Horrorton Writes a Book

As someone who has seen both sides of the tracks when it comes to mental and physical health, I repeatedly come across these sorts of questions in the many witchcraft or spiritually related groups on social media. People always want to know an herbal remedy or spell that will fix what ails them. While the thought behind it is admirable, I also have a huge problem with this sort of mindset. Magick is supposed to be a tool for manipulating energy to bring about change. Generally the goal for this change is positive, though I won't speak for everyone. Herbal magick and remedies are slow magick, sometimes making the problem worse before it gets better, and is meant to go along with a supported life style of self care and applied herbalism. Its a goal that's beautiful, but not always feasible. Sometimes, you need something quicker. Sometimes you need something to help get you to a place of balance where you can be receptive to the kinds of magickal workings that are helpful...

You can see it around the edges. It starts with a few yellow leaves, falling lazily on the light breeze. Your flowers reaching their peak, some beginning to brown on the edges. The weather turns to more rain, and perhaps a bit more stormy, but you can feel it now. You can smell it in the air. This intriguing time on the tail end of summer, and coming up on Halloween or Samhain season is one of my favorites. Not just because it brings about a fervor for my favorite genre of books and movies (beloved Horror!) and not even because this season seems to bring out an acceptance of comfort seeking behaviors; and lord knows I love being comfy. This time of year is a convergence season. Its a time when the living and the dead start to seep into each other, not quite all one or the other. For many, summer has lost its appeal and they yearn to begin the journey back inside themselves; to hermit themselves for more reflection of the past few months of events. September is the season to ha...

There are a lot of things at play this summer. The political climate has been disastrous at best, five planets are in retrograde, Blood moon and lunar eclipse have some in a tizzy, extreme heat and wild fires have been continuous, and it seems like things are just about falling apart.  Most of the people I've spoken to and read for in the recent months all say much of the same thing. Things are busting at the seams, the chaos threatening to spill out and taint the last stitch of control we think we have. Everyone wants a change, but everyone is terrified of chaos that it takes to get there. The Tower has been popping up in most of my readings for clients, and the imagery in my day to day life has been so serendipitous that its been hard to ignore. No one thinks they want The Tower, but its vital to the beginning of a new cycle. Wild fires cause tremendous damage, burning most everything in their path right down to the base. Things are laid naked, cracked, burned, and emp...

If you've followed me on Facebook or Instagram, you've probably seen my more recent Intention Candles, one of which was for The Morrigan. I'd toyed with the idea before, and would find reasons why I couldn't complete this project that keep popping up in my head. All sorts of excuses, any reason to tuck it back down; all the reasons why my ingredients or ritual ideas weren't 'enough' for her.  As a naturally impulsive person, I had to wonder at my own subconscious. Why couldn't I just do it? What was stopping me from pulling the trigger on a creation that nagged at me every cycle of the moon? I had to examine myself pretty closely, and I realized that I was afraid. This was puzzling to me. I was trying to pinpoint exactly what I was afraid of- was it the Goddess herself? Perhaps. Was it the severity of the kind of ritual work done with her? Also a possibility. Was I feeling like my offerings to her were not enticing enough to properly invoke ...

As part of my practice, every day I pull a few cards. Some days I mix decks, some days I pull multiple from the same. Today my pull was very direct. Its the kind of message you can't misinterpret. They are calling upon me to practice RADICAL self love. The kind that sweeps you off your feet and takes your breath away. The kind that makes your eyes starry and your cheeks flushed. The most difficult kind to practice within yourself.  My weight has been on my mind lately, and my unhappiness with my physical appearance. Its been a long road towards self confidence for me on a personal level. I have always struggled with my self image, and for the longest time I absolutely hated myself. I don't use that term lightly. I despised myself on a deep, uncomfortable level. This manifested itself in unhealthy ways in my youth; drugs, self-harm, dangerous behavior, suicide attempts, etc.  For the past 10 years I have been working extremely hard to heal this part of myself. Some year...

When I first started working on this post, my interest was in Mugwort and its historical uses. I read through scads of ancient texts regarding the effects specific to women, which led to the texts on the more hallucinogenic and ecstatic sleep  properties, which led me further into records of use in the Bible, including by John the Baptist.  This struck something within me, and I crawled further down the rabbit hole.  Mugwort (Artemisia Vulgaris) was named after Artemis who, at first glance is known as a Greek goddess and patron of women. Its considered a sacred herb by the Anglo Saxons, used by countless pagans as a protection herb to be thrown in celebratory fires (as well as a treatment for pests), and as I mentioned earlier, even worn by John the Baptist during his woodland escapades for enlightenment.  12 th century texts describe Mugwort as a menstrual tonic that can be used to expel dead fetal tissue from miscarriages, and help safely abort ...

No doubt if you know anything about Mercury Retrograde, you've read it all; the good, the bad, and the ugly horror stories popping up in your feeds. This particular retrograde is coupled with the Jupiter retrograde can increase the general malaise that accompanies those familiar with Mercury Retrograde in that people feel a little more doom and gloom than normal. You may hear an increase of people feeling like luck is no longer on their side; even that God is no longer listening to them. Everything seems blown out of proportion, people lose sight of the big picture- and all this on top of the regular hitches in communication, travel delays and mechanical malfunctions that seem to run rampant during the season. Jupiter intensifies all of this, and the retrograde in Scorpio hits people right in the feels. Its big, emotional, taboo, mysterious and intimate. Secrets will come out, and be misunderstood. All of the toxic habits and emotions will begin to rise to our surface, demandi...