#spiritwork
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Training for Trancework
(Pictured: A working trance altar with resin incense, flowers, chocolate, salt & herbs, and a plate for monetary offerings.)
Basic Trancework
-Just trance for the sake of trance. Celebration. Experimentation. Fun. Labor.
In the beginning, your efforts should be focused on just getting into and out of an altered state safely and reliably. You can do that by giving yourself permission to go all in. Embrace the magic floppy time without hesitation or second guessing yourself. Make peace with things as they are. If your hair is messy, just let that concern go. If your mind is too loud to release from your body, disconnect from your worries. Whatever holds you back from totally relaxing into yourself, put it aside temporarily.
In my opinion, the best way to do these things is to just play around with it. When starting out with any new thing, there should be a childhood phase. It may grow to be a serious thing later but in the beginning, you get to be childlike and just explore what is possible and what you like. Whatever brings you a sense of peace and joy. That will give you a strong foundation to build upon later.
On a practical level, that will mean putting on some music or playing with live musicians and engaging in simple repetitive (dance) movements that disrupt the body's equilibrium. Rocking side to side or front to back, whirling, rolling movements that ripple from the spine through the limbs. It is okay to flop on the group. Trance dancing is dance but it is more to be felt than seen so it doesn't have to look dignified in any way. Just enjoy yourself and let your mind go.
If you are developing trancework as a musician (musician's trance is definitely a thing) then at this stage you will want to practice your music until you feel confident with it and then condition yourself to relax more and more as you go. Committing a song to memory will really help, that way you don't have to stay focused. Your muscle memory will carry you through but only if you have trained your body to do it while fully awake first.
Catalyst Trancework
-Trancework that utilizes a fuel source to propel you deeper into an altered state. This can be a heavy emotion like love, rage, or grief, OR a substance like alcohol that can melt away barriers between the active wakeful mind and the loose uninhibited mind. It can also just be a power object that you introduce whenever you trance that will send you over the other side.
Once you have the basics down and you can get in and out of a trance without much difficulty, you will want to shift to a different goal. At this stage, you will want to build up your hypnotic conditioning to reduce your reaction time and encourage muscle memory over active waking-mind reactions. This is where trancework starts getting formal. If you want to engage with Med style trancework then you will wear white when you trance. Every time. This conditions your mind to only trance when you are wearing white and it helps to keep you out of an altered state when you don't want to be in one.
At this stage you can use colors, symbols, and scents to create the hypnotic suggestion that now is the time to trance as well as what kind of trance you want to engage in. Use different incense, scented oils, and perfumes to trigger different muscle memory states. Use each scent consistently and for no other purpose to keep those associations strong. They will build over time.
You can also paint symbols on your body that have deeper occult meanings for you personally or culturally. I use mud, henna, and wood ash to create designs on my body for this. They can be for protection, for magic, for enhancement, for whatever you need. Just use them consistently and for no other purpose than this.
This is a good stage to start developing group trancework as well. Through repetitive chain or circle dances with others. Just like with the musician's trance training described above, you will want to learn and perfect the dances you want to use while fully awake and then begin conditioning yourself to relax while doing them in a trance. This places the burden of movement on your muscle memory rather than your active wakeful mind.
As a musician, you can start weaving more complicated rhythms and start developing your skills at improvisation. To do this as a singer, take one or two songs that you know really well and start amusing yourself by crafting new lyrics for them. Do it often in a wakeful state. The goal of this is to condition the mind to be able to improvise lyrics in an altered state. This is used in traditional Mediterranean mediumship where the ability to spontaneously compose verse from the perspective of the dead provides proof of state. With an instrument you will probably end up going down a folkloric numerical rabbit hole. Where each number has a spiritual significance and you start anchoring the music you make to those numerical associations.
Ecstatic Trance
-Spiritwork. Any trancework that involves spirits other than your own but not gods. This can be a form of automatic mediumship, or some form of possession. The Cult of the Winds and some of the trancework relating to both the Mountain Mothers & Dionysos fit this description.
There are so many angles to developing the knowledge and skills for this type of trancework. If you are a Bride then you would initiate into a living tradition or a reconstructed one with people that you trust. To develop skills as a Bride, you will want to practice extremely strict compartmentalization and reinforcement of your hypnotic triggers. The exact parameters of what you would do here depends on what spirit you are a Bride to.
If you are a musician then you will spend a lot of time memorizing threads (spirit chants) and rhythms. There can be dozens to hundreds of threads depending on which spirit cult you are involved with. You will also devote some energy to strict compartmentalization of your hypnotic triggers, which are also cult specific.
If you are training as a monitor (someone who watches over the entranced), you will spend a lot of time in the trenches watching the body language of the entranced and learning to read the signs to interpret what is going on. And, of course, you will spend time learning how to troubleshoot various scenarios where your skills will be tested.
If you are training to be a lead musician then buckle up because you will have to learn all of it and then some. To be a lead musician is to intimately and skillfully be able to perform every role used in trancework. You will also want to start acquiring gear that your trance group will need to host a ritual. (I'll make a separate post on what kind of materials you will want to have on hand for that.)
Euphoric or Enthusiastic Trance
-Bridalwork, which is ecstatic trance with gods instead of spirits. This will also be cult specific. Some euphoric traditions just focus on becoming closer to divinity for no other purpose than it is holy and desirable. Others use music as a diagnostic process to see if a person has run afoul of a god. And still others utilize euphoric trance to drive away lesser spirits who are making problems for mortals.
This is the most formal type of trancework there is. That formality is there as a safety feature and to facilitate the creation of proof of state. The more strict you are with this type of trancework, the farther you will go with it. It takes a lot of faith. You have to know what you are doing with absolute certitude and commit to it fully. The more reverence you put into it in your waking life, the deeper your connection while entranced.
Unfortunately those three different ritual goal styles listed in the description have radically different needs so I cannot help too much in a general sense. The major thing that connects them is that formality though. So focus on that, cultivate strong relationships with divinity by doing things the way you are supposed to do them when you are supposed to do them. And this will build over time and repetition.
A Final Note
Taking your sweet time is very important. Rushing to an imagined destination or an end goal will create a weak foundation. I recommend spending at least a year of active weekly development on your skills for each stage before actively moving on to the next. You can build your skills in each type of trance up all at the same time but it will still take years. The longer you keep at it and more consistently you do it the more you will be able to do with it. This is a lifelong pursuit.
Hope this helps! Good luck.
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My Opinion on Ouija Boards- How to Use them Safely
I often get a strong negative reaction from others when I mention I use Ouija boards, saying they would never use one because they fear what may come through. I have definitely had some very scary and negative experiences with Ouija boards, but that was before I started using the proper precautions. I thought it could be beneficial to share how I stay safe and keep things fun while using a Ouija board :)
Disclaimer: this is just what works for me and my belief system, also I'm not trying to convince anyone to use a Ouija board if they aren't comfortable! I personally believe that negative entities only have power over you if you fear them and although these interactions can be intense, I don't think they can actually harm you physically. I understand others may disagree on this matter.
1. Your Intention
Having a clear and set intention is super important with spirit work. Before starting, my friends and I usually say who we would like to speak to but if we are trying to not contact anyone in particular we will state we want to speak to friendly and kind spirits. If there is something specific we want to talk about we aks if there is someone who would like to talk about that. Make it clear what you are trying to accomplish and have a shared goal in mind if you are doing it with others.
2. The Board
I highly recommend getting a new board, making your own, or thoroughly cleansing the board if you get it second hand don't know what it was used for previously. A lot of my terrifying experiences happened with a board we got from an estate sale and I think this may have had something to do with the negativity we found through that board. Our current board was new, we cleansed it, and we put a pentagram on the back in white paint to make sure it was protected. We also put incense ashes on the four corners of the back. Use whatever methods of protection and/or cleansing that work for you.
3. Set and Setting
Use the board somewhere you feel safe and comfortable, and try to ensure you are in a good state of mind. A little bit of fear or nerves is okay but remaining calm and putting yourself in the proper environment can help these feelings from taking over. I prefer to use the Ouija board in a group because it tends to work better and makes me feel a lot more secure and safe. When I feel safe and calm, I have much more positive experiences.
4. If things go south, end the session
The moment the entity you are speaking to appears to have ill intent or if you are starting to become overcome with fear, end the session. You can always start again another time when you are feeling better or you have addressed the issue through cleansing or maybe a change in setting. Remember that you have control in this situation, nothing gets to speak to you unless you allow it.
General Tips
-Lighting candles or dimming the lights can help set the mood
-Being inebriated may influence your ability to use the board. I find it makes things more difficult and more draining
-The sensation of the planchet moving can sometimes feel like buzzing or electricity, it's strange but I haven't experienced this as being a sign of anything negative
-Using the board can be very draining, a snack before or afterward can help
-Thank the spirits you talk to, ask if they would like offerings or gifts. The spirits I have spoken to have said it takes energy for them to contact you through the board, so a gift to return some of that energy is a nice gesture
-Use other methods like tarot or automatic writing or drawing during your Ouija sessions to get different kinds of responses
I hope some of this was helpful, and I would love to hear other people's thoughts and experiences :)
Happy exploring!
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My turn to start a community discussion, because I’m curious how other people approach this!
Scenario: you’re a would be spirit worker. You have never encountered a spirit before, that you know of, and don’t really know where you sit in terms of senses/abilities. How do you go about making contact with your first spirit(s) to start forming relationships and practicing your skills?
I’m going to be using the tag “#first spirit encounter scenario” for this discussion in case anyone wants to block it or follow along.
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Not the hottest take....really just me rambling my thoughts...
I wish there were more witch spaces that are UPG friendly? Obviously i know my experiences will not be universal with everyone else? And my relationship with deities and spirits will be vastly different than others and not always textbook. Honestly i just wanna share my silly little fun stories without the fear of being excessively ridiculed.
But while ill always refer back to the textbook for research because it's important, it just comes to a point where if you only equate all of spritiual and divine to just textbooks and only textbooks? It takes away the ability for said spirits and divinity to have individual personality. Or atleast become void of it. Meeting spirits to me is like meeting people. Youll never really know anything about them unless you take the time to get to know them. But this is just my own perspective. I dont expect anyone to agree with this.
#witchblr#witchcraft#witches of tumblr#witch community#witches of color#witch blog#spiritwork#spirit work#spirit witch#thetwilightoracle#thetwilightgrimoire#deity work#working with spirits#eclectic witch
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Spirit Companion Advice: Names.
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For anyone who is public about their spirit companions:
May seem obvious to some, but I do not recommend sharing your entity's/spirit's real name (Or the name you normally use for them in spirit work practice) out there. The exception is with a very trusted few. The other exception if the spirit/entity does want to be very public and getting something out of it.
Names do have power, but you can also invent a fake name with setting the intention for cloaking or decoy. Privacy is also an important factor, of course.
For example, you and the spirit/entity can come up with a suitable name, use the name to make a sigil and the sigil's intention can be protective or with decoy/deceptive purposes incase someone has ill intentions.
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This came to mind after someone asked this question earlier that jogged my memories on why I take great precautions myself.
I had a lot of weirdos in the past who had tried to copy me and my spirit companions by our function, energy, and even our names. Some even tried to create servitors in attempts to create a near exact replica of my Spirit Family. It was just creepy, disrespectful and frustrating.
In addition, I had someone tried to supposedly "take" one of my spirit Family members by force believing they're far more fit for her. She ended up being a stalker. (And no, this person wasn't even close to making it happen)
I do not wish for that experience for anyone following this path and minding their own business.
Protect your beloved spirit team in any way you are able to.
I know my Family aren't helpless by a long shot but they are my Family, and I will always be protective of who's precious to me.
#spiritwork#spirit companion#spirit companionship#spirit companions#spirit keeping#spirits#entities#spirit work advice#witchcraft
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"The first thing which should be understood is that a familiar is not a particular kind of spirit. A familiar is a role which is described based on the nature of the relationship. Anyone or anything can be familiar to you. You have people and animals in your life with whom you are familiar. In a certain sense, it just means you know who they are; you have an awareness of them. In another sense, familiar can refer to things which have a connection such as we have with family. The primary definition of familiar is that one has a long close, perhaps intimate association with the thing being described. This is what we mean by familiar spirit."
Swain, BJ. Familiar Unto Me: Witches Sorcerers and Their Spirit Companions (p. 19). Kindle Edition.
#witchcraft#magic#occult#witch#spiritual#witchblr#eliza reads#eliza.txt#familiar spirits#spiritwork#spirits#oh the tags#to keep my blog organized
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Spiritwork Skeptic
What is a spirit? Are they ghosts?
Are they 'energy'? What kind of emr? How is it detected?
Can you interact with them? How do you know? Is all of the evidence of spirit interactions coincidental and anecdotal, or does substantial peer-reviewed evidence exist somewhere out there?
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The Literal vs. Folkloric Interpretation of Spider Bites in Mediterranean Spirit Traditions
June is Spooder Season! aka Tarantella Season so I will be doing dives on Tarantella all month. Here comes a fun one.
One of the things that I find most entertaining about Tarantella is how little people actually knew about it in the last few decades. When humans don't know the answer to something we are inclined to fill in the blanks with a best guess and that has had some hilarious results as that knowledge gets filled in later. For quite a while the prevailing theory around Tarantella is that the ritual evolved as a method of working spider venom out of a person's body by making the body sweat. That theory was held for a disturbingly long time. And as research emerged that showed that this does not actually work, the goal posts started to be moved. Instead of it being a method of working out spider venom in general, it was supposed to be the venom of one particular very rare spider that hadn't been tested for.
The identity of the one spider whos venom could be treated in this manner started to shift. Hopping from native spider to spider, continually being proven wrong, until somebody came up with the brilliant idea that perhaps this ritual involved a now extinct species that nobody could test. And this was around the same time that somebody finally said that it cures a spiritual spider bite. Not a real one.
Which was collectively met with the question, "WTF is a spiritual spider bite?"
(I am definitely paraphrasing, summarizing, and generalizing the history of beliefs and anthropologist nonsense involved in Tarantella's history but that is perfectly in keeping with the folklore vibe of this blog. It is a story! Enjoy it. lol)
Folklore is fun in that lots of things can be true simultaneously, even contrary things. The world does not have to make sense. That being said, I am going to try to explain WTF a spiritual spider bite is and how Tarantella relates to both material world spiders as well as spiritual spiders. If you guessed that this is cultural code for something, give yourself a treat.
All of this confusion is brought to you by two deities. Dionysos & Eros. Or better yet, the cultural coding that they represent and come from. These were ideological seeds that were planted a very long time ago and we are still enjoying the fruit.
Eros is a little prick. Not as an insult but as a cultural function. A pricking from the arrow of Eros is to be injected with certain overwhelming feelings and urges. These feelings are externalized as not coming from inside you but from without. There may be many reasons for this but the one I am going to hone in on is the idea that humans are not responsible for their actions if those actions came from somewhere else. A very respectable person can be pricked by Eros and do some socially unacceptable things (maybe not morally wrong but still not thought of very highly) without losing the esteem of their community because the community sees those acts as not coming from them but from Eros.
This is also true for Dionysos to an extent. And honestly, how much or how little your fellow humans are willing to look the other way while you do things that seem at odds with the rules of civilization also comes down to how much those people like you. So this is not a get-out-of-social-pariah-jail-free card. Just a running concept functioning in the background that gives people a little leeway now and again.
Moving onto Dionysos and the quintessential spiritual snek. Snakes are code for a lot of different things depending on the surrounding context but the one that concerns us most here is snake as a spiritual envoy and snake bites as vectors of possession. The (folkloric) natural desirable state is to be cool and dry. Or at least not covered in your own bodily fluids as that can lead to dehydration and loss of spiritual potential. So there are a lot of beliefs about the exchange of fluids and the properties of liquids.
All of the modern vectors of possession involve some kind of liquid. The transference of venom or just saliva from a spider or a snake into a human body, or the mishandling of blood, or a suspicious form of running water. These are believed to carry spirits from the spiritworld into our world and more specifically into our bodies. Things like rabies and epilepsy were often filed together under the same umbrella as the prick of Eros or of Dionysian madness. These were things that caused a person to act contrary to their established nature. And this ideological loophole allowed people to continue to engage and be treated with respect even though they had behaviors that would be considered impolite.
Getting back to spiders and what this all has to do with spiritual spooder bites... The arrival of summer brings Tarantella season. This is a warm if not outright hot weather phenomenon connected to some aspect of agricultural field work. The bite of the spider is encoded as the pinch of unrequited love or lust. A hopeless feeling that makes it impossible to concentrate, that gets under your skin and causes you to act contrary to your regular nature (which, of course, is that of an upstanding and reasonable human).
We would all be very respectable people if not for the constant meddling of the spiritworld! ✊ And I would have perfect spelling if not for the constant meddling of the spiritworld too! 🤭 (This can work for a lot of things.)
Tarantella can be described as a broken-hearts-club. Those who suffer from a great burning spiritual affliction that causes them such great distraction that they will humiliate themselves in the name of love. Many Tarantella threads (spirit songs) have lyrics relating to tragic romance, the loss of a loved one, the pain of loneliness, an inability to marry a sweetheart, or even about cheating rascals who broke hearts. There is a bit of a spectrum to it. Some songs are just very sweet and romantic but intoned in a tragic voice.
The purpose of Tarantella is not to cure an actual spider bite by sweating the venom out. That is the kind of nonsense you get when you look at a folk practice and take everything literally instead of as encoded culture. The purpose of Tarantella is to replace that pain in your heart with Dionysos. Because if the person you loved has died, he is not coming back to life but that pain will be there forever if you don't DO SOMETHING about it.
However! The spider is very real. The pain in a Tarantata's heart was probably there before the spider bit them but the bite is the catalyst that tips the balance. The Tarantata has been chosen as a Bride and she must dance to confront that pain and find healing. There are so, so, so many layers to this and I am simplifying it a lot but this is still a good place to begin building an understanding from. All of the behaviors of the Tarantata are a part of the expected cultural coding that gives them the time and space to process these incredibly powerful emotions.
I am pretty sure that I already explained somewhere on this blog that Tarantella is also a misnomer. The spooder gets all the credit but literally any biting creature can set off a Bride. I frequently name 7 vectors of possession, the seven little ambassadors of Eros and the spiritworld. But those are just the 7 most common culprits. There have been cases of dog bites setting off a Tarantata's lifelong journey as a Bride of Dionysos (or St. Paul--whatever name you chose).
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✨🕯️Spirit Work🕯️✨
Hello darlings 🥰
Today, I wanted to talk about working with spirits and ancestors in your witchcraft practice ✨
Ancestor veneration and spirit work have been a part of various cultures and spiritual practices for centuries, and many modern witches incorporate these elements into their craft as well.
Working with spirits and ancestors can provide guidance, wisdom, and protection, as well as deepen your connection to your ancestry and lineage. Here are a few tips for incorporating these practices into your craft:
🕯️Research and connect with your ancestors: Start by researching your ancestry and learning about the traditions and practices of your ancestors. You can create an altar or shrine dedicated to your ancestors and leave offerings for them, such as food, drink, or candles.
🕯️Develop a relationship with your ancestors: Communicate with your ancestors through meditation, divination, or other methods. Ask for their guidance and support in your life and practice.
🕯️Work with spirit guides: Spirit guides are non-physical beings that can offer guidance and support on your spiritual journey. You can connect with them through meditation or divination, and ask for their help and protection.
🕯️Practice safe spirit communication: It's important to practice safe spirit communication to protect yourself and your energy. Set clear boundaries, ground yourself, and always approach spirits with respect and caution.
Working with spirits and ancestors can be a powerful and transformative practice, but it's important to approach it with respect and caution. Remember to always trust your intuition and practice safely.
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🌞 If you enjoy my posts, please consider donating to my energies 🌞
✨🔮 Request a Tarot Reading Here 🔮✨
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With love, from a Sappy Witch 🔮💕
Blessed be. 🕊✨
#witchcraft#spiritwork#ancestors#spiritguides#witchtips#witchythings#witchyvibes#witchycommunity#magick#witchyinspiration#paganism#witchythoughts#witchylife#witchywisdom#witchyliving#witchyways#mine#sappywitch#sappywitchcoven#blessed be
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On Low Effort Offerings:
Low effort offerings can be great, but in my opinion they can’t be your only offerings. I see these posting going around, talking about how the gods and spirits and ancestors will love whatever you can give them, and they will, up to a point. Take me for instance - I just had COVID, you can bet your ass that in the worst of it my gods just got a cup of the same tea that I was drinking, and a promise of something more substantial when I was better.
But imagine this: You are in a relationship with someone, either a romantic or platonic relationship, it doesn’t matter, and it seems like they never put any effort into the relationship. Every hangout/date is the equivalent of Netflix and chill. That may be okay, maybe you’re a homebody and don’t want to go out. But in addition to that every meal is take out fast food, they never take you to a nice restraint or ever make you a home cooked meal. On top of that every gift giving occasion is met with a drug store card. Not even a nice home made card. Eventually you would start to feel unappreciated. Our entities can eventually feel unappreciated too, if we constantly ask for their help, or blessing, or guidance, and all they get is our “self care” or the occasional glass of water or tea.
It’s one thing to dial back effort to when we’re ill, or going through a difficult time. But consistent lack of effort can make the people and entities in our lives feel taken for granted and unappreciated. Now I’m sure that these posts on “low effort offerings” aren’t trying to say that the offerings they’re suggesting should be used all of the time, but I rarely see them discuss the fact that low effort should be the exception, not the rule. As always balance and communication is the key.
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Saw someone that said "you should knock on trees before entering a forest to let the Spirits know you're entering their home. Because it's rude to just barge into someone's house unwelcomed" and while I don't entirely disagree with the concept of politely announcing yourself to the local Spirits before you start doing work somewhere (anywhere) ... I also kind of just ... Desperately need to know if people legitimately think that Spirits just ... Don't live in cities, or something ???
I feel like this is kind of a part of the whole issue with the obsession with the Generic Green in Paganism, honestly. Because Spirits- including Land Spirits- are everywhere; not just in generic "green" spaces (like Forests, and their proxies and substitutes) or generic "other" spaces (like Cemeteries and Graveyards) ... But quite literally literally everywhere. Just like we exist everywhere. Because the Material World and the Spiritual World are not separate like that.
It's incredibly weird, actually, to promote ideas like knocking on trees before entering a Forest "because it's rude not to announce yourself when entering their home", but not extend that exact same courtesy when, say, walking out your front door in the City; to see one as being a space which is living and full (and thus deserving of that respect by proxy), but the other as a space which is inherently dead and devoid (and therefore not qualifying of the same courtesies as a result) ... Despite the fact that both places are equally possessed by Spirits and Spirits of Place.
And when you begin to understand that- that everywhere is possessed? You do kind of begin to understand just how reliant a lot of Pagan practices are on this very false and fictionalized, highly romanticized idea of a pure, generic "nature" that doesn't actually exist — and how incredibly weird it actually is that people who routinely make a very big deal about the importance of being Animistic ... Just ... Really don't actually view all spaces as being equally possessed as they should by the values of their own self professed ideology? They really only romanticize very specific areas of possession, really no differently than the rest of Paganism does.
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The Magical Girl Guide to: Selkies
So I made my kitsune guide and now I’m finally remaking one of my original posts on my old blog: my selkie guide. Whether you’re a sea witch or a practicing fae worker or even a casual folklorist, you’ve likely heard of selkies.
My hopes with this post is to give those interested in selkies a place to start their research on folklore and someone else’s UPG. So I’ll provide a mixture of the history surrounding selkies and then dive (pun intended) into my own personal experience working with selkies. As always, however, just use this post as a way to get your foot in the door, not the full extent of your research.
This is not an all-knowing expert article on selkies nor is my UPG the end all be all of knowledge on selkies, just my personal experiences.
what is a selkie?
By definition selkies (also called silkies, sylkies, selchies, or seal folk) are “ are mythological beings capable of changing from seal to human form by shedding their skin.” Their mythology itself originates from the Northern Isles of Scotland but there are equivalents in Faroese and Icelandic folklore as well.
selkies in folklore
Selkies probably have a really well-known folklore to anyone interested in ocean-based folktales and their stories tend to follow a specific plotline.
One day, a seal comes to comes to land and sheds it’s skin much to the surprise of a fisherman hiding near by. But the surprise to behold is the fact that the seal is a beautiful woman. Enraptured by the beauty of the seal woman, he steals her coat forcing her to stay on land, marry him, and bear his children. Years later usually because of the children or because the husband was caught slipping, the selkie gets her coat back and immediately books it to the sea and returns to her watery home.
There are several stories you can find that detail these forced spousal situations. Make no mistake, these are not consent-based relationships no matter how ‘good’ the human treats the selkie while they are together. In these stories, there are even cases where the selkie already has a selkie husband and children in the sea. She might resurface as a seal from a distance to see her human children from afar, but she never returns to the life she was forced to lead. (As a side note: half selkie children were said to have webbed hands according to the stories.)
As far as selkie men, their legends differ slightly. Their stories don’t usually include coat theft. Selkie men and stories involving them describe them as more seductive, whisking away women on land to have their children. Stories would even say that if a woman cried and seven of her tears landed in the sea, a selkie man would appear to ease her grief for seven years before returning back to the sea himself. But even stories with selkie men can end in tragedy, such as a story where a woman’s human husband killed her selkie lover and selkie child while they were in their seal forms.
However, not all stories involving selkies are cruel. There are some stories, no matter how few they are, that detail positive exchanges between selkies. One Spared to the Sea is a story about a boy who spared the life of a seal pup not knowing it was a selkie. Years later, that same pup’s mother saved his life. You can read a modern wlw retelling of said story [here].
selkies in media
In stark contrast to how many folktales one may find about selkies, I haven’t found nearly as many in pop culture.
Song of the Sea
Ondine
A Stranger Came Ashore by Mollie Hunter
Selkie (made for tv Australian movie)
UPG
If you’re new to fae work and faerie witchcraft as a whole, I find that selkies can be great for beginners. They tend to be easier to get along with and most I’ve encountered are of the ‘wild fae’ category, meaning they tend to not be involved in Court politics. (Fae Work Tip: please don’t involve yourself in the politics of faeries.)
Like in the folklore, selkies are beings that are able to transform into seals with the help of their coats. As such, the variety of seal forms a selkie can take are varied. Leopard seal selkies, spotted seal selkies, harbor seal selkies, monk seal selkies, elephant seals, and so on and so forth.
I usually find that the type of seal they are influences what region they hail from, the culture and cuisine of a pod. This is a generalization, of course. Not every pod of, say, harbor seal selkies are 100% alike or unified in thought. One pod of harbor seal selkies can have their own traditions that another pod of harbor seal selkies have never even heard of. Personally, I work mostly with harbor seal selkies, as I’ve bonded with a pod of them a while back.
In my personal experience, you don’t need to be of Scottish, Irish, Icelandic or Faroese descent to work with selkies, nor do you need to be geographically close to these countries as selkies can be found just about anywhere. Scotland, Ireland, the Faroe Islands, Iceland and I’ve personally found a pod of selkies near Puerto Vallarta. Hawaiian monk seal selkies can be found throughout the Hawaiian Islands with extensions into other areas of Polynesia. So location and ethnicity are definite non-issues when it comes to seal folk.
The passing of leadership depends on the pod.
As to how much time they spend in their seal forms, that’s really up to the individual. Some selkies may prefer their fae form and indulging in the coat-based fashion trends of their pod (a more recently developed trend among selkies to better make their their coats look less like selkie coats). I know a selkie who spends most of their time in their seal form during the warm seasons. And there are instances of selkies who spend years in their seal form before slipping off their coat. Usually in those circumstances, they may struggle with talking and walking for a bit from what I’ve been told. Some selkies might not even live with their pod and are solo travelers or living on land in astral cities.
There are even pods that don’t even live together most of the year, opting to only have the occasional gathering for a few months at a time before setting off on their own adventures until the next designated meeting. In this case, if a selkie has a spouse and children they will travel together as a small family unit. And yet, once they’ve all gathered in one place again, it’s like the pod was never separated to begin and the atmosphere is one filled with laughter and song as they share updates about their lives and the places they might have been.
Like the mythos, selkies are connected to their coat. Every selkie is born with their coat and from that moment, they’re lives are intertwined with it. As they grow from pup to fully grown selkie, their coats grow and change with them. What happens to the selkie, happens to the coat. You could see a selkie coat with scratches on it from fights they got in their seal form plenty of times. As such, if their coat is stolen by someone they have no choice but to go with whoever took it. They can’t just go ‘oh that sucks, I guess I’ll find a new one’. They can only transform and return to the sea with their own coat.
As to what their coats look like, I find that selkie coats I’ve seen look mostly similar to the coats in these illustrations:
https://owlyjules.tumblr.com/post/188643189962/inktober-day-27-coat-one-day-your-brother-brings
https://erysium.tumblr.com/post/615764004311269376/my-selchie-comic-for-boom-sudios-storyteller
(And no, they aren’t all pure white as they are in Song of the Sea. Unless they’re a harp seal selkie pup but as they get older, the white pup fur will fade and it will look like the typical coat of a harp seal.)
So understandably, selkies can be very suspicious of new people they meet who aren’t selkies. Hearing a story about a selkie coat being sold in the black market is not a rare one and you will have to prove that you’re trustworthy. Best way to do that is slowly overtime of course. I would recommend talking to whoever is in charge of the pod and asking for a chance to prove your loyalty and wishes for friendship. Respect whatever decision and conditions they give.
Brief Run Through on Pod dynamics (remember each one is different):
Leader: some pod has one specific leader and how leadership is passed down depends on the pod. Some pods do it by challenging the current leader and the winner is the one who will lead (or continue leading) the pod. Some pods pass it down between family members and other pods will vote on who they believe will be most capable to lead them. May rely on the elders of the pod for advice but if there is no specific leader of a pod, they might just have a bunch of elders running the show.
Elders: some pods don’t have a specific leader and instead have a group of the pod’s eldest members who decide their actions. But even in the case where there are elders are consulted for their opinion on decisions and matters that will greatly affect the pod.
Scouts: the ones who patrol around their home and the waters surrounding it for prospective enemies and threats.
Hunters: kinda self explanatory. Selkies do their best not to heavily impact their ecosystems and avoid taking too much. This is especially true if they are not the only entities calling the place home, for instance if there are merfolk or sea elves and such living close by they have to make sure those around them can still eat as well.
As for children, while they are ultimately brought up by their own parents selkies tend to look after the youngest members of their pod as a community. As you might expect, they’re job is to be cute and learn from the older selkies how to swim and fend for themselves as they get older. They’re the next generation so they’re important to every pod.
But hunter and scout is just a broad overview of two common roles you’ll find in pods, there are of course selkies who do other things in their pods. Healers (I knew of a selkie interested in starting her own apothecary a long while back), sea silk weavers, teachers, pearl cultivators or even jewelers.
Befriending an entire pod can seem daunting, but take everything one day at a time and remember each pod is full of individuals. Each individual is different and so are their friendliness, so there are bound to friendlier selkies in a pod. Once you’ve befriended a selkie, or even an entire pod, then just know you’re with them for life. Selkies tend to be very family-oriented and once you’re in, you’re in. You’re part of the family, congratulations.
Disclaimer: thinking of selkies as kind and fun-loving folk who will never do you any harm is a fine way to get yourself clapped. There are selkies who don’t like humans and some of them will let that dislike be known through aggression. Every selkie is different the way every human is different and they shouldn’t all be lumped together. Some selkies and pods are really open and welcoming, others like to keep to themselves. Each decision is valid, especially when selkies themselves have suffered the short end of the stick.
suitable offerings
The disclaimer here is that these are general offerings that most selkies should like. Should you ever find yourself working frequently with a selkie or find yourself the companion of one, there could be other things that they specifically like or dislike. But you usually can’t go wrong with:
Seashells or Coral (ethnically sourced of course)
Pearls
Sea Glass
Ocean-related candles and incense
how to gain the attention of a selkie
1) old fashioned offerings
2) astral travel
3) spirit attraction spell
I’m not a promoter of conjuring or otherwise, forcefully bringing a spirit to your vicinity. Think about it like this: you’re at a wedding. You’re best friend in the entire world is getting hitched to the love of their life, and you’re among the audience. You’re welling up with emotion and pride for your friend to have made such an important milestone in their life when... Suddenly, you’re not at their wedding anymore.
No, instead you’re looking at some random stranger who summoned you to their home who say it’s because they’re interested in working with those of your kind. You wouldn’t be too happy about this, would you?
Not only is conjuring or summoning bad for the entity, it can be bad for you if this entity isn’t easily forgiving of being torn away from their personal life to your home and you can end up paying the consequences for it. Instead, I recommend a spell that attracts entities to your home or if you’re sufficiently prepared, astral travel it up.
#magical girl guide#witchcraft#faerie witchcraft#faerie witch#fae work#spiritwork#selkies#sea witchcraft#sea witch#spirit work#spirit companion#spirit companionship#faeries#fair folk#wild fae#black witches of tumblr
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Dryads and Wood-Wives: A Question of Categorization
I got an interesting question on tumblr last week, and while I’m not going to copy the entire thing over here, nor my entire rambling response, I thought it brought up two important worldview questions that might illuminate my practice a bit for ya’ll, and may help out others who are new to walking the path of a fairy witch.
The first question was, basically: is a Germanic wood-wife the same thing as a Greek dryad? Are these just two names for the same exact thing? On the surface, it does sort of seem that way; they’re described in very similar terms. But one of the trickiest things about the realms of Fairy (and one that I think is the hardest for people to wrap their heads around) is that we can’t cleanly separate fairies into specific species. There’s a lot of evidence in the Scottish Witch Trial manuscripts that the difference between a devil and an imp and a fairy and an elf was pretty much a difference of attitude, and that the same being might be called two or more of these terms even by the same person.(1) And there’s plenty of folkloric evidence that these beings can change their appearance, or at least deceive our senses. So we just can’t quantify and identify them as we do with animals and plants, and just because they seem similar doesn’t necessarily mean they are the same.
On top of that, we have to add the complexities of culture - both ours and theirs. I think it’s reasonable to say that some of the Fair Folk seem to have a sort of symbiotic relationship with nearby humans, to the point that there’s some cultural bleed between the two groups.(2) So it would make sense to me that the dryads would have more Greek sensibilities and prefer offerings of common Greek foodstuffs, whereas wood-wives would have more Germanic sensibilities and prefer more common Germanic foodstuffs - and that seems to be born out in the folklore about what to offer and how to give it. So it doesn’t make sense to me to try and force a pattern on that - there’s no way to reduce them all, to the point where you can say “all feminine forest spirits should be offered [some kind of food]”. I think it’s better to just not worry about whether wood-wives and dryads are the same “species” and instead of highlighting the similarities, learn about the differences, so that you don’t accidentally offend anyone.(3) When I encounter new beings in the landscape, either Over Here, or Over There, as I’m going about my business, one of the things I ask is what they call themselves - not their Name or even name, but what type of a being they want me to know them as. They are usually willing to either show or tell me enough that I can at least figure out what paradigm will work best in my interactions with them, and I then move forward treating them as the folklore surrounding that being suggests that I should.(4)
That brings me to the second question: do fairy beings travel to places other than where their original folklore is from? I think they do. I think it would be strange to think that only humans travel across our world, when plants and animals have done their best to migrate (with and without our help) as well. I also think that the symbiosis I spoke about in the last section plays a roll, but this time on a more macro scale. I’ve heard stories of brownies and nisser traveling with their families on boats to the Americas, and there are stories of fairy beings being “chased out” of certain areas (often by Christian priests). I don’t think it’s a stretch to think that some of them might’ve come that way to the Americas or Australia or wherever. Personally, I’ve met a lot of fairy beings who, when I ask them what type of being they are, identify themselves as something from European folklore. Near where I live, it’s been mainly beings known from Celtic or British or Germanic cultural folklore, and I think that makes sense given the colonial history of this area. (I’ve met some indigenous otherworldly beings as well, but they’re usually fairly shy, and so far none of them are specifically symbiotic to the indigenous cultures of that side of my family, but I’m nowhere near the traditional homelands, either.) I wouldn’t be super surprised, either, to find beings from Central American or Islamic or Korean folklore nearby, either, considering the current demographics of the area, but I also can’t say that I would necessarily recognize them if I did, as I’m not as well versed in those. Generally though, I think it’s not impossible to find beings from any culture that is currently represented in your area or has ever lived there, because these beings are usually believed to be both powerful and long-lived, and it’s therefore a good idea to just learn as much as you can about anyone you might encounter.
When I ask fairy-like otherworldly beings(5) what kind of a being they are, I’m not looking to categorize them, to check them off in a field guide, or to decide what “species” they belong to - I’m trying to gain context. How they present themselves tells me a little about their expectations, their likes and dislikes, and their sensibilities. And then I’ll use that information, and offer Dryads clean water, diluted wine, and olive oil, and offer wood-wives bread or other things made of grain, and perhaps a bit of milk. I’m a witch looking to create relationships, not a scientist trying to answer questions that might just be unanswerable.
See Emma Wilby’s Cunningfolk and Familiar Spirits (Sussex Academic Press, 2005), and Seo Helrune (www.seohelrune.com) has talked about the same in the Nordic sphere, with alfe vs jotnar, in some of their classes.
“Symbiotic” here not necessarily meaning “mutualistic” (benefitting both parties) on a micro scale. I think it’s likely that it’s mutualistic on a macro scale of our two populations, but on a micro scale yeah some humans definitely get fucked over, more along the lines of commensalism or straight-up predation.
Really, learning as much as you can in order to avoid giving accidental offence is probably my #1 Fairy Witchcraft rule.
To an extent: there’s plenty of folklore that says “don’t ever fucking talk to these omg just leave quickly and pretend you didn’t see them”. That’s fairly wise for those wishing not to end up in deep water with the Fair Folk but as I’m already fully submerged, I don’t always look away - I trust that my bargains and roles and allies will keep me safe in most normal situations, and I don’t try to mess around with things above my pay grade. A lot of my discernment has been just figuring out what is and is not within my pay grade, and while I might not rush inside and barricade the door if I see a kelpie, I’m not likely to touch it or try to banish it, either. To quote Morgan Daimler, “I like my liver on the inside.”
There’s some disagreement about whether “fairy” includes non-European folkloric otherworldly beings, and more about whether it should, so just to be clear, when I use “fairy” I do mean it in the more general “folkloric otherworldly being” sense. But I try to use “fairy-like” when I’m explicitly talking about non-European folkloric otherworldly beings, out of respect for people in their source cultures who might not feel like the word “fairy” is appropriate. Some of that, I find, is because of a misunderstanding of what a “fairy” is, based on popculture, though - I had a long discussion with a Persian friend about fairies and djinn where at the end we basically decided both terms covered the same basic category, but she originally had thought all fairies were small Tinkerbell types which did not seem at all like her understanding of djinn!
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Screenshot from my theme on desktop! Meet Russ, only visible on desktop and only on occasion in certain places and times, but believe me, he's there...
#magic#witch#witchblr#technomancy#mascot#site guardian#russ#eliza.txt#bird#sparrow#javascript#tumblr themes#are hard to learn#spiritwork#spirit#egregore#idk
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