Sort of related to the “seeing, hearing” thing: when I first started out as a Wiccan and the coven I joined did guided meditations, afterwards everyone else were talking about all the things they had seen, and I was just like: “I didn’t see anything at all.” It took a while before I realized I needed to sort of actively drive and visualize the experience, instead of just waiting for the words of the person leading the meditation to magically make things happen in my head. Meditation is often mentioned as part of our practice, but I think we tend to overlook how difficult it actually can be to meditate if you have no previous experience.

@RowanWiccae

Жыл бұрын

And every one talks about astral projection and passing through realms with their spirit and to this day I've only ever successfully had an out of body experience once. And when I tell ppl this they ask 'did you soar through the spirit realm? Did you speak with your spirit guides? Did you connect with your deities?' And I always respond with 'no. I sat on the roof of my house and counted how many trees were in my neighborhood in the dark.' And every one acts like it's not a legit experience if you didn't see fairies and ghosts and unicorns bounding in pink and yellow pastures. Not everyone can have these kinds of experiences because ppls brains and ways of thinking or imagining don't work the same. They never explain in books that meditation is the act of focusing your mind into a state of calmness LITERALLY so you can use your imagination to think up fantastical places and experiences. And there's nothing bad about that sort of explanation, especially for those who may need a more direct explanation of how things are done. (Like me heeheehee)

"Work with". Work with this crystal, work with that tarot card, work with our shadows, work with deities... Everybody and their cat seem to be "working with" something. Even absolute beginners. But when I dared raise my hand and ask, oh so shyly, what someone was doing exactly when they said that they were working with this piece of wood, I got a number of pretty dry responses from other people stating that they certainly wouldn't share this with me because it was their private path and that I basically should know better than ask. All that on the Instagram page of a KZreadr (?). Well, I didn't know better and I still don't, more than a year later. I've "worked with" stuff too since then, but most of the times I still have no clue what people mean when they say that. So thank you for this video and thank you for your presence in this community. You're a no-bullshit voice, with both high standards and true understanding and kindness, that I appreciate a lot.

@bwilly4503

4 жыл бұрын

They probably didnt know what to say! Lol!

@trainerkellysnetwork

4 жыл бұрын

I don't know if this will help, but I know when I use "work with", I am referring to my personal perception of a partnership with whatever it is I am "working with". For instance, if I'm working with a crystal, I'm "partnering" with it for specific attributes to bring to my workings. I tend to look at everything, including inanimate objects, through the idea that everything is alive, whether or not that's true (it has to do with feeling at the end of the day). Hence why I "work with" or "partner with" crystals/deities/etc.. I'd be curious if other people use it in the same context I do.

@lyrav1528

4 жыл бұрын

@@trainerkellysnetwork Thank you so much for this response. It is actually very helpful. I see what I do and the elements I use in my practice in much the same way. Would you be willing to offer some examples of what you do, very concretely, to build this partnership with inanimate objects or concepts? Because when someone tells me they're working with something, I'm struggling to imagine something else than "I place it on my altar and meditate with it every day". And if I'm being honest, I don't even know what this means either :D

@fruitandveggies24

4 жыл бұрын

@@lyrav1528 I agree with what TrainerKelly said. You're basically building a relationship with the thing and learning all about it in as many ways as you can. I attended a workshop once about working with crystals. The first thing we were to do was to take our crystal and really, deeply look at it and feel it. Look at all its features down to the most minute and use all our senses to experience it physically (even taste if it was safe!). Then, the workshop leader took us on a guided meditation journey to "enter" the crystal with our mind's eye. This was to get us familiar with the the crystal on a metaphysical level. We met the spirit of the crystal during the meditation and got to know it that way, as well. After that session, we were to learn about the properties of the crystal in our own time, both metaphysical and physical. In the end, the idea was to really KNOW that darn crystal. You can do the same thing with gods, the tarot, plants, or anything else. "Working with" something/someone is really just getting to know them on a very deep level in every way you can. Like a best friend or loved one. PS - if you aren't well-versed in energy work and sensing spirits/gods/crystals "talking" to you, it just takes some time and practice. If it helps, I experience them "talking" to me like a very quiet "knowing" type of feeling in my heart. For doing work with energy I love the book "Energy Essentials for Witches and Spellcasters" by Mya Om. She has great basics and exercises on working with energy, which is a great place to start to "work" with anything else! Hope this helps. :)

@lyrav1528

4 жыл бұрын

@@fruitandveggies24 It really does, thank you for taking the time. You opened up quite a few possibilities here, I'm excited to explore them. That's one of the things I love about this community: a lot of us are teachers and just want to pass on. And you're absolutely right about energy work, that should go back on the top of my list. Mya Om is a treasure.

Hey, I had an acquaintance who told me that he once wanted to do a banishing ritual with “Gunpowder Incense”. So he got some actual black gunpowder and heaped it up on the charcoal which would be lit at the height of the spell. He chanted, raised power, lit the charcoal and BOOM! He got first degree burns all over his face and lost his eyebrows for a while. He was very lucky he wasn't seriously injured. The spell didn't work but it did banish his eyebrows. I still don't know what's in “Gunpowder Incense”.

@CocoTheSpookyLibrarian

4 жыл бұрын

Sounds like gun powder!

@jenriv89

4 жыл бұрын

Lmao I am deceased. I hope y’all can laugh about it now but I’m sure it was so terrible in the moment

@bloodsweatandsteel.2749

4 жыл бұрын

Dude this sounds like something I would have done if I had started this path at a much younger age. Probably the most " exciting " spell work anyone has done in a long time.

@90littlebeagle

3 жыл бұрын

As far as I know, "gun powder" is a certain product made out of tea leaves. Never used or tasted it, though... But the idea of putting tea leaves onto charcoal seems a lot safer than actual gunpowder.

This is nice, it's not only busting the myth talk its widening the experience by being generous, some witches are a holes, the same with tarot *queens* sitting on their thrones like old actresses looking down. Newbies don't deserve that. Its unkind and it makes people back up and question their choices. Kindness costs nothing. And sometimes you have to re read a paragraph in a book 7 times because your too embarrassed to reach out.

I knew about incense charcoal because of growing up Catholic and doing altar service. When I was just starting out, I got it stuck in my head that “real witches” had a fully stocked magical cupboard kinda like what Silver Ravenwolf describes in “To Ride a Silver Broomstick”, and I was so overwhelmed by that prospect.

@drawingKenaz

4 жыл бұрын

Oh my god that chapter was simultaneously thrilling and terrifying.

I don't consider myself a newbie anymore, more of an intermediate, but videos like this are always appreciated! Thank you, Thorn!

@tranquilityasmr5737

4 жыл бұрын

Same

I had the HARDEST time wrapping my head around ritual. I understood components of a ritual, but I didn't really understand what exactly a ritual was or why you'd do it. I had an opportunity to ask another witch about it and she explained it was something you do each time you do something: such as casting the circle before you start your rite or going to church every Sunday. Eventually, what a ritual exactly was sunk in. I probably would describe ritual, in a witch context, is like a routine habit that is done with very specific intentions. I think I remember I had a hard time wrapping my head around the concept of casting a circle. I don't remember the KZreadr, but someone here on KZread explained it really well on all the different visualization varieties on casting a circle, including not needing to actually cast it as a circle, that helped.

Oh my goodness. Regarding the Book of Shadows, I started as a witch when Buffy, The Craft, and Charmed emerged and thought that's what books meant. I got a journal from Barnes and Noble that was leather-bound and had a metal clasp, and embroidered to be mine but then was too focused on it being perfect and worrying I'd "ruin" it that it was useless. I then have used composition notebooks since. Love the duct taping - I've always disliked the slouchy cover. Astral travel and meditation were tough for me as a young witch. I thought I had to literally travel out of my body to another place, and felt defunct because it wasn't working for me. 90's books... Scott Cunningham... talk about meditation, and I agree it's important, in only one way. Entering a state of almost sleep is a form of meditation, but not the only way. I achieve a meditative state much easier when my hands are doing something - like knitting or writing - and I felt frustrated and inept when I couldn't meditate the way the books said. Great topic!

@alidavideo

4 жыл бұрын

I also have a book I bought when I was maybe 12 that I STILL haven't written in and am 35! 🤣

@Lucretciela

4 жыл бұрын

Well, when you astral travel, you actually ARE leaving your body, literally. I've been practicing astral travel for over 30 years, and I have most definitely proved that one to myself many, many times. Totally agree with you on getting into meditative states. Jogging puts me into a meditative state, driving too, which is kind of scary.

I can just imagine your dad: "Barbeque?! Under my own roof?!"

I just wanted to add on to the BoS, mine that I started out with a couple years ago (baby witch still), is literally a binder full of things I've collected. I bought about 4 different sketch books, feeling pressured into making this really artistic, old-looking BoS so I could pass it down to my kids, and then I realized that I can't actually create that until I learn more, and that it's okay if mine is literally a binder full of miscellaneous pages and cards and collectibles from things I've received or found. Definitely doesn't have to be pretty at first, and you can have that "messy" BoS and set aside another journal for the fancy stuff if you feel inclined. That really helped me detach from my fears and overwhelming sense of inadequacy as a baby witch trying to find my way. I also tag up and ribbon up the books I've bought, because right now that's the easiest way for me to find and reflect back on what I need in my practice. It's worked great so far, and what I DO put in my fancy sketch books are spells or incantations that come to me out of the blue, and aren't from some spell I got out of one of my books. I then share how I went about the process in the sketch book, date it, and consider it a stepping stone into creating my BoS, if that makes sense. :) THANK YOU for this, both as a baby witch, and as someone who is currently helping an even younger baby witch also start out. This is so helpful.

Here’s a silly one. The pronunciation of “athame” was a source of great confusion for me the first time I heard someone say it. When I read that, I want to make it rhyme with “flame” so the first time I heard someone say uh-THAW-may I was confused. I played it off like I knew what it was and asked if I could see it. And then I was like oooohhh. I really appreciate what you were saying about grimoires and books of shadows. Books and videos make if seem like bullet journals in the sense that they need to be beautiful works of art.

@WorldWarIVXX

4 жыл бұрын

Lol, THIS!

@CricketsBay

4 жыл бұрын

Don't feel bad. It's a thing that Athame is pronounced different by different covers even. Friday I watched another longtime witch on KZread say "uh-thame" like it rhymed with "flame" and didn't even think it was unusual. I learned to pronounce it "AH-thuh-may" because that's how they said it in my 1st (and only) coven experience (coven is not my thing). Ask 5 witches how to say it and get 3 different answers has been my experience with this word.

@ZedralZ

4 жыл бұрын

And some of the first Pagans I knew said it like, "Uh, Tommy". lol

@shawnjesseman664

4 жыл бұрын

I've heard it pronounced so many different ways. I used a-THAW-may for years. Then I started training in Gardnerian Craft and my HP pronounces it a-tham-ee (rhymes with hammy). Which is how Raymond Buckland pronounced it. A lot of British Witches pronounce it a-THAY-mee.

@jessicaharvey-grayson147

4 жыл бұрын

Ha, I just wrote this exact same comment before scrolling down and reading yours! 🤦🏻‍♀️

The biggest thing for me when I began down my path was when I asked several groups what they meant by working with specific deities or pantheons. And how exactly they did this. Oh gods the scathing remarks I received from people! Working with and contacting deities isn't always the easiest thing to do. Especially for newbies.

Thanks for this 😊 I got a great tip a year ago from a new age store, for newbies that still aren’t (or can’t) be open about their practice. If you can’t burn the charcoal because it’s too smoky, you can put the resin in aluminium foil suspended over a candle. Same smell, zero smoke! Someone should put that in a beginners book 😀

@carriekoltunov3288

4 жыл бұрын

I often use the little tin bit from tea light candles to put my resins in, and put that on the charcoal. I like how it smells much better than just straight on the charcoal, and it's a 2nd use for the tins.

Finally! I've been waiting 5 years for someone to talks about these subject.

@8:10 Hey I just wanted to chime in. I had a hard time visualizing anything when I first started my path. So many book focus so heavily on the visualization aspect of the craft that I also felt like I wasn't doing it right. But not everyone is a visual learner and likewise not everyone visualizes when casting. I'm a kinetic learner and that very much extends into my craft. It wasn't until I realized that that's not how I interact with energy and spirit that I actually stepped into my power. I feel energy and while you are right, they are not like other physical tactile sensations, they are very similar. It took me a long time to sort that out but now I can (usually) tell when what I'm experiencing is from my physical or energetic body.

@Lucretciela

4 жыл бұрын

Is it that you may have aphantasia? Many people who have it don't even find out that they have it until they're 30, 40+

Yes the seeing hearing thing was a big problem for me. For the longest time I thought I was, for lack of a better term, " energy blind " and i came in to this at 35 years old. I can only imagine how discouraging it might be for a much younger person.

Related to charcoal: they self ignite. And get all firey tendrils when met with a lighter. I, not knowing this, took it as a “sign” that something was wrong, wigged, dropped it, and had a nice hole in the carpet.

@PrettyBlueSkyeEyes

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks! I'm glad you said

@calonstanni

4 жыл бұрын

OMG... that's kinda funny. Sorry about the carpet.

The one that still gets me, and I've been doing this for 20 years, is that I still have nfi what a 'working candle' is meant to be or what it actually does or even how you prepare one. Everyone seems to have one on their witchy altars though! o.O

@ashenwalls3558

3 жыл бұрын

It sounds to me like it's just a spell candle. Something that has intention put into it for a "working" or spell. I know there are some traditions where the same candle can be used for many different "workings" because in stead of imbuing the wax with the intention, they're connecting to the energy of the flame and using the element of fire itself as a focus.

Realizing that you are the spirit, the energy, and the essence of what is holy is of the utmost importance. It is you that infuse your tools, your words and your space instead of the other way around. Great video. Love your straightforward delivery! Be well !!

I bought some frankincense when I was so young, and I had no idea I needed charcoal because I hadn't read anything at the time, I had no idea why it wouldn't stay lit or smoulder! 🤣🤣 The "seeing"/"hearing" thing is 100% such an important point!!

@drawingKenaz

4 жыл бұрын

I once put powdered cinnamon in a bowl and threw a match in, for exactly the same reason! I read about it being used as incense, but no mention of how. Then I wondered why it didn’t work!

I totally tried to use barbecue charcoal for a ritual when I was first starting! I was thinking, this doesn’t work!

1. How to use correctly charcoal to burn incense 2. The witch's language (not always is literal) 3. Books of shadows usually are not fancy historical ornate books

@joshs7178

4 жыл бұрын

Marcos Souza Another guy! Yeah

My 13 year old self would have been so highly helped by this info . I did so many things wrong back in my younger years lol this is an amazing compilation of tips for the new witch👏⭐️⭐️⭐️🌸

I absolutely relate about the grill charcoal- and it isn't like we could google it back then either. I remember being really confused about charging an item with intent. Books would say to put your intent into items for spellwork, and I was just thinking -what does that mean? And how do I do that?

@drawingKenaz

4 жыл бұрын

YES. That too! And I left out the bit about Google-I forgot about that aspect. But you’re right, and there was no one to ask!

@christinefruge205

4 жыл бұрын

I'm right there. I was trying to do a spell on this last full moon and I didn't know what they were talking about most of time. For example, I get clensing but what is charging and what is anointing?? Many book forget that this is an entirely diffent vocabulary. Its like starting a new job in a career you've never worked in before.

Energy sensing. So many people online I've seen talk about being able to "feel" stuff, and the elaboration to that being "you'll know". I kinda understand now why people explain it that way, because it's a nebulous subjective personal experience that isn't easily categorized into our usual 5 senses, but as someone who struggles to sense _anything_ , such an answer gave me very little comfort because I have no idea whether I'm doing it wrong or if nothing is happening because I don't feel any different. Furthermore, theres little resources on how to go about learning to energy sense imo, or maybe im just looking in the wrong places. So far though, HearthWitch's video has been helpful.

Thank you for this. I'm fairly new to consciously studying witchcraft, and the number of times both online and in-person I have had that moment of looking around like "should I know what they're talking about?" is more often than I care to admit. For me, it's the spellcraft and rituals. Watching your videos, and I've started reading Mat's Psychic Witch, and it's helping a lot. Most other books I picked up left me either befuddled, bored or overwhelmed. A friend of mine on Discord recommended your channel, and I'm so grateful to them for it. I think they realized I was having those moments, lol.

@drawingKenaz

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks you, Jasmine! That makes me really happy. 💙

you have sooo many books. i'm nerding out. is it weird that just seeing your library behind you makes this video so much more *cozy* and is very visually calming?

Book of Shadows / journal tip: ring binders. Insert stuff, remove stuff, put helpful dividers, fill it as full as you please or split it among several, they're pretty much perfect.

I've had friends say that they have SEEN goddesses and gods. I have never seen anything but I have... "felt a presence" of sorts.

One thing I found way too late is a large piece of plexiglass to go over the altar cloths on my altar. No more worries about spills or wax drips, and it's a good surface to work on, and won't break.

I love Avalon's videos and and as soon as she adds a video it is one of the first new videos I watch and I watch all the other new ones after hers. Then I try and catch up on the older videos I have missed. I just have a normal notebook for Book of Shadows. Whether I buy a cheap one or a recycle one. A notebook is another tool for me. Stay safe and Blessed Be.

This is great! I hope all newbie witches find this... thank u Thorn.

This was the best video I’ve ever seen on the subject! Right there with Avalon’s video! That video was amazing! I was so inspired by that video and yours. I never thought that books of shadows were that fancy only when I read about them in the historical context, the one thing that really got me as a new which was casting a circle, what loose incense actually was, and how you obtained all the fancy herbs or what the fancy herbs that people speak of in books are. Also now that I’m thinking about it blessing an item and some of the language people used when discussing ritual online confused me. Thank you for this video! Blessings

Such great points, Thorn! Also, it's great to see you in my feed. I definitely suffer from this blind spot sometimes and try my best to make things as broken down as possible. Thanks for running upstairs to make this video!

Great video Thorn :-) These are all things i learned the hard way on my path because i had no one to tell me these things, so it took sooo much research , Through books videos shows etc. I think it is awesome for you to share this as there are so many new comers that this video will really help. Take care and stay safe !

I would love more videos like this! There are so many things like this us new witches would love to learn, a few of the things you talked about made so much sense

I really enjoyed listening to you, relating to some of it on both a personal level and dealing with new people in later years. I have come to the conclusion that I probably had it a lot easier in some ways than other newbies, that I already had been working with my intuition, visualization (sp?), had a HPs who explained things very well for me as a beginner. But I have also noticed that I'm terrible at explaining things on a level that is newbie friendly, and I really have to work with that since my teenage daughter recently got diagnosed with autism, high functioning, but... still things I have to find new ways of explaining and forgetting that she's 14 and I've been into wicca/witchcraft/tarot/what not since my early 20's and I'm past 50 now. Things that are so obvious and not unfamiliar at all is totally new to her. I really try to remind her (and myself) that she has to stop me and tell me I'm over her head, or that I'm going too fast, taking things for granted that what I'm trying to say is get that knife over there, not some weird ath-something.

Definitely felt a pressure to have access to resources that I just didn't have access to. As a preteen I would check out (the 3) witchcraft books from the library and they would always have a list of supplies needed. None of them ever stated that you can be a witch without those things. I became atheist in high school because I was just so fed up with all these belief systems that only seemed to cater to people who had money and guidance from the get go. When I was in my late teens I got interested again but my spouse at the time (who was older than me) who had been in witch groups and believed in magick basically forbid me from pursuing that interest, so there was this element of gatekeeping there. Once again I was cut off from the draw towards witchcraft that I had. It wasn't until I was in my mid to late 20's that I felt like it was even okay for me to really do what I wanted and pursue this interest. At the moment I don't know whether or not I "qualify" to being a witch, but I love that there is a general social attitude now in the broader witchcraft community that any and everyone is welcome and it's okay to have varying beliefs and practices.

Holy shit! You just cleared up a lot of questions I've had since practicing and was too afraid to ask 😂 I honestly put it on the back burner for many reasons unfortunately, but some of the reasons, you just cleared up for me! 💖

I am a new fan, but I am loving your videos. Even though I am not a witch, these principles apply to Druids. I had NO IDEA what a charcoal brick was either, and, like you, I had no idea if I was doing things wrong when I didn't actually "see" a spirit.

The charcoal brick things took me YEARS to figure out that I just gave up trying til I stumbled onto them one day at a local crystal store. Even now I don't fully know how to actually use them and I'm so used to using stick, cone and match incense I just don't care anymore lol These are all things that I felt I needed to grasp like the SECOND I stepped into my first ritual and I honestly thought I somehow ruined everything for myself because I couldn't literally see a ghost gliding down into my spirit candle or hear the voice of the moon like others did. It took me personal introspection and self discovery to figure out how spiritual connection works and even that took years. I wish they did explain this stuff in beginner books cause I stopped reading so many books over the years because they'd talk about experiences I couldn't have or ingredients or tools I couldn't find. I'm glad for this video. For as long as I've been studying I still don't know as much as I should and videos like this make things easier.

THE CHARCOAL DISK!!! I had to look it up on KZread!

This is such a great video. I think this will help out a lot of newbies.

Seriously!!!! With the charcoal never describes what it’s for or how it’s used!!!! Thankyou so much I’m a baby witch and I needed this info!

I literally had no clue what charcoal was when I first started working with resins! 🤣

Great Video, you would be surprised as to how many people take literally some of your examples!!

loved what you said about the Book of Shadows, my first book of Shadows was a school notebook, nothing fancy at all, just a left over notebook from the previous year that hadn't been used.

OMG thank you so much for explaining charcoal!! My dumb ass never even thought to google this!

Great topic - you should totally do another vid! While there is many things I still don't understand .. I'm really not clear on the difference between trance and meditation, though I've had it explained to me.

This is my first video of yours and just. wow! amazing!! Something that took my an alarmingly long amount of time was that my BOS does not need to be organized. it does not need to be perfectly written with inlaid watercolor illustrations and detail embossing. just write it, write it and then write some more. then you can if you want type it up to make it organized, but its more important that you do it then fuss with yourself over how clean and presentable to others it looks.

Love this video. You're so right! And by the way....never in my life have I ever seen those charcoal incense holders....lol! 🤣 Thanks for sharing.

That visual representations can be used in magic if you don't have access to it as long as you have an understanding of its purpose and you can focus on it. If someone can pull down planetary energies by figuring out where in the sky the planet is currently located, you best well know a pic of plutonium with some sigils and other associations can make one hell of a pot of coffee when you need plutonium water. You just need water, the location of Pluto, the symbols of Pluto and the element symbol of plutonium, and a pic of plutonium from The Photographic Card Deck of the Elements deck and you are golden.

Love the book shelf I need this in my life lol

Busted by dad collecting charcoal lumps, Lol I'm weak. 14yrs old I could only imagine. I had no idea what the charcoal combination meant. Clarity on some things many people have definitely wondered upon. Great video. Thank you! Blessed Be

Yes. I so relate to this and wish more people would Express themselves in ways that are easier to understand. The terms we often use to try to articulate an experience can sound like a Hollywood production but sometimes thats the best way we can describe an experience for lack of better verbiage.

Ha ha ha ha ha, the thing about parchment, so true! I mean, not that it wouldn't be quite the thing to have an entire 200 page notebook of bound leaves of sheepskin but...

Great video to do! I have found that what also makes it difficult for new witches is precisely the nature of the environment they are entering. What I mean is they are coming into the realm of _magick_ . It's mystical, mysterious. They don't even know yet what they can expect magick to look like. Many of us can have profound, beautiful, and deeply mystical experiences in ritual but if we are among new witches or trying to teach, we do need to find the best way to express those experiences that, both, does the experience justice as well as accurately describes meaning, intention, and results.

TipToeChick taught me about charcoal disks and how to light them (miss her)

I hear you about the way people express it off, it’s like yoga eg “breathe into the space you are feeling” really bad expression for visualisation and imaginative process

Great video! I learned a few things.

I really thought that you had to have a fancy book of shadows. And thats what stopped me from recording important stuff. Currently, own a practical ordinary looking notebook. Also eye of newt and other fancy ingredients were just witch codes for plants.

I was in a chat online with a group of witches who didn't know who Laurie Cabot is. The person who asked who she is is a HPS in her tradition, owns a metaphysical store, and knows who Christopher Penczak is (or pretends to know who he is). I explained who Laurie Cabot is and left it at that.

OMG, the charcoal thing! YES! It took me YEARS to figure that one out and then I realized it's the same stuff they put in hookah that was just down at the corner head shop. ALL THOSE YEARS and it was RIGHT THERE the whole time! And with the BOS - I have some BEAUTIFUL bound blank books that are too lovely to ever write in. Give me the 50 cent or $1 school sales composition notebook, please!

i don’t think proper disposal of ingredients is talked about enough, im very conscious about leaving harmful things in the environment so if i light a candle and have items left over from a working i don’t know if i leave it out, throw it away, keep it, or reuse it. same with deity offerings, if it’s food or drink i don’t want it to spoil or go to waste so i’ve been hesitant to leave any because i don’t know if it’s rude to consume it for them or something like that

Thank you for clearing some things out for us beginners! It’s true that sometimes you are too worried to clarify or ask others on things that they seem to be so confidently discussing. One thing that confuses me still is the concept of “experiencing something on the astral”. For example someone is describing how they visited a place on the astral, met with a deity, etc. What I’ve always been confused about is if there is an element of imagination involved or if the practitioner lets the imagery to simply flood in. I‘ve felt that there is a very thin line between experiencing something as if in a dream and basically just guiding it yourself and imagining it. And lastly, how do you know if your experience is not just the product of your imagination?

Not everyone has the same journey or path and not everyone is able to see energy. But some are not just able to see but feel it as well. Is not imaging or a product of suggestion. Denying this is like denying we have a spirit or we are composed of energy. Each of should follow their inner voice on what it feels right. Thank you.

lol, i love this video,lol, i did the same thing. went to the garage and got some kingsford charcoal, didnt know what the hell i was doing. lol. when i first saw resin, i thought is that candy or colorful crack. i have learned a lot.

That stuff about feeling and energy hits me hard lol I used to think that too Heck even with "visualization" I thought it meant I should litterally be able to see it xD

I found this really interesting (and I totally did not understand what a charcoal was at all). I will say though, I fully believe some people do have auditory/visual experiences. I personally don't (yet) see aura colors but I know a number of people who do. So. Just adding that in there!

I've nearly cried trying to cast a circle because if I couldnt physically "feel" or "see" a literal circle around me, I thought I'd get possessed or something. Turns out I'm actually a visual person and I just needed to place objects/salt/sand around me to help keep me focused. 😭🤣

Thank you for this♡

I continue to lust after your library.

As someone who has only been practicing since April 7, 2020...I can say that I have devoured almost every witchy video out there...and this is by far the best. Some one could wrote a whole book on this subject.

yeah i never admitted that i couldnt hear anything, and by the time i was able to, every one of the witches had gone from my area, never to be seen or heard from again, so there was no one to tell

Thank u!! So helpful!

Thankyou! So helpful.👏👏

Can I rewind my life and play this to my teenage self please?! That would be great! It was literally last year that I finally stopped trying to have a super fancy BoS that apparently every witch owns and just used a lever arch folder and started a Google Doc as my BoM! I'm 32!

The concept of ORAL TRADITIONS! For years I thought it meant just stories passed down the line, but when I actually learned what that means it made so much sense. I honestly felt a little silly not realizing what that actually means because it’s right there. Whenever someone mentions an oral tradition they don’t often explain or differentiate. When some people are entering into Wicca for example, they look at traditional Wicca vs Solitary, and can’t understand fully why covens are deemed necessary (by some) if you can do the same things on your own.The understanding of oral tradition really turned the key to my understanding of WHY. Why are traditional Wicca and solitary so different? Traditional covens are carrying a current of energy, learning it orally, and passing it on the same way. I have a whole new understand and respect for magical traditions than I did previously.

One of the things I had to learn later that seems like a no brained now and I was if about asking was whether spells could be done without the tool or not of cores now I know that yes they can and you don't have to go out and buy all the most costly things for your alter now but when I first started I thought you did plus there weren't as many books on wicca out there and we didn't have the Internet either so had to try and find people willing to teach me which wasn't easy cause wicca was still very much under ground still which is why I feel more comfortable being a lone worker now a days.

When I use to read about using parchment paper for spell work. I automatically thought do I have to bake something? lol

@drawingKenaz

4 жыл бұрын

Ha! That makes sense! Parchment paper is something else entirely when baking. 💙

i like to write things on my computer, so i can edit them whenerver i need to and keep them tidy.. and i basically print them and collect everything in a ring binder. ain't looking for something particulary cool, instead i need things to be efficient! :D

You are so honest and real. I so resonate with you. That’s saying something coming from someone who exclusively works with demons and is of Islamic decent. Contrary to popular belief, I also have pride for my heritage. Really love you and how you teach. Keep it up my Queen.

@drawingKenaz

4 жыл бұрын

Thank you very much! 💙

I love this video

Another thing that wasn't explained in my very first witchy book was what the heck "blessed / charged water" means. It didn't say anywhere that was meant to be water simply charged by the witch. So newbie me went to a local church and got some holy water. Aced that Pagan ritual for sure.

Visualization. I find that a lot of people don't have a good reference source for visualization during a ritual. I was raised on sci-fi and fantasy TV and movies so I don't have an issue but my daughter who is what we used to call a kitchen witch has trouble visualizing thing like the four corner watch towers, guardians, or angles ( whatever system you use). She had issues during the ....well we'll call it the LBRP for common terminology.... because she didn't have a point of reference for the angels. While my son a gamer had all the visual sources he needed.

Damn, you really had to earn your knowledge! I recently had to come onto YT to figure out burning powder and resin incense!

@drawingKenaz

4 жыл бұрын

Hahaha it was a different world for sure! I’m glad it’s much easier for people now.

@gee_emm

4 жыл бұрын

Thorn Mooney Thanks to the web and channels like this! 🙏🏿

This is fantastic. I am a voracious reader but when I started meeting with others to talk about Wicca, and they threw around author and elder names as if I ‘should just know’ who they were talking about, I felt very intimidated.

Me: looks extremely close to the background See's the book "Modern Witch" lol

Yes the one about language! I am very literal so witchy language tends to confuse me

Totally thought that was Drew Barrymore

oh god I've struggled with that second point so much

I promise you a very real non-subjective magic really exists, but people looking for witchy magic won’t recognize it. It is extremely powerful.

What I find funny is before I realized I was in the middle of practice of witchcraft, I had bought the hookah charcoal on accident. Like how do I do that accidentally? Lol

I literally hear and see the gods and goddesses, but I've heard spirits since I was a child. However it's a burden many times to be this sensitive. That said they get thru in a variety of ways even with me. If they get thru to you when you're staring at cereal boxes in the grocery store that's just as legitimate.

I'm fairly new to exploring all of this, and I'm still confused by what people mean when they say 'meditate on the gods'. I mean do I sit there and think about stories or attributes? What am I expected to seeing or feeling? Is there an existing form of meditation that exists which is similar but you just replace x with 'look at picture of this god or goddess'? Anyway, enough of my concerns, I really hope other people do VRs becuase this is the kind of content that needed.

@fairday8587

4 жыл бұрын

The word meditate can be very technical or not. It's become very over used for lots of things that aren't really meditation. I would say it depends on the context of what you are doing. If "think about stories or attributes" is what comes to your mind in the situation, I'd go for it. If you're actually in the process of doing magic, I would move into imagining being the deity and possessing those attributes, keeping in mind how much more powerful the deity is than you and how much bigger it is.. at which point, stop controlling the story and see if anything comes to you.

@rosymorning5437

4 жыл бұрын

@@fairday8587 oh hey, thank you for responding. I find it confusing to apply the word meditation anything other than something that comes from say Buddhist practices. I'm far more used to equating meditation with focusing on the breath or as a way to recentre and calm the brain. I've heard it used more as exploring deity for devotional practice as I haven't really looked into magic(k)al practice yet. I'll have to keep in mind your suggestion for when I do though!

@fairday8587

4 жыл бұрын

@@rosymorning5437 I understand that confusion. My idea of what the word meditation means comes from the Yoga Sutra where meditation is... I would say... concentration. These days... I assume, mostly in the west, people seem to be using it for a powerful use of directed imagination.. which is a powerful western magical tradition.. but you have to be careful because there are western ocultists who still mean concentration and clearing the mind when they use it. You have to figure that out from context I suppose. Meanwhile, a lot of meditation is going under the name "Mindfulness" these days. I'm not sure if that's a marketing ploy or an attempt to give a new name to the mind clearing, stream of thought watching.

I lit my charcoal burner in the house dumped a bunch of lavender in it and set off the smoke alarms.

A GIFT!

Ok I have a question I’m too embarrassed to ask. How do you pronounce athame? Currently seeking in England, so haven’t had anyone to ask face to face as most contact I have with people is online. I always presumed it was pronounced ath a may (with a short a) having read it in books. Thorn, you say more like ath ar may with a long a. Is that just an American pronunciation or is that an official way of saying it? Just wondering if it is an accent thing or if I’ve been saying it wrong for years 😄

@drawingKenaz

4 жыл бұрын

No need to be embarrassed! There isn’t a singular, correct pronunciation! There definitely does seem to be a difference in British and American pronunciations, but in the US there are lots of variations too! I’ve heard “a-thay-mee” (emphasis on the middle syllable) and “ah-thuh-may” (emphasis on the first syllable) plus more besides! I don’t think it matters.

LOL. even once you figure out what it is, charcoal and resin incense is very finicky, and takes a while to learn to use.

Ha, yes, I totally remember getting busted w/o an ID at a smoke shop when I was younger!

@LiEnby

4 жыл бұрын

*But I'm seriously not acturally smoking*