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
i was going to have nice links and stuff but i was so depressed, however i didn’t just want to leave this!
so alternatives to dream catchers!
witches ladders. they are knot magic with added trinkets, usually feathers! while braiding or knotting just think of the intention of what you want out of it. an added bonus is the fact you can add things you associate with a goods nights sleep, or gems that offer magical properties of sleeping well, good dreams, nightmare reflection ect.
my favorite is satchels that can be made cheaply, filled with herbs and stones of your choice. when completed, put the satchel under a pillow or your bed!
similar to satchels are poppets, or a teddy bear works great for this if you have sewign skills. if you can make a small incision on the bottom of the bear (or stuffed animal/poppet) and while thinking on your intent put charged herbs and gems inside. then just close them right up adn sleep with the bear with you or near you.
if you like the looks of dream catchers to aid in helping you get better dreams i would suggest wreathes, you can add what ever decorations that match your aesthetic and practice, and it won’t be appropriation because its not from a closed religion
and this is a good sight that talks about a few stones that work well
I actually (shamefully) have a dream catcher that I’m only holding onto because I like the look of it (and because it was a gift from my older sister, who I love dearly).
I’ve wanted to take it down, because appropriation is Not Okay, but I wanted to put something in its place and didn’t know what. And now I know what.
I’m going to make myself a nice alternative and retire the dream catcher to storage (because I can’t bear to completely part with it, because treasured gift). So glad I found this post!
Hey ok speaking as someone who has grown up in Cree culture and has spoken to elders about this- dream catchers are 100% ok for non-natives to use. They sell them to non-natives for the very reason they are ok with it and it’s not appropriation. That said you should aim to buy actual native made ones, not mass produced Chinese ones, but according to every elder I have asked, dream catchers are ok. Also re non natives making dream catchers for personal use- I have been told by elders this is fine. I was taught directly by elders myself who showed me how to cut willow and weave the sinew. I was teased by the younger natives for going to the work of doing it the hard traditional way when I could buy a hoop. Things like eagle feathers which are sacred obviously are a huge no, but dream catchers themselves are frequently given to outsiders and not considered by natives themselves to be part of a closed religion. I appreciate what you are trying to do here, but it’s probably better to let actual natives speak instead of talking over them about what is and isn’t appropriation to them. My family is a whole mix of cultures thanks to adoptions and even though I’m not Cree, half my family is, so it kind of bugs me seeing non natives making judgements without actually consulting anyone.
Oh, that’s a neat perspective! I’m glad you replied! Thank you. :3
(I still plan to retire this particular dream catcher to storage because I’m almost positive it’s one of the cheapo Chinese sweatshop ones…)
Hey!! A cree/Mi’kmaq gal here as well, dream catchers are 100% okay!! Again, just get them from native sources, even if that happens to be online- if they’re from a native source no sacred items that could be seen as cultural appropriation in the hands of a non-native will be included usually. The one thing about dream catchers is that you should! Not! Get them tattooed. As dream catchers are supposed to absorb negative energy and nightmares it is basically like cursing yourself, and that is never fun!
You can also make a dream-net/curtain. I’m not sure what the ‘origin’ of it is, but my grandma made them for new babies!
I asked a native neighbor about this a while back and he said the same thing: dream catchers are okay for non-native people to use BUT you should buy them from natives. Not the knockoffs you find from non-natives. Those people who sell the knockoffs are trying to make a profit off of native people’s culture, and that’s extremely uncool. He also said they’re not going to work, anyway…so just don’t buy them off of non-natives.
100% agree. Dream catchers are okay, guys! Again, just get them from those who are actually Native as much as possible, because it helps them make a living and continue on their traditions!
Also, not Native, but every time I sit down at some sort of function for education at least one Cree person has asked me if I want to learn how to make them with them. One of my favourite elders tells me it keeps her “hands busy and her heart full to share” (I have permission to share that!)
I can’t speak for anyone, but a lot of the knowledge keepers I have met are just itching to share their knowledge with you as long as you know the responsibilities that go into it.
so I wanted to share
how my wards work (leaving out a few details for obvious reasons) since
it’s kind of the best example of how I put a spell together.
All
my protection spells are rose based. I’ve always had rose growing by
the door of everywhere I’ve ever lived so they have a strong sense of
home for me. Also thorns. I have certain roses I use.
White
quartz from the Dublin mountains for absorbing bad vibes, an old Irish
penny for luck and a pine cone to make it last through bad times.
A spoon of strong, black tea (Barry’s gold blend loose leaf if you wanna know) to give it energy.
All
the ingredients are personal to me, so if you were trying something
similar you’d have to find things that spoke to you in the same way so
the actual ingredients would differ.
I use cardboard, compostable pots instead of jars for any spell I’m going to bury.
Then I bury it on the land I’m protecting. Easy peasy.
My tarot box is falling to bits, does anyone know any other way to keep them together? The box is beyond saving!
I knit & crochet little days for my decks! Others sew little pouches, or wrap them in silk or even a dollar store handkerchief.
Mine are in a handkerchief with my initial that I got from a thrift store years ago, and then I keep that in an unfinished (it has a rough edge at the opening) velvet bag to keep it together and safe.
Thrift stores are great for that kind of stuff, just be sure to give it a cleanse first.
Spitfire Alice A Gra 
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