Sitting In Silence

The blackthorn ( bellicum in Latin) is an unlucky tree; villagers in Galmpton and Dittisham, South Devon, still fear "the black rod" carried as a walking stick by local witches, which has the effect of causing miscarriages. When Major Weir, the Covenanter and self-confessed witch, was burned at Edinburgh in April 1670, a blackthorn staff was burned with him as the chief instrument of his sorceries. -Robert Graves in The White Goddess       It was recently brought to my attention that there's a blackthorn tree growing pretty prominently near where I live. It makes itself home growing a few steps away from a bustling sidewalk down by the ocean. He stands with pride, inconspicuous to those not looking for him. Its dark bark blending in the shadows cast by the building that shields it from the weather. In my search for him I walked by twice before he caught my eye, but once i noticed him there was no unseeing this bold tree.     Blackthorn has always bee...

      A while back my mother was dealing with a pesky spirit she called "The Jester." This spirit haunted her mind and often found its way into conversations with my mother. For years of her life she truly felt and endured this spirit haunting her. It followed her from place to place when she moved causing problems for her and occupants she shared the home with.      This went on for so long that it was just part of her everyday life. She became a practicing wiccan and knew how to deal with spirits now in her adult life. Yet this spirit always escaped her grasp. So my mom lived her life with this lingering petulant entity inhabiting her space. She'd tend to her altar and practice, while also working to keep this spirit at bay.     Years of this pass, and I find my footing as an occultist independent of her. My mother asks me to give her a reading, and this Jester being comes up. I saw it lurking in her shadow, almost in her past but...

      A few weeks ago the cemetery provided me some interesting gifts after an intense night of magic. I had raised the spirits of the dead, gave my offerings, closed my ritual space and went home. On my way back home I came upon a long sturdy rope tied to a large metal spike. Sitting in the middle of the cemetery walk way. I quickly threw it in my bag, thanking the spirits of the grave for always taking good care of me, continuing silently went home. Thinking the whole way of how I want to use this new found tool, being inspired by my recent research into land spirits. Once home I tucked the rope away with my other occult objects and went about my days.      A few nights later I returned to the graveyard with the found rope and some of my Serpent oil. I had plans to concentrate this tool to an ophidian spirit I've been working with, and had been having dreams about them slithering through the cemetery. So I felt called to offer this to him. This ...

     Hello, and welcome! I'm starting this blog to have a place to share my thoughts on magic and the occult more publicly, and wanted to introduce myself and what I do. I'm J/Modern Mystic.     First and foremost I am a witch. I traffic and pact with spirits, engage in trance work and spirit flight, and work in ways others might find taboo or malefic. My practice goes where my spirits lead it, as it is very rooted in my animistic beliefs. I strive to see the world through this lens everyday. I utilize and work with my environment closely in my practice, doing my best to use mostly materials scavenged and found. I like to describe my practice as "folk magic with a ceremonial twist" as I employ a lot of ceremonial techniques into my witchcraft. I am very familiar with grimiores such as The Crossed Keys, Book of Oberon, and more within solomonic magic.      In recent years my court of spirits has become a host of local entities encountered...