The Crafts: Wixes, Spells, and the Weaponized Placebo Effect

Yeah! And both of us have a strong family history with women who do a lot of hard work and self-sacrifice (sometimes very dysfunctionally) so it's a really important story for us to tell and unpack and analyze and try to learn from.

We're going on Saturday on a pilgrimage to a nearby lake, and while we're walking one of the lake trails my wife will tell myths related to this time, and I'll talk about some of the history of the holiday, and my sister will ask questions (as they're interested in being 'culturally' GaelPol as part of the household but they aren't really interested in religious dedication, and they want to learn all the myths and history). We'll do a little picnic and offerings by the lake, then come home and do a little bit of house-blessing stuff... and then for the traditional "games," because we're all nerds and the hike will have done about all the athleticism we'll need, we're gonna play D&D.

 

I personally read some stories to my moirail. Was his birthday too so it was also a present. I read the Tailtiu dindsenchas and Cath Maige Tuired to him. I had already read bits of the one to him, but this time he got the whole text. Games wise I took a nice long bike ride and caught some pokemon and the like. Was really nice. Offerings wise I gave Lugh some strawberries, bread, and an avocado (I live in California so yeah). Some juice too. Prayed to him to look out for my girlfriend because she's been having financial issues and my moirail because the little shit has a tendency to flirt and date people who aren't good for him.

I must make Lugh tea today too. He is my dude. MY LORD. WHO TOOK ME BACK EVEN AFTER I HAD BEEN SUCH A SHIT TO HIM. HE GIVES ME DAD FEELS. He's a better father to me than my actual father. A much better father to me.

 

So I'm moved in to my new apartment, which is awesome! But I don't have lemon water and it hasn't rained enough for me to collect enough water to use use for cleaning, plus collecting rain in a plastic bottle did not go well, so what I'm probably going to do is either buy a bottled water specifically for cleansing and think cleansing thoughts and pray while I'm purchasing it/setting it aside, or pray while filling up my filtered pitcher.

On another note, I found another tarot deck that really resonates with me, but it's currently unavailable on Amazon (it's the shadowscapes deck that I found by going on a tarot deck website). I'm not sure if the universe is trying to tell me something or I just haven't found the "right" deck. Or neither. (I would get the Lisa Frank deck but it's not a Full Deck so I'm not sure if I should or not. Also I don't feel comfortable just printing them out--I'd want to print them on cards, and I'm not sure if that's okay either since I'd have to pay a printing company to do so)

 

Shadowscapes is one of the most popular decks, it's easy to find if it's the one you want. If Amazon is sold out, try barnes and noble or hitting Llewellyn's site directly.

 

@Starcrossedsky thank you! barnes&noble does have it and i'm probably getting it.

general question for anyone: i think if there's a house spirit at the new apartment it might be wary about me oooor its pulling pranks on me for fun because my door keeps messing up (i've had a heck of a time getting it to lock and sometimes unlock) and i've heard some weird noises at night.

unfortunately i do not yet own a tarot deck so i can't ask it why it's upset and/or is potentially trying to get a rise out of me, or even ask it what it wants for offerings. i'm probably going to make it tea, though i'm not sure if i should use blessed water for the making of the tea or if regular tap water is okay.

also for offerings: how long do you leave them out and how do you dispose of them? like, i know you can drown things, but how do you do that? i can't leave stuff out for too long in the apartment because my landlords don't spray for bugs, although this apartment in particular has been redone semi-recently.

 

I make regular tea offerings for almost any of the "gods or ungods" as it's put in Irish cosmology; I've never personally come across something that's upset by tea offerings, although house spirits also tend to like small not necessarily expensive sparkly things, in my experience (one friend left out pop tabs).

For tea, I'd set it out in a likely house-spirit place for a few hours, then pour it out into the ground outside right by the foundation. For the sparkly things, I'd tend to leave them on the windowsill, and more often than not they'd disappear on their own. (If I found them, say, cleaning under the couch, I'd assume any spirits were "done" with them at that point if I could find them again.)

 

if it's any help, I tend to also leave my house spirits spare change (generally change I've found on the street or in a pocket, so it's not making a difference to my finances but is passing shiny things and luck to the spirit)

also I hope your scissors don't go missing. (this is part of why shiny-things-as-offerings. I just want my scissors damnit!)

edit: I see I was ninjaed by @Kit on the matter of shiny things.

 

thank you both! for the foundation, i'm in a studio on the second floor, so would i pour out stuff on the bottom floor or just outside my apartment, close to the wall? and where's a likely house spirit spot? i tried finding stuff on google but Google just decided to show me a bunch of things about haunted houses.

also: i found a shiny gum wrapper and put that on the windowsill, and will probably put loose change from my purse there next. I'm not currently sure where my scissors are but the last I remember they were in a box, and they're hopefully still there. i'm sorry yours are missing. :( hopefully they'll give them back eventually?

 

Windowsills are very good spots! I tend to especially aim for kitchen windowsills, if you have them, or living-room windowsills.

As for pouring out tea, I would aim for as close to your actual apartment as you can get? Alternately, I have been known to pour offerings down my sink drain, although I do so respectfully and with a special "thank you" when I don't have the spoons or capability to get outside. Some practitioners call that a big no-no bc disrespect? But I'm doing what I can, and as long as I'm trying to be polite and no spirits get super mad at me I'm gonna keep doing what works for me.

 

I've never gotten shit for not being able to bury my offerings when I'm not able to thankfully. I think they have a sort of understanding of your limitations if you explain? At least that is my experience. Lugh hasn't set my house on fire because I couldn't bury an avocado so yeah. I've also yet to experience a feeling of intense NO when doing such things, so if you can't pour things outside then they might understand. So don't feel bad about that. Yes.

Anyway disposal depends on what you are dealing with. Some traditions don't mind you consuming offerings. Mine does. Because it's both rude and dangerous. The dangerous bit, beyond the danger of pissing them off, is that they consume the Toradh of the food. Which is the nutritive essence of the thing, I suppose is a way to put it. So eating it is basically toxic. Food offerings can be buried in the earth somewhere, burned, or drowned. That is placed in a river, lake, pond, or other such body of water. I've put offerings in lakes in parks before. Drink based offerings you can pour outside. Though like Kit said it's fine if you pour them down the drain if you can't do anything otherwise. So since you're on the second floor personally I'd say head downstairs and outside nearest as you can get to where your home is. Pour it out there.

Oh a thing. A habit I have gotten into is assuming that if I drop food they want something food wise. So I make sure to give them something if I drop food or food otherwise ends up on the floor or something.

Another silly habit of mine that has nothing to do with house spirits is to take wishing fountains seriously. Basically any and all fountains I pass I throw coins in. Other bodies of water too. Like when I was at Disneyland I threw a penny into each and every single body of water in the park for Lugh. Other coins work though my gut tells me that they especially like pennies.

Also Lib you are never getting those scissors back. I sure as fuck never got the kitchen sheers back. I tried making trades and they were like nope we want these. Alas. ALAS. The ones at my grandma's have yet to take any scissors but it is only a matter of time.

 

Also what is the weirdest thing you all have felt compelled to offer? Or that you did offer either way. One day I saw a safety pin and was just like "Manannán wants this". Just an intense sense of him wanting that thing sitting in my portable shrine to him. I am not sure why he wanted it. But he did and he seems quite pleased with the thing.

 

Oooo good question.

...one time I was very certain that our local river really, really wanted the bracelet I was wearing. I'm pretty sure this was actually an accurate feeling I was getting, but I was mildly intoxicated at the time. My wife convinced me that it would be safer for the wildlife if I just broke off one of the charms and dropped that off the bridge instead. As Kai put it just now, "I insisted that no, you weren't going to end up choking a fish to death just because [local consensus of river spirit's name] wants to look pretty."

I'll probably end up offering the other bitty charms one by one on other trips.

 

That's a good one. I like that story a lot.

Weirdest thing I've dedicated meanwhile is speedruns to Lugh. I tend to dedicate a lot of my things I do to him like my exercise, but speedrunning is just kind of a silly thing to dedicate. It is very skillful though and he is the KING OF GAMES so. Yes.

 

@Kit A) that is an awesome story and B) i am using my kitchen windowsill to lay out my offerings of shiny things, but the small counter space right next to the windowsill is probably where i'm going to put the tea. the wrapper has not disappeared yet so i am probably going to give them loose change from my purse before i go to bed tonight.

as for tea: what do i do with the ingredients to make the tea? like, if i use a tea bag or tea leaves, do i throw that in the trash? my guess is that that would be okay since it's only the ingredients but i really don't want to do wrong by this spirit.

in related news, i am getting the shadowscapes tarot deck from my barnes&noble tomorrow after i get off work! they had it in stock so i went ahead and reserved a copy, so i should finally be able to talk to this house spirit tomorrow and see what their Deal is (after doing the introductory spread of course). i sent out a little prayer to whoever is watching over me* that the deck will like me and want to work with me. maybe it was a silly request, but i feel better after making it. now i just have to figure out how to give back to whoever IS watching over me, since they help me out a lot with little things and i want to do something for them.

*this could refer to maybe the christian god and/or the other Powers That Be. in other words, i'm not actually sure who it is since i don't know if any god has ever made themself known to me in an way that's super clear, so i just tend to default to the christian god since my parents and other family members worship Him.

 

I usually just toss my teabag, yeah.

And it's totally fine even if what you're working with here is a spirit/The Big Spirit related to Christianity! If whichever method of interacting works well for you and for them, whoever they are, that's what matters. And I've known lots of Christians who use tarot, so you're not the only one.

 

awesome! thanks! i was going to say that i was going to give them their drink tomorrow, but then i got an inkling that maybe they actually want it today, so today it is. i can just give them some of my favorite bag tea and call it good i think. i'm probably going to have to leave it out until tomorrow morning before i go to work since i need to go to bed in preferably less than two hours, but my feeling is that they'll be okay with that? i'm not getting any "absolutely no, do NOT do this!" vibes at least.

 

sits in the corner of "even if I did spirit work, poverty brain wouldn't ever allow me to do food offerings"

 

I have been that poor, and I have had that anxiety. Food offerings are also super traditional in most Celtic-family paths, which makes it extra complicated. I ran across a post from someone (can't find it in my backlog now) that gave me an idea that's worked in those situations, though.

I've dedicated the act of cooking or the experience of eating to Brigid before. Not the food itself, but the work and self-care and love involved. It's a really small distinction, but related enough to Her usual domain that She appreciates it without making me panic about losing food I can't afford. Offerings are supposed to be sacrifices, in part, but not ones so great that they're causing you serious harm.

 

That is a very good idea, yes. Bríghid is like. Mom God of Cooking. Lugh might appreciate it too since he is SKILLS ALL THE SKILLS. I will keep this in mind should I ever get in a situation dire enough that I can't do food offerings.

 

Yeah, I was That Poor during some important developmental phases so it's... not an anxiety that would ever go away for me. :[