My New Witchy Room!

I moved 4 months ago and all went well! I was very busy and completely forgot to post here, I apologize for this. Today, I’ll post a Tour Video of my new Witchy Room, and soon I’ll post more articles on my studies. I finished reading three humongous books on Tarot (Holistic Tarot by Benebell Wen and the two first volumes from the Lo Scarabeo collection: Tarot Fundamentals and Tarot Experience). I also did lots of readings for my coworkers during the last months and I’m really comfortable with that tool now. Next, I plan to move through Ogham and then Runes, followed by the Lenormand oracle deck. Like the Tarot, I want to be able to know how to interprets the casting without the use of a book and be comfortable enough to do readings for others. I’m also planning to finish my Druidic Dedicant Path program with ADF (I need to submit the corrections soon) and to pursue my journey into the Seer study program. Talk to you soon! Blessed be to you all!

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A Pagan on the Move!

There we go, this is the last sprint before the move! In a week, I’ll rebuilt my Sacred Space, my lovely Witchy Room in a new house! The room is finished – I now have a very high quality hardwood floor and a suspended ceiling, and it looks gorgeous! My goal is to make it looks like it would be a metaphysical store. I always wanted to own a store like this, but I know I won’t quit my day job anytime soon, so why not make my Witchy Room like this?! The only deal is: I’m not selling anything and I’m keeping it all! Haha!

I’m not the first Pagan, Witch, Druid, Wiccan, Voodooist, Shaman, Ásatrúar, etc. to move, but it seems that when a practitioner move, it is a way more difficult move than any other regular move!!! We guys have so much stuff!!!We got lots of Herb in pots or jars, bowls for any kind or work, candles (so much candles) and incense!!! We also got all kind or delicate trinkets and tools for our altar, and it is a little overwhelming to pack all of this in a way to protect these valuable objects. I decided that only the Witchy books will be handled to the moving company, while all my altar tools, candles, incense, herbs, crystals have been (or will be) moved by myself, knowing that I’m hugely careful with my spiritual tools. So, I’m tired, exhausted, but it’s really encouraging to see less boxes here. On May 31, only the furniture and the (many) boxes of books will remains. Everything else will be already moved and well protected!

Talk to you soon, probably after the move!

The Witchy Room, almost all emptied!

Apothecary Sign!

Today, charged with Beltane’s creativity energies, I did an “Apothecary Shoppe” sign, that will be fixed at the top of my herb collection in my new Witchy Room. It’s not 100% finished, but because my crafting tools are packed, I can’t go further for now. I only need to add some darker effects with dye and to varnish it.

Design Update!

Hi! The moving date has been changed, and I’m moving on May 31 instead of July! I made a design update for my new Witchy Room!

I also uploaded a video of my actual Witchy Room on YouTube. It is a kind of a lovely goodbye for the room that served my magickal practices since January 2015. You can see the video by clicking on the picture below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fr27IKJQXxE

I’m back… Soon!

Sorry guys, I took some time off from the magical realms! I do this kind of mystical retreat every year between Yule and Ostara, when Winter falls on the land and when nature hibernates. Ostara is almost here, and I’ll be back on the blog and post more often. For the time being, here are a new design that I just finished today. This is an updated version of the layout of my current Altar:

Morsoth’s Irish Witchcraft Altar (2017)

Soon I’ll post about my ADF Dedicant Program (I still need to do some correction and revise some texts) and I’ll add pictures of my new Travel Altar!

Ophiuchus: The 13th Zodiacal Sign

In January 2016, NASA reminded us that there are, in fact, 13 constellations in the original zodiac. It’s just that 3,000 years ago, when they were drawing up a plan for the signs of the zodiac that would correspond with the months of year, the Babylonians already had a 12-month calendar — so they left poor Ophiuchus out.

Ophiuchus is one of thirteen constellations that cross the ecliptic. It has therefore been called the “13th sign of the zodiac”. However, this confuses sign with constellation. The signs of the zodiac are a twelve-fold division of the ecliptic, so that each sign spans 30° of celestial longitude, approximately the distance the Sun travels in a month, and (in the Western tradition) are aligned with the seasons so that the March equinox always falls on the boundary between Pisces and Aries. Constellations, on the other hand, are unequal in size and are based on the positions of the stars.

The constellations of the zodiac have only a loose association with the signs of the zodiac, and do not in general coincide with them. In Western astrology the constellation of Aquarius, for example, largely corresponds to the sign of Pisces. Similarly, the constellation of Ophiuchus occupies most (November 29 – December 17) of the sign of Sagittarius (November 23 – December 21). The differences are due to the fact that the time of year that the sun passes through a particular zodiac constellation’s position has slowly changed (because of the precession of the equinoxes) over the centuries from when the Greeks, Babylonians and the Dacians through Zamolxis originally developed the Zodiac.

With that and the fact that the earth’s axis no longer points in the same direction in mind, NASA explained that the signs as we know them have completely different date ranges now.

Here the new dates for all 13 signs:

• Capricorn: January 20 – February 16
• Aquarius: February 16 – March 11
• Pisces: March 11 – April 18
• Aries: April 18 – May 13
• Taurus: May 13 – June 21
• Gemini: June 21 – July 20
• Cancer: July 20 – August 10
• Leo: August 10 – September 16
• Virgo: September 16 – October 30
• Libra: October 30 – November 23
• Scorpio: November 23 – November 29
• Ophiuchus: November 29 – December 17
• Sagittarius: December 17 – January 20

I’m still a Cancer, which doesn’t surprise me!

My Take on Divination Categories

Psychologist Julian Jaynes (1920-1997) categorized divination into the following types:

• Omens and Omen Texts: Chinese history offers scrupulously documented occurrences of strange births, the tracking of natural phenomena, and other data. Chinese governmental planning relied on this method of forecasting for long-range strategies. It is not unreasonable to assume that modern scientific inquiry began with this kind of divination; Joseph Needham’s work considered this very idea.
• Sortilege (Cleromancy): This consists of the casting of lots, or sortes, whether with sticks, stones, bones, beans, coins, or some other item. Modern playing cards and board games developed from this type of divination.
• Augury: This ranks a set of given possibilities. It can be qualitative (such as shapes, proximities, etc.): for example, dowsing (a form of Rhabdomancy) developed from this type of divination. The Romans, in classical times, used Etruscan methods of augury such as Hepatoscopy (actually a form of Extispicy) (for example, Haruspices examined the livers of sacrificed animals). Augury is normally considered to specifically refer to divination by studying the flight patterns of birds. But also, the use of the rooster through Alectryomancy may be further understood within that religious character and likewise defined as a cockfight, or cockfighting with the intent of communication between the gods and man.
• Spontaneous: An unconstrained form of divination, free from any particular medium, and actually a generalization of all types of divination. The answer comes from whatever object the diviner happens to see or hear. Some religions use a form of bibliomancy: they ask a question, riffle the pages of their holy book, and take as their answer the first passage their eyes light upon. Other forms of spontaneous divination include reading auras and New Age methods of Feng Shui such as “intuitive” and “fuzion”.

In addition to these four broad categories, Julian Jaynes add palmistry, also called chiromancy, a practice common to many different places on the Eurasian landmass; it has been practiced in the cultures of India, Tibet, China, Persia, Sumeria, Ancient Israel and Babylonia. In this practice, the diviner examines the hands of a person for whom they are divining for indications of their future.

Source: Wikipedia

I don’t totally disagree with Julian Jaynes, but it seems that this way of sub-categorize divination is somewhat erroneous or misguiding. To me “Omens” and “Augury” and “Spontaneous” are part of the same category because there are messages received without really asking for them. The other category from my list are divination perpetrated by the diviner itself, by casting a lot, by studying the movement of a tool, or by analyzing subliminal messages reflected in a reflective object or element. Look at this at my own version only and not as the definitive and absolute version used by every diviner!

Cleromancy (Sortilege): Sortilege is the taking of omens by the drawing of lots.

• Cartomancy (Tarot, Lenormand, Eteilla, Oracle, Playing Cards)
• Runes (Elder Futhark Runes, Witches’ Runes)
• Ogham
• I-Ching
• Throwing the Bones (Bones, Dice, Dominoes, Shells, Stones)

Dowsing: Divination by movements generated from a tool, answering a question or searching what is hidden.

• Pendulum
• Spirit Board (Ouija)
• Rhabdomancy (Water Dowsing Rod)

Scrying: Foretell the future using a crystal ball or other reflective object or surface.

• Crystallomancy (Crystal Ball, Mirror Scrying, Lithomancy)
• Pyromancy (Fire Gazing)
• Hydromancy (Water Gazing)

Omen: Phenomenon believed to foretell the future, often signifying the advent of change.

• Chiromancy (Palmistry)
• Tasseography (Tea Leaves Reading)
• Augury (Auspice and Ornithomancy)
• Oneiromancy (Dream Interpretation)
• Clairvoyance (Mediumship)
• Astrology
• Numerology
• Geomancy

I must say, I have still trouble figuring out where should I put Tea Leaves Reading and Palmistry. They are Omens, but they feel out of place… Anyway, please tell me if you agree, disagree, or if you think I forgot an important technique to you!