Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Follow me on Tumblr!



So I broke down and made a Tumblr. While nearly the same concept, it seems more streamlined for my scatterbrained head. For everyday postings and what-nots and pictures check me there now! I will most likely keep the blog for larger announcements and postings.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Giveaway! And more Grimoire work


Hey Guys and Gals, I'm a sponsor for The Spooky Spring Easter Casket Giveaway over at Bloodbath's blog! You have the chance to win some Spirit Sustenance Incense and some Graveyard Dirt from my shop plus a ton of other cool prizes from some really great Etsy sellers, so hop on over!




I've been working on my Grimoire as often as I can and have done a few small watercolor pieces in it, mostly on pages devoted to deities and I have yet to really put color on anything else. I chose one of my favorite images for the inner front page, sketched it and then used a steel tipped pen and "Black Magic" Higgins ink. It was interesting how the slightly slick Moleskine sketchbook paper took to the watercolor, the color sitting and beading on the surface until it became absorbed by the paper. I have so many Evil Eye/Hamsa pieces of jewelry and trinkets, and with it being the symbol and logo for my shop I thought it was appropriate I emulate it here too. It's probably my favorite occult symbol and when I open a brick and mortar shop I'll be sure to include it there too.


I also sketched out this Hecate picture last night. It being a dark moon and a Wednesday, Hecate was calling. The sketch isn't finished but will be done in watercolor within the following days. I've been looking for a good image of Hecate for my altar and have found very few so I decided to just draw one myself that encompassed as much of her imagery as possible. I plan on adding some Yew branches and maybe her wheel as well. Most Pagans tend to neuter her power and water it down, making her just another crone or moon goddess or whatever. I embrace all aspects of her and wish that others would too, her vast knowledge, her ability to traverse the heavens, earth, and underworld, etc. I guess we all look at our deities differently.

For the shop the next items I plan on working on will be Spell Component Kits, but ones that cater to all levels of Witches. There will be no specific instructions, just themed items. For example: the Hexing kit will include a Bayou Black candle, War Water, Graveyard Dirt, Coffin Nails, and so on. As for myself I really enjoy crafting a spell of my own, not using one straight from a book. Yes, I use some ideas and reference from many books but part of any works of magic is your gut and knowing what works for you. Use it! Use the knowledge you've obtained through all your practices and mold it to your path. Use your deities, your spirits, not someone elses. That's the great thing about being a Witch.

What's your favorite occult symbol?

Monday, April 05, 2010

Black Candles



Bayou Black Spell Candle Pair for Hexing and Banishing, and a listing for Your Custom Spell Candle Pair! Details and additional products at Anathemum
.



I received a Sunshine Award from Danni over at The Whimsical Cottage! Thank you, Danni. You've always been stellar. I have a feeling that if we met in real life we would probably hit it off splendidly.

~Here are the Sunshine Award Guidelines~

1) Please thank the person who gave the award to you.

2) Copy the award and place it in your blog.

3) Link back to the person who nominated you.

4) Name 6 things that no one would really know, about yourself.

5) Nominate your Sunshine Award bloggers and post links to their blogs.

6) Leave a comment on each of those blogs letting them know you have nominated them for the Sunshine award.


As far as the 6 things about me go...
1)I have a thing about collecting. Joey calls it a "problem" but I call it a solution! Sort of. I collect many things including frog figures(been doing it since I was probably 9 years old), mice/rat figures(I've had many rats and mice as pets, they are great), owl things(my amazing Mom buys Owl figures for me and she is the single source of all my owl jewelry, I have some wicked cool pieces!), antique tins and metal boxes, skeleton keys, evil eye stuff, real insects (I find them dead on the ground), feathers, shells, plus plenty of curios I use in my rootwork.

2)I'm ridiculous about fashion. I wear dresses or skirts and heels every day and probably only own 2 pairs of pants, one of them is solely for work. I refuse to pay more than $50 for any one item which leaves me to vintage shopping, or raiding closets. I don't think people need an excuse to dress up, they just should! I go wild harvesting and into graveyards in 3.5 inch heels! It sounds daft but fashion is an extension of our psyches and mine is colorful and fun and creative. I have lots of vintage clothes and accessories and my style has 1930's, and 1940's-50's, Gothic, mystic shamanism, gypsy queen, and Victorian circus influences. Joey got me the Salem Cloak by Black Market Baby for Xmas and it's great! I also name certain dresses or outfits. I also wear vintage fur. I'm a fashion dork.

3) I had plans to hopefully get my Art degree in Craft and Materials Studies with a focus on Fiber and move to New York to work for the Jim Henson Creature Shop, but I think I want to be a Cultural Anthropologist instead. Working in the art field for income all but killed my creativity and made me hate art so I had to make a change.

4) I go through reading phases. Sometimes I'll crush 3 books a week, sometimes I wont read for 2 months. This does not include reference books which I'm constantly poking my nose in and out of.

5) My hair grows incredibly slowly. It's also been every color of the rainbow when I was younger. It's now just natural brown and long. I also cut it myself.

6)My musical taste is varied. The most "Pagany" music I listen to is Type O Negative's October Rust album. I listen to metal, 90's grunge, vaudville and swing, blues, doo-wop, and classic rock.



These are some blogs which I think deserve a look!
Conjured Cardea
Swamp Pixie Herbal
Enchanted Garden Studio

Thursday, April 01, 2010

Graveyard Dirt




Some new products! Ritual Bath Salts in Sea Witch and Aphrodite's Bath Water, and a business success incense called Business Boom. They are all available at Anathemum's.

Yesterday Joey and I visited the graveyard in Downtown Fredericksburg. It's a confederate cemetery but I found gravestones as recent as the early 2000's buried there (most likely family plots). The graveyard is pretty big and was very quiet despite the area and all the busy streets. We found a bench and sat down for a while to enjoy the beautiful day and spectacular weather.








Proof I was there!



I then wandered around a bit and gathered some graveyard dirt from the blessed ground of the cemetery. Joey acted as my distraction in case anyone wandered by but we were completely alone for a while. Well, not really alone, but you get the idea :) I was also considering listing some of the dirt in the Shop if anyone was interested.

Also, to my surprise I found what I believed to be a Yew tree, which would be appropriate in a graveyard most certainly. I've been searching for Yew to wild harvest some and was unable to find a bulk supplier of the tree. I'm decent when it comes to plant identification but wasn't sure (especially because it wasn't giving off it's unmistakably strange red berries at this time) so I took a sprig home for further investigation. (by this time my purse was filled with leaves and my hands were covered in dirt, like a true witch!) It turns out I think I'm right! Or at least I hope I am.