(no subject)

[yuuago]

laufeyknits threw a witchcraft-related ask meme up on tumblr. Kind of neat, but I didn't feel like doing the whole ask meme process, so I decided to be old-fashioned and fill it all out on DW.



Many of the answers are very flippant because, well, a lot of the questions aren't very applicable to me. But it was kind of fun to fill it out, anyway.

1. How did you discover your path?
Slowly and vaguely. It was a long and half-assed process, but eventually things clicked into place - for now.

2. How long have you been practicing witchcraft?
I've been varying flavours of pagan since I was a kid. Active practice has been a very on-again, off-again thing.

3. What kind of witch are you?
A lazy one.

4. What specific path/tradition do you follow?
Mishmash of "whatever feels right at the time" + some degree of Slavic polytheism.

5. Do you have any ethnics or moral codes that you follow?
There is no official book or anything that I consult; just a random mix of stuff that makes sense to me, such as -
+ Don't be an asshole (or at least do your best not to be one)
+ There is no good order but that which we create
+ People are not things
+ Make room in your heart for the whole world, and care for it (or at least do your best). See also: witches are selfish, so make all things yours.

6. Are you a Solitary witch or have you worked with others in a Coven?
Solitary as hell. Other witches tend to make me feel exhausted, with a few very rare exceptions.

7. Do you practice divination? If so, what techniques?
I do tarot, but as a meditative thing rather than divination. I find that sometimes using the images as a way to think about particular issues can be a useful way to sort things out.
I used to do pendulum readings, but don't any more.

8. Would/Do you read for others? Why or why not?
I haven't done it before. I'm not sure if I would want to. I don't have the cards memorized, so I often end up consulting the books... if it was done in person, that would be awkward, hah. Plus, since I do it as a meditative thing, it would be kind of... weird? To do someone else's cards. Maybe if it was just a single-draw, it would be okay. "This one typically means such-and-such. Based on the information you've given, it could suggest (whatever). Consider this and see what conclusion you come to." Or something.

9. Do you believe in anything supernatural/paranormal?
Hell if I know.

10. What are your beliefs on an Afterlife?
Hopefully there isn't one. I want to be done.

11. Does your family and/or friends know you practice witchcraft?
My family doesn't, for obvious reasons. My online friends do know about it.

12. Do/Will you teach and practice witchcraft to your children?
Maybe I should teach the dog to read tarot.

13. Goddesses you favour?
The white witch, the lady of the snow, the winter queen. Marzanna.

14. Gods you favour?
Veles, probably, if I had to pick one. Though I'm trying to become more comfortable with Perun as well. I'm kind of in the middle of re-framing how I look at them. There is a lot about them that feels alien to me, so it's an ongoing process of interpreting and re-interpreting and adjusting perspective. Like focusing a pair of binoculars, or something.

15. Favorite pantheon [Group of gods]
Do you mean aside from the one I follow?
I'll probably always have a soft spot for the Homeric portrayal of the Greek gods. Reading the Iliad was a formative experience.
I'm also very interested in the gods/spirits/etc associated with Väenusko, but that's less personal, more like just something I'm interested in reading about when Laufey wants to talk about it....

16. What are your Sun/Moon/Rising signs?
Excuse me?

17. What’s your Element?
What?

18. Favorite season?
I hate all of them for different reasons, but I'm most adequately prepared for winter.

19. Favorite tree?
Trembling aspen, probably. There are others that I like a lot, but that one's the first that pops into my mind when I think of trees. It's a Real Tree.

20. Favorite flower?
The correct answer is wild rose but my nose's answer is lilacs.

21. Favorite gem?
I dunno, garnets are pretty? But if I were actually going to use rocks for witch stuff, it would be river pebbles or something. Or something associated with my grandparents, like petrified wood or coal.

22. Favorite color?
Blue, probably. If we're talking candles, either natural beeswax-gold or red.

23. Favorite animal?
All of them/none of them. Um. If we're talking about divine association and such, it'd be magpies. (Probably should be ravens, but I like magpies better. They're cuter.)

24. What’s your familiar?
What?

25. Favorite book on Witchcraft?
The Boreal Herbal: Wild Food and Medicine Plants of the North by Beverley Gray. Not actually a book on witchcraft, obviously, but useful for that purpose.

26. Favorite website on Witchcraft?
I haven't seen one that didn't make me feel exasperated.

27. Famous witch that you favor?
I beg your pardon?

28. Favorite divination tool?
Plain old Waite-Smith deck, man. A lot of people hate the illustrations, but, I dunno'. They're so retro that for me they circle back around to being kind of charming.
(Confession: Every time I try to remember the deck, my brain helpfully supplies 'Wade-Giles*' instead of Waite-Smith. Oh dear.)

29. Favorite altar tool?
I have a set of three very small pottery bowls that are precisely the right size for this. I could just use cereal bowls from the kitchen and it'd do just as well, but I appreciate having things that are the right size for small amounts of offerings.

30. Do you have an altar?
Not a permanent one. I have very little living space, so my altar is usually packed away. Typically I use either my computer desk or the top of my dresser for this, and so the surface needs to be cleared off every time I want to use my altar, and then my computer and such put back once I'm done, which is irritating. (So, for these reasons, I don't use my altar materials as much as I'd like....)

31. What phase is the Moon currently in?
It looked pretty full when I was walking the dog this evening.

...WELL. :'D There is that. Flippant indeed.