Here are some simple ideas to get your feet wet in areas of death witchcraft. This isn’t intended to be a Death Witchcraft 101 list, but more for general persons who are interested to incorporate some simple exploration.
Grave-tending or exploration: find a nearby graveyard and walk it, respectfully looking at the tombstones and picking up debris or clearing weeds. You can include offerings if it strikes you, but the acknowledgement of the cemetery itself and cleaning of it is truly an offering in itself.
Create an ancestor/relatives shrine: in this day and age I know many don’t necessarily have a bunch of deceased relatives they’re comfortable with inviting communication with. Feel free to choose ancestors that resonate with you by researching their life. Personal heroes, local heroes, and heroes of a cause personal to you are particularly good ones to go for. Create a simple space for them with items or pictures that make you think of them. You can also include things you associate with the cycle of life and death (animal and plant remains, statues or figurines relating to death, skull and afterlife art, etc.) You can either try to hone your spirit communication by communicating directly with the ancestors of the shrine, or if that is uncomfortable; just leave offerings and letters without opening yourself to spirits directly. Either is perfectly acceptable for death witchcraft- spirit working is not a prerequisite.
Volunteer for or research death related industries: hospice, hospitals, assisted living, death doulas, morticians, forensic sciences, end of life planning, etc. Confronting death in a direct way like this is important to being sincere in your exploration of death and related practice.
Preserve and dry your own herbs and plants: a simple way to experience decay and death in your own home and also something useful in your practice in other ways. Be aware of any danger to pets and children; don’t place toxic plants in their reach while they are drying. Store in jars or sealed containers once completely dried. Mark with their jarred date so you can know when they’ve expired (especially if for internal or topical uses).
Crafts relating to afterlife: crafts made of bones and remains, photography of abandoned or decaying locations, paintings of afterlife related images, headstone rubbings or memento mori journals, stories and poetry relating to death and the beyond. Even just recycling objects and clothes into something new is an extension of the cycle of life and death!
Some find artistically expressing their exploration of death particularly cathartic, but it can be intense. Don’t feel ashamed if you start a project and have to step back. Stay safe mentally, emotionally, and physically in your death exploration!
Vulture Culture: a particularly hands on way to explore death and its cycle. You can keep it simple and just deal with cleaned pieces you purchase/obtain and honor. If you do feel called to explore the collection and preservation of remains from start to finish, make sure you research methods and supplies beforehand. You will need a well ventilated “vulturing spot” for things like rot pots or a maceration tubs.
Low Spoon/Subtle ideas:
Visit a Natural History or art museum and just wander and explore peacefully. Feel free to bring non-witchy friends and family! You don’t have to say why you’re specifically picking this kind of museum.
Watch TV shows relating to forensics and academic death work. Or you can even ease into it by watching fictional shows as well, just take the process with a grain of salt 😉
Read myths and cultural practices that are related to the cycle of life and death.
Browse through articles or a blog like this one: http://www.thepostmortempost.com that examines aspects of death in an academic sense
All my death witch followers and friends are welcomed to add additional thoughts and ideas in reblogs!
A/n: I really enjoyed writing this! Thanks @lexi-j-t for requesting this – oh, and if you guys have any requests, please send them my way!!! This is so fucking long!!!!Not edited, sorry
It all started in fifth year, when Sirius Black first recognized you
He was infatuated by your beauty
He was surprised that he noticed you just now
Perfect.
Perfect is the word that first came to mind when he first saw your face
He loved everything about you, whether it was your ravishingly good looks, or your hilarious sense of humor, he was hooked
He couldn’t get enough of you
He would stare at you from a distance which surprised his friends
I mean he is Sirius Black after all
He could look at any person, hypnotizing them with his good looks, making them fall to their knees, begging for just one kiss
When you first officially talked to each other, it was during potions
You were paired together
Sirius was ecstatic
He introduced himself with the signature Sirius Black smirk
To say you were internally exploding is an understatement
You knew about his reputation
That is why even though you were immensely attracted to him, you tried your best to hide it behind a flirtatious smile
Ever since then, it has always been back and forth flirting between the two of you
That is until he invited you to his birthday party in the Gryffindor common room, where you both got really drunk and shagged
You woke up with a killer headache and a passed out Sirius cuddled to your side
Panic.
That’s what you felt
You didn’t want to be a name in his long list, so you got dressed really fast and went back to your dorm
What you didn’t know though, is that Sirius was awake
And now heartbroken
Next day, you both acted as if nothing happened
You were both waiting for the other to talk about the elephant in the room
Spoiler alert: no one did
You were both miserable
Sulking around to your friends, but acting as if everything is fine when you’re in each other’s presence
One day, you overheard James, Remus, and Sirius talking in the library in hushed voices
Your intention wasn’t to eavesdrop, but you had to when your name was brought up in the conversation
‘You have to tell her, mate’
‘She doesn’t like me that way. I mean have you seen the way (she/he) looks at Andrew, she definitely likes him’
‘You are so fucking oblivious’
‘I know nothing about (women/love??) and can clearly tell she likes you’
Fuck
They knew
Was it obvious
Of course not!
It’s not like you stare at him in the great hall
Or blush when his hand ‘accidentally’ touches yours
You were fucked
Until you heard Sirius say something you’ve been dying to hear him say since the beginning of the year
‘I mean I like her very much, I’ve never felt that way about any one before!’
You were going crazy
He likes you
Sirius Black likes you
You didn’t know what to do, so you left the library
Until you knocked down a book and suddenly all eyes were on you
‘Y/n! Please tell me you didn’t hear that’
You left
More like ran
You ran like you never did before
And it scared Sirius, he definitely thought that he blew away any chances we might’ve had with you
Little does he know, it’s the complete opposite
A few days had passed with you trying your absolute best to avoid him
Considering you still haven’t bumped into him, you were succeeding
Sirius needed to talk to you, he needed to fix things
We would accept being friends with you, he just needed you in his life
He used the map to try and see your location within the castle
The astronomy tower
Climbing up the long stairs, Sirius saw you sitting on a bench look at the breathtaking view of the mountains
But his was you
It was golden hour: the sun was highlighting your face while the wind was blowing your hair
You looked angelic
You heard shuffling behind you, but you didn’t turn around, simply because you knew it was him
You were tired of hiding, you just wanted him and he did you, so why were you wasting your time hiding when you could be wrapped up in his arms
He sat down beside you, contemplating on what to do or say next
You decided to break the ice
‘Sirius’
‘Y/n’
You both laughed
‘I’m sorry’
‘Sirius’
‘No! Listen, I know it’ll be awkward now an-‘
You silenced him in the best way you could think of: a kiss
Finally
You finally felt his soft lips on yours, and it’s better that anything you could’ve have ever imagined
To your surprise, he was gentle
He was cradling your face in his hands, while yours were in his hair
Wow! Okay
Dating Sirius Black
He is a gentleman
Holding your bag, carrying your books, opening doors to you, standing up when you enter the room are some of the many gentelmany?? things he does for you
Loves having his hands on your thighs
It assured him that you’re there, and that you’ll never abandon him like some people
He is such a tease
He loves teasing you in class or in the great hall
But his favorite, is when he teases you in the Three Broomsticks, under the table when your friends are there
When you tease him back, you get punished 😉
That’s essentially why you do it
He definitely has a daddy kink
‘Tell daddy what you want’
‘Cum for daddy’
Best Sex Ever!
I got carried away and hit the number limit, so I’ll be writing a part 2! Do you want me to tag you?? Tell me in the comments or message me
While you are worrying about whether beta readers will steal your ideas, there is a more genuine threat on the horizon.
When offered a publishing contract, please do all your research before you sign. There are a number of fakes and scammers out there, as well as good-intentioned amateurs that don’t know how to get your work to a wide audience. I won’t tell the heartbreaking stories here – there are too many.
Being published badly is worse than being never published.
It can destroy your career and your dreams.
The quick check is to google the publishing house name + scam or warning.
But, to be sure, check with these places first. They aren’t infallible (nothing is) but they can help you protect yourself. They are written and maintained by expereinced writers, editors, publishers and legal folks.
This is really important, so if you are a writer or have writer friends, or you are a writing blog, please reblog it.
Just to let you know, PublishAmerica changed their name to America Star Books.
HEAD’S UP, WRITER TYPES: THIS IS AN IMPORTANT PSA!
Also applies to many so-called freelance sites that are just content mills, and may not pay unless your work is used, even if the contract seems designed otherwise.
Listen, reading these is like legit reading horror stories. When it comes to publishing your writing, always, always, ALWAYS do your research. Not only will it help you avoid scams, but it will also be likely to help you land a much better fit for an agent/publisher/whatever. Knowing more is never going to hurt.
Omg!!! Thanks for the warning! Writers— reblog!
I’ve heard stories like this that are scarier than horror stories. This is an all time worst nightmare for a writer. Everyone reblog and make sure you keep your work safe!
Reblogging again for the links. Also check pred-ed.com and the Absolute Write forum. Then google Publisher’s name + scam and see what comes up. Do NOT use the BBB ratings, they are wholly unsuitable for rating publishers and regularly give A ratings to well-known publishing scams. You can also read my own post on publishing scams, have a link on the left of my blog ( can’t link here, I’m on mobile, sorry).
Equally important to know is that you can SELF-PUBLISH through a number of platforms these days. @ean-amhran and I used Amazon’s CreateSpace and Kindle Direct Publishing to publish both of our books. No editors, no contracts, no finagling with publishers who want to change your materials. Just direct-to-market material.
(Granted, it means you’ve got to do a LOT more work yourself with editing and formatting and cover art, but it’s worth it to miss the headache of trying to bargain with publishing houses or avoid scams.)
Be vigilant, fellow writers!
If you choose to self publish then HAVE A PLAN and think things through.
And hire an editor. Please, for the love of all that is holy, hire an editor. It’s expensive, but you will get a better book out, a better reputation…
If you’re going to publish electronically, make sure you also get someone who can LAY AN EBOOK OUT PROPERLY.
I have spent money on Kindle books, many of them reprints of older works, whose formatting is so messed up as to render them unreadable.
I actually recommend using the Smashwords Style Guide even if you don’t use Smashwords.
It lays out how to neatly format an e-book in a wonderful step by step format, and you can get it free from Smashwords. Just leave off the couple of things that are (very obviously) Smashwords specific.
If you can’t stand dealing with the meticulous detail, then by all means hire somebody, but most people can learn to format an ebook correctly and once you’ve done it a couple of times it takes about an hour tops.
Because the redirects aren’t working for me, I’m going to assume others might have trouble with these links, so for those who need it the URL for the website to Writer Beware is:
These are not publishers’ guilds, notice; you sometimes see scammers trying to defend themselves against Writer Beware exposes by claiming that they’re “small press” or “indie” and Big Publishing is somehow out to get them – but all of those guilds are run by and for writers, to help support them and represent them in the field. It is the closest writers have to having unions, and there’s no direct competition between them (you could literally be an in any of those guilds are the same time as each other, in addition to others, and I believe a number of authors are).
Writer Beware is a wonderful resource, and I highly recommend it. It’s both a good general guide to the scams people run/red flags to watch out for (such as giving up your copyright entirely as opposed to specific rights, or being charged to publish something or have it edited, when they’re trying to act like they’re a “normal” publisher), and a frequently-updated list of the latest specific known scammers, both in “fake agents” and fake/scammy publishers categories. (The company formerly known as Publish America is one of the most famous and egregious cases, but by far not the only one)
Additionally, for SF and fantasy writers, the SFWA’s own list of qualifying markets that one can be published in as a prerequisite to be able to get into their guild (remember, it IS a profession-based guild), is a great guide to normal markets for those genres that have standard contracts that aren’t abusive or scammy, and their guidelines include some of the industry-standard minimums for “per word” etc rates, so even if some new magazine market isn’t on their list, you can tell if it’s suspiciously far outside the usual per-word or whatnot standards. (It’s likely the guidelines for Mystery Writers of America etc also would be useful in that vein)
Even if you’re unpublished or don’t want to join their guild, they’re a wonderful group and resource, and I highly recommend their site and Writer Beware in particular!
The other sites mentioned above, such as “Preditors and Editors” should be still valid if you Google them, and are often rec’d by Writer Beware, but Writer Beware is the one I’m most familiar with. 🙂
Also, you should never have to pay an agent or anyone a “reading fee”! DO NOT PAY PEOPLE TO READ YOUR WORK!!! Run away from so-called agents that charge a reading fee! They are considered unethical in their own industry!
Also related to agents: Should you go this route and seek one, DO NOT PAY ONE DIME TO THEM upfront! A real agent only gets paid when he sells your book to a publisher! The average cut is about 10-15% of the first sale profits, if I remember right, with cuts of film and other rights maybe being more, when sold. At most, writers should only be responsible for the costs of phone calls and postage.
do you want to know something?? I always wondered what the hell kind of hairstyle the Ancient Egyptians were trying to portray with depictions like these
and this
until I did my hair this morning and
oh
welp
you can take the noses off our statues but until you find a way to take Egypt out of Africa we’re still going to find ourselves
I’m reblogging this post without all the salty, racist commentary because I’m sick of looking at it. please spread this around again in its pure form for posterity.
What’s funny is that white people thought they were hats/crowns 😂
And here’s some pictures of the Afar people, who still live on the horn of Africa today.
Cool, huh?
Beautiful
People thought it was Hats and Crowns? How could they not see hair?
The same reason archaeologists, upon finding a woman’s skeleton in the grave of a famous Roman gladiator, immediately wondered where the gladiator’s skeleton was: Old Straight White Man™ brand denial.
Same way they denied the Really Gay Egyptian Tomb, too. It’s kind of a Thing.
This post is amazing, I’m so glad it exists. I have learned.
There is so much greatness in this post and all white people care about is defending why they thought the depictions are hats. White people??? Why are you like this???
I’m salty as fuck that we were taught they were crowns at SCHOOL. For Christ sake.
Pansexual Monster Girl 