Why Are ‘witch Tips’ Always Like “use Quartz As A Substitute For Any Crystal!” And Not The

Pagan Wedding Flowers (and other plants) Cheat Sheet

Flowers have been associated with weddings for almost as long as humans have been getting married. In fact, the use of flowers in ritual may actually be older than humans! Neanderthal graves in Iraq suggest that Neanderthals buried their dead with flowers. There are mentions of flowers in our earliest recorded accounts of weddings, such as in Egypt, Greece, and Rome.

Historically, couples would have used whatever flowers were available to them. While some cultures had flowers they preferred for weddings because of their symbolism, couples would have been limited by what grew in their area and by what was in bloom at the time of their ceremony. To be truly as historically accurate as possible, consider using flowers you grew or foraged yourself. Bonus points for native blooms!

For those who aren't into growing or gathering your own wedding flowers, modern florists and greenhouses allow us to choose from a wide range of flowers, many of which aren't native to our homes. This makes it much easier to choose flowers based on their symbolism, history, or cultural meaning.

Historic Wedding Flowers + Plants

Roses have been the flower of choice for Western weddings pretty much forever, and with good reason. The rose is associated with several ancient goddesses of sex, fertility, and/or romance, such as Inanna, Ishtar, Aphrodite, and Venus. (Later, medieval Christians would also associate this flower with the Virgin Mary.) Including the goddess's flowers in a wedding may have been a way of invoking her blessing on the union. Sappho called rose "Queen of the Flowers."

Roses are held in a high regard in pretty much every culture with access to them. They're strongly associated not only with love, but also with beauty, wholeness, blessings, and even spirituality.

Rose was included in wedding celebrations in Ancient Hellos (Greece) and Rome. It is associated with the planet Venus and the water element.

Wheat was also a popular inclusion in weddings in ancient Greece and Rome. Hellenic brides would carry sheaths of wheat or another grain to invoke fertility and good fortune. Wheat was strongly associated with agrarian goddesses like Demeter, Persephone, Ceres, and Proserpina. Carrying wheat may also have been a way of expressing a wish for the marriage to produce many children. Pliny the Elder explicitly says in his Natural History that wheat was included in weddings to honor Ceres.

In modern occult systems, wheat is associated with fertility, the conception of children, and wealth. It is associated with the planet Venus and the element of earth.

Olive branches also featured in Hellenic weddings. Olive was an important crop in the ancient Mediterranean, and olive branches were a symbol of peace and friendship. Olive was also used in the victors' crowns in the Olympic Games. In Athens, the olive tree was a symbol of Athena. It was also carried by worshipers of Apollo when they visited the Oracle at Delphi. Olive was also important to the Romans, who associated it with Mars in his aspect as a protector of peace.

In modern magic traditions, olive is associated with beauty, healing, stamina, wealth, fertility, protection and of course, peace. It is associated with the sun and the fire element.

Orange blossoms were included in Hellenic weddings as a sign of happiness. These strongly scented white flowers also sometimes appeared in Roman weddings. Thousands of years later, Queen Victoria wore a crown of orange blossoms at her wedding, but for her they were a symbol of chastity.

In modern systems, orange is associated with joy, partnership, sweetness, and good luck. It is associated with the sun and the fire element.

Hawthorn appeared in weddings in ancient Rome. Pliny the Elder said that Roman bridal processions included a hawthorn torch dedicated to the goddess Ceres. In Rome, hawthorn was more generally associated with love and good luck.

In Celtic cultures, especially Ireland, hawthorn was believed to be a fairy tree. For this reason, cutting a hawthorn tree or bringing hawthorn branches inside was considered bad luck.

The blooming of hawthorn trees was used to determine the date of Bealtaine, and hawthorn boughs were often decorated with flowers, ribbons, and egg shells to make a May bush, which was placed by the front door for good luck. In Britain, hawthorn wood was used to carve maypoles. Hawthorn flowers may be especially appropriate for a May wedding or handfasting.

In modern occultism, hawthorn is associated with protection, healing (especially healing the heart), romantic love, fertility, granting wishes, and happiness. It is still strongly associated with weddings and marriage. It is associated with the planet Mars and the fire element.

Lotus may have featured in ancient Kemetic (Egyptian) weddings. The lotus was an important symbol in Kemetic religion, and was associated with the sun, rebirth, and the creation of the world. Lotus flowers featured in festivals to honor Hapi, the androgynous god of the Nile. The lotus is used in art to represent Upper Egypt. An Egyptian poem from 1100 BCE connects the lotus to marriage.

Lotus flowers were also popular in ancient Chinese weddings, and they're still used by some Chinese couples today. In Chinese culture, lotus represents purity, honor, and long life.

In modern traditions, lotus is associated with protection, spirituality, and blessings. It is associated with the moon and the water element.

Yellow flowers were used in pre-Christian Ireland for blessings and protection. The exact flower used for these rituals is not specified, so it seems like the color was what mattered. Modern pagans looking to carry on this tradition have lots of yellow flowers to choose from. Some popular choices include yellow roses (see above), yellow amaryllis (associated with creativity, playfulness, and joy), chrysanthemum (associated with long life, optimism, and protection), marigold (associated with happiness, rebirth, and vitality), and/or daffodils (associated with love, fertility, and luck).

Modern Wedding Flowers

We've gone over some of the flowers that were popular in historic pagan weddings, but it's also easy to pagan-ify the flowers that are most popular in modern weddings. Here's a quick rundown of some popular wedding blooms and their neopagan and occult symbolism:

Peony is associated with purification, healing, prosperity, and success. In ancient Rome, peony was believed to be sacred to Mars. It is associated with the sun and the fire element.

Dahlia is associated with mystery, occult wisdom, and transformation. It is associated with the moon and the water element.

Lilac is associated with balance, peace, romance, protection from evil, and attracting friendly spirits. It is associated with Venus and the water element.

Sweet Pea is associated with comfort, charm, and sweetness. It is associated with Venus and the water element.

Hydrangea is associated with healthy boundaries, breaking negative patterns, hex breaking, and protection. It is associated with water and with both the moon and Neptune.

Tulip is associated with beauty, desire, gratitude, love, prosperity, and simplicity. It is associated with Venus and the earth element.

Orchid is associated with beauty, elegance, sexuality, fertility, and romance. It is associated with Venus and the water element.

Lily is associated with spirituality, beauty, harmony, and protection from the evil eye. It is associated with Venus and the water element.

Carnation is associated with beauty, love, rebirth, strength, and healing. Carnations are associated with same-gender love and especially love between men because of Oscar Wilde's fondness for them. They are associated with the sun and the fire element.

Gardenia is associated with love, peace, healing, and spirituality. It is associated with the moon and the water element.

Resources:

"New Neanderthal remains associated with the ‘flower burial’ at Shanidar Cave," Cambridge University Press

"History of Wedding Flowers" by Benna Crawford

The Roman Wedding by Karen K. Hersch

"The Olive in the Ancient Mediterranean" by Mark Cartwright

"The History, Mythology, and Offerings of Hawthorn" by Meghan Pivarnik

Where the Hawthorn Grows by Morgan Daimler

Temple of the Cosmos by Jeremy Naydler

The Magic of Flowers by Tess Whitehurst

The Magic of Trees by Tess Whitehurst (see my disclaimer about Whitehurst's books, but these are some of her better ones)

Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs by Scott Cunningham

aesthetically pleasant

Tips for when you’re considering Paganism

For my lovely friend @whoooooisthis!! I hope this helps love!

First things first, learn the basics. Cleansing, Warding, Banishing and Protection. 

Cleansing: You should cleanse when you’re having a bad day, are/were sick, after a breakup or loss, after arguments, during a major transition in life (graduation, birth, etc) and when you feel you need to. Cleansing cleans up the energy around you and keeps you safe. You can cleanse by lighting incense and passing the smoke around an object or room, bathing yourself or an object, burying an object, with salt (just don’t put it near dirt and plants!!), setting something in moonlight or sunlight (Make sure you keep track of which moon phase to cleanse on), with sound like bells or singing bowls, clapping, cleaning, burning sage or candles, using holy water or a protection spray, and touching each corner of a room and saying a prayer for each one. 

Warding: Wards are spiritual shields that keep you safe. There’s two types of wards - spacial (for spaces and rooms) and personal (for objects and the self). You will need to maintain wards by charging and clearing them. You can ward by using enchanted jewelry or objects, sigils (magical symbols with purposeful energy), energy shields, magic circles, spells, protective crystals, protection spell bottles, anointing the corners of a room and window and door sills with holy water or another warding substance. I personally like to drill holes in peach pits to wear as necklaces, they work quite well for warding. 

Banishing. There are tons of spells online that will teach you how to banish negative entities. If an entity is fucking with you, bad things keep happening or things just feel off, don’t be afraid to banish. Letting spirits know you’re not to be fucked with is incredibly important.

Protection. Light a black candle. Use salt and pepper for warding. Learn banishing and warding spells. Use protective sigils. Protection is incredibly important when concerning spirits, so educate yourself on this thoroughly. 

Now onto the fun stuff…

- Talk to things! Your house, your trees and plants, your spirit guides. You can do this out loud or in your head. And remember, even if they don’t respond, they’re probably still there. Just trust me on that

- It’s alright to forge your own unique path. I personally am Autistic and have terrible memory, so it’s important for me to forge my own craft. If something doesn’t work for you, don’t be afraid to change it. Substitutions can always be made.

- Meditate. Everyone says this, but it’s very true. Meditation not only calms the mind and body, but it opens you and your intuition/senses up to new forces

- Don’t ask for things without giving something in return. I lost my pillbox once and couldn’t find it anywhere. I walked out of my room, politely asked for it to be returned, and a few minutes later it was right there on my desk in plain sight. I left a little dish of honey out for whoever (or whatever) returned it. It’s always polite to approach with an offering and give one either before or after asking for something. You can do this with something as simple as picking a flower, always ask permission.

-  Make it an everyday thing. That doesn’t mean you have to do daily rituals or meditation sessions. Simply talking (again, in your head or out loud) to your spirit guides, practicing mindfulness and doing little spiritual things here and there are enough. This could be meditation, interpreting a potential sign you got today, saying good morning to the spirits you work with, leaving an offering (especially if you’re asking for something or something has already been done for you) and plain researching to expand your craft and knowledge. 

- Write it down. In witchcraft/paganism, almost everybody is journaling. It’s the best way to keep track of signs, experiences, feelings, omens, knowledge that may pertain to your craft, dreams, anything that might seem important. Many witches have a grimoire or book of shadows where they keep their witchy knowledge stored. These are often very personal, can be online or written by hand, and are entirely unique to you. You don’t need a 50 dollar designer spellbook. My grimoire is almost entirely online and printed out into a binder. You don’t have to be fancy. - Research!! Keep finding white feathers? Look up what that means! You want to give an offering? Look up what nature spirits and specific deities prefer! Make sure you’re knowledgeable about what you do.

- Incorporate what you know and what you’re used to. I grew up in a Polish family in an Eastern Orthodox church. Many of the practices I learned from my family and culture have carried on into my craft. Such as knocking on wood to prevent jinxes, wearing clothes backwards to see spirits and keep them from messing with you, and little cultural tricks like stepping out of a room and asking for lost items to be returned when you can’t find something. Keep it familiar.

That's really all I can think of for now, love. If you have any more questions, just let me know in a relog!!

Top 10 Lines in Palmistry.

Palmistry is an art of reading the hands. It is believed that everyone in this world has a destiny, which can be determined by analyzing the lines, rings and mounts on one’s hand. Out of these, lines and rings on the hand of a person are more important in context with palmistry-

1. Life Line Life line is obviously the most important line that can be found on the hand. By analysing it, one can determine how long will the bearer live and the ups and downs that he will face in his life.  It starts below the mount of Jupiter (below index figure) and passes through the mount of Venus.

2. Head Line Brain is considered to be one of the most important organs of the body and line of head could tell how intelligent is the bearer of the line of head is expected to be. A long and straight line reflects a practical man whereas a curvy line of head means that the person is more creative than practical. It starts below mount of Jupiter and passes straight dividing the palm.

3. Heart Line Line of Heart is situated above the Line of Head and it determines the emotional level of a person. A short line indicates possibility of a heart attack and a complete absence of Line of Heart means that the person has no emotions in him and is likely to be of a criminal nature.

4. Fate Line The line of fate determines the fortune of a person. A straight and unbroken line of fate means that the person will be lucky in this life while a broken line of fate means that the person is likely to see lots of misfortunes during his life.

5. Sun Line Line of sun in situated below the ring finger. It determines the amount of success that a person is likely to attain in his life. A strong line of sun is considered a sign of a successful person.

6. Health Line Line of health is situated below the mount of mercury (under the little finger). It can determine the health of a person and generally, it is considered as a good sign, if this line is light or is not present at all; such a person is expected to live a healthy and ailment free life.

7. Marriage Line It is a small line situated just above the line of heart at the corner of the mount of mercury. One can have one of more line of marriage. The stronger lines represent marriage relationship while the lighter ones reflect affairs. An absence of line of marriage would mean that the person will not get married in this life.

8. Ring of Saturn It is in shape of a half moon and it surrounds the middle finger. The person, who has such a ring, is expected to be of a very serious nature and someone who likes to live alone. Generally, it is not considered a good sign to have such a ring on the hand.

9. Ring of Venus This ring starts from the middle of little finger and ring finger and end in the mid of index finger and middle finger. The bearer of such a ring is likely to be extravagant and is expected to lose his fortune due to this habit.

10. Ring of Sun This ring occupies position below the sun finger or the ring finger. Like other rings, ring of sun too is not considered to be a good sign. The bearer of such a ring is expected to be too proud and egoist in nature.

Source: https://pin.it/4KBWXRG

The broken shore interrupted photographed by Freddie Ardley

“Imagination is a necessary ingredient of perception itself.”

— Immanuel Kant, Critique of Pure Reason