. A way of using words as a weapon. Most of the time I let things go, but every now and then I enjoy it, I’ll admit. I really enjoy verbal sparring when its in defense of a loved one.

By the time I’d set my account up, however, the drama had already subsided. When I took a look-see at the bully’s account, I realized that this particular person pretty much makes a habit of going off on people, and the furor dies down when she finds someone else to get mad with. Its a habit with that one. But as I was already there, I decided to take a look around. I’ve heard things, after all, about “witchtok,” that made me think I’d h ave a great laugh or ten.

Honestly, I did, and I still do. Sometimes I laugh with people and sometimes at them. It is what it is. But I’ve discovered a lot of creators who actually do know what they’re talking about. I’ve had to admit I’m at that place in my life where it gets hard to admit that people much, much younger actually don’t need my “guidance.” Its hard for older people to let go of being the “expert.” Don’t get me wrong, sometimes I still am, I have my strengths. But Millennials are all grown-up adults now, and I had to step back and realize that. They’re not children anymore, and I need to treat them like the adults they are, even when they don’t look old enough to drive.

Getting old sucks.

As a result of all this ticking and tocking, I am now slightly more up on what fads and phases are going on in the witchy/spooky/magical internet circles. This is where the whole “intentions” thing comes in.

Some would have you believe that “intentions,” are all you ever really need to get it done.

Don’t get me wrong, intentions are absolutely necessary. More than necessary, there is no point at all in doing witchcraft or spellwork or spirit work or what have you without intentions. That would imply you had no idea at all why you were doing it, so why would you? I wouldn’t.

And yes, you can go a really, really, really long way with Intentions. I’ve even accidentally caused things with focused intentions that weren’t, in my mind, serious. More of a fantasy, made of anger or irritation, which seemingly spontaneously exploded into reality. Honestly, I think this is why some religions will warn of not even thinking of sin, but that’s a different story.

So yes, intentions alone can work. Sometimes. If you’ve a very strong, developed will, and very little self-doubt, they’ll work better for you than for others for whom it will barely ever work.

If you’re serious about your craft, or art, you’ll want more than just intentions. This is where all those other things come in; chants, scents, plants, candles, colors, astrology, and all the other trappings of magic. Some people would have you believe they’re totally unnecessary. Depending on your point of view, they might only exist to make you feel and believe that the magic is working because its all coming from your own mind anyway. Fine. If that’s the way you want to think of it.

For me, however, each layer has more to contribute to the over-all work. When you combine more senses, and more layers to your Works, they will pack a lot more punch. Maybe you don’t always need a lot of layers. I don’t. But if you’re doing something serious, the more you can add, the better.

Never ignore your intentions, you’ll go nowhere without them. But don’t ignore the layers, either.