Any Witches Here? Part 9.

[speakout]

Or Wiccans. or Pagans? Or anyone who is interested in a magical path or feels some magical stirrings.

A place for support, learning, swapping ideas and magical inspiration.

I have the Neals Yard one too.
A battery operated one would be great but I’ve never seen one

Sorry, I should have said, not a tea light one

Elphame why don’t you like it? I’m very short of space so anything has to be a considered purchase really!

My oil burner is tea light powered smile No plugs required Mine too Elphame I've a few..
My favourite is a crouched hooded figure holding a crystal ball under the bowl where you add the water. When the tealight is lit, the crystal ball flickers.

OnceUponAMermaidsPurse I agree, the holes in a hagstone should be made naturally. I love the one with the double holes, it looks at you.

Rocks and crystals in their natural form aren't anything like the ones you see on sale which are usually polished or even cut and polished.
Quartz comes in many forms, its colour comes from other minerals.

Rock crystal : Another name of clear colourless quartz crystals.

Milky quartz : White from water inclusions in the crystal.

Rose quartz : Pink from manganese and titanium.

Strawberry quartz : Red from microscopic inclusions of hematite.

Aventurine : Green from goethite and mica.

Amethyst : Purple from iron.

Citrine : Orange to yellow from colloidal iron hydroxide.

Blue Quartz : Blue by microscopic tourmaline inclusions, or other inclusions.

Smoky Quartz : Commercially these are often black by irradiation (destroyed crystal lattice). Naturally irradiated quartz has a much gentler appearance and a huge colour variety.

Haematite Quartz is often pale pink with orangey brown 'rusty' markings on it.

And a big Thank-You to everyone who loved the butterfly

Rosa I've got an electric aromatherapy diffuser, I really like it. I have a burner too, but I was forever letting it burn dry. Mine was a real bargain, £15 from Aldi. My friend had the Neals Yard one which is a bit more expensive, but really nice.

RosaWaiting It's OK and does the job but I don't like the styling, I don't like the coloured LED lights especially when I forget to disable the colour changing feature and as it diffuses "cold" in water vapour it doesn't smell quite as nice to me as a tea light burner.

I really need to get rid of it don't I!

Elphame I’m not keen on the ones with lights either.

Blank that sounds beautiful.

With the electric ones, what happens with the oil change? That sounds funny

Don’t traces of the previous oil linger?

Evening all!

@speakout I use the term "close", to me it means a feeling of sticky humid weather. My wise grandmother has taught me about "looking close", things will look closer and bigger when it is about to rain.

@OnceUponAMermaidsPurse I love your hagstones, and thank you for educating us about mermaid purses. It's my last day at the seaside tomorrow and I will see if I can find one.

I had a special moment earlier this evening. I was able to access the beach I used to go on as a child with my late Nan. It's been inaccessible for a number of years due to rock falls, but I found it open again today. I found a hagstone and a little toy car washed up. I've taken the little toy car as a gift to my DD.

I wanted to acknowledge this special moment so I wrote a little message to my Nan in the sand with a feather that I had found. Walking away from the shore I promptly put my foot in some quicksand and sunk up to my knee. My Nan had a wicked sense of humour, I could almost hear her howling with laughter at my plight.

@SalemSpellman I read up more about it trying to see why they're a witchy thing. As the see comes in, so high tide, they appear & get washed up, just as the sea is about to turn and revert to low tide. So it's literally walking by the breaking waves, I wasn't expecting mine at all. It appeared, I just thought wow a mermaids purse.

When I was looking for hag stones I kept saying to Mother Nature I'd love to manifest a hag stone. I found a few more. So I'll separate them & get another picture.

I was wondering if the stones that have holes and indents of holes that don't go all the way through, are they anything at all. I didn't know if they weren't quite hagstones if you chucked them back.

All is quiet at the moment I think my stalker has got the message and backed off for the moment - I don't think I have seen the last of him so I am keep my eyes wide open

Good morning, many blessings for a new day. Hope you all achieve what you want to.

@SalemSpellman I'm crazy about feathers, the beach sounds gorgeous. I love butterflies, I see feathers / white butterflies / floaty angels / some birds as loved ones saying hello.

We were near where I went on holiday as a child, as I got travel sick when I was younger I recognised places on the way there & back, DH thinks I'm a bit OCD, when I pack I try and prepare for everything just in case.

@RosaWaiting We have this thing for the camper that can deliver hot / cold air, it's also an infuser, so when you add water it diffuses the smells, it was about £20.

@BlankTimes The butterfly is gorgeous. Thank you for describing different rocks. I think it's likely citrine & the first Crystal I've found not bought.

@Elphame When I got back to a beach I'll put the not quite formed ones back. I did wonder about that, maybe it wasn't destined for me. Thank you for your advise.

@YashmisCrone I got some agates as well, in the sea the red stones looked really red, there was some sparkly ones too. I think it's going to become quite a hobby, even though I was left in agony. Totally worth it. 2 looked speckled like Dalmatian stones.

I also collected beach wood, there was so many shells, I found one still joined together. DH thinks it's my inner child, I just think that sea / nature witches love collecting gifts from nature.

What has everyone got planned for the weekend?

@queenrollo Just wanted to send belated birthday greetings. Do you do Tarot Reading? There's a reading you can do near your birthday where you deal 12 cards as a reading for the next 12 months. I usually do more than 12 and add in 'Central theme' 'Point of focus / development' 'Positives for year' & 'Negatives for year'

@Jesaminecollins I'm sorry to hear about your stalker, look into narcissistic behaviour. I think the best thing you can do is get a mindset that they won't rule your life, no matter how the stalker behaves. In the last few years I've stopped using social media, if I use say WhatsApp I set it up so people can't track you. It is really stressful. I always pray / set manifestation goals of being protected from negativity.

OnceUponAMermaidsPurse

Good morning= another early riser here.
I am sitting with my magical blend watching the dancing hues of gold and rose pink of the sunrise from my bedroom window. I love this time, the whole house asleep and it feel as if I am the only person in the world awake It is nurturing for me to feel this special time.

Your haul looks amazing, I don't visit the shore as much as I should, and it's only 15 minutes from me

My weekends don't tend to be a lot different from weekdays- OH is around a bit more, but usually tends to be on call or have some work to do, and it's rare for me to have a complete day off. DD works on Saturdays .
MIL will be visiting on Sunday afternoon,we don't see much of her, and has a fiercesome reputation, but I can see through the bluff and stuff and she and I get along well. We may do a strawberry cream tea. Wil some gin cocktails on the side!
I wull start my day, have some work to do, hoping my new soap and Yule incense lables arrive today, then bank, post office, quick food shop, make lunch, more work, laundry,, dinner, take DD to work etc- so just a usual busy day!

It will however have a very large sparkle of magical teas, laundry magic, a few moments earthing, candle invocations, pagan music, kitchen witchery, incense and general self care.
No day would be complete without some magic!

@speakout have you always been an early riser? I would love to have the ability to get up early and enjoy the world whilst it's peaceful and sleeping. I was wondering if it's something you have taught yourself or is it something that comes naturally to you?

Just checking in on my way to work,

Like Rosa, catching up with everyone’s posts always lifts me. There’s something very nourishing and supportive in the thought of us all going about our days, weaving magic throughout and taking time to connect with the beauty of what surrounds us. speakout I always think you describe this beautifully.

Salem I’m loving your holiday vibe and it was lovely to read of your special moments and the humour in your connection with your Nan.

BlankTimes thank you for the stone info, I love it that you’re such a mine of endlessly fascinating information. I wonder how many hours I’ve spent down wormholes inspired by something you’ve shared!

There’s a delicious taste of autumn here today. All year round I sit and have my morning tea by the open patio doors, breathe it all in to set me up for the day. This morning the air has a distinctly cool crisp feel. The light is changing- still bright but not so intense as high summer light- softer somehow. The grass is sparkling with dew- so inviting I had to go and stand in it with bare feet!

A magical infusion of the elements to set me up for the day. I hope everyone finds some moments of joy in theirs 💫

P.s I’m ‘team tea light powered’ with the oil burners too!

@RosaWaiting residue doesn't seem to be a problem. I just wiped it out with a bit of tissue.

Most definitely not an early riser here! I'm happy to be up to the wee small hours but you don't get much sense out of me until 9.30. When I was working in an office. my PA would have my coffee waiting for me on my desk as I was completely hopeless until the caffeine kicked in! No one even tried to ask me a question before 10am as they'd get a blank look!

Good morning

Yashmis I totally agree that reading the posts here is uplifting. If I'm at work, I normally check in after I've checked my emails, while I'm drinking my first coffee. After rushing about and a long commute, I find it really grounding to know you are all there and hear about how your going about your day.

Today I have a day off, so a more leisurely start to the day and I'm taking my time over a coffee. Life feels very busy right now, and for various reasons I'm feeling rather weighed down by responsibility and demands on my time from other people. I seem to have a lot of friends around me who are going through various difficulties, I'm doing my best to support them, but I'm finding one or two of them draining to be honest.

How do others manage this? As spiritual beings/witches, we attract those in need of our support, and my view is that helping others is part of what we do. But how do we manage to find the balance so that our own energy doesn't become drained?

VioletCharlotte

You raise a very interesting point, and something I am working with at the moment- boundaries.
Part of self care and nurture is knowing ourselves. Often empaths have very fuzzy energy boundaries between themselves and others.We absorb and flow and that's part of the reason why we are good healers. But in order to strengthen our core we must set some boundaries otherwise we are very likely to suffer burn out.

Deciding what we can reasonable give and then ringfence that. Far easier said than done when we are helping people we care about, but doing so makes us stronger and more resilient, and ultimately a better support to others.

I have been working with these ideas for several weeks now regarding a close family member, using meditation, spell work, visualtisation and talking with another healer.
We can stand on the edge of the water and throw a lifeline, but we must be mindful that we won't get pulled off our feet in the process- that serves no one, including ourselves.

I think we all suffer with depletion and emotional burn out, the past few months have been tough for me, and I fave been all at sea at times, but my work has really allowed me to come to understand the importance of claiming what is mine. And to feel good about taking the lions share of my energy for myself. And I have come to find joy and strength.
My interactions with others seem much more authentic too- and they respond subconsciously perhaps by knowing there is a strong anchor close by, and understanding that my joy is real.

Just my take!

Salem, I guess I have never been one late to bed- except in my early years for parties etc. When my children came along I was blessed with a morning live wire who wanted to paint, cook and splash puddles every morning at 5am until she was 4 or 5. Having tried everything to adjust her sleep patterns in the end I just gave in, adopted early nights for myself and started to embrace mornings.
And that hasn’t changed. We are all different, my OH is a night owl, but I get more pleasure from early mornings than late nights. I love the dawn, the freshness, the feeling of solitude( especially when I have such a busy house). So no real secret- except I go to bed at 9pm, usually read a while and asleep by 10pm. Enjoyable mornings always must mean early nights!!
I’d better crack on, cleaning my oven his morning- always a messy job!

My boundaries are pretty well defined - I've made the mistake in the past of being too accessible ( in every sense).

Interesting this comes up now - I was running a healing class last night and that included how to protect your own energy levels whilst carrying out healing.

Elphame it;s very inspiring and encouraging to hear how far you have travelled on your journey. Hope that we always have room to redefine ourselves and set up new ways of operating to improve our lives.
And very pertinent to me right now- I am seeing huge benefits in my well being and stregth.
In fact I have a meeting with my healer in two hours- and we will be discussing this very topic.

Bright blessings everyone.

Loving the synchronicity again. Seems you’ve raised a pertinent point Violet

Such wise reflections on boundaries speakout, really resonates for me. thank you.

It’s something I’ve had to (have to) work on too. I agree with what you say about energy and empaths, taking the lion’s share for ourselves and standing firmly on the shore to throw a rope. And a huge yes to the authenticity it gives us.

It takes practice doesn’t it?! I’m also finding that regular reviews are necessary.

There’s a narrative we see so much of on social media etc where the sensitive empath is drained by ‘energy vampires’ or some such similar story. I don’t like it because it labels us helpless and those who can drain us selfish. Disempowering all round IMO.

(although I have to admit to finding the BBC’s depiction of ‘Colin Robinson, energy vampire’ really funny in ‘What we do in the shadows’)

Anyway, it’s rarely that clear cut is it. We can end up drained by those we love the most simply because we feel their pain so acutely.

I’ve found it useful to have some internal dialogue around what’s mine and what’s theirs, separating it out in my head seems to help.

It can be hard to assert boundaries, especially when it’s a change from what we’ve always done. I find that expressing it as making our own needs clear can be a useful re-frame. Eg, ‘in order to feel focused enough to talk things through, I need to feel rested. I’m tired right now’

I think also to work on %’s is a useful tool sometimes. If I give 70% of my energy to others and realise I’m not happy with that, it’s not always realistic to take it all back in one go. It might feel too much and I might end up not changing anything for that reason. Situations are rarely all or nothing. So if this were the case I might decide I actually want 70% of my energy for myself and have 30% to give to others. I’d start with an intention to take back 5% at a time (perhaps by meeting for an hour rather than two, responding to text messages within a time frame I set myself rather than always being available etc), with the aim of sustainable change using an incremental approach.

When I feel drained I’ll also try and up the self care as a necessity. I find when I feel I haven’t got time for it is when I need it most.

I hope you’re having a restorative day Violet x

I find when I feel I haven’t got time for it is when I need it most

This ^^ in spades. Well observed Yashmis

The only healing technique I've found so far that doesn't ever deplete your own energy is Reiki, that just flows through you, you don't generate it to start with or have to give it, or have to top your supply up afterwards and whilst it's flowing through you, you're receiving some too.

Every other method of healing I've investigated involves the practitioner either generating a larger than normal supply, then using their own supply but never being too sure of the levels they are left with, then having to top themselves back up to a normal level afterwards.

I'm a lazy person and use the easiest method.

Interesting to see who favours which times of the day for their quietest peace, mine's still and dark, between 2 and 3am, but not attained that often when I have to fit into a world that works 9 to 5.

Thank you Speakout, Yashmis and Elphame for sharing your thoughts. I'm normally pretty good at establishing boundaries, but just lately I've got a bit complacent. This last year I've had a number of new friends come into my life, via my spiritual work and tarot. In the main these are (very lovely) women who are going through various relationship issues. A while back, I set an intention to use what I have leaned on it pathway to help others in similar circumstances, so I believe this has attracted these women to me. I've got a lot out of supporting them (as well as enjoying their friendship), but feel one in particular has become increasingly needy. When I'm asked for advice, I will always tell the truth (in the kindest possible way), which isn't always what people (especially this one lady) want to hear. I know I need to step back from her a little.

I've also realised that I've not allowed myself to acknowledge my feelings about my DS moving away to university in a couple of weeks. I've been focused on the practical; the finances, helping him sort out accommodation, shopping for everything he needs, etc. I've not allowed myself to think about how much I'm going to miss him, and I think this is probably effecting me too.

I'm rambling now, so will stop, but thank you all for helping me work my thoughts out 🙏❤️

Good morning. A huge change in the weatherer here, gret, overcast, blustery and cool.
Just back from an early start to yoga, quick trip to M&S for some bread and fruit, picked up some stones from B&Q to patch up my driveway. the Bags were too heavy really, but I refuse to be outdone by heavy things, so managed to get them into the boot and home.

DS and DD will be going out soon, both have birthday celebrations to go to ( different friends) so will be out from lunch time until late tonight.
Giving me a fairly clear day to myself ( ish) DM is here so no incesne or pagan music, but I can still burn candles, and she usually goes to bed fo an afternoon nap. I may hae a trip to my favourite charity shops today. And I will do no cooking today. As much as I love kitchen witchery it's good to have a break- cooking for 5 people every night makes me a little weary.

I hope everyone finds a little magic to weave today.

Good morning,

It’s cool and fresh here, I’m loving the energy. I’ve just had a chat with DS on the other side of the planet so that’s left me with a smile on my face. He’s just sitting down for a curry and some beers with friends, passed me over to say hello to one of them. I find it very awkward being put on the phone to someone I don’t know but love the sentiment of him wanting to introduce his friends to his mum. He’ll be back in the UK early next year following the final stint of his travels. I’m not holding my breath, he’ll extend it if he can and I don’t blame him, love his free spirit. Still it feels good to know I will see him in 2020!
A good start to the day.

A charity shop potter is something I have pencil planned for today too speakout, a treat I give myself on payday. I love never knowing what I’m going to find and will be on the lookout for autumnal clothes. I’ve lost weight this last year so I’m needing to replace my wardrobe. I’m no fashionista but do enjoy finding good quality, comfortable items for a few pounds. A bit of laundry magic and they serve me well! It’s an ethical stance to an extent too. The clothes I could afford to buy new would almost certainly be exploiting others and the planet in their production. Then of course there’s the weird and wonderful treasure to be found. Recent treasure hunts have yielded a lovely moon brooch, interesting glass bottles and relevant books. Simple pleasures.

Other plans are less fun and include more admin both in relation to the job I get paid to do and the responsibility I have for unwell/disabled family members. But needs must, I’m flowing ok with it all now and there’ll be satisfaction to be drawn from clearing each step of the way.

speakout I had to laugh when I read your post as I also ‘refuse to be outdone by heavy things’ ! Sometimes to my detriment.

Violet I think your assessment of your situation is wise and it does feel like it’s time to take back some of your energy. Your intentions are admirable and loving but you can’t pour from an empty cup (cliche but true IME)

I do empathise about your DS going to uni. I remember getting caught up in the ‘doing’ too and can also feel the emotion of the moment I left him there and started the 4.5hr drive home on my own with an empty car. It is a big deal- a milestone in your parenting journey and you need space to be with the feelings it brings. Be gentle with yourself and be proud of what a great mum you are to your ‘boys’ It’s no mean feat bringing them up and being on your own can add another dynamic in terms of responsibility. What you have achieved is to be celebrated. Respect to you sister 💖

BlankTimes it’s interesting what you say about reiki- I have never received or been attuned to it but I try and work to the principle of being ‘a conduit rather than a vessel’ in my work which I guess is a similar concept kind of reversed!

When I work with people it’s helpful to be able to feel what they feel so as to best support them. But this needs to flow through me rather than be absorbed and kept. It’s something I’m always working on fine tuning!

Wishing everyone a blessed day 💫