So this couple walks in- a broad-shouldered man with an accent (Italian, I think) and a man that I can best describe as looking like Cecil Palmer.
“Okay- weird question. So you guys did our wedding- amazing by the way. And it’s been a month and just about all the flowers in the vases have died by now except for this one thing that’s really holding on in there. And we want to know what that plant is and how to take care of it to keep it alive. And we don’t know how to like… describe it and it sounds kind of weird to go to up to a stranger and say ‘hey what’s this weird wiggly green plant you put in our vases a month ago?’ but I guess that’s what I’m asking.”
“Sounds like curly willow. If you keep it in water it will eventually start rooting and you can grow a new plant from it from the cutting.”
“That is too cool! What do you suggest we do?”
“Well, you can keep it in the water for now, but eventually you’ll want to pot it in soil because that’s how it’s going to get its nutrients.”
“Can we,” the Italian guy asks. “Can we plant it in the floor?” I figure he means ‘plant it outside.’
I nod. “It’ll keep growing.”
“What does it look like when it’s bigger? Does it stay like a wiggly stick?”
“Oh, no, it’ll branch out. It’s actually a tree.”
The skinnier one turns to his husband and says:
“Did you hear that, honey? They gave us a tree! We have a tree now!”
Being a green witch (steward of nature or otherwise) often involves practicing in the great outdoors, so here are some ideas for things that are (probably) safe to offer in and to natural spaces.
Important: “Natural spaces”includes much more than wild wilderness. The patch of grass by your bus stop is nature, the hedge along your apartment parking lot is nature, the trees growing in tiny fences surrounded by concrete are nature, and all natural spaces have different needs so be sure to do research on your specific area before anything else!
#1: Non-Physical Offerings
Offerings that literally don’t leave a trace are the best! Here are some ideas:
Music. Play it from your phone, sing, bring an instrument, or use an app like magic piano! Your skill doesn’t matter nearly as much as your intent.
Stories & Poems. You can read aloud or do an improv piece!
Adoration. Your esteem is a valuable gift! Take some time just to express your admiration and appreciation.
#2: Take-Away Offerings
Something that you can present and then take away with you is another great way to make an offering without disturbing the environment or inhabitants. If appropriate, you can destroy the offering in a safe space afterward.
Pictures and Photos can be presented, viewed awhile (stay nearby while waiting), and then removed.
Sculptures, Crystals, and Stones can be offered in a similar way to pictures and photos, you might consider turning or moving the item to display all of its features. For instance, you could hold a crystal to the light so show off the sparkle.
Feathers and Bones can be presented either on their own merit or as a prop for stories about the creatures from which they came.
Water offerings such as sun or moon water or water charged with crystals can be presented in a container and then taken away afterward in cases where pouring it out or leaving it standing could cause problems for local plant, insect, or animal life.
Other items this is a highly variable option, so see the “nope definitely not” list at the bottom of this post if you’re not sure.
#3: Standing Offerings
These are offerings that you leave at the site. They are the riskiest option and I highly recommend you consider a non-physical or take-away offering before any of the suggestions below. If you still think a standing offering is best for your purposes, make sure to thoroughly research the space, including the geology, meteorology, and inhabitants.
Water libations. Clean water can be charged in many ways (moon water, etc.) and then poured out as a sacrificial offering. Be careful to avoid over-watering local plant life or flooding the homes of burrowing animals and insects. Leaving bowls or goblets of water standing can sometimes create environments for harmful and/or invasive bacteria and fungi, as well.
Wood carvings might be all right to leave out if their presence is not obstructing or damaging any part of the natural environment. To avoid this, it is best to make offerings on a naturally-occurring structure such as a stone or stump rather than constructing an altar.
Stones can be painted, polished, or presented as they are. Small stones may become a problem if they are piled up as they altar the way light and rain interact with the plant life beneath the stones, and large stones can disrupt things beneath them like insect or small animal homes or plants that were trying to grow there, so I recommend you restrict stone offerings to pebble-size, and consider making them a take-away offering after a while.
Flower petals are safer than whole flower heads as seeds from the flower’s centre might present an invasive species risk. It might also be offensive to pick the petals from flowers growing in the area, so I recommend you look for acceptable petals that have fallen to the ground, instead.
🚫Nope, definitely not🚫
Some things are pretty much never the best idea. There’s usually a safer way to do it or a less risky alternative. I recommend that you avoid offering:
Food. NEVER leave food as a standing offering. Even as a take-away, the scent and any residue can mess with the hunting/foraging patterns of creatures in the area. Also, you don’t want to attract any dangerous animals to your area while making an offering!
Alcohol. Alcohol is devastating to plants and animals. Even in a container, the risk of accidental spilling is not worth it.
Incense. The strong smell can mess with the hunting/gathering efforts of local wildlife, as well as just being overpowering for their noses, which are much more sensitive than human ones. Spilled oils (especially essential oils) can also be damaging for both plant and animal life.
Bottles and Jars. Nobody likes a litterbug! Try to stick to non-physical, take-away, or quickly biodegradable offerings. Leaving plastic or glass containers out or burying them can be harmful to local life in a lot of ways. Paper is slightly better, but it takes longer to biodegrade than you’d think.
Seeds. This includes things that contain seeds like flowers and berries. Introducing a potentially invasive species can devastate the ecosystem, not to mention that the resulting plant might be toxic for local herbivores, which is especially troubling if you’re introducing a species that they don’t know to avoid.
Fire. This one should be obvious, but it’s going on here just in case. Don’t burn things in nature. Just don’t.
There are n*zis on campus rn and a student brought out like a 1997 boombox and started blasting Taking The Hobbits to Isengard every time they tried to say something.
“Those who do not share our genes -THE HOBBITS THE HOBBITS THE HOBBITS THE HOBBITS – THE MASTER RACE – TO ISENGARD TO ISENGARD – AND I BELIEVE –
THE HOBBITS THE HOBBITS THE-”
Chaotic good
In Jewish tradition, one of our holidays is called Purim. It celebrates the defeat of an antisemitic political advisor to a king who liked to prowl the streets ranting his hatred. Part of the story of Purim involves the people being ranted at inventing a special kind of noisemaker to drown him out.
Basically what I’m saying is this student is following a grand tradition whether they realize it or not and they should be proud.
not only is Purim about drowning out fascists, it’s about doing so in the most absurd and embarrassing ways possible! fascism thrives on an aura of invincibility, and it’s hard to hold onto that when people keep making farting sounds every time you open your mouth
so really, weaponized memes are PERFECTLY in keeping with the Purim spirit
*slams fist on table* NOW THIS is the kind of religious/cultural tradition I can get behind!
So, today we’re going to talk about a slightly more obscure tool: the witch’s ladder. There’s some debate as to whether or not this was a commonly used tool in older European traditions of witchcraft. In the late 1870’s a witch’s ladder, along with a collection of brooms, was found in the attic of a recently deceased woman in Somerset, sparking suspicions of witchcraft. Unfortunately, it’s not actually known whether or not this object was really used in witchcraft or how widespread the use may have been if it was. More on the history of these tools can be found here.
Now, what is a witch’s ladder? It’s a type of knot talisman made by inserting small objects into a length of cord, traditionally rooster feathers and sometimes small bones were used but you can use locks of hair, teeth, beads, sticks, leaves, seashells or pretty much anything that works for your practice.
Originally, it’s thought that they were used to curse but their uses in modern practices are endless. I’ll be making one to protect my house and create easier communication with the Other Realms.
How to Make a Witches Ladder
Ok, to start us off we need a few supplies. There are three main things that I’m using.
First is the cord, feel free to use whatever material you like. When I’m doing work like this I prefer to use regular old kitchen twine. It’s sturdy and not overly processed. You could use yarn, thread, rope, sinew or ribbon as well though.
The second thing that I’ll be using is a couple of small bones, I’m using six because I like working with multiples of three.
Finally, the feathers. These are brown mourning dove feathers; I’m using these as opposed to another type of feather because they’re good for communicating with Spirit and for fostering awareness.
I would like to mention here that while handy in the craft, collecting bones and feathers that you find can be illegal.Most birds are protected species and regardless of whether you found the feathers or ripped them off of the bird yourself, possessing them is illegal. Be sure to check the laws in your area. This problem can usually be solved by writing a letter to the appropriate wildlife officials asking for permission to pick up specific types of bird feathers for a collection. Once written permission is obtained it only has to be kept with the feathers to avoid any ramifications. Of course, if you’re not going to be waving about rare bird feathers in the town square this is probably unnecessary.
As I said, you can replace bones or feathers with whatever you like. Use Barbie arms if that’s what floats your boat. I usually use nine items in mine and the traditional number would be thirteen but feel free to adjust this to fit your needs.
Another optional material would be a metal ring, you can tie the ladder to this and use that to hang it from a hook on the ceiling or something if you like. I’ll just be using a thumbtack.
As always prep yourself and your workspace however you prefer. Cast a circle, take a ritual bath, light some incense, maybe put on some music. Consecrate your supplies and get to work.
The creation of a witch’s ladder is surprisingly simple and quick. Take your cord and cut three equal lengths. How long you make it is up to you, for example, I like each length to be from the fingertips of my left hand to my heart in length. Tie the ends together, if you are using a metal ring, tie it to the ring; otherwise just an overhand knot on the end does the trick.
Start braiding, for this one I used your typical three-strand braid but you could add and subtract cords and use rope braids, fishtail braids or five strand braids as well. As you braid begin adding in your objects. I don’t do anything special, I just keep braiding as usual while adding my feathers and stuff in between two strands. Here’s a close-up of my ladder partially finished.
I spread mine out semi-evenly along the length of the cord, if you’re a stickler about getting things even then make sure you remember that you’ll lose about a third of the cord length in the process of braiding.
As you add each item to the ladder spend a few moments to state your intention or meditate on the purpose of your spell. I kind of just spend the entire time I’m making the ladder talking to it and telling it what I would like of it. You could also use the traditional nine knot spell if incantations are your thing. I find them too constricting for my practice but for those of you who prefer more ritualized working here it is
“By knot of one, the spell is begun
By knot of two, it cometh true
By knot of three, so mote it be
By knot of four, the open door
By knot of five, it comes alive
By knot of six, the spell is fixed
By knot of seven, it has the power of heaven
By knot of eight, the open gate
By knot of nine, it is mine”
After all of your items are in place you need to finish your cord. You can just tie a knot in it and either trim the excess cord or let it hang there, or you can add something to the end as a sort of weight, bells are a common choice. Feel free to let it charge in the light of the moon or sun if you like.
Once it’s completely done take it and hang it somewhere, I like to have them on my porch but hanging it in your room or kitchen works as well. If the spell is more malicious I’d suggest hiding it away somewhere close to your target instead of hanging it.
Here’s my finished ladder, hanging out on my porch.
A few ideas for uses of these lovely tools:
Warding magic – Use to create a “Do Not Enter” sign for unfriendly energies. The ladder conveys the meaning that those who would harm are unwelcome.
Attraction magic – Use it to attract people, familiars, ideas, mindsets, jobs, circumstances, luck, etc. into your life
Binding the thirteen moons of the year – This is a method used to harness the power of the thirteen full moons of the year, allowing you to perform weather magic and nature magic more easily and opening the doorway to the Other Realms.
Traveling – Ladders can be used as a gate into the Other Realms. An actual “ladder” for your spirit to climb up into various planes
Natural magic – You can use items related to the branch of nature that you work with. For me it’s trees but perhaps you work with the ocean, mountains, forests, animals, insects, and so on.
Wish magic – You can use rolled up slips of paper or pressed leaves and make a ladder with them, writing your wish on each one. As the ladder is slowly destroyed by the elements, your wish comes true.
Divination – I’ll need to make a full post about this if anyone is interested, it’s a tad complicated
Worship – You could use a witches ladder as an offering to a deity, perhaps as a nine day devotional where you tie in an offering every day and ending with hanging it on the last day
Curses – and of course, witches ladders can be used to curse.
As usual, if anyone has any questions or would like me to make a follow up post on anything I’ve mentioned here, let me know!
I work at UPS and sometimes broomsticks come down without packing around them, my male coworkers pick it up and yell “Hey, Jessica! Your ride came in!”
Heatherwitch 