Talismans of Spirit and Faith

Broken!

A myriad of fast-moving vitreous vessels pours off the accumulation zone onto the combiner belts in an unending stream. With seconds to spare, how do you spot the single broken bottle amid thousands of its intact fellows, before it zips around the corner?

With your ears, of course!

A broken bottle sounds different than a structurally sound bottle, standing out against a din of virtually identical clinking noises. (Ear protection required, of course, because it is literally deafening.) After that, it takes but a keen eye. Yet your eye better be keen: Those busted buggers can still be very sneaky, with just one little piece broken out!

Other times it's just the ratty ass-end of a bottle going down the line, sans top, which is easy to spot, along with sundry other bits. No, it's those nearly-whole individuals who are the toughest to spot and appear almost... normal. Until they get to the filler, that is, where my coworker asserts, "That will hold... not even an ounce of beer!"

It's just part of the job at a beverage (in this case, alcoholic) company.

Below: A nice happy factory churning out pallets of beer and cider, in packaging of all colors

Southern-style Feast

Potus Retrospect

Being in online witch-oriented groups is interesting. In exploring posts, one capers about atwixt anything from, "I had this dream, can you help me interpret it?" to, "Check out this pentacle I made!" to, "How do I hex my ex?"

Now and then someone asks, "I'm making my first book of shadows. Does anyone have any good ideas, or feel like sharing theirs?"

It's a good chance to share what my Potions book of shadows looks like, why it's so damn awesome, and why I miss working on it. I have so many entries to make!

I love this stuff. It looks right out of one of Snape's workbooks, if not quite on as sophisticated a level. Let us not forget it was the inspiration of Snape and his famous book of doctored formulae that led me to create Potus and its equally impressive, thick-spined fellow tomes in the first place.

I posted this photo to illustrate one use of collage in handwritten books: In this case, a label from a bag of tea of the kind I used to sell at the apothecary. I highly doubt Snape would tolerate the addition of such foofery, but that is where he and I differ!

A Bouquet of Liquid Delights

The clock approached three a.m. last night as I finished preparing my first batch of lilac syrup, pouring the simple sugar syrup over the tiny, sweetly delicate-scented flowers. At midnight, I'd gone out on a neighborhood lilac foraging run up 62nd Street, since lilac season is so short and ours at home were already past prime. Now I had a pint of lilac blooms of various breeds, or enough for half the recipe.

I've been on an infused oil tack lately, but I haven't ever done much in the way of syrups. Time for that to change! They're not only easy, they're delicious, and can be highly medicinal. I've got a new horehound plant in the backyard whose bitterness all but demands a syrup preparation. Some herbs, especially woody ones, can't merely be steeped overnight to infuse a syrup, and will instead require an alcohol extraction. But with fresh floral syrups so easy to prepare, I can see myself making many more in the coming days!

Today is hazy and balmy, nearly eighty degrees, and I'm enjoying just being home and out in the sun. Tonight will be a time for more indoor arts, crafts, and writing, but for the moment I'm savoring the ambiance of our garden haven, since so much of my life currently is nocturnal (though I am also giving thanks for plenty in the bank, for once!).

My lilac syrup steeped overnight, and how beautiful the color is! Even before stirring, it was a rich mix of gold, orange and mauve. After I gave it a few twirls, the color from a few blueberries I added infused the whole mixture, turning it a deep warm plum. I'll leave it for one more night for extra flavor, then strain it tomorrow --- on Mother's Day, it so happens. The woman who posted the lilac syrup is a prolific and seemingly loving mother, and while I can't either call my mother anymore or engage my own motherhood yet in the literal sense, I can embrace the day to discover, celebrate and cultivate my nurturing, motherlike abilities.

But what else can I make on such a day? Hot weather begs a glass of fresh sun tea, and I remembered I have dried hibiscus. I gave it a jump start with still-hot tea water in the stove kettle, and the color deepened wonderfully! We've also been instructed to take a lot of Vitamin C lately. A spoonful if ginger juice added to a glass of this will make a lovely early summer tonic.

Gorgeous! The tea turned out super-tart but still very tasty.

This is a good time of year to celebrate abundance. Like talismans of fortune, the round seedpods of this "money flower" can be used to decorate altars. We have some growing in our yard. Looking like tiny flat envelopes, wallets or coin purses, these seedpods are in fact made to capitalize on wind power:

Update:

I liked my lilac syrup so much that I turned my refrigerated leftover hibiscus tea into syrup as well. It is very much "da bomb"; in other words, delicious. Sweet and tart all at once.
On a less happy note, thanks to my long work hours I did not manage to tend my wisteria infused oil frequently enough, with either heating or fresh flowers, aaand it molded. Drat. Back to square one again! I think I'll stick with the heated infused method this time; the long way is just too dodgy if your material is even slightly damp.

9 Million Lives

It just goes to show, even hardcore fans can learn new things.

Take, for instance, these people who seemingly have nothing better to do than analyze the Harry Potter stories well enough to break them down on a calendar day-by-day basis. Or who pore over the official Potterpedia pages, or whatever, memorizing the canonical facts and dates released by the author and franchise. I may love Snape dearly, but not only am I franchise-resistant after a certain point, I also have better things to do!

Which means I only just learned that the series' major final battle, and thus the death of Severus Snape, occurred the day before my birthday. As in, bloody hell!

So I was seventeen, basically; but it would take another magical and significant eleven years before I got into a certain rather difficult phase of my life, and we know what happened then.

Snape reincarnated.

He has since reincarnated many millions of times --- in cosplayers, in fan fics, in art and poetry, in handcrafted objects of a potion-related or Snapeish nature, and likely in at least a few other people who have him on some kind of makeshift altar in lieu of a folk saint. Severus Snape is partly the reason why I have three-inch leather bound books and cauldrons on my shelves. He's partly what helped bring magic, real magic, back into my life after Mom's death and especially rent payments had sapped most of the reasons for living out of me.

As his influence does in my own life after gaining a toehold there, Snape only subsides, to rise again, but never truly dies. Archetypes exist for a reason, and his is so powerful it can't be killed. It just keeps lurking, somewhere out of sight, in one of those Occluded corners of my mind . . .

Until it's time for my spirit to learn another lesson, when he comes prowling and flouncing into the limelight again.

Expelliarmus!

The Sorceress of Pompeii

Continuing the portable magic theme, what would you do if you found a real witch's box? Specifically, one nearly two thousand years old?

As previously mentioned, I've always been drawn to sorcery and magic. But the way kids today grew up on Harry Potter, I grew up in the Ducktales era, so one of my favorite characters was naturally the hex-hurling Magica de Spell. She's depicted wearing a duck version of Italian vamp style, somewhat a la Morticia Addams, and keeps either a castle, or a sorcery shop on the slopes of Mt. Vesuvius.

Magica had one goal, to steal Scrooge's money by magic (and from what we're seeing today with Jeff Bezos, I honestly can't blame her, since a fraction of his wealth would both feed and house all of Italy) --- but in pursuit of this goal, she was endlessly inventive, including the use of props, talismans and tools. If I wanted her purse, wand, magic carpet and broom, I wanted a lot of other things too (her shop and lab, hello?).

Above: One of my favorite pages from my all-time favorite Magica episode, "On a Silver Platter" by Don Rosa, in which poor Donald Duck can't exactly see where his ass is going, and it runs right into a scenario in Magica's shop that's worse than one of Snape's first-year Potions desks. As a kid I laughed til my eyes watered at this entire story. Magica was also, clearly, my earliest imprint on greasy black hair!

Alas, "playing Magica" didn't produce very many foul bangs and awesome special effects, nor could I find tools like hers. Fortunately, the playful witchery of Years 7 and 8 in my life dovetailed into the study of real magick, of first a pagan and Wiccan variety, by Year 9 . . . and I discovered a wonderous state of being, which let me keep my enchanted way of life. I recall the excitement of receiving my first incense, incense burner, and candle holder in my stocking, thinking how cool it was Santa knew I was keen on witchery: My very first magickal tools! (Mom and Dad were supressing awkward smirks.)

Texas Witch Box, for sale on Etsy

by Kay's Magic

Maybe I'd never have Magica's purse, but I still had a lot of fun options to explore, tool-wise, and always more to learn. Magic, it seemed, could be used for anything, even if it didn't present itself as dramatic as Magica's fictional variety.

Recently, archaeologists were poking about in the ashes of Pompeii, and discovered something amazing: Once upon a time, a sorceress truly might have lived in the shadow of Mt. Vesuvius --- the real-life version of Magica de Spell. If it was in fact a she, it seems her interests also focused on abundance . . . though, as we can see, not necessarily in a strictly monetary sense.

The following article segment is from Smithsonian Magazine online; all images likewise.

A Sorceress’ Kit Was Discovered in the Ashes of Pompeii

The box of small trinkets was likely used to perform fertility and love rituals and to look for omens about birth and pregnancy

' In the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, archaeologists digging in the Garden House recently uncovered the hinges of a wooden box, long since rotted away. But the contents of the box were still there, preserved in the ash that showered Pompeii in 79 A.D. after nearby Mount Vesuvius erupted, creating an unprecedented time capsule of life 2,000 years ago.

' The treasure trove emerged from Regio V, an area of the city that has been under recent excavation. In total, archaeologists found around 100 little objects, including buttons made of bone, carved scarab beetles, miniature penises, crystals, tiny skulls and little dolls. It’s believed the objects may be part of a sorceress’ tool kit, used for fortune telling and to bring good luck, a press release from the Archaeological Park of Pompeii details.

' Restorationists have cleaned up the objects and now historians and archaeologists are examining them to understand their meaning and significance.

' “They are objects of everyday life in the female world and are extraordinary because they tell micro-stories, biographies of the inhabitants of the city who tried to escape the eruption,” says Massimo Osanna, director general of the archaeology park. Since there were no gold or precious objects in the trove, which wealthy citizens of Pompeii liked to flaunt, the cache of charms was likely not owned by the mistress of the house or a member of the family. Instead, Osanna tells Italian news agency ANSA that the owner of the sorceress’ kit was likely owned by a slave or servant. The objects could have been part of ritualistic jewelry used in ceremonies for things fertility, seduction, or to look for omens about a birth or pregnancy. One hypothesis? “They could have been necklaces that were worn during rituals rather being used to look elegant,” he says.

' Whoever owned the box may still be in the house; archeologists have found the remains of several people in the luxury villa. “[W]e discovered a room with ten victims, including women and children, and now we are trying to establish kinship relationships, thanks to DNA analysis. Perhaps the precious box belonged to one of these victims,” Osanna suggests."

Look at all these wondrous little things! How excited would I be to unearth such a find as this, even if I needed to hand it to a museum afterward?

I feel sadness in suspecting that no magic might have been strong enough to prevent the owner of this box, and her contemporaries, from perishing in the Pompeii disaster. Yet the same incident has given people 2,000 years later a glimpse of magic as it was employed in Roman times.

Magick on the Go: Witch Boxes

I've technically been a witch and mage, working spells and interested in learning the mysteries of the Universe, since before I was nine; thus, over 30 years. But despite knowing that I don't really need the trappings and tools of a "witchy" lifestyle to live a magick-filled life, I am nonetheless a material being --- and trappings not only can speak to the deep mind, they're plain fun!

Lately I've been in a revitalizing mode, feeling a "new witch" kind of enthusiasm and, after a few serious dry spells(!) in the past, looking to re-witchify my daily routine. But what if, so often, I'm not home, or need quick access? You know me: Kits! The answer lies, again, in little boxes.

One of my favorite childhood characters, sorceress Magica diSpell, had a bewitched expanding purse. (Magica and Mary Poppins are proof that Hermione's internally capacious bag is not a new idea!) The rest of us have to get creative with small spaces. I first got on this search thread for ideas on a spell kit or altar kit that fits into an Altoids box --- in other words, a really handy size for a purse. I found several combinations and themes, like the basic Altoid witch-kit above, and the ideas just got better and fancier from there. The one below is too big for the Altoids plan, but is still a nice basic kit idea, and with apparent focus on potions . . . In fact, I haven't posted basic magick boxes until now, since my emphasis has been mainly potions! But I'm no one-trick witch, either.

What goes in one of these things is up to each witch, but I like the recommendations of this one. It covers basic needs, but has no specific spell or deity attached, and is easily customized:

There are so many ideas! This is a bit larger one with similar stuff, and looks best suited to a suitcase, pack, car, or shelf at home if your space is small (or you share space with someone else and need to disguise your witchiness as, say, a day-planner or screwdriver kit):

One of those nice little designer (or cheap knockoff) makeup trunks can become a witch box in a snap:

Back to the Altoids model, here are boxes with the bare minimum of tiny tools for witchin':

Here's a nice box, a bit larger, and very like a box I have, similar in shape but taller and with more layers. I've been wondering what I'd do with that box; I found it too good to pass up. Looks like I might know where to begin now!

There's a distinct difference between a witch box for practical magick and one containing an altar, i.e. the trappings of rituals dedicated to the elements and/or deities, as used for example in Wicca. The great thing about working witchcraft is you can be as religious, or not, as you desire. A similar case happens with those who use Southern-style rootwork or hoodoo, yet needn't actually worship the African powers to do it. This is an obvious portable altar spread:

Whereas this looks like a great basic herbal and candle magick box. My needs are somewhere in between: For a portable array, I'm big on practical spells, healing, and bone divination, but I also work with Goddess and with various teaching archetypes, so I'd want a way to address those with small power items or links (examples: tiny statues, sigils, bottle of rock oil, etc.).

From here, witch boxes just get larger and more complex --- increasing degrees of fun, mojo, awesome and all that. I love working with herbs, and I dig rocks as well, so the following boxes provide a wonderful variety of supplies, in amounts fairly appropriate, for the sort of work an Earth witch might do. These have smudge items, rocks and crystals, herbs, a pestle for mixing, candles, and sometimes a book of recipes. It's clear that an old jewelry box can make a very effective witch's box:

If I recall, a few of these kits are similar because they are for sale, assembled by the same craftsperson. The internet is a great source of inspiration that way.

Sweet . . . and useful!

Then there are what I call specialty boxes (although each person's unique approach is a specialty of sorts), whose items relate to a spirituality or magickal path distinct from the usual modern pagan, Wiccan, or New Age style commonly found on the market. This box may pertain to work with water or the moon:

This one seems to focus heavily on natural magick, but I also see a statue of Bastet in the lower drawer. I notice there can be little difference between a witch's box and a curio collection . . . if only to the lay viewer. The items might be old, or very new, might be untraditional, quirky, or even broken, so long as the significance and intent is magickal:

Finally, this lovely little box is designed for an Eastern art, perhaps the I Ching, Taoist work or Buddhist meditation. This I can see making, as I have a set of I Ching coins somewhere and like the goal of using them, rather than losing them like so many small pieces:

In truth, as someone who works with more than one Universal archetype, element or even deity, I can see making a separate magickal kit-box and portable altar for each one. Such an arrangement would keep tools and small items from getting lost. It would help honor each phase of spiritual growth, especially in case of the need to return to those lessons. It's organization, but combined with creativity. (Plus, what fun.)

Personal examples of this might include putting all things "Issa" or Universal Source in a special decorated and consecrated box, and "Snape" or shadow-animus related stuff in another box. Gaia for natural magick, fairies, rocks, wood, and herbs, while Avo Rayo reigns over not only all things electric, but Hubble-telescope-like cosmic action, perception, and is a mother of all Universal things including Earth, and Her box is going to look accordingly --- full of star and lightning images, electric items and lightning-struck wood talismans.

But my first witch's box of this specialty sort will likely be an "Alirian" or Dark Earth assemblage, since I'm not just a Gaia type, but also a fossil-Earth or "petrowitch", and pay special interest to the fossil underworld in certain workings. What goes in such a box? Well, anything pre-storic and/or Plutonian in nature: I envision a mysterious little cavelike trunk filled with various fossils (since each fossil, like each crystal, has its own lesson, energy, and healing powers, and each was also once alive!), tiny bottles of different crudes, a lump of coal or two, some rocks, an appropriate smudge, and a notebook, plus a mini-statue for devi. (The fossil realm, obviously, bleeds into areas like plastic, money, and industry for us, but items or symbols from these areas would be rare and/or extremely carefully selected, because unlike most of my species, I revere the fossil realm for the miracle of its own sake and do not seek it purely for money! Indeed, such items ought to be included for the purpose of healing those very problems.)

Any new witch's box, however, is still hard-put to compare with a genuine vintage --- especially my favorite, a potion or apothecary kit!

Although this one comes pretty close. Nice little phials and ceramic tubs. And those tools!

This is the sort of box that has all sorts of possibilities, and an energy to match:

Wonderful witch's suitcase!

This one also, too cool. Mind you, it needs to be practical as well. Many of my portable boxes might get carried to and fro, get tipped all upside and backways, have stuff spilled on, and who knows what else.

Lots down inside this one, I'm thinking. Selections of herbs, rocks, tools, and what looks like special dirt. I have some hoodoo oils that I can see keeping in a hoodoo-based kit, with various dirts and waters:

This, I think, is the actual Witches of Eastwick trunk. Truly awesome and, at this size, it could hold most of what you needed. Wouldn't fit in a purse, though.

Now, to locate a decent box!