Video post is delayed until next week.

 Dear Reader,

I had planned on doing a video post today. Then my brain flipped a switch and I'm trending from depressed towards hypomanic. Depressed, I am still relatively coherent. Hypomanic, I have a habit of interrupting myself, saying whatever comes to mind despite how ever harmful it could accidentally be, and doing stuff like reorganizing the entire kitchen by color. I'm not into full hypomania, yet. We'll see how the weekend goes. But, as it stands right now, I believe the wisest course of action is to not do that video post and step away from the computer until my neurochemicals even out again. Hopefully, I'll be back to posting Monday and this will be a short episode that doesn't get too weird.

Practical Witchery: Depression Witchcraft (pt. 4)

 Dear Reader,

This is one of the many faces of depression. Not everyone is going to look as if they're depressed and it's not a performative thing. There are a lot of stereotypes about depression. I could devote an entire post debunking them, but I want to focus on the ones that are problematic for the practitioners of magic and the witchcraft community at large.

(Brief warning, there's going to be some strong language here in parts of this.)

• If you are depressed, it is because you have too much negative energy.
• If you are depressed, you can spread your negative energy to others.
• If you are depressed, you can't do magic.
• If you are depressed, it is a sign that the Divine is not happy with you.
• If you are depressed, it is a sign that your Ancestors are not pleased with you.
• If you are depressed, it is a sign of weakness.

The list goes on and is progressively more repulsive. This is all abelist bullshit and you should ignore the person who is spouting it at you. Especially the one about it being a sign of weakness. Depression happens because of a neurochemical imbalance. Some people are fortunate enough to experience a temporary bout of depression that is relatively mild and can be resolved with sunshine, exercise, and such. More severe depression requires medical intervention. Lots of rumors go around that medical intervention is bad for your magical life. I am living proof that it a crock of shit too.

Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is ask for help. This is a form of 'high' magic. This leads to self-transformation and growth. Suffering and trying to pull yourself up by your boot-straps is a Puritanical bullshit concept that does a ton of damage. You can not will your brain chemistry into working properly. You can not do it through affirmations and crystal therapy alone. When your arm is broken, you do not rub calcite upon it in the hopes that the calcium in it will impart itself into your bones and heal them. You go to a doctor and get the broken bone set so it will heal properly.

The practical, 'old fashioned' or 'mundane' solutions of going to therapy, seeing a psychiatrist, and talking to your general practitioner are no less magical than healing meditations while holding that calcite to evoke healing of your broken arm. 

I want to put special emphasis on two things in my parting note here. If you are depressed, the Divine and your Ancestors are not punishing you. If you are suffering from any form of mental or physical illness, this is not an indication that you have some how offended them. Sometimes in life, things don't work right. It's a natural consequence of having an incarnated soul. When things don't work right, like when you get depressed, seek out assistance. It is by working together that we see our greatest strength.

Veiled Witch Video Update Time.

 

Please forgive the wild hair. (Hubby calls it my mad scientist look and finds it adorable.) I talk about the mass shooting incident that happened at the next city west of us, rant a bit about Covid-19, and give a general update on how things are going on over here. TL:DR/didn't watch - White supremacists should be classified as terrorist organizations; Covid-19 is still a damn problem, so wash your hands; my brain went 'splody for a bit.

Divination: Rune Study: Sowilo

 Dear Reader,

The rune of the Sun is a problematic rune because of the Nazis. They reinterpreted this rune to mean 'victory' and used it in the emblem of the infamous SS troops. The concept of Sowilo as the rune of victory has lingered in various divination practices. I do not believe that the rune of the Sun is a rune of victory.* (Though in my book on divination, I did note this interpretation because it is shockingly common despite the source.)

The Sun in Germanic and Nordic cultures is a source of comfort, joy, and a sign of Divine will. The existing rune poems from antiquity all agree upon this. Interestingly, the Anglo-Saxon Sigel and Younger Futhork Sol variant of this rune can not be reversed. It is considered to be the direct opposition of the rune Isa. This makes sense when one considers the climates these runes come from and the roles played by that which these runes represent. Sowlio could be argued to be the spark that melted the ice and freed Ymir, Burri, and Aldhumba. 

Sowilo is a rune of primordial light and warmth. It is a rune of hope and liberation.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~
* I do not believe that a single rune indicates victory but rather a configuration of various runes, depending upon the lay out and the situation being examined. Even Nyd can potentially indicate a victory of sorts.

Errands, doctor's appointments, and gardening, oh my!

 Dear Reader,

Today has been a busy day and I'm not even half way through my list of things to do. I am working on getting the apartment cleaned up. I did a little gardening. (I think the Oregano is going to win the turf war with the Vinca Vine in the left hand bed, but who knows. It's still early in the game.) I have to take my son to a doctor's appointment because he got bitten by a tick when he was out hiking yesterday. It's just been super busy.

I will have the rune study post up as soon as possible. Fortunately, the weather has sorted itself out and I'm pretty sure that it will not be a week of migraines like last week. That two day migraine was awful and then one came along two days later because of that shift in the weather. Beloved calls me the human barometer because of this. He's not wrong. LOL

Divination: Rune Study - Tiwaz

 Dear Reader,

This is one of the runes directly associated with a deity. Tyr or Tiw is one of the oldest recognized deities within the Norse pantheon. He is known as the Sky-Father, the god of War, and the god of Justice. He is most famous for having his right hand bitten off by the wolf Fenris when he was bound by the Aesir through trickery.

Unfortunately, this rune has a strong modern association with Neo-Nazis and neo-facism. There is an effort to 'take back' this rune from these groups, but like all grass roots efforts, it is taking time and much of the work is happening behind the scenes. Tyr is a god of warfare and is strongly associated with the protection of warriors. It is for this reason that the rune was taken as part of the regimental logo of the 32nd SS Volunteer Grenadier Division. The Nazi appropriation of the Runic system has left something of a bitter taste in the mouths of all who encounter runes, leading to suspicion when they appear as part of a tattoo or some other form of bodily ornamentation.

One must remember, however, that Tyr is a god of justice and likely cursed the Nazis for their use of his rune in that fashion (and said curse likely continues upon others who do the same). Tyr is also a god of sacrifice for the greater good, which one does not find extolled in the communities that use the runes as short hand for white supremacist ideology. In my experience, Tyr is a humble deity who is very approachable, much like Forseti (another deity of justice). From what I have seen, in dealing with justice situations, Tyr handles the adversarial situations (such as criminal justice cases) where Forseti handles the situations where negotiation and mediation are necessary (such as civil cases).

When this rune appears in a reading, it can indicate a number of things. Upright, it can indicate victory over a current conflict, success in legal matters, and a just outcome in a difficult situation. Reversed, it speaks of sacrifice to maintain status quo, ill turn of luck in legal matters, and a possible miscarriage of justice. This is one of the runes that if pulled for a yes/no question gives a very definite answer. Upright the answer is yes, reversed the answer is a hard no.