Oh I’m totally fine with answering most asks about my chronic illness, as long as it isn’t something that’s excessively personal!
As a whole, the United States does acknowledge that Lyme Disease is a thing you can get here, and that it can get to a stage where it’s chronic. It often is called “Post-Treatment Lyme Disease”, which is semi-inaccurate because it only applies to the people who got antibiotics for Lyme in the first few weeks of having it and didn’t successfully get rid of it, so it became chronic. Many of us weren’t aware of/didn’t present the early symptoms so we never got antibiotics.
That being said, just because they believe you can get it in this country does not mean they’re good at believing you, diagnosing you or treating you. The CDC has ridiculously overstrict criteria for diagnosis and many people simply can’t fit that. Even if they have Lyme. Apparently the person who wrote the criteria didn’t believe in chronic Lyme. (But it’s certainly better than having to travel to other countries to find someone who will take you seriously, which is ridiculous…)
I saw many, many, many doctors who refused to test me for Lyme because I never presented the bullseye rash. Others tested me but ran the tests that would always provide negatives because they don’t actually test everything they need to. It was only when I started seeing a naturopath that she actually ran some of the right tests to show that I had a bunch of co-infections that are extremely common with Lyme, and we both agreed that the symptoms fit. It took me going to a Lyme specialist naturopath to get the official diagnosis (this May, years after fighting for a diagnosis!) which even fits the ridiculous CDC criteria so there’s no way anyone can say I don’t have it!
So, Western Med doctors completely failed me, and naturopaths believed me and caught the infections when it was nearly too late. I’m not saying that all Western Medicine docs are bad, but I’ve yet to find one in my area that’s decently educated on Lyme Disease. And that terrifies me, because Lyme is becoming so prominent in the states that people are calling it the next epidemic and people deserve to be believed in and properly treated.
So I’m not sure if this is an actual already established thing, but I do this true-self revelation every once in a while using a small mirror, and myself. This is purely my experience so if you’ve tried something similar, or have heard about this, go ahead and share it!
What you’ll need:
A cleansing incense or oil to diffuse through the air – I love lavender essential oil for this. I feel that having a protected, clean space is an important part of this ritual.
A dimly lit room
A ward for protection from any entities that may be around the mirror – I personally believe that regular mirrors can act as doorways when used and stimulated with metaphysical energy. However, these doorways are not necessarily to a spirit realm, and may be directly related to an inner sense of self or personal astral space. The ward is there for me as a “just in case” kind of thing.
A small mirror – pocket mirrors are fine, as are hand held mirrors
I cleanse the mirror I am planning on using beforehand to get rid of any conflicting energy or blurring properties it may have picked up. I then set up my essential oil diffuser, dim the lights, and hold my ward behind the mirror I am using.
To do the ritual, you’ll need to settle down into a comfortable position. Get to somewhere you’ll be able to hold a mirror up for a while. I find that couches, chairs, and my bed are good spots for me, personally.
When you’ve found a nice place to do this, hold the mirror up to one or both of your eyes (I typically choose my left eye, since I’m left handed, but I honestly don’t think it matters) and say a quick chant. I used:
“Mirror reflect, and mirror be,
You reveal what lies in me.
Show my soul, my spirit’s truth,
Remove the facade of my youth.
I open my eyes to see within,
Past bone and breath and heart and skin.
Similar to scrying, you then gaze at the reflection. Concentrate on your eye(s) and the things that live behind them. Begin pulling the mirror back, farther from your face until you can see your full head, maybe parts of your shoulders. Try not to break your focus on your eyes. Slowly, the image may become distorted, change, or reveal things on your face/around you. Record them as soon as your finished for interpretation.
When you feel like you’ve gathered enough information, slowly lower the mirror so that it is face down and take a few deep breaths. I added a step a while ago to ensure it’s closed; take your finger, and visualize a key forming on the end of it, fueled by your energy. Circle the back of the mirror as if you are locking the door. Do the same to the front of the mirror. Write down what you saw, as well as any other sensations you felt/heard/smelled/etc., and interpret the symbolism or literal meanings of your session.
I’ve gathered a lot of information about myself from this, including character flaws, inner fears, and things I am unaware of. It’s quite useful, but I also find that I often feel ungrounded and drained afterwards, so take care of yourself if you do this! I recommend an energy bath ritual, which you can find here.
Ooh great question! Astrology is one of those things that requires so much base research and memorization that I never put the effort in, and don’t pay super close attention to. So I went through my astrology tag on my blog and found some of the OPs of posts I’ve reblogged in the past:
I’d HIGHLY recommend searching through the astrology tags on tumblr, there’s so many wonderful, dedicated blogs out there! There’s also a lot of helpful posts in the tag: #astrology basics. Hope this gives you a good starting point ❤
(I also welcome astrology blogs to comment/promote themselves on this post!)
And apologies to all my mutuals who I forgot post about astrology! My memory is a piece of crap sometimes!
Sometimes you need some magic, and you need to perform it in a hurry.
~ Into candle magic, but don’t have time to let an entire one burn down? Light a match. Birthday candles are pretty quick, too.
~ Pick out an appropriate stone to carry with you. Need some luck? Grab a piece of agate or citrine. Protection? Hematite, tiger’s eye, tourmaline, and onyx, baby.
~ Improv a quick chant. I’m quite fond of variations on ‘work, you fucking fuckfuck, work.’
~ Energy work, if you have the extra concentration to spare. This can go very quickly and is so versatile.
~ If you’ve got enough time for a shower, pick out a shower gel/soap/oil/aromatherapy disc to help give you a boost.
~ Salt forever. Powders if you have ‘em all ready to go. (Try cocoa powder for a love boost, cinnamon for a punch of protection, sugar to sweeten someone’s disposition, cayenne for something with bite.)
~ Pick out your makeup for its purpose and color. (Everybody says draw sigils in concealer, but that’s predicated on having one already made and ready to go.) Try weaving glamours into your foundation, clarity and true-seeing in your mascara, authority in your lipstick. Red lends power to your words. Pink offers charm.
~ Slip a charm in your shoe. Write your wishes on bay leaves.
~ Tie charms and chants (as simple as an incantation, as fancy as intricate beadwork) into pieces of colored string and tie them around your ankles.
~ Slap an appropriate tarot card in your book/planner/bag/whatever to give you a burst of energy for whatever you picked it for.
~ A note on sigils: sometimes these are quick to whip out, sometimes they can take ages to refine. If you have one ready to go, or are able to make one really quickly, try plugging in your phone and leaving the sigil on it while it’s charging to lend that charge to your spellwork.
~ When you have time/energy/resources next, do prep work in advance that can be quickly activated. House wards, money spell packets, don’t-notice-me charms, whatever you need.
im in philosophy and were talking about how you can doubt everything’s existence except for your own consciousness and the guy that sits in front of me just turns around tears streaming down his face and goes “i am on so many drugs”
Heatherwitch 