use this as a conduit to connect you to the local spirits and nature
get a pot
fill it with local dirt/sand/clay
keep it on your porch/inside/near your house. somewhere you can visit it.
put cool natural items in it, like local shells, bones, branches, etc. that you’ve found…
watch it come to life. if i just leave a pot of dirt around, something will spring up in it. usually those considered “weeds”. if nothing grows, plant a low-maintenance native plant in it. but there should be something after a time.
make offerings like water and more natural items as you desire.
connect to it, talk to it, introduce yourself.
Rinse and repeat over time. That’s really it! and then you just… build a relationship as time goes on.
We’re having a dumb supper tonight. I’m making veggie and lentil hotpot for it and setting the table all nice, then some family friends are coming over.
The day before Halloween I’m looking after my nephew so we’re going to wear our Halloween t-shirts, make some decorations, and then go to some Halloween family event that’s on.
On the day itself I’m meeting up with my witchy curious best friend, I think we’re going to an old Elizabethan Hall (which is spooky), then having lunch at this really cosy pub. I’ll probs take my tarot cards and some witchy things, seeing as she’s interested in all that. Then in the evening I’ll put my costume on for the trick or treaters. I’ve made milo a costume, he has bat wings so he can be a bat-terdale terrier 😂
This is my Samhain workspace, I’ve been doing a complicated unravelling spell for a few days. If you want to ask me any questions about my workspace, feel free! (i.e what’s on there and why)
These things, these crafts are so often ignored or dismissed as parts of witchcraft. But wool, cotton, silk and leather are as much part of the world as any stone, crystal or plant. They hold as much power as any of these and these forms of craft, the possibilities in spellwork, should neither be ignored nor dismissed.
Speaking as a witch that just finished another crochet project, do you know how much intent you can pour into a mass of yarn that you stab a couple thousand times? The answer is a metric fuckton.
Beautiful morning here in Fife, with beautiful frost on my car 🙂 It got down to 0.1C in the Lomonds, which makes it the coldest October day for six years. We’ve not been subzero in October since 2012 when it got down to -0.6C on the 26th.
So, looks like you guys like my posts about how to (lowkey) celebrate witchy holidays when you’re on your own. So here goes another one, this time for Samhain, all hollows eve, Halloween, Tempora dell’ombra, Day of the dead (fret not is the translation for the Italian term, I’m Italian and I do celebrate it, so it’s ok), or whatever you have.
– pull out old pictures, of when you were little, of when your parents were little, of when your grandparents were young
– frame pictures of loved ones who passed away
– have family tell you stories from the past, have friends tell you stories from their families and past
– write down your family tree, look for your roots
– light a candle and leave it out in the night to help lost souls find their way
– leave food offerings out in the night, or set an extra plate at your dinner table
– put up wards against all types of unwanted guests (salt on the window sills, a bag of iron nails near your door, a broom left outside)
– light some incense and cleanse your house and yourself
– sit down with an homemade pumpkin spice something and write in your witchy journal
– carve a pumpkin
– collect fallen leaves
– eat seasonal produce (pumpkin, mushrooms, chestnuts, etc…)
– divinate, if you have no tools it’s the perfect time to start (for lack of tools you can pick up any book ad do bibliomancy, look this up)
– and if you don’t know what to ask when doing divination, ask for an advice that can act as a motto for the incoming year
– pray for ancestors and gone souls
– dance with your shadow, meaning learn to recognize your flaws, learn from them, learn to work around and with them, learn to accept them (if you cannot shed it of course)
– dance with your shadow, meaning learn to see yourself at your worse, get scared of what you could do if completely unleashed in the worse possible way, be thankful for it because this way you can see your light
– put out food and water for small birds and little critters to pass the incoming cold months
This painting was inspired by a photograph of the Countess of Castiglione. If you’re never heard of her, read about her here! She was an Italian aristocrat, famous for her obsession with photography of herself. She sat for over 700 photographs in elaborate costumes and settings, and was a very intriguing woman.
Prints and other fun merchandise featuring this painting are available at Redbubble!
Are you looking for an antidote to the truly terrifying ‘sexy’ Handmaid’s Tale outfits you’re bound to encounter this year?
Why not really scare the patriarchy by donning blue and dressing like our favourite ‘guilty feminist’/ 16th-century poet, Emilia Bassano, brought to vivid life on the Globe stage earlier this year by Leah Harvey, Vinnette Robinson and Clare Perkins in Morgan Lloyd Malcolm’s Emilia.
For the introverts who still want to party we’d suggest taking inspiration from the crows in Eyam. Just don’t tell your friends your appearance means the plague is coming. The highly impractical beaks are also great for those trying to avoid hoovering up all the Halloween snacks.
Have you enacted every Harry Potter character for the last seven years and are now looking for a new magical twist? May we suggest Hermione from The Winter’s Tale?
Is she a woman? Is she a statue? Didn’t she die?! Is she a ghost? How did she stand still for so long?! The main component of this costume is the ability to stand still for long periods of time then ‘come to life’ at the precise moment your ex lifts a glass of red wine to their lips.
Those suffering from existential dread can channel the Prince of Darkness himself. No, not Alice Cooper, but everyone’s favourite maudlin young man, Hamlet. Just wear your own clothes for this one and leave a trail of heartbreak in your wake.
Get yourself down to the florist for a bunch of symbolic flowers, or at the very least grab some rosemary from the herb garden and tout the sweetest-smelling, but saddest costume of all.
Costuming as a couple? Forget Romeo and Juliet to play with your wardrobes and words as you transform yourselves into Rosalind and Orlando and do Halloween As You Like It.
Imagery:
Emilia photographed by Helen Murray. Designed by Jo Scotcher. Crow costume sketches for Eyam by Hannah Clark The Winter’s Tale photographed by Marc Brenner. Designed by James Perkins. Hamlet photographed by Tristram Kenton. Designed by Ellan Parry. As You Like It photographed by Tristram Kenton. Designed by Ellan Parry.
Spitfire Alice A Gra 
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