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

My house always tends to be too cold and dry to let bread just rise on a counter because everyone I've ever lived with cranks the air conditioner to "refridgerator".

I've develops a bunch of tricks as a result. Most common method I've seen is
-Stick a bowl of water on a rack below but not directly under the bread
-Put oiled loaf in bowl
-Turn oven to 400, allow it to get to 400 then immediately turn off oven
-Quickly stick bread bowl in warm, damp oven to rise

Or, for the especially lazy, grab a blanket and the remote and stick the bread bowl under your blanket in your lap and watch a couple episodes of Netflix.

The crockpot thing is much more effective.

 

Ajajajajaja. My yoga professor told me this morning that she thinks I am a medium (or similar) and really sensitive to outside influences/energies/vibes.

This is funny because I have been told this by at least three different practitioners of different disciplines who don't know each other, and I've always found that strange since I've always thought of myself as rather etherically dull/thick. I might have mentioned this before, actually! The professor told me that the way my chest closes up with stress/tightness that restricts my breathing is very odd considering how successfully I've cleared it, and she thinks that it's the result of absorbing outside energies without my own energy fortifying for defense against that, and that I've probably blocked the majority of this sensitivity.

I think it's gotten to the point that I have to seriously consider this.

Jejeje, yeah, there is something clear about how something can be "not mine". And man, I love the syncretism of Andean traditions, how they survived and morphed and evolved, but how despite that influence Andean spirituality and traditions are firmly tied to the land, to nature, to the landscape. Do you remember his name? My uncle might know about him, who knows :P

 

Yeah I've never had to add extra humidity to bread even when our AC IS cranked to fridge levels. Just saran wrap it so the moisture that's already in it doesn't Go Away.

 

The other thing I've found for bread is, if it's sunny outside, find an indoor windowsill covered with sun and leave it to rise on that. (This is for combating cold and not humidity, though, so ymmv.)

 

So hey, does anyone want tumbled bloodstone? Found a bag of em while cleaning and only two are really connecting for me, figured I'd give my fellow Rock People first crack at the rest. (If no one's interested I'll just make them into big pendants, no big :P)

Can do pictures later when light is better and I'm not on mobile, but I have seven stones to share, all roughly thumb-sized.

 

sadly bloodstone seems to retreat from me. sharing is caring but bloodstone doesn't care for me apparently :P

 

.....I may be interested! I'd like to see photos first tho :0

 

Echoing @rats :D Bloodstone is neat

 

so.

i'm considering drawing some Icelandic sigils on my stuff.

am I likely to be smited by Thor. (smited, not smitten. though i wouldn't complain if Chris Hemsworth showed up at my door.)

 

Photo dump time! Pinging @rats and @Aviari because you two specifically asked about them so far.

The whole handful.
The rest of the pictures are sorted by individual stone, because multiple images. Warning for shitty phone photos :P

Spoiler: Stripes

Bold striping, mainly green. Large curved scratch, couldn't tell you where it came from but it has a rougher texture than the rest of the stone.

Quarter for scale...

The horseshoe/C/whatever you wanna call it

Aaaand the best shot of the striping I could get.

Spoiler: Perfectly Normal

A Perfectly Normal bloodstone, mainly green with visible red and yellow speckling. Has a large indent as well, but this one seems to have been part of the original stone-- it's polished smooth like the rest of the piece.

^Scale, v Most visible markings and indent

Spoiler: The Problem Child

Largest individual, almost solid green with red around... these odd sandblast-ish pits. I have no idea what happened to this poor thing.

^side one, v side two

Aaaand something to show off its shape better:

Spoiler: Halfer-- claimed by oph

Roughly rectangular prism, really clear split between "red side" and "green side" with small markings on both. Minor nicks on the green side.


Damage view:

Spoiler: Another Normal

Classic red-and-green speckle with a few yellow/white markings.

Close-up of the speckle effect:

Spoiler: Unphotogenic

Really dark stone, reds and greens sort of blend together with white-yellow veining. Phone did not like differentiating colors on this kid.

Spoiler: Sunspot-- claimed by chaoticArbiter

Mostly-green stone with a big ol' rusty splotch on one side. Green side displays same odd unpolished pitting as Problem Child.

Aaaand there you have 'em! Edit: because it keeps getting lost-- if you want one (or more) of these, PM me your shipping info and which one you want, and I'll get your new shiny in the mail when the weather stops being straight-up dangerous :D

 

ooooooh I am interested in the sunspot stone

 

Anyone who wants one can PM me shipping info, I'll mail 'em out once it's not dangerously cold outside c: (Uh... if you're outside the US I will have to do some research first tho, I have never mailed a thing out of the country.)

 

I like Stripey and/or Normal. I like the high-green content.

 

Ahhh, which normal? I'm guessing the one with fewer white markings, but I don't wanna accidentally send the wrong one :o

 

Awwww, stripes has a smiley face!

 

@Anon19 oooh, I like the "perfectly normal" and sunspot.

 

Not really? I mean, do you mean something like the Helm of Awe, or the pathfinding charm, etc? Or bindrunes? If anything you're more likely to have Odin show up and be like Hello I'd Like To Teach You More About The Runes, if you're the type to get god-bothered.

Also, Thor is , in my understanding, a really nice guy? He is specifically called out as being a patron to the common man, farmers in particular. Smiting for the sake of cultural appropriation, not so much. Now, if you were say, an elemental and ill-tempered giant intent on ruining somebody's day....different story. (Please forgive me if I am glib, I don't have as much personal experience with the Norse or Germanic pantheons. I've a soft spot for Thor as a thunder-god, and I like the Vanir, and Loki is dear to some of my friends, but....Odin rubs me the wrong way.)

Anyways. I don't see why it would be a problem? (A distant friend/acquaintance has a hell of a story about, uh, using a spell with cheese and the fertility sigil to help he and his wive conceive; they have twins.) Sigils don't feel culturally-bound to me the way, say, someone might see the runes as being. (Although to be frank, as I understand the mythology and origins, the runes aren't part of some closed and secret system: Odin discovered them, but they are made available to everyone. They're independent of him, or any god. I'm trying to find a good source or explanation for this idea of mind, I know it's not just a UPG.)

 

I went Norse with all my rune stuff despite being completely aethiest because there's definitely Viking in my heritage somewhere so I have historical backing if nothing else. Also it's just aesthetically pleasing and looks a lot like my handwriting anyway.

I think if you're drawn to something and you believe that Something is capable of calling you towards that thing, who's to say it ISN'T that thing/person calling you?

 

[grabby hands]
I'd love halfer

 

Aaaaaand I'm really liking Unphotogenic.