A Spell for Household Blessings: From Black Moon to Snow Moon

BY ANDREA LAMBERT

October 1, 2016. Full moon in libra. The Black Moon. The Blood Moon. I turn forty. Face eviction from my Hollywood dream apartment. Cry in a ball on the shower floor. Cockroaches crawl down the walls.

That black moon is the beginning of a transformative journey from Los Angeles to Reno. Beckoned ever onward by the Knight of Wands. I draw this card over and over in Tarot that four months in transition in my last living grandmother’s basement. The Knight of Wands means change in residence. Flight into the unknown. Once feared, now I embrace it.

February 1, 2017 is the witches sabbath Imbolc. I do a PTSD healing ritual clutching my broom on the fold-out bed. February 10 is the full moon, a Snow Moon in libra. Snow shrouds Nevada as I pack. I move into the House of the Rising Sun two days after Valentine's Day. Reno is my Valentine. I'm Nevada’s sweetheart. I give my grandma a red heart-shaped box of chocolates as a Valentine’s farewell.

My first week in the house, I feel spooky. Go to the secret room at the end of the hall as if called there. Turn on my dead grandma’s lamp on the hardwood floor. Pink watercolor flowers on porcelain. My great-aunt Theda Butcher was the first widow to "live out her days in the House of the Rising Sun," as the song goes. Grandma Janet was the next. I am the third.

I listen to Yoko Ono’s "Yes, I’m a Witch," as I dress for magic. The chorus goes: "Yes, I’m a witch. I’m a bitch. Don’t care what you say. My voice is real. My voice is truth. Don’t fit anyways. I’m not gonna die for you. You might as well face the truth. I’m gonna stick around for quite awhile." I plan on sticking around. Suicide has never been in my cards. Rising guitars strum as Yoko chants, "Witch… Bitch…"

I line my eyes black. Smear myself with coconut oil. Spritz Elizabeth and James "Nirvana." Pull on the black velvet Courtney Love dress with white lace collar that belonged to my dead wife. Katie Jacobson committed suicide in 2012. Her funeral portrait sits larger than life with a white and gold frame against the wall. My Wicca altar is backed with her portrait staring with those piercing green eyes right through me. I pray to her spirit for guidance. Put on a crow skull necklace from Necromance on Melrose. An etsy witch hat festooned with pale yellow gauze and jeweled black feathers.

Courtesy of Andrea Lambert

I light Sandalwood incense. Pull cards from the Dame Darcy Mermaid Tarot deck. The High Priestess. Empress. Queen of Pentacles. Queen of Cups. Strong, solitary, splendid women. I place them at the back of the altar against Halloween skull goblets and a Virgin de Guadalupe candle. Set the Hermit against a St. Martin de Porres candle for the divine masculine.

The Queen of Swords means a widow or woman of sorrow who once knew much pleasure.

Dame Darcy illustrates this Tarot card with a beautiful female face. Tears stream down her high cheekbones like Nico from the Velvet Underground. A sword tangles in her long blonde hair. I place my central queen in front of the altar stone.

On the stone, a circle of severed acrylic nails surrounds a cauldron holding a round black 8 Ball. I set the Ace of Cups and Ace of Pentacles on either side for prosperity and abundance overflowing. On the Ace of Cups water flows out of a chambered Nautilus shell into the ocean.

Surrounding the Queen of Swords I place the Ten of Pentacles and Four of Wands for a happy ancestral home. The Four of Wands is reversed for my desired home’s twist from the white picket fence of standard domesticity. Fate decrees I be alone. No children or family here. My womb is as barren as the winter branches of the cherry tree in the backyard. I seek only solitary creative bliss under the waning Snow Moon. Over the years to come as Strawberry Moons wax and wane above to Harvest Moons.

I sweep the spooky room with a besom broom. Sit in the lotus position on white velvet pillows. Holding a white candle North in my palm, I Invoke light and earth. Lift the candle East for air. South for fire. West for water. Ring the bell three times. Raise my hands on either side in mystical gestures. Left in the Lotus cup of Persephone. Right in the Devil’s Horns of Dionysus. Divine feminine and masculine.

I say, "I call upon the Goddess and God, Mary Magdalene and Jesus Christ, to guide this ritual and guard this home." I close my eyes. Fill my mind with white light. Reach the still point within my soul. Feel the light well upwards and outward from my heart center to fill the house.

"There is one Power, which is within and without," I say, "As I will, so mote it be: I desire that this home be blessed. Consecrated. Protected. Mine. As I will, so may it be." I light the sage. It smolders. I walk around tracing the perimeter of the house leaving smudge smoke behind. Painted faces of people I once knew in Los Angeles and San Francisco stare down from dark walls.

I look deep into the oculus of the Queen Anne dresser in the bedroom. My grandmother Janet Lambert brushed her blonde curls standing right here, many years before. I raise both hands. Left with sage giving off scented smoke. Right in gesture of the Horned God.

"Thank you for my healing," I say. "I call upon the blessed spirits of Theda Butcher, Janet Lambert and Katie Jacobson. Three strong women whom I love. Three ghosts bring about three wishes. Let this House of the Rising Sun be consecrated. Protected. Mine. From this ancestral mirror bring forth into life."

I read from Aoumiel’s Green Witchcraft: "Love is the law, and love is the bond. Merry did I meet, merry do I part, and merry will I meet again. Merry meet, merry part, and merry meet again! The circle is now cleared. So may it be. Beings and powers of the visible and invisible, depart in peace! You aid in my work, whisper in my mind, and bless me from the Otherworld, and there is harmony between us. My blessings take with you. The circle is now cleared. So may it be!"

I run the smoldering sage under cold water in the bathroom to put it out safely. With beloved spirits of the other world, my spell is cast. My home is consecrated. My new life begins.

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Andrea Lambert wrote Jet Set Desolate (Future Fiction London: 2009), Lorazepam & the Valley of Skin: Extrapolations on Los Angeles (valeveil: 2009) and the chapbook G(u)ilt (Lost Angelene, 2011). Her writing appears in 3:AM Magazine, Fanzine, Entropy, Angel’s Flight Literary West, HTMLGiant, Queer Mental Health and elsewhere. Her work is anthologized in Haunting Muses, Writing the Walls Down: A Convergence of LGBTQ Voices, The L.A. Telephone Book Vol. 1, 2011-2012, Off the Rocks Volume #16: An Anthology of GLBT Writing and elsewhere. Lambert paints in figurative mixed media oils critically referenced as “kitchy maximalism.” Her artwork features in Angel’s Flight Literary West, Entropy, Hinchas de Poesias, Queer Mental Health and Anodyne Magazine. CalArts MFA.

Self-Care ASMR Videos for Witches & Dreamers

BY LISA MARIE BASILE

One day, when I was about 17, I was sitting in science class during a test. The windows were open; the light was soft and the breeze was cool and everything was sort of quiet except for the whir of air. As our teacher passed out our exams, the papers slipped against one another in this very smallish, quiet, barely-there way, and I shuddered. The sound made me shudder. Here — I'll put it to you another way: something external caused a physical reaction in my body. It was like someone's hands in my hair; I felt a "tingle," as we call it, up and down my spine, deep in the roots of my hair and around my waist. It was odd and beautiful and totally involuntary.

Years later, it happened again — this time, at an internship. People behind me were cleaning up a beauty product shelf, shifting items to the left and right, softly placing glass bottles on the shelves. Because our office was so quiet, the interns were too — gingerly moving things about, making the tiniest of noises. It was barely perceptible, and yet, somewhere in my mind, the sounds created that same feeling. I had no words for it, but now I do: ASMR — Autonomous Sensory Meridien Response, defined as, "a euphoric experience characterized by a static-like or tingling sensation on the skin that typically begins on the scalp and moves down the back of the neck and upper spine, precipitating relaxation. It has been compared with auditory-tactile synesthesia."

Nowadays, it's a phenomenon many people claim to experience — and the numbers don't lie. Millions of comments and views on YouTube ASMR videos show just how amazing ASMR is. It can set babies, dogs, veterans, the chronically ill, the mentally ill at ease — and it also just feels good. If you experience ASMR, or even if you just like chill (but sometimes very weird, TBH) videos that help turn your brain right off, and if you're a magical lady like myself....these videos are for you.

Hello, my lovely friends and fellow Tingleheads :) I've got a new role play for you! It takes place at an herb store you've visited with a list of items you'd like to purchase.

Hello, everyone! This video is part of a larger collaboration---an immersive 360° ASMR experience that can be watched in a web browser or in Virtual Reality here http://goo.gl/5p8HSR. There are two companion videos featuring two amazing ladies of ASMR, HeatherFeather and GentleWhispering.

Welcome to the witch's cabin in the magical forest. Is she a good witch or a bad witch? I'll let you decide. There are multiple triggers within this, as well as personal attention. I hope you enjoy this magically relaxing and tingly role play! -PeacefulMindASMR Become a Patron: https://www.patreon.com/peacefulmindasmr P.S.

(WITH Music)*** Today I am giving you a healing positive Reiki session dedicated to the valuable Root Chakra. I will guide you into enlightenment towards the New Year and the New You. Stay safe, secure and grounded. Stay positive in all aspects of life. Positive thoughts equal Positive energy. Namaste.

This is the prequel to The Ravenwood Academy Series. NEXT CHAPTER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofuN9UMAxgw Got a question?

Well, finally! I removed the 'copyright sounds' and cleaned up the audio. Hope you enjoy it ★ Subscribe for More ► http://bit.ly/SubscribeWL ★ Support Whisper Latina ► http://bit.ly/PatreonWL ----------------------------------- ★ Big warm HUG and THANK YOU to my awesome October Patrons: Joe, Kristina, Julie, BlueD, Angi.

Hello everyone! This ASMR video features soft speaking, ear to ear whispering, glass sounds, liquid sounds, page turning, "omnomnom" sounds, tweezer clicking sounds, nails tapping, pill and powder/sand sounds, pop rocks, scalp massage sounds, fire sounds, bubble popping, inaudible whispering, boiling sounds, blowing in your ears, and brushing your ears.

💖 💖 💖 💖 💖 💖 💖 💖 💖 Sending you love and light wherever you are! Thank you so so so much for watching! Take care of yourselves always!

Un besito mis corazones, espero les agrade este video. Me lo han pedido bastante y ahora que me estoy sintiendo un poquito mal me parecio el momento perfecto para una meditacion guiada e hipnosis de relajacion para ustedes y para mi.

Same video without any sound effects here: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pvougslKzS0 This video has been requested by Dean Woodbridge :) thank you for the idea and the inspiration my friend.

매주 금요일 10시 게임방송과 ASMR http://afreeca.com/monaca89 뽀모 ASMR All Playlist : https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVj73insf4VC0kzXo0BJ7k83Zl8H-Rtjw PPOMO Korean ASMR English or English Sub Playlist LINK HERE!: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVj73insf4VArXwL0QBG388IT8HSEWE2X 안녕하세요 :) 할로윈 특집으로 들고 온 할로윈 마녀 RP예요!.. :). 근데 일부러 마녀처럼 하려고 낑낑대며 코르셋..도 입었는데 X0 가려져서 보이지도 않고 ㅠ//ㅠ 어쨌든!!

Hey guys, in this video, I talk about witchcraft - not as an occult practice, but from a historical prospective. I comment on how witchcraft has progressively gained, then lost, its subversive image in the Western World, from a period when it was feared by most of the population, to present time when witches shown in the media are seen more positively and often as a metaphor for persecuted minorities.

Hi my ASMR family! Here's a new asmr ear to ear whispering video with binaural sound and the 3DIO mic that includes brushing and other triggers. Enjoy! SUBSCRIBE to my VLOG - https://goo.gl/xbSZpl Find me: Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/graceful_lili/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/MISS-ASMR-Missasmr-269175259874311/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/MissASMR

Lucid dreaming is being able to stay conscious in your dream, choose your actions and change aspects of your dream. In this asmr video, I am going to help you to have a lucid dream tonight by increasing your intention to have one.

Witchcraft, Publishing & Morning Rituals — A Conversation With Emily Neie

BY LISA MARIE BASILE

Emily Neie is a witch living in Austin, Texas. Like myself, she grew up Catholic but eventually wandered away from the religion. She missed the ritual and symbolism of Catholicism, though, as many witches do — and so, she began practicing secular magick and writing about it on her blog, The Literateur. Emily will be joining Luna Luna as social media editor in 2017 — and we are so excited to have her. 

LMB: Tell us a little about your site, The Literateur! I recently discovered it and love how accessible, kind and welcoming it is. What can other new readers expect from it?

EN: My site, The Literateur, is a magickal lifestyle blog that explores my own personal journey with magick and how it intersects with social norms that influence our understanding of spirituality. I was raised Catholic, and I really embraced Catholicism in my early teens. I loved the sense of community and ritual that was inherent in Catholicism, and I found myself really missing that when I left the religion in favor of intellectual atheism as a young adult. Now, I work really hard to create a site that allows magickal folk to learn rituals and practice how to connect with their spiritual selves without feeling they have to dedicate their practice to a deity.

The name arose as an amalgam of my love of literature and my identity as an spiritual auteur, someone who has such a solid grasp of my individual spiritual and magickal identity that I can make something that is entirely unique to me. I usually post twice a month, once in the Witch on a Budget vertical and once in the Magickal Lifestyle vertical, although that sometimes slows down when my day job and life gets busy--a lot of folks are surprised that I'm a corporate marketing gal Monday through Friday. Witches really are everywhere, folks.

What do you think it is that drives so many people to the Craft? Did you create the site originally for this group of people, or did it morph into that?

Witchcraft has always been about empowerment and respect for the individual. Most people who join the community are alternative in some way, even if their rejection of social norms is very subtle. Witchcraft takes the things about us that capitalist patriarchy says are undesirable and makes them powerful. Capitalist patriarchy values our net worth whereas witchcraft values our spiritual strength; capitalist patriarchy values what we can buy whereas witchcraft exults in what we can make. Witchcraft also mirrors the ebb and flow between community and isolation that the internet has brought, with witches choosing to practice as solitary witches or joining a coven (some of which are now purely virtual). 

Even if you are a solitary witch, you don't have to be alone: online communities for witches abound on tumblr and Instagram. The dogma-free, choose-your-own-adventure qualities of witchcraft are very attractive to digital natives, I think, who are accustomed to picking up what serves us well and discarding what feels wrong.

Originally I created the site for myself alone. I didn't really share it with anyone, even though I was writing as if I had an audience. Over time I invited friends to read it, and when I received overwhelmingly positive feedback I started to share it with a slightly more public audience. I am a digital native, eclectic witch myself, and my site certainly encourages people to read what appeals to them and ignore what doesn't. I also try to be pretty vulnerable and honest with my financial fears, doubts about my career, and weird journey through religion so that people who read my blog can get a true understanding that witches can be anybody, from your mythical mysterious woman clad in black to a plain ol' corporate Jane like myself.

I love your Witch on a Budget vertical. What a clever idea! Because I don't know about most people, but buying sage and lavender and candles and other supplies can get expensive. Not to mention, plenty of people don't have access to a local Craft supply shop.

Thanks! At its heart, magick and witchcraft is all about our connection to the earth and using nature as a medium between our human bodies and spiritual selves. I think it is absolutely wonderful to financially support other witches and people who practice by shopping their wares, but spending money you don't have just to "look the part" will only harm your practice. Financial security and wellbeing does wonders to unblock the parts of our mind and spirit that make our practice powerful, so being resourceful and sustainable with your ingredients and tools will serve to make you an even more powerful witch. Besides, scavenging around outside is fun! It makes me feel like a kid living out in the country again.

Your piece on morning energy routines — it was so good! I struggle with waking up, being productive in an efficient way and taking time for myself. Can you tell me a little more about how energy can be manipulated — whether you believe in 'magic' or 'witchcraft' or not?

Energy is a finite resource, like water, but we've stopped thinking of it that way. Witchcraft is immensely useful for mindful allocation of energy and reverence for the energy that we host inside our bodies, minds, and spirits. I also go to therapy, and combining what I learn about in therapy with my practice has helped me gain a good understanding of what my natural energy reserve looks like and how I tend to use energy most efficiently and enjoyably. I think the first step, whether you want to think of this as witchcraft or not, is to take stock of when you feel most naturally productive and happy and see if you can purposefully design your day around that time.

If it's not possible (example: you gets intense bursts of energy from 3-5 am but you have to work a 9-6 job) witchcraft or mindfulness can help you recreate the circumstances and factors that make you most naturally energetic. I love to channel energy, either into my own body or an external vessel, and cast it later. I usually wake up very happy and positive, but my energy wanes around 3 pm every day, so I "channel" my morning energy into a vessel, like jewelry or tea bags or a book.

Then, when I really need that energy later in the day, I release the energy by putting on that piece of jewelry or making tea or taking a five-minute break to read. It creates a pathway to the time of day when accessing that energy was effortless, and, while it doesn't work on the days when I am truly emotionally or physically exhausted, it gets me through the usual afternoon slump at work.

More than anything, energy manipulation is about respect for the resource. If your energy is being totally tapped out by something, give yourself some time and compassion to allow that energy reserve to be refilled. Every day of your life doesn't have to be your best, most productive day. Identify the activities and rituals and thoughts and relationships that refill your energy, and lean heavy on them when you need.

I know this is a very open-ended question, but what do you think is making society so sick? Have we always been sick? Is it something that we're lacking, specifically, right now? And, is witchcraft filling that void in some unexpected way? I always think of the simplicity of it — ritual, intent, light — and how we don't make a space for that in our lives. We just go, go, go. 

I think society has always suffered the kinds of social ills we are feeling now, but there were limited ways to discuss them on a global scale. Think of it like your immune system: a virus might sit latent in your body for days, weeks, or months, but you don't experience symptoms until your immune system wakes up and starts attacking it.

I feel strongly that the Internet and globalism is our society's immune system. Suddenly, everywhere we look we see evidence of pain, dissatisfaction, inequality, exhaustion, etc. Our eyes have been opened to it, therefore we feel it in a monumental way. The Internet is working overtime to "catch us up" and get us informed so we can start attacking our social ills on a grand scale, but the Internet does not have a human body and soul that it needs to care for and nourish like we do. Witchcraft steps in to remind us that we can't clear away all the infection at once, that we must do it slowly and purposefully and in a way that is caring towards our human and spiritual selves. So much of witchcraft is focused on healing, and we really need that. We've been rubbed raw by the frenetic energy of the digital age, and while I believe the Internet will ultimately make us a more empathetic society, we need witchcraft to infuse clarity and compassion into that journey.

Where are you located — and how does that impact your craft? Do you feel isolated or are you an out and about practitioner? Would you call yourself a witch?

I live and practice in Austin, Texas. I've lived in Austin for six and a half years, but I've been a native Texan my whole life. I came to college here and formed my first adult friendships here, and I've always felt comfortable being who I am in a fairly public way. I don't hide the face that I practice witchcraft on my social media accounts, and I'm fairly certain that my employers read my blogs and published work before they hired me.

Austin is lauded as an open-minded haven for liberals and weirdos in the sea of conservative Texas, but my experience is that urban centers in Texas all tend to be pretty accepting of most types of people. I have several friends who I practice my craft with--we get together for rituals and pagan holidays and tag each other in witchy Instagram posts. They are so powerful, and they've made me more powerful by sharing their magick with me. I do consider myself a witch, and I usually describe myself as an atheistic eclectic pagan. I don't believe in deity worship, which means I pull from a lot of different sects of paganism and witchcraft to make my own little atheistic but spiritual haven. I definitely don't feel like I could comfortably discuss my beliefs frankly while say, standing in line to check out at Michael's while surrounded by suburban moms, but I've got a "Blessed Be" sticker on my car and so far it hasn't been keyed!

What are some publications creating great spaces for women, the art and magic?

I adore Witch Way Magazine (@witchwaymagazine on Instagram). Their content is so accessible and educational and non-judgmental, which is what I think we all desperately need right now. POMEgranate Magazine (@pomemag on Instagram and Twitter) is a digital mag and small press in Austin for witchy illustrators and internet nerds, which basically blends my two loves. They are also super queer friendly, which is becoming increasingly important as people start to question the more heteronormative aspects of witchcraft. Autostraddle is an incredible publication that has changed the way that I consume pop culture and media, and does a lot to normalize the Craft and alternative identities for women and queer people. I am a loyal fan and avid reader of Bitch Media, from their podcasts to their newsletters and magazine. And of course, Luna Luna Magazine! Luna Luna is probably my favorite witchy publication to turn to when I want dark poetry, gritty personal essays, or interesting tidbits on occult history. 

Aw, thank you so much! We blush.

New items on witchsy.com/nin3

A photo posted by Witchsy (@shopwitchsy) on Dec 20, 2016 at 6:05pm PST

So, what are some of your favorite Instagram accounts — accounts that inspire you, your writing, your craft?

I love to follow witches and naturalists who don't adhere to a traditionally "witchy" aesthetic. I don't look witchy in real life, and I used to be kind of self-conscious about it, like I was a "poser" (very early 2000s of me, I know).

(Us, too! We so get it.)

I love Marlee Grace of @havecompany and her side project @personalpractice. Her commitment to movement and nature and community keeps me going through the drudgery of my week when I find myself questioning my path.

I read tarot, so I love to keep up with @tatiannatarot and @oaklandtarot to challenge my tarot practice. Two of my closest friends practice the Craft in their own ways — @clempossible and @breyasaintjohn — and we all teach and inspire each other.
 
Clem has been my biggest cheerleader in encouraging me to trust my process and power (she's also a space healer and will work magic on your living space), and Breya has helped me connect with my tarot practice, as well as my identity as a corporate witch (she's a badass MBA student and has done everything from driving a truck cross country to starting her own apothecary line).

They both post super inspiring and thoughtful things all the time, and I draw a lot of writing inspiration from them.

I also love @shopwitchsy because my craft is highly irreverent and colorful and sassy. They stock items from all sorts of artists and witchy makers, so it's really just an infusion of fun in my timeline.
 

C E L E B R A T E :: Mercury went direct this morning and it's the Autumn Equinox! Out with the tech landslide and this heat wave, in with pumpkin bread and bonfires! #autumn #autumnequinox #mercuryretrograde #relief #HastalavistaTXsummer

A photo posted by @breyasaintjohn on Sep 22, 2016 at 5:37am PDT

On that self reflection game • Going into your depths may bring pain but it also brings you passion • Photo by @marahwilson who I love so immensely • More coming soon because they are so much yes! 💫

A photo posted by 🔮💗🎈️☀✨🍃💎☁️ (@clempossible) on May 19, 2016 at 9:23am PDT

The #Magician ⚡️via the Delta Enduring #Tarot Straight up #vibes in the kitchen 🔮🔥 _ What feelings does this invoke in you?? 🎨: Egan Via #tumblr • • • • #themagican #majorarcana #intention #willpower #resources #magic #tarot #ritual

A photo posted by Explorations in Consciousness (@tatiannatarot) on Dec 20, 2016 at 12:54pm PST

a special day of big dreamin & big questions with @joshuanightfury & @freeorgy & their perfect silver angel baby odin

A photo posted by marlee grace (@havecompany) on Dec 12, 2016 at 5:16pm PST

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Lisa Marie Basile is the founding editor-in-chief of Luna Luna Magazine and moderator of its digital community. Her work has appeared in The Establishment, Bustle, Bust, Hello Giggles, Marie Claire, Good Housekeeping, Cosmopolitan and The Huffington Post, among other sites. She is the author of Apocryphal (Noctuary Press), war/lock (Hyacinth Girl Press), Andalucia (The Poetry Society of New York) and Triste (Dancing Girl Press). Her work can be found in PANK, the Tin House blog, The Nervous Breakdown, The Huffington Post, Best American Poetry, PEN American Center, The Atlas Review, and the Ampersand Review, among others. She has taught or spoken at Brooklyn Brainery, Columbia University, New York University and Emerson College. Lisa Marie Basile holds an MFA from The New School. @lisamariebasile