"Just 'cuz ...you know."

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A little one for the great one. . . .

you know you're a hardcore Snape fan

when you're not only comfortable wearing black but you can see every color of the rainbow in it
and you dress like him every chance you get (except at work since like maybe it's a factory so they won't permit frock robes)
and you do your makeup more to look like Snape than you do to be conventionally attractive

when you can't fuckin wait until you not only have a house but you have a really cool spooky house with a huge fully-equiped lab

when your pockets always end up full of vaguely identifiable shit
because you think it might make a good ingredient

when you know he owns you heart and soul and you've given up pretending otherwise and it's ok
and you've got him on your home altar instead of Zeus or Buddha or something

when you have no need of therapy when you come home
even on your shittiest days
and you only wash your hair maybe like once every three weeks

when you don't give a flying thestral turd about JK anymore or the overbloated Fantastic What-the-fuck-ever franchise or really even all the Potter universe geekery bullshit that the media and even some of your circle friends try to force down your throat with a toilet plunger like on a daily basis now
and you're totally arrogant about being how you are
and if anyone tries to diss you for not being fan-this or fan-that you cheerfully tell them to go to hell in a unicorn-pulled handcart

when you own as many boxes full of potion shit as you do clothes
yet you've pretty much lost interest in anything like Potter-themed balls because honestly it's so cheesy what is the fucking point
oh and besides you'd rather spend the money on an overseas apothecary tour plane ticket or rare ingredients or a like fuckin cauldron finally


and when other chicks are going on about clothes TV shows music or whatever while you're squeeing over your cute new antique drugs and poisons atomizer

when you would live and breathe the shit
IF you didn't have a day job and most of your brewing gear and shit wasn't all boxed up
but even on your brokest days you have that old-world sense of taste where quality counts
and find ways to savor the more complex flavors
oh yeah and you can't just drink your damn booze or juice or whatever like a damn normal person because if there's two or more drinkable things available then you're like compelled to be a freak about it and mix them together

when you've lost all interest in these celebrity fucks who are handsome and nothing else
and everything you ever hated about 007 is magnified like ten times because compared to a certain other spy he's a piece of womanizing shit
or when your fantasy phase pattern looks like this:
latest teen glitter fadboy = never
Draco = ten weeks
Lucius = ten years
Severus = FOREVER

and
ALL.
YOU CARE ABOUT.
IS SNAPE.

seriously fuck the rest it's garbage

then you know you are FUCKING legit.

~

Yes, it's a humor piece; but it's also true that pretty much all of the above (save for the photo of cutting, since I'm not of the necessary inclination or desperation required to cut) do apply to me, and I've described them straight from my heart
... what can I say? Snape has been there for some of my very shittiest times, and now that he's back, I feel powerful and comforted. Just don't bother me with that geeky franchise fan shit --- I am busy expanding my own soul, with help from an archetype that outgrew his own world.

Back to Practical Magic

Even for those of us who actually practice magic and know what is typical and what is grossly exaggerated, there's something still charming and exciting about a touch of the sort of magic that's visible: the kind that is seemingly impossible yet almost within reach, and that pushes our sense of wonder.

If you're a Wiccan, general eclectic pagan or any kind of real mage, there's plenty to scoff at in the movie Practical Magic, but there's plenty to love, too. Most magic may not run in the blood as blatantly and consistently as it does in the Owens women, but the fate of the Kennedys makes it hard to rule out the possibility of family curses, and magic-oriented relatives do like to pass on their skills and teachings to worthy heirs. Perhaps the most beautiful aspect of the story is its emphasis on the importance of a community of supportive and caring women. It also suggests that being yourself is the best way to be, even if it means being distinctly weird.

I just read The Rules of Magic, which is Practical Magic's prequel, and enjoyed it. Mind, titles like that I find somewhat annoying, since they imply an absolutism (as in, THE Rules, period), but it makes sense for the story.

I loved Practical Magic ever since I rented it from now-defunct Hollywood video, only to find myself years later as part of a group of women friends (Witches of the Kitchen Table, now isn't that a perfectly broomtastic bomb-ass name?) who go so far as to have annual Practical Magic parties. And what witch wouldn't love an excuse to drink Midnight Margaritas, unless she prefers red wine?

This movie always makes me pine for a beautiful old house like the one the Owens Aunts live in. But it also gently encourages me to unwrap some of the barbed wire that surrounds my heart, and open up to the possibility of falling in love, for what would be the first time in my life --- for me, a notable step beyond mere friends and screw-buddies. It whispers that I'm not subject to any family curse, I'm mage enough to handle any difficulties, and I'm not only a pretty sex object but a lovable being, so why not? (Idolizing Snape isn't a good enough excuse, so it must just be that I'm picky.)

But an equally strong draw for me is the magic itself. In terms of the world of real Magistery, it has the most in common with folk magic, hoodoo and the women herb-healers of olden times --- what might be called "low" magic; hence, the word "practical" is perfect here. Most importantly, it feels very organic, natural and feminine, even at its most edgy and vengeful or retaliatory.

I'll just be blunt here: While the Harry Potter stuff is fun, it's always bugged me, and not because it's so obviously stereotypical; stereotypes exist for a reason. No: it's because it's patriarchal. It's a Western-framework, hero-worshipping, old boys' club, old money type of world. With little boys being absolute shits to each other, and waving exploding dick-sticks in each other's faces. And little girls doing the same thing, because they're in that same boys' world, playing that boys' game. It either belittles or appropriates in ridiculous ways many of the more subtle forms of magic, which is great for CG effects, but now that it's nearly taken over anything to do with magic? Let me be frank: I find it annoying as fuck.

As a devotee specifically of the Potterverse's most brutally divisive character (you either love him or you hate him, if you hate him don't bother talking to me), I feel it's no less than my duty to be one of those who steps back, calls bullshit on this massively inflated set of franchises, and does not get swept away by the braying herd. I think quite a few of us liked Snape because, despite his obvious flaws, his little-boy emotional wounds and vicious tongue and inability to forget and forgive, he did espouse more than "wand-waving" and dedicated himself just as much to more subtle forms of magic. A pity, then, that despite the students' supposedly thorough training in astronomy and Merlin knows what else, it always came back to the goddamned patriarchal stick-waving. Oh yes, I have felt Done --- Capital D --- with the whole Potterworldfuckdomination many times over the past few years.

Thus, I also like the Practical Magic stories because they remind me that there is a vast magical world that existed for many years B.H.P., and thankfully, I'm old enough to remember it. I can recall when it was just Magica diSpell and Lord Maliss and The Worst Witch and the old Sabrina (before all this dark Satanic ridiculous Hollywood garbage reloaded), and a little girl who made potions out of things she found in the fields. And I treasure those days, even as I continue to accept Snape (who perhaps above all fanfiction characters has really expanded in archetypal form beyond his parent stories, thanks to his complexity!).

Wand-waving may be fun, but it's the quiet arts of Snape combined with the folk ways of Practical Magic and my own women friends that lift me up and whisper to my heart, saying: "The gift is in you!"

And of course, because it's so many people's favorite scene, here is a clip of Midnight Margaritas:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DVLLs-5oCB8

Of Good Tools, Never Too Many

Each time the wholesale gem and bead fair comes to town, I tell myself I'll rein it in . . . and for the most part, I do. This school-gym-sized exhibition hall full of vendors is like a candy store times a hundred if you're a witch, costumer, crafty person, crystal or rock enthusiast, or are addicted to sparkly things. I can pass on most of the sparkle, but each iteration of the Fair finds me buying yet a few more strands of green rock to add to the future St. Severus icon's continually growing stash. This, on top of any other must-have bits and bobbles.

Yes, I got some more green gemstones, but this time, the extra goodies mainly consisted of pendulums, or pendulum-bobs. In my opinion, it's hard to have too many pendulums. Also, I'd like to get in the habit of using one more often, thanks to all the myriad uses a pendulum has; for example:

There were other fun things at the Fair, but I reined myself in, being between paychecks. I could only trust I would encounter similar, if not the same, items in the future, as is so often the case with these fairs! Like this company, selling awesome cobra and Naga Kanya (snake goddess) doorpulls. Talk about tempting, and I don't even have a house right now, much less my own front door!

Gemstones are in abundance, always inviting to witches and mystic types. I'm not a crystal nut, but I do love rocks. Prehnite with Epidote is supposed to be a great healer rock, like a crystal "hug" --- but I already have some!

Following my crystal acquisitions, I attached some lengths of necklace chain with beads to complete the pendulums:

This darkside green Fluorite with a Greek key pattern is nice. I looked a long time to find a stone whose metal finding-cap wasn't cockeyed; quality can be an issue with lower-cost or bulk items.

Two more examples. The cubical one was so unusual, I wanted to try it. I've noticed some pendulums are easier to use than others, but I've been successful with an old lamp-pull; really, the magic is in you.

If it's on a thin chain and swings, it works for me, but I love having all these pretty options to choose from!

Kirke, Goddess of Potions