Author: TheLiminalMarket
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Witchcraft Spring Pathwork Planning and Art Share
Spring energy I am working with this year: Emergence, Transformation, and Evolution.
Examples: Sprouting buds using their stored energy to come into bloom.
A caterpillar transforming within a cocoon cocktail and emerging into the world as butterfly.
Spring, although a beautiful season, is not necessarily as easy one. All that oomph to manifest big changes needs to come from somewhere. And *gestures broadly at the world* that energy has been a little hard to find these days. So, in line with my work for the Momentum sigil, I’m cultivating my own oomph. This has stemmed into several project scribble lists and the challenge of saying yes. As an Earth sign, I tend to fall into comfortable rhythm with ease. I quickly become very grounded in routine so to shake things up and balance out a little, I say yes to challenging boundaries that no longer serve during this season. Taking the necessary time to shed what is no longer needed and pushing myself to try new things.
I hate Zoom calls with cameras but signed up for a poetry workshop with them anyway. It was WONDERFUL.
I’m working on adding more mediums to the site. Stepping into more digital forms of creation and expression which is not my specialty but I’m having so much fun designing and writing scripts that this challenge feels possible. I couldn’t say that a month ago.
I’m forcing myself to emerge, experience new things, and rid myself of useless boundaries that hold me back rather than propel me forward. Leaving the reflection and solitude of Winter behind and stepping into the exciting uncertainty of Spring and trusting that I know what I’m doing.
To close, I wanted to share some Tarot art that I made to aid in this work. As of now, we are about mid-Taurus season which is the zodiac home of the Hierophant. An authority who attempts to hold grip over others using tradition, institution, and expectations. This card is also a calling to find faith in yourself and becoming your own authority. In the collage piece I symbolize my power, seizing yes, and to not be silent.
When the Earth, the Tarot, and Spring ask you to grow in these coming months, what blooms for you? What are you being called to pursue and challenge for yourself?
Happy growing. -
Momentum
Chaos — the firmly established par for the course of 2022. These last weeks have been a charged time of flux, personally and globally. News of war looming in the headlines, police brutality still alive and well, the constantly evolving Covid situation, legislative warfare against LGBTQ+ rights and abortion rights, and personal concerns of illness and death in my family, I became overwhelmed. The weight of everything, close and far, had begun to take its toll until I felt stagnant and stuck. What is one to do in these times? So many issues on so many fronts with no sign of slowing, how do you keep moving forward? One step at a time.
With this challenge in mind, I created a new sigil to help myself process and shadow work all this. It wasn’t the only tool in my healing, but it certainly helped. I’m providing it here in case it may be of help to others struggling as well.
This Momentum sigil is to be used when you feel stuck and need help out of a rut. Any steps forward you take, no matter how small, count. This sigil works to bolster and empower these steps, and the energy they create, to propel you forward. Do the work and you shall be rewarded type of deal. And I say this with emphasis, sigils are tools and not total solutions. If you don’t do the work, you won’t get the assistance.
One step. Simple yet sometimes complicated.
I wish you the Momentum to carry you forward and through.
*The sigil is charged and ready for use. If shared, please give creation credit back to the site. Thank you!
An oldie but a goodie: Here’s a mixed media piece I made 9 years ago. I thought it fit so here you go.
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Feline Fandom Collection: Part 2
As is now customary, to wind down I draw cats. This one is a punk twist of a classic character favorite that I still happily re-watch, The Pink Panther.
Punk Panther says, “Hello.”
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Death Witch Path, Practice, and Plan
The Timeline
I present to you my Death Witch journey thus far. I chose this format rather than going in depth for each of these experiences all at once because I wanted to walk my path backward from present day to the origin that started my interest in death and my witchcraft in death work. I wanted to highlight what events shifted my focus to this work and my inspirations for claiming it as sacred and necessary today.
My path begins with a personal near-death experience, sprinkled with paranormal happenings throughout and profoundly shifted further along by deaths at my workplace and those of my loved ones. All of these sparked my journey in the search for appropriate ways to honor them in life and in death. A journey that became so important to me that it cemented itself in my spirituality and in the very essence of the deities I work alongside. I believe that having a space, a practice and assistance in the processing of the various stages of death is invaluable and should be accessible to those who want it.Current Death Witch practice
Providing in person death work services in an immunocompromised household, however, is currently an impossibility and leaves me to consider what I can do from home right now. What is my practice like when I can’t be an in-person advocate?
Home based death work in pandemic times brings with it all my usual work of honoring ancestors, providing ghost 101 info when friends need the help, volunteering aid to those who have passed and their families from afar, but it also carries with it the weight of so much unknown death. So many people lost behind the fluctuating numbers on the screen. People whom we will never know but with the knowledge of that loss comes the work of having to acknowledge and process the massive death toll in the wake of these last couple years. Recognizing this work is needed in the global community now more than ever has made me want to introduce my Death Witch work in preparation of offering my services to the public via distance methods in the future. These methods won’t encapsulate all the possibilities of death work that I am capable of but rather what I feel comfortable offering from afar without overstepping the boundaries of services that are best provided in person.
In summary, I’m not talking out of my ass. This work is important to me, and I believe it needs addressing so I plan on doing just that. Some options will be paid products and others will be free resources, blogs, and other fun formats that I haven’t thought of yet where we can discuss this topic and its varying complexity.
So, here’s to next steps. I hope you’re prepared to do the work with me. -
From the Scraps and the Void – Chapbook announcement
I am very excited to share that my first self-published collection of poems, From the Scraps and the Void, is now available! This anthology of Found poetry is a compilation of magazine scraps and words floating in a void of ink to showcase the idea and the journey of finding poetry, messages, and beauty in discarded publications and recycled materials. While this project sped up during the pandemic, it has been at least 8 years in the making and it’s wonderful to finally see them all bound together and free from the depths of their folder. I hope this collection makes you find curiosity in scraps around your home and that you are brave enough to search for what hidden messages they may have for you as well.
Happy hunting!
You can purchase From the Scraps and the Void now on blurb and on my shop for a limited time.
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For Lokean Listeners: Recommendation and Announcement
For those who walk a path with Loki, I would like to draw your attention to Loki’s Torch, a collection of art, poetry, fiction, and Lokean experiences. I was lucky enough to be able to submit two pieces to this issue and, upon release, was blown away by all the gorgeous art and written accounts of and for Loki. It was refreshing to see such varied experiences and to feel the shared theme of comfort Loki brings to those willing to work alongside him. I cannot recommend this publication enough. If you’re into Loki, it’s a beautiful must read.
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Art Witch: Invoking Practice – Altar Cards
Altar space has always been an important part in my witchcraft from the very beginning. It isn’t necessary or required that you work with an altar in the craft at all, but this practice helps me immensely. In spellwork, a functioning altar space makes my magical projects and spells stay more organized. I also have altar shrines for my ancestors and the deities I work alongside. The contents of any altar I create fluctuates depending on the work I’m doing at the time and who/what I’m trying to invoke at that moment. This altar practice can be modified to almost any altar situation to add more depth and representation to your sacred space, plus they are really fun and simple to make.
What Are Altar Cards
These are cards I add to altars to invoke magical elements, deities, sacred animals, you name it. If you want some more visuals added to your magical work, I really recommend giving these a go.
What do They Bring?
For example, say you wanted to connect more with the Fire element. The first step is processing what the Fire element looks like TO ME and searching for a few images that reflect that. WARNING: DO NOT PICK THE FIRST 3 IMAGES ON GOOGLE AND CALL IT A DAY. Truly find pictures that speak to you and what you are trying to work with. After collating the number of images you want into a simple collage, aside from the lovely visual you just created, deeper work can happen with this tool. What type of Fire energy is represented in the images you chose? Which Fire energy did you most identify with? This collage works both as physical tool and an analyzation aid for continuing work and development over time and across topics. You can even repeat it for the same subject and note the differences and evolution of your preferences over the course of your work. The options are endless.How to Make Altar Cards
There are two ways to go about creating your altar cards:
Electronic (ease of access, travel, always having your altar with you)
Physical projects (for literal altar placement, travel talisman)
Whichever your preferred outcome, we start our search online.
**This can also be done in a physical cut and paste collage format but for these, I always use search engine magic to find the perfect fit.**
-Search whatever name you need (deity, element, animal, etc.)
-Find the best representations of that thing that connects with you. (Tip: try and keep the image number 3 to 5)
-Put the images into a collage app.
-Print and place or keep in phone and use while out in the wild.
-And BAM – you have your new altar aid.
Adaptions- Prayer and Lesson Cards
I have adapted this altar card idea a bit and have made specific prayer cards for my patron deities, as well as, lesson cards that I take from the gods that I’ve worked with but haven’t stayed. I use these cards for the same invoking energy to use in spellwork or honoring means. All my altar cards are small and to the point, to hone in the energy I really want from them.
Honestly, this has been a practice that I stumbled into making a collage of things I liked based on my favorite colors, adapted it to my witchcraft, and now it’s something I utilize more and more as time goes on and my work deepens. I enjoy the process of these so much and I hope you will make your own altar cards and find them helpful.
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Witchcraft Winter Pathwork Planning, Art Share, and Resources
Here in the Northern Hemisphere, Fall is quickly turning into Winter and you can really feel it in in the cold,crisp air. With this shift, we’re approaching a time of rest, review, and renew in my Witch work. A time where I slow down and go over all my art, study notes, divination records, and my books list from the year so far. I acknowledge where I have grown and what needs more focus through the Winter season.
I have been doing this more in-depth diary/records keeping and review for the last few years and it truly helps guide my practice and path in a more solid direction. This year I picked up a wonderful resource to aid in this process that I wanted to share with you, Jamie Ridler Studio Yearbooks. At each seasonal shift, Jamie provides a Yearbook record/journal with room to fit all my notes across the above-mentioned topics, space for Full Moon collage work, and more. I cannot recommend the Studio Yearbook enough and it has brought so much more organization to my usual, multi-notebook approach.
It is from these Yearbooks that I wanted to share the following Collage Clips collection. These are collage clippings taken totally out of context from my magazine cut and paste Moon collage Art Witch work. I found them during my review process, truly loved them and wanted to share.
May Winter speak what you need, and may you hear.
-Mel
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2021 Embroidery Projects
Saturn Glyph
Robin’s Necklace
Chaos Glyph
Bifrost
**All original designs by me.
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Feline Fandom Collection
After having one hell of a week and winding down from my death work projects, I wanted to share a slowly evolving collection that’s a bit more gentle. These two pieces were super fun to work on and highlight my favorite animated cats. I truly love all three of these characters and wanted to showcase them in some way.
Luna – Sailor Moon
Jiji – Kiki’s Delivery Service
The Money Cat Ruffian – Gay Purr-ee
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Melanie’s Mutants
All of these creatures originated from a card game called Createures where you are challenged to draw animal combinations with or without special attributes and environments. This game inspired a fun little collection for me and is, honestly, one of my favorite sketch exercises to do on a regular basis.
I hereby invite you to meet some of my most unique creations. Take a look.
You can get the game for yourself at http://www.createures.com/ -
Squirrel in a Matchbox
This season seems to be centered around death work for me which lead to my most recent drawing, Squirrel in a Matchbox. Keeping in line with exploring legacy projects and wanting to deepen my experience with this Death Doula practice, I decided I wanted to honor the first life I ever paid tribute to in ritual. In my case, it was a baby squirrel. This little one was the first to fall from a nest in one of my grandma’s trees in the front yard. I found it at the base of the tree when I wandered away from the swingset. I was under ten years old. I remember finding the tiny creature and then sobbing. I was distraught knowing that I couldn’t help it. I was distraught learning that babies could die at the very start of their journey in this world. TV was one thing but this was my first experience holding a dead being in my hands and knowing I couldn’t end it there. So my child brain decided to hold a special burial for the squirrel. My grandma and I grabbed a matchbox from the drawer in the kitchen, placed it inside with some flowers, and buried it under a tree in the pasture behind the house.
My experience is not unique but I still remember the sadness at losing the squirrel that Spring. And to be honest, looking back, I think it was a pretty good indicator of where my path might take me. From caring for those in a nursing home, learning about end of life care, and now my continued Death work; I think of the squirrel in the matchbox and it fits on that line too.
Nowadays when I see animals taken back by death in nature I chant a blessing instead of providing a matchbox. This drawing, however, is simply recording that moment in time and my tendency to walk with Death instead of away from it, even from a young age. And now I have a legacy project to remember and keep that sacred moment alive and carry it with me.
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Death Memorial Projects as Ancestor Work
Earlier this year, in the midst of the pandemic and housebound, I considered ways to move forth with ancestor work. Cemeteries aren’t usually bustling with activity, yet the grounds where I offer honors are quite distant from my home. Between adapting to being home for over a year, and online schooling with my six-year-old, my routine shifted. The honoring process had to adapt to the times.
I kept the ritual consistent by choosing nearby spots and adjusting schedules to fit home life. The practical shift helped me honor my ancestors without neglecting family duties or the house. Over time, the change became part of my routine rather than an interruption.
Here is where I welcomed in ancestry online services. I started diving into my family tree for the first time and spent quite a few late nights piecing together what little I could to understand their histories that built up to be my future. After a few nights of deep diving, I decided to find an ancestor project within my growing family tree. I wasn’t sure what that project would be but I knew I would know it when I saw it.
The tree held a few surprises for me. Although I knew of my Irish and German roots from the knowledge of immediate relatives, anything deeper was lost to time. Scotland, however, popped up much more than any of the other lands and from multiple branches on the tree. On one of these branches I found a painting of a woman in the 1600s. A commissioned portrait, a face to a name from all those years ago; this was the moment I met the Lady Grange (Rachel Chiesley).
As I tried to tie all the strings together, I found someone not too different from myself. An outspoken individual, who wasn’t afraid to chase after what she was owed, and was ultimately punished for her will. After a separation from her husband and threatening to expose him as a traitor if he didn’t send money to support her and their children, he had her kidnapped and taken to live in isolation on island off the Scotland coast. At least one rescue was attempted and failed and the Lady Grange was left to perish alone in a cottage on one of the rotating islands of her imprisonment. She was somewhere in her sixties.
I was struck by her story. Speaking the truth made her unlikable for her time, and she wasn’t protected during her abusive situation like she should have been. Her kidnapping and island damnation was seen as a “martial issue” and the government washed their hands of a loud mouthed woman.
Once I read through as much information as I could find, I knew I had found the ancestor I needed to honor. I grabbed a jar of buttons passed from my aunt, to my grandmother, and then to me. I knew this was going to be the medium I used to recreate the ruins of her last home. I wanted to memorialize her life, her memory, and her unfair treatment at the hands of someone who was supposed to love her. I wanted to make sure she wasn’t forgotten again to my family.
I selected that jar of buttons for this project from the multiple hands it passed through to get to me. My aunt, my grandma, Rachel, and I would all be connected in building a piece of work together across time and even the afterlife. Buttons, to me, are a very liminal object as well. They connect fabrics from different directions and make a bridge from one side to the other. The construction of this piece, stacking the buttons, gluing them as a foundation to build the whole cottage; it truly felt like it was building that bridge back and making that connection located so far in the past, so very present and alive.
A few weeks later I began my training in Death Doula work. I learned the importance of the grieving process and creating living projects for those who came before to carry with us into the future. A living memory of them. Although I couldn’t ask Lady Grange (Rachel) how she wanted to be remembered in this project specifically, I wanted to preserve what was authentically hers from her tragic story. Her foundation, as well as, her cottages’ ruins are unshakable. They are still here today along with her story. Lady Grange the unshakable, the unwavering, the uncompromising. Her strength and her resolve live in those stones and my blood to this day. I may not have known her, but her strength can echo through my actions, my uncompromising, my outspokenness. I ache for the way her life ended, but I am grateful for the fight she put up for her and her babies in spite of the fate she probably knew would await her in doing so.
Every step we take in this life is due to the steps that came before ours. Thank you Rachel, I hope I walk a path you can feel honored by and I hope this piece pays tribute to your legacy.
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Land of the Free? Home of the Epidemic
Mixed media collage
This piece was surprising, cathartic, and unplanned following the gift of a medical illustrations book this month. Land of the Free? sums up my feelings toward the absent mourning of the literal mountain of dead at our U.S doorstep and the very twisted path that lead them to death. 277,000 dead here and counting. Over 1.5 million dead globally. Mask up. Stay home. Stay safe.-Mel
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Spring Herald
The message
The Wheel has turned
Witness the fall of the veil
From a dying world is created a new one.
Hold tightly in your palms
The toll that is your joy. -
Autumn Protection
Autumn is the time of year I refresh protections before the thinning of the veil and our descent into Winter.
Here’s the simple recipe I use for my protection powder blend.
✨Flower petals from a bouquet that someone gave you out of love, or that you assembled for yourself.✨Salt
✨Black salt
✨Leftover incense ashes
✨Dried Sage or Mugwort leaves
