Latest Posts by witchun-li - Page 5

Greek God Offerings

Collected from my grimoire. ***EDIT: I’ll make a part 2, since I cant fit any more gods on this post. :)

Aphrodite

A variety of plants and herbs; lady’s mangle, roses, rosehips, mint, jasmine, pear, plum, apples, honeysuckle, cinnamon, daisy, myrtle, iris

Anything pink/green

Olive oil

Crystals; rose quartz, jasper, emerald, topaz, peridot (any beautiful gemstones)

Love letters/songs/stories/poetry

The Empress tarot card

Beauty products

Self-care

Copper

Ares

Wine, especially red

Frankincense incense

Daggers or other weapon

Dog statues

Depictions of vultures

Fresh meats/meals with meat

The color red, even in candles

The Chariot tarot card

Apollo

Music, art, poetry, dance

Laurel, cypress, apples

Anything golden/yellow

Yellow and golden cakes

Yellow jasper, sunstone

Sports/competition objects

Animals; lions, wolves, swans, crows, etc

Hyacinthus, frankincense

Depictions of the sun/light

Orange juice/light colored juices

Artemis

Nature walks

Depictions of the moon

Animals; deer, geese, dogs, bees, bears

Almonds, amaranth, cannabis, cedar, cypress, daisies, hazel, mugworth, myrtle, willow

Honey

Moonstone, pearl, quartz, silver, turquoise, iron, aluminum, diamonds

White and silver candles

Athena

Milk, olive oil, wine, honey

Sweet smelling herbs and flowers

Bread, cakes, grains, fruits, olives

White/blue candles

Roses

Owls

Studying

Demeter

Wheat, barley, penny royal, poppy, sunflowers

Cornucopia

Pig, snake, owl depictions

Frankincense, myrrh

Honoring the seasons

Fruits

Dionysus

Wine

Fruits like apples and grapes

Meats

Pine

Frankincense

Depictions of snakes, leopards, bulls

Theater

Going to a festival

Roses

Hades

Anything dog related

Black colors, crystals, candles, etc

Metals, stones

Mint

Bones

Hermes

Coins

Strawberries

Wine, olive oil, honey

Frankincense, styrax

Dice/card games

Traveling

Hekate

Olive oil

Honey

Spellwork, charms, etc

Herbs

Purple/black colors

Anything dog related; dog hair, etc

Black/purple crystals; onyx, amethyst, etc

Poseidon

Horse depictions

Coffee

Fish

Mint

Anything blue/ocean related

Zeus

Depictions of eagles/bulls

Cinnamon, wine, cakes, pastries, meat, fish

Fruit

Oak, ash, pine

Frankincense

More than 400 years after Galileo Galilei discovered the first of Jupiter’s moons, astronomers have found a dozen more — including one they’ve dubbed “oddball” — orbiting the planet. That brings the total number of Jovian moons to 79.

The team of astronomers originally wasn’t even looking for the 12 new moons. Scott Sheppard of the Carnegie Institution for Science says he and his colleagues had been trying to track down a giant planet they think may be lurking at the outer reaches of our solar system.

As part of that search, Sheppard was using the 4-meter Víctor Blanco Telescope in Chile in March of last year and realized that Jupiter was right near the part of the sky he wanted to search.

“So we could also search for Jupiter moons while looking for things that are well beyond Pluto,” Sheppard says.

Galileo Would Be Stunned: Jupiter Now Has 79 Moons

Image by Roberto Molar Candanosa, courtesy of Carnegie Institution for Science

Lughnasadh 101: A Guide

Autumn draws near and with it, comes Lughnasadh.

Lughnasadh, pronounced “LOO-nah-sah” and known also as Lammas, is a Celtic festival that occurs from the 31st of July through into the 1st of August. It was observed fervently throughout Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man and marks the beginning of the harvest season.

Also called: Lúnasa (modern Irish), Lùnastal (Scottish Gaelic), Luanistyn (Manx Gaelic).

Lughnasadh is the celebration and ritual of the first harvest of fruit, wheat, and grain. This festival both acknowledges and celebrates the waning of light - Lughnasadh is the initiation of Winter preparation.

It is named for Lugh Lámhfada. and is in honour of his step-mother, Tailtiu who perished of exhaustion after clearing the fields of Ireland ready to be planted, sowed and seeded. Lughnasadh was originally a set of rituals, gatherings and funerary games (named Tailteann Games, or Áenach Tailteann) in honour of Tailtiu’s death and sacrifice. 

Some Symbols of Lughnasadh:

Wheat

Corn

Barely

Oats

Onions

Grapes

Straw dolls/straw bales

Corn dolls

Wood

Tarot (strength)

Runes (Eihwaz)

The Colours of Lughnasadh:

Yellow

Orange

Red

Violet

Dark green

Brown

The Stones & Crystals of Lughnasadh:

Carnelian

Cat’s Eye

Citrine

Marble

Sale

Granite

Lodestone

The Herbs of Lughnasadh:

Heather

Blackberry

Rose

Sandalwood

Goldenrod

Important/Celebrated Foods of Lughnasadh:

Bread

Apples

Corn

Beer/Ale/Mead

Grapes

Onions

Apricot

Pear

Activities to be done during Lughnasadh:

Baking/Cooking: Sharing food is a good thing to do with each sabbat, especially those with agricultural ties. If you incorporate seasonal foods, and foods associated with the sabbat itself, it can be seen as an offering or as being done in honour of what you’re celebrating.

Take some time to enjoy nature: Lughnasadh is a time when the seasons are changing, so take this time to walk and enjoy the last that summer has to offer. Collect things whilst you walk to put on your altar if you have one.

Construct an altar: if this is something you do, decorate your altar with some of the items mentioned in the list above. If you’re pagan and have a deity who corresponds with this holiday, leave an offering on your altar. In Lugh’s case, he is a god known for his skills in craftmanship and His ability to turn His hand to anything. He is also known for playing the harp, so anything you have crafted or that has taken skill to create will be well received by Him.

Decorate your home: if you like, small decor changes can really get you in the mood and act as a celebratory act.

Bonfires: Invite friends and/or family to a bonfire. Not only is Lughnasadh a celebration of waning light and of the god Lugh, it is a celebration of fire. Share plans to remove negative habits or influences from your life with your loved ones, burn representatives of negativity, drink to future prosperity and toast to Lugh. Light a candle and do the same, if you are not yet an outed witch.

Craft: as mentioned before, Lugh is a god of craft and skill. Make something! Finish a project you’ve been putting off!  If you don’t want to do something in Lugh’s name, you can make dolls out of corn (a very traditional activity) and they can be left on an altar if you have one, used as decoration or turned into a poppet.

Acts of athelticism: The funerary games of Lughnasadh were its primary reason for creation. To honour this, you can do something on a small scale, such as jogging or yoga, or going to the gym, if you are able.

Trading: Bake some bread and give it to your friends/family/coven in exchange for herbs, or some canldes! That’s just an idea. but you get the gist of it. Lots of trading took place at historic Lughnasadh celebrations, as they assembly for this season festival was always large.

Feasting: Ties into the baking/cooking aspect, but using things that come from the first harvest is a good way to honour Lughnasadh and Tailtiu.

Spiritual Gifts

Aries- Embracing the rough and tumble the of the world with childlike curiosity and wonder. Reacting to things as they crop up without overthinking and evaluating, even if society says no to this. Protecting the innocent around us, including the spirit of naivety and recklessness.

Taurus- Knowing the value of the things around them, embracing the sensual pleasures of the Earth, finding meaning in simplicity and routine, having devoted relationships with the people around them. 

Gemini- Finding joy and stimulation in the trivia, humour and knowledge of the world. Being the messengers of the universe, here to be teachers and spread interesting and thought provoking wisdom. To flourish in all areas of communication, make believe and play.

Cancer- Being emotionally receptive and compassionate to the people around them, especially the vulnerable. Finding a sanctuary in creativity and solitude, where they can gain a grasp on themselves and recharge somewhat. Being a representation of the divine nurturer. 

Leo- Finding joy in creativity and pleasure, yet also seeing the warmth that others can exude. Being humorous, light hearted and loyal to the people around them. Being a jackpot of wisdom and uplifting knowledge, especially as they grow. 

Virgo- Understanding the preciousness of connection through duty and shared burdens. Appreciating the little gestures of kindness and the simple beauties of the Earth. Gaining knowledge through their life events to ease the pain of the people around them. 

Libra- Learning about themselves and the world through the eyes of others. Finding the other part of their soul in intimate relationships. Being creative and harmony seeking, knowing that there is a yin to every yang. 

Scorpio- Seeking intimate truths and knowledge from the universe. Being endlessly devoted to the people they love, yet also receptive to subtle emotional intuition. Going through intense shifts that reflect their surroundings. 

Sagittarius- Finding optimism and wisdom in the information they receive. Always questioning the powers that be, looking for evidence from their surroundings. Finding flight in abundance, yet also the minimalism of swift travel. 

Capricorn- Having timeless wisdom learnt through independence, simplicity and authenticity. Understanding the value of long standing relationships that are supportive. Finding humour and lessons in even the morbid. 

Aquarius- Being the pioneers of the collective new age and the practices that go along with this. The humanitarian conscience that resides in many of us, finding joy and excitement in invention and innovation. 

Pisces- Seeing and having knowledge of the many dimensions of this universe, experiencing the fluidity and passivity of this world, seeing light in the personalities of others and being porous to this. 

A day on Neptune is just 16 hours long. Neptune orbits the Sun once every 164.8 years at an average distance of 30.1 astronomical units.

Image credit: Oscar Malet

Uncrossing Masterpost

Uncrossing is when a person removes a curse, hex, jinx, or other spell that was casted against them which brings them negative energy, bad luck, or catastrophic events. Remember to take care of yourself after performing an uncrossing spell by cleansing and protecting yourself and your home.

Hoodoo Floor Wash by @divinemoon “Backfire” Curse-Repelling Enchantment by @mothmaam Uncrossing Powder by @thecandlebearer Cursing 101: How to Break a Curse by @the-traveling-witch Mild & Spicy Cursebreaker Powders by @lazywitchling Curse Removing Wash by @lunaesteria Spider Oil by @witchinthenight Break A Spell Cast Against You by @belladonnaswitchblog Blackthorn Reversing Spell by @thiscrookedcrown Lemon Test (to determine if you are cursed) by @i-am-the-nature-witch A Spell to Counter Another’s Magick by @christowitch An orange, lemon, and lime spell to break a hex or curse by @the-darkest-of-lights Hex and Curse Breaking by @thiscrookedcrown Counter-curses by @breelandwalker Protection from Curses by @cindernook Simple curse-breaking spell by @agnosticanimist The Healing Pool: A Cursebreaker by @hedge-witch-wannabe Curse Removals by @urbanspellcraft Return to Sender by @spiritscraft Counter-curses and Curse Removals by @thesigilwitch Anti-Curse Powder by @urbanwitchery Major Arcana Spells - Lady Justice - Return to Sender by @the-weatherwitch Lemon Uncrossing by @belladonnaswitchblog To Break a Spell You’ve Cast by @natural-magics remove magick done unto another by @the-ram-witch Black salt & white candle curse removals by @visardistofelphame Sigil nullifier (sigil tw) by @allura Engraved Hourglass Nebula Curse Return Spell by @themanicnami Removing Hexes and Curses by @urbanwitchery Charm Bags - to Reverse Bad Luck by @lodgewitch Disenchanting Bath by @kitchenwitchn Break the Curse (sigil tw) by @sigils-r-us A simple “Reverse The Curse” spell by @mothyseawitchery Reversal spells by @sylvaetria To Nullify a Spell by @orriculum Protection and curse removal spells by @belladonnaswitchblog Wards and removals (abuse tw) by @urbanspellcraft Something to Consider before you Curse: Reversals by @wildernesswitchery Hex Breaker Potion by @thewitchystuff Reversal, removal, & breaker by @spellboundwitchcraft Lemon Uncrossing Spell by @witchypun Breaking a curse by @cunningcelt Witchy tip - bay leaves by @whoanellee Huckleberry by @aspelladay Uncrossing powder by @rad-magick

By: Kseniya | ggb_k

They do not,

Will not,

Cannot,

Control you.

You aren’t afraid of being alone in dark.you are afraid of not being alone in dark.

Solar System 10 Things: Two Years of Juno at Jupiter

Our Juno mission arrived at the King of Planets in July 2016. The intrepid robotic explorer has been revealing Jupiter’s secrets ever since. 

Here are 10 historic Juno mission highlights:

1. Arrival at a Colossus

After an odyssey of almost five years and 1.7 billion miles (2.7 billion kilometers), our Juno spacecraft fired its main engine to enter orbit around Jupiter on July 4, 2016. Juno, with its suite of nine science instruments, was the first spacecraft to orbit the giant planet since the Galileo mission in the 1990s. It would be the first mission to make repeated excursions close to the cloud tops, deep inside the planet’s powerful radiation belts.

2. Science, Meet Art

Juno carries a color camera called JunoCam. In a remarkable first for a deep space mission, the Juno team reached out to the general public not only to help plan which pictures JunoCam would take, but also to process and enhance the resulting visual data. The results include some of the most beautiful images in the history of space exploration.

3. A Whole New Jupiter

It didn’t take long for Juno—and the science teams who hungrily consumed the data it sent home—to turn theories about how Jupiter works inside out. Among the early findings: Jupiter’s poles are covered in Earth-sized swirling storms that are densely clustered and rubbing together. Jupiter’s iconic belts and zones were surprising, with the belt near the equator penetrating far beneath the clouds, and the belts and zones at other latitudes seeming to evolve to other structures below the surface.

4. The Ultimate Classroom

The Goldstone Apple Valley Radio Telescope (GAVRT) project, a collaboration among NASA, JPL and the Lewis Center for Educational Research, lets students do real science with a large radio telescope. GAVRT data includes Jupiter observations relevant to Juno, and Juno scientists collaborate with the students and their teachers.

5. Spotting the Spot

Measuring in at 10,159 miles (16,350 kilometers) in width (as of April 3, 2017) Jupiter’s Great Red Spot is 1.3 times as wide as Earth. The storm has been monitored since 1830 and has possibly existed for more than 350 years. In modern times, the Great Red Spot has appeared to be shrinking. In July 2017, Juno passed directly over the spot, and JunoCam images revealed a tangle of dark, veinous clouds weaving their way through a massive crimson oval.

“For hundreds of years scientists have been observing, wondering and theorizing about Jupiter’s Great Red Spot,” said Scott Bolton, Juno principal investigator from the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. “Now we have the best pictures ever of this iconic storm. It will take us some time to analyze all the data from not only JunoCam, but Juno’s eight science instruments, to shed some new light on the past, present and future of the Great Red Spot.”

6. Beauty Runs Deep

Data collected by the Juno spacecraft during its first pass over Jupiter’s Great Red Spot in July 2017 indicate that this iconic feature penetrates well below the clouds. The solar system’s most famous storm appears to have roots that penetrate about 200 miles (300 kilometers) into the planet’s atmosphere.

7. Powerful Auroras, Powerful Mysteries

Scientists on the Juno mission observed massive amounts of energy swirling over Jupiter’s polar regions that contribute to the giant planet’s powerful auroras – only not in ways the researchers expected. Examining data collected by the ultraviolet spectrograph and energetic-particle detector instruments aboard Juno, scientists observed signatures of powerful electric potentials, aligned with Jupiter’s magnetic field, that accelerate electrons toward the Jovian atmosphere at energies up to 400,000 electron volts. This is 10 to 30 times higher than the largest such auroral potentials observed at Earth. 

Jupiter has the most powerful auroras in the solar system, so the team was not surprised that electric potentials play a role in their generation. What puzzled the researchers is that despite the magnitudes of these potentials at Jupiter, they are observed only sometimes and are not the source of the most intense auroras, as they are at Earth.

8. Heat from Within

Juno scientists shared a 3D infrared movie depicting densely packed cyclones and anticyclones that permeate the planet’s polar regions, and the first detailed view of a dynamo, or engine, powering the magnetic field for any planet beyond Earth (video above). Juno mission scientists took data collected by the spacecraft’s Jovian InfraRed Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) instrument and generated a 3D fly-around of the Jovian world’s north pole. 

Imaging in the infrared part of the spectrum, JIRAM captures light emerging from deep inside Jupiter equally well, night or day. The instrument probes the weather layer down to 30 to 45 miles (50 to 70 kilometers) below Jupiter’s cloud tops.

9. A Highly Charged Atmosphere

Powerful bolts of lightning light up Jupiter’s clouds. In some ways its lightning is just like what we’re used to on Earth. In other ways,it’s very different. For example, most of Earth’s lightning strikes near the equator; on Jupiter, it’s mostly around the poles.

10. Extra Innings

In June, we approved an update to Juno’s science operations until July 2021. This provides for an additional 41 months in orbit around. Juno is in 53-day orbits rather than 14-day orbits as initially planned because of a concern about valves on the spacecraft’s fuel system. This longer orbit means that it will take more time to collect the needed science data, but an independent panel of experts confirmed that Juno is on track to achieve its science objectives and is already returning spectacular results. The spacecraft and all its instruments are healthy and operating nominally. ​

Read the full web version of this week’s ‘Solar System: 10 Things to Know’ article HERE. 

For regular updates, follow NASA Solar System on Twitter and Facebook. 

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com

PALMISTRY THROUGH IMAGES BECAuse if you’re like me you learn better by looking at it than reading. Here’s the basics! Get to learning yourself and others!

if you chose to wrap yourself in roses, know that soft petals are no shields from thorns

find earth in my mouth and rust in my seams. just shroud me in grasses and set me to dream. gone are my days in the suns golden beams, but don’t worry– I’ll never forget how to gleam. 

Things to Research as a Beginner Witch

• The history of witchcraft • Famous witches, if you’d like • Types of witches • Types of magick (white magick, chaos magick, etc) • Types of spells (curses, hexes, etc) • Types of divination (tarot, scrying, etc) • Talismans vs Sigils (and what each are) • Seals • Maybe some alphabets if that’s your thing • Some witchy symbols • Deities (For pagan witches) • Let it spread from there!

This pretty much proves that love is dangerous, right?

🌱 little “good news” summer spell 🌤 gather clear quartz, mint leaves, and a handful of wildflowers. place them in a sachet and with both hands cup the sachet and take in the refreshing scent. with your eyes closed, while breathing in through your nose, think to yourself the mantra “beauty is on the horizon,” then slowly breathe out through your mouth. place the sachet on your windowsill or somewhere else in direct sunlight for the rest of the day. i’d recommend pressing the flowers the next morning.

“what time is it” you ask, i pull out my 2.7 metric ton granite sundial and immediately crush both of your feet, I loudly announce “it is cloudy”

Find someone as sleepy as you.

Coexhaust.

Fortune Teller reading my palm: It just says “yikes.”

Please, especially new people, keep in mind that the pagan & witch communities can have gross creeps in it like any other religions or practices no matter how much they like to talk about how “spiritual” they are. If someone creeps you out or says or does something that makes you super uncomfortable, please dont overlook that bc you figure that’s just how it’s supposed to be for paganism or witchcraft. Their spirituality or practice doesnt make weird advances at you any less weird. Please keep yourself safe!!

The exoplanet Samh is named after a Muslim astronomer.

Immortality

Immortality sounds great untill you realize that one day our earth will no longer be habitable due to the death of the sun or the destruction of the planet from a massive collision , and then you would be floating through space in agony as your blood boils, unable to breath for billions of years

I really want an environmental revolution to happen soon. Gardens everywhere, herbal wisdom flourishing and intelligent environmental policies.

Witchy Self Care Things To Do

Soak up some sun

Go for a walk

Take a long hot bath (optional to put in some tea, bath salts, bath bombs, flowers and/or light some candles)

Sit and ground/centre yourself

Write things down

Draw

Talk to someone

Get some rest

Laugh (no literally look up funny videos and laugh, sometimes laughing helps)

Write down on a piece of paper what qualities you’d like your astral space to be like so when you feel down or need a break you have not only your own space at home but your own space to take a break in your mind

Relax, breathe and count (I find sometimes if people are angry they will count and do breathing techniques and I’ve seen it helps with some people)

Meditation

Make some tea

Light some incense

Bake (sometimes baking cookies or any kind of dessert relaxes you)

Listen to some sad music, angry music and then some happy music. Takes you through the emotions

Soak up some moon

Write down affirmations (example: “I am okay, it’s okay not to feel okay but everything will be alright. Everything will get better”)

Well that’s all my beautiful kittens. Stay positive and know that if any of you ever need to talk I’m good at listening. Much love kittens. I’m sending positive energy to all of y'all. Hopefully this helps someone.

3 Stages of Love - Aquarius ♡

In the 1st stage of love Aquarians do a lot of character observation, self-reflection, and attempt to piece you together like a puzzle. They are simultaneously aroused and frustrated by mystique and complexity, and only reveal deeper parts of themselves for momentary flashes and wait for the person to respond. They gauge the level of comfort between the pair and the opportunity for freedom and personal liberty, and their affection and advances can switch on and off like a light - they are suddenly shocked full of romantic hunger and sensuality, and abruptly paralysed back into an empty distance 

In the 2nd stage of love Aquarians can begin acting strangely - even more strangely. The sensation of loving unity and deep, intimate connection can feel like an alien invasion, like another life force has entered them and tangled their thoughts and rationality. They are invested in untangling your web and locating your sensitive spots, your secret desires, your lost visions and dreams. As they grow more comfortable, their intimate gestures become more romantic and sensitive, and they evoke an electricity the person has never felt before. Aquarians can also remain reticent to declare their commitment at this stage, they are often unsure and question if and when this drug will eventually wear off

In the 3rd stage of love Aquarians display profound loyalty and devotion, they have integrated the person into their future and they are no longer afraid. It is now rather the matter that the Aquarius is miserable or afraid when prospecting of future without you. They begin to slowly transport the person into a whole new world of ideas, telepathic and psychic connection, and discover something unique and new to love about you in every cosmic moment. They are aware of every eccentricity, daily ritual, and strange desire and love you the more for it, because it always them to be, and there is no greater privilege or sensation in the universe than this for Aquarius

-C.

Of Poppy Flowers

Black Poppy, Flower of Ease, Opium Poppy, Papaver somniferum

This flower of the night-ways only blooms for a short while before turning into a bulbous ovary upon a stem full of bitter, white blood, characterizing its Lunar properties. This blood can be cultivated for its vision inducing properties. She is the Maiden in the Field, the Severed Head of St John, the Queen of Nightly Visions. 

Black poppy (the picture shown is a variety of black poppy from my own garden) was in pagan Greece and Rome associated with more Chthonic deities, such as Hekate, Hypnos, Nix, Thanatos, and Somnus (from which we get the word somniferum). The drug which is extracted from Poppy, Opium (as well as other narcotics, such as morphine and codeine) has a narcotic, stupefying effect akin to a dreaming sleep. Opium became a very popular drug prior to the first World War. A tea made from the dried flowers was used to suppress coughs, and the pods were sometimes made into a tea as a mild alternative to smoking the opium tears. 

We know that humans have been using Opium for its medicinal effects for a very long time, evinced of the fact that the Greeks would make it into a potent wine, Vinum opii, as well as as a suppository and fumigant, but there is evidence that it was cultivated as far back as the Neolithic era. The Ebers Papyrus (1550 BCE) lists its use as “Remedy to prevent the excessive crying of children”. It was also used to ease the pangs of childbirth, a very early anesthetic. It was also used, naturally, for its more recreational uses. Opium is a powerful (and highly addictive) psychoactive, and has been used as a visionary plant for both ritual and mundane use for ages. There is evidence that the juice of the plant was used in recipes for flying ointment along with hemlock, belladonna, and the feared mandrake. 

A Tuscan Divination

Place poppy leaves on hot coals and read the flames. 

Scatter poppy seeds on burning coals, and listen for the voice of prophecy. 

As a Lunar plant, the plant is sacred to Our Lady of the Night Ways, such as Hekate, Lilith, Black Anna, and Diana. Cakes sprinkled with the toasted seeds of Poppy may be offered unto Her and Her host of night flying beings. The seeds can also be ground up into an incense and combined with other herbs such as myrrh, mullein, red sandalwood as an offering to the Witchmother. The plant can also be used in dream work. Harold Roth gives an excellent use of the dried pods to make into little “charm bags”. The pods dry naturally on the Poppy’s long stalks, and can then be plucked therefrom (the seeds may be saved, and toasted for cooking, or scattered about for the next crop, or saved for magical work; Schulke lists that the seeds can be scattered upon the enemy’s property to cause confusion) and anointed with various oils and filled with fragrant herbs according to the spell made. If one were making a dreaming bag, one may use Chamomile, Clary Sage, Mugwort, and Hops. The flowers might also be steeped in wine, along with Cinnamon and Cloves, and taken as a tincture (a few drops only).

A Poppy Spell

This Italian spell can be adapted to any type of prophetic dream, not merely one concerned with matters of love. 

Make a hole in a poppy pod and empty out the seeds. Now fold up a small piece of paper with the question you want answered written on it, insert it in the pod, and place it under your pillow last thing at night, saying these words:

‘In nome del cielo, delle stelle, della luna! Fate mi face il sogno secondo…’

‘In the name of heaven, the stars, and the moon May I dream, and that full soon,  If this I see [name your wish].’

If you dream of your wish, it’s sure to come true.  ~(Mastering Witchcraft, Huson)

As Poppy has these chthonic connections with gods of the dead, such as Thanatos, and Hekate, the flowers can also be used to honor the dead. We see this today in Canada where a Red Poppy Flower is the symbol of Memorial Day. We get this tradition from the poem “In Flanders Fields” by John McCrae

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields.

The flowers and seeds may be burned, or offered in some other way to the spirits of the dead. Harold Roth in his book  The Witching Herbs gives a recipe for Chthonic Cakes for the dead which are not to be consumed by the living, but rather burned on coals like an incense. 

Papaver Chthonios Cakes for the Dead

4 oz ground myrrh A few tablespoons of dark red wine ¼ cup dark honey 1 oz black poppy seeds

Dampen the myrrh with some red wine and let sit in a closed jar overnight. Boil the honey to remove the water. The honey will foam, so don’t let it overboil, it’s terrible to clean up. Add the poppy seeds. Cook the honey and seeds for a bit, then pour over the myrrh and mix well. Before the mixture cools too much, form the mix into little crescent moons. Dry on a low heat, but not in the sun. Burn them on a charcoal tab as an offering to the dead. 

Care need be taken with the Poppy plant. She is the Maiden in the Field. You will sleep under Her; sleep too long and you will surely die. Many men have fallen under Her influence, never to wake from their glorious dreams. She caresses our throats, and whispers into our ears; we do not even notice that She is slowly choking us, so entranced are we by the stories She tells us. Be wary of this Lunar flower. She is as deadly and gentle as the goddess who rules Her.