Witch Tip - Wild Weed Harvests

how does one start to shapeshift? i knew i always could. i just. dont know how

sorry if you arent the one to ask about this! i dont know where else to go lmao

have a great wonderful day, wishing you warmth and good things!

it's all good!

I'm still learning the ins and outs of shapeshifting too, so I'm not super knowledgeable off the top of my head, but I know this doc made by @clownshifting has different methods you can try (amongst other information too) Shifters: A Guide - Google Docs

have a good day and good vibes yourself, thank you!

Ingmar Bergman

It’s the skin of the Earth, the womb of life itself.

This article digs deep into how language has stripped soil of its sacredness — and why reclaiming our reverence for it matters more now than ever.

Come remember what we were never meant to forget.

hot take: just because someone might appear bodily human doesn't mean that they always will be human

Tonight, I did it.

Not officially, but I almost ran away.

I went to the boundaries of my property, and sat in the road. I ran bipedal the way there but got quadrupedal as I continued.

I let it all out. I couldn't speak. I forgot English. All that came out was sad barks, choking noises and whimpers if I tried to talk.

I sat in the middle of the road. The street light glimmering on my pelt.

I howled. For at least ten minutes. Desperately, signaling "please, i need you".

A response came. 4-8 coyotes joined in. Heard my sorrow.

We chatted. For a moment. Although none of us could understand eachother.

They never came to me, though. Got closer, but realized the road is a dangerous path.

I sat whimpering in my driveway, wondering how I had gotten here.

I growled at a passing car, hoping it wouldn't stop and shoot me for being the big bad wolf I am.

I left at 9:30, It is 10:00 now.

My throat hurts. My paws are limp, rough even. I smell like outside. It's comforting. I smell like a dog after being in the rain.

Im going back tomorrow night. Maybe then I'll get farther and explore past where my leash has confined me.

Hi! I’ve been awakened for 10 years, going on 11 years next year in February. I’m a silver black phase wolf with amber eyes. I’ve never learned what works for me as far as connecting and feeling since my awakening in 2015.

Sure, I miiight have this rare phantom shift with my wolf ears where I’ll feel a pressure on both sides of my head, and my mind interpreting it as ears when thinking of my form give or take. Seems to be a trigger of mine? I also have small mental flares that only last for a few seconds which has always been my normal so that’s nothing new.

Lately I’ve tried to trigger phantom and mental shifts voluntarily but I end up having an envisage shift instead. It’s weird. I honestly have tried everything else too. Gear, vocals, looking up my habitat, research on my animal, etc etc. It doesn’t do anything for me at all. Not even songs trigger shifts.

I’ve heard that as nonhumans grow older, they slowly lost their connection to their nonhumanity and that it’s naturally stronger in teenage years. I’m not sure if that’s true or if it’s really happening to me. I’ve noticed that it’s difficult for me to find new ways to connect and feel wolf. The things I did before (running in the woods, being outside at night, vocals, etc) just came naturally to me as a teenager and it lasted whereas now it just… doesn’t.

Help?

Low energy land spirit work

Please note that I would recommend properly greeting land spirits before talking to them, or making offerings to them. If you're intrested in reading about my thoughts and experiences with land spirits, give this previous post a look!

Open the window and let the outside air in. If your window is equipped with a screen against bugs, you can place a drink at the window for a few hours to serve as an offering

Taking a walk around the block, spotting the nearby trees, gardens, flowerbeds, rock formations...

Journal about your personal relationship with local natural spots, indigenous plants, wildlife...

Become interested in local birds! Birds are among the most common types of wildlife to be observed in urban areas, which makes it all the more relevant to do so. Setting up birdhouses also makes for a great offering!

Limit the amount of processed foods in your diet

Read up on plant identification in your area

Engage in artistic activities in order to depict nature! It might seem silly, but it's a good visualization exercise, and any time spent meditating upon the land spirits may be considered devotional. Drawing, painting, writing... no matter your activity of choice!

Reflect on what local issues might affect them, especially concerning environmental protection

Leave a bowl of clear water outside as an offering

Do your part to respect nature: composting, recycling, saving water and the like make perfect devotionals

Talk to them regularly, if only once a week. Spend a moment outside to tell them of your appreciation for their presence and protection

Use natural elements to decorate the house: get flowers when available, pick up the acorns or fallen leaves that strike your fancy...

the trees you grew up with have not forgotten you. their branches still whisper your name in the breeze and their roots remember the paths your feet once traced through their shade.

blog thoughts (on the topic of the terms "idle form" and "active form")

I think a good way to describe my "human" body or self would be calling it my outward-facing form or my idle form. I may appear human to most, but on all levels I am not, including physically. just because I appear human doesn't mean that I am. I may describe how I look as human, but this is only for simplicity for the people around me.

my idle form is what everyone else sees, it's what I see and feel too on a daily basis. I don't like the idea of having to describe myself as half human and half nonhuman because that's not true, I am 100% nonhuman. there are some people who do feel fluctuations with their human and nonhuman feelings/thoughts and parts of themselves, but that's not my experience.

in more werewolf-like terms, I know that in media representation it describes them as a human turning into a wolf. but I'm just a canine/wolf/avian/whatever else I call myself. I wouldn't be turning into anything else except my truest self when I finally have a successful shift or when I finally have all of the limbs I'm meant to have. I'm simply an animal/creature that got crunched into a human-ish body with a human-adjacent consciousness.

what I appear to be is simply a facade with my real body and mind underneath the seams, with my real body idle on the outside but active on the inside.

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idle form - the form that's given to us on the outside that appears human

active form - the form that's the truest form of who we are on the inside that we shift into on the outside (or if you're not a shifter, the form that you take over time as you grow your limbs that you're meant to grow) (if your form doesn't appear on the outside, this still can apply to you if you're an intrashifter for example, where your outside body doesn't change but internally you do)

(just a little ramble that I added on to, I felt like sharing it with y'all since there might be someone out there that might resonate with this post!!)

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Common herbs and spices

Source - The Little Book For Modern Witches by Astrid Carvel

Basil - prosperity and inner strength

Parsley - fertility and honesty

Bay - wisdom, foresight, strength, and good fortune

Cinnamon - love, comfort, power and success

Black pepper - purification, inner strength, and protection

Sage - cleansing and protection (my own note - white sage is for specifically closed cultural practices so please bear this in mind and be respectful in your craft)

Oregano - health and happiness

Cardamom - love and friendship

Chilli - passion, virility and inspiration

Rosemary - purification, positivity and memory

Thyme - concentration, and business success

Allspice - compassion, luck and healing