Holy Supper Challenge 2012:

Ever since I first started dabbling in the world of On line Witchcraft and Blogging about my personal practice, I have held something of a torch for the magna mater of down and dirty, brutalist agrarian derived and orthodox inspired witchcraft that is the magnanimous Mrs. Graveyard Dirt. So as soon as she put out the call for folks to take part in her Holy Supper Challenge I was of course, champing at the bit to join in the noisy-as-fuck revelry.

Sadly, it took me two years to actually get my shit together and to host my own Finnish Influenced Holy Supper.

Even then, I have to say that the event was a pale shadow of the frankly awe-inspiring feast that Dirty and Italics throw. There are reasons (aren’t there always) for why my supper went down without the desired bang and instead with something of a limp-dicked whimper: But I am not going to bore you with those. What I will say is that the little ember of Holy Supper revelry has been enkindled in yours truly, and from here on out I am pledging to show not only the Holy Supper, but indeed all the Holy Days, their due respect and pomp and circumstance!

I am a fucking Kitchen Witch!!! This is my fucking bread and butter!

So how did the 2012 Holy Supper throw down in Stepford Australia?

Cross my palm in silver – Part One:

I’d like to talk about the increase in popularity lately in esoteric business, and what this means for practice generally.

I cannot stand when people make a blanket statement for or against most things in life, as I’m generally of the view that extremism of any kind is a horrible thing. I find this especially the case with the frankly unrealistic view that some hold, that buying tools, oils, spell ingredients, any sort of esoteria, from a shop – weakens their inherent power or nullifies it all together. However, I am going to be a bit of a shit here and say that I do agree that sometimes this is the case. I’d like to explore a few realities through some entirely fictional case studies over three posts. OK, so these case studies are conglomerates based on actual existing businesses and individuals existing out there which I have interacted with – sue me. The point is not to shame but to ignite conversation.

So here we go...

Image from here.

The curious case of DarkFaeQueern:

Her business is a seemingly well established Etsy store with a 99.9% positive feedback rating and more than 13 featured items that have appeared on the front page.

Saintly Petitions:

My boyfriend left on a six-week holiday across India and Vietnam today, and so when I returned home from dropping him at the airport, I started putting together the small altar for Saint Christopher, in order to perform a petition for safe travel for my guy.

There's a lot of witches out there who find it reprehensible to work with or within the realms of Christianity,

How Does Your Garden Grow:

I have the paternal instinct of sand, and about as much desire to procreate as I do to harbour a colony of wasps in my sinus. I am, however, very fatherly towards my rapidly expanding collection of herbs here at Stepford Manor. That said, I'm also something of a deadbeat dad. Like, I'm all proud of my kids when they're growing and developing really well, but the second something starts to go wrong - I'm out of there.

Case in point - in the photo above you can see the verdant leaves of my two recently acquired black Helebore plants.

A Taste of Things to Come:

I'm starting out with this Blog, and I'm sure some people are stopping by to say Hi, or to check out the guy who posted a comment on their Blog, and thinking "Great, another wanna-blessed-be with two posts and then nothing!" I just want to take the opportunity to say no, that's not the case, I just happen to have come back to Blogging about Witchcraft at the absolute nexus of a huge clusterfuck in my life right now, so it may take me a little longer to get back to the whole regular posting thing.

I did, however, want to offer a little taste of what's coming up for me over the next couple of months, and what I'll be endeavouring to share here during that time.

Reviving the Neglected:

As Spring is rapidly sprung across the land and Stepford barrels head-long into the season with domestic plants and sidewalk weeds alike bursting into flower, I am starting to take stock of my own garden which I have neglected over winter.

The truth of the matter is while I aspire to be a gardener, I have essentially a black-thumb, and I have almost a second side of me that is compelled to murder plants, usually through neglect.

To begin with:

 

I have lived in the city of Canberra, Australia's Capital, for nine years now. I've moved around a lot during this time as the life of a twenty-something renter generally dictates, however in September of last year after living in multiple houses I didn't in any way own and sharing my space with a Rouge's Gallery of different faces; I moved to the outer suburbs of the city I call home and into a house that my partner owns.