:witch_pentacle: Weekly Witchy CHALLENGE - Finding Your Witchy Talents

[BryWisteria]

Merry meet!

Thank you once again to all those who joined in for last week’s Weekly Witchy Challenge - Morality in Magick

After some deep reflective work, it’s time to stand up and shake it out- the spotlight is calling your name! It’s a special chance to show off magickal skills that you’ve been working on

The theme for this week’s challenge was suggested by the lovely @georgia and is…

Witch Talents & Magickal Skills

What magickal skills have you been studying? Show off your hard work this week!

We all have our areas of passion in the Craft- from tarot to crystals, herbal magick to divination, astrology, numerology, and so many more- these are the things we dedicate our time to in hopes of improving our magickal level of skill.

A magickal skill can be something you are naturally gifted in, or anything you are working to develop- it’s an area you feel passionate about, that you’d like to continue to improve in.

@georgia

Talents and skills use our abilities, and can be developed with practice. These may not be things we were born with, but which have been developed via creative survival experience or curiosity.

This challenge shines a light of appreciation on the work you have put into your magickal practice and the skills you have been developing. There is no judgment here- just a place to share pride in the effort you have dedicated to your Craft. We are all living and learning, and taking the time to acknowledge our accomplishments can provide a boost of motivation and encouragement.

Developing magickal skills is something to celebrate- so don’t be shy, step up and share about your magickal skills and achievements with your supportive Coven!

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This week’s challenge is all about your magickal skills - how you choose to take on this theme is up to you!

So are you ready? Because it’s…

CHALLENGE TIME!

Picture from Canva

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STEP 1 : Sharing Your Magickal Skills

This challenge is all about the skills you have developed/are developing in your practice - but as always, how you choose to take on this theme is up to you!

Still not sure where to begin? To help you get started, here are a few ways in which a witch might approach this challenge.

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Find Your Witchy Talent(s)

The question “what are you good at?” may cause humble souls to shy away, but the truth is that everyone has skills and abilities they are good at, and they are worth acknowledging!

If you’re not sure, here are a few exercises you can do to help you find your witchy talents:

• Look back at your journey- what drew you to magick? Did your intuition or sharp senses help you see beyond the mundane? Did you forge a close connection with a deck of divination cards or successfully communicate with a spirit? Maybe you craft beautiful things or find peace through meditation. These are just a few of the many possible magickal skills one can have!

• Ask yourself what type of witch/practitioner are you? Feeling called towards Green Magick, Moon Magick, Kitchen Witchery, Ocean Magick, Hedge Magick, or the many other types of witches out there is a huge hint as to where your interests (and thus, the areas where you are developing skills) are.

• Recall the most recent spell or ritual you cast. What did it involve? Were there certain parts of the spell that you felt comfortable with- from knowing ingredients to sensing correspondences to saying a prayer or reading a candle flame, these are all magickal abilities.

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Share Your Skill(s)!

Take this challenge by the horns and share your skills by putting them to use! Once you have recognized your magickal abilities and witchy talents, find a way to tap into them this week.

You might cast a spell, do a ritual, craft something fun, do art magick, whip something up in the kitchen, or write a prayer, spell, or dedication- the choice is yours!

There are no limits on what counts as a magickal ability! So here are just a few suggestions that might spark inspiration:

Using a Form of Divination

Candle Magick: Using Candles in the Craft

Green Witchcraft: Using Plant & Herbal Magick

Astral Travel & Astral Projection

Dream Magick: Lucid Dreaming

Crystals: Working With Gems and Stones in the Craft

Using Essential Oils in the Craft

Magickal Meditation

There are so many areas of magick that one can study and build skills in! For more magickal areas, visit the List of Courses or the Complete List of Witchy Challenges

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… And More!

The suggestions above are just a few ideas to help kickstart your creativity- if you feel called to explore magickal skills in another way, please feel free to do so!

As always, all witches are encouraged to embrace their own unique practice with how they explore the challenge theme

Picture from Canva

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STEP 2 : Share Your Experience

Click here for a note about challenge inclusivity

Everyone is welcome to join the challenge by practicing magick in line with the current theme. For lurkers and those who don’t feel comfortable sharing, it is absolutely okay to follow along with the challenge but keep your entry personal. Feel free to join in spirit and do what feels most comfortable for you!

That being said, please know that if you would like to receive a prize and a public shout-out, it is required that you share your experience.

Getting Your Credit

In order for your entry to be counted, all you have to do is write/share about your experience and label it as your challenge entry. There is a lot of chatting here (which is awesome- chatting and discussion are very welcome!) so please clearly write that it is your entry so I know to count it!

Where Should I Share My Entry?

Click here to learn where to share your challenge entry

You are welcome to post it right here- just click “reply” to this post and write your experience in the text box that pops up!

Alternatively, you could create a new post in the forum (this is good for when you have a lot to share and/or would like to discuss aspects of your entry not related to the current theme)

Note : If you do choose to create a new thread, please add the “challenge-entry” tag and/or add a hyperlink back to this post so that it can be easily found- thank you!

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Deadline

This challenge will close in 6 DAYS

To join in, please share your experience by:

Tuesday, December 12 at 7:00 AM EDT (Eastern US Time)
2023-12-12T12:00:00Z

(Note that the time zone is ET- if you don’t see your time displayed above, you can use this time zone calculator to check for your time zone!)

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Prizes

For their efforts, all participants will receive a special shout-out and a small prize!

Acknowledgments will be given in a Props and Presents Post that will appear in the forums on Tuesday.

After the challenge closes, you are still very welcome to post but please be aware that no additional prizes will be given. This discussion will remain open for about a week after the challenge finishes.

Picture from Canva

A warm reminder that the challenges are designed to be very open- everyone is encouraged to participate in a way that honors and reflects their unique practice

If you have any doubts about if something is acceptable to post or say, please double-check with the Forum FAQ and/or reach out to your friendly Moderator Team.

And for those new to challenges- welcome! Know that the goal of these activities is to help you further diversify and strengthen your abilities and to bring together the Spells8 forum family to inspire and support one another in creative ways

Picture from Canva

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It begins as an interest- a curious thing
Then given attention, your passion will sing.
With time and with love, it will continue to grow-
It’s your magickal talent, to enjoy and to show!

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Blessed Be!

[tracyS]

This is fabulous. Already Loki is saying, “What will we write , the magickal ability to throw whatever into a mix, watch it go BOOM and live to talk about it later”

[BryWisteria]

@tracyS

watch it go BOOM and live to talk about it later”

Survival is an important skill to have!

And I think being well-versed in chaos magick is also quite impressive

[Artemisia]

Oh no… so many choices! Overwhelm no but seriously my entry will likely be tarot/rune, crafting, or herbalism related Seeing as how I’m about to go outside to forage for supplies for my yule log, wreaths, and witch balls, we may have our answer.

[Cosmic_Curiosity]

Oh this is a tricky one as I like to dip my toes in a bit of everything

[Artemisia]

(Edited to add IDs)

Struck out on getting a Yule log today as my hand saw blade snapped while mid-cut of a downed pine, but I did come home with all this.

(Top left: Leyland Cypress, Loblolly Pine, Creeping Juniper, Blue Rug Juniper.
Bottom Left: Eastern Red Cedar. Middle: Common Juniper.)

[georgia]

Wonderful treasure haul @Artemisia ! Especially for this time of year.

[starborn]

I have a feeling that this challenge is going to make me realise that I do more than I think I do.

@Artemisia

I did come home with all this.

I love that collection of bits. 100% jealous over here with my total lack of coniferous forests.

[Artemisia]

To be fair, 3 of the conifers are from landscaping plants in my yard. The other’s I found in the mostly deciduous forest around the lake path. We don’t have tons of conifers at my elevation. Not like I did when I lived in Montana.

[devin6]

Challenge Entry

I’m definitely trying to increase my skills but especially, my confidence in the results. Recently, I created three servitors to help me with promotion, protection and healing. I feel really good about the details and the creation of each, it took me a lot of time but I did it! I’m working on my whole “did it work? Show me!” mindset as well.

Meditation and increasing my psychic connection to others is my next skill to strengthen. I made a 3rd eye opening spell bag for under my pillow and I meditate every night so I create a habit of it. Playing music during spellcasting seems to deepen the intensity of the spell. It also provides a center for me to remain grounded. I love learning and researching, so much to learn every day. I feel like my working and growing is healing my past scars. Scary and exciting all at once.

[georgia]

@starborn

I have a feeling that this challenge is going to make me realise that I do more than I think I do

That is the intent, from my perspective. We all do. Recognizing what we can do is the first step toward appreciating our abilities and ourselves. This is a strong foundation for the embetterment of our world. Once we know ourselves, we can use our confidence to instill esteem and respect in those around us- not as participation prizes, but as a deeper realization that what we can do is valuable for thriving in life. Equal contribution of our specialties instead of competition, life thriving with life rather than survival of the fittest.

@devin6

I feel like my working and growing is healing my past scars.

This post wasn’t marked as a challenge entry, @BryWisteria , but it works. Good job @devin6 .

[stavroula]

@Cosmic_Curiosity

Oh this is a tricky one as I like to dip my toes in a bit of everything

@starborn

I have a feeling that this challenge is going to make me realise that I do more than I think I do

I feel you Kind of the same energy here as well
My friends call me magick encyclopedia, maybe I will write about my talent being a magickal nerd

[starborn]

@georgia

Equal contribution of our specialties instead of competition, life thriving with life rather than survival of the fittest.

Yes! And I love that we already have that here.

@stavroula

a magickal nerd

Magickal nerds unite!

[georgia]

@stavroula

maybe I will write about my talent being a magickal nerd

That’s a book I’d like to read!

@stavroula

My friends call me magick encyclopedia

I’ve been called “Googlette.”

@starborn

I love that we already have that here.

Me too. When I first arrived, I insulted someone who seemed to believe this was a competition they couldn’t keep up with. I don’t remember who it was, but I hope they find my post, here. I became talented because I had to use these things to survive. That doesn’t mean I’m good at anything else. Specializing can easily get to the point of the absent minded professor archetype. I regret being overwhelming, and I encourage people to understand they can be overwhelming, too, in their own specialties. It’s a natural part of a competitive world.

[MeganB]

@Artemisia

but I did come home with all this

Ohh, what a wonderful collection and harvest!

@devin6

I feel really good about the details and the creation of each

That’s awesome to hear! I think I’m gonna make one to help protect us during our move and make sure everything goes well.

[starborn]

@georgia

I became talented because I had to use these things to survive.

I think I’ve said the same in a few posts, too.

The first that comes to mind is one of the ones where I was going on about language, and I got complimented, so, for some reason, I brought up the experience of how there was extra scrutiny of my English due to not being a native speaker and that forced me to try extra fudgin’ hard to be good at it. It was part of the difference between going to a safe school and one that wasn’t.

Basically, a lot of what I’m good at, I feel I had to be good at. If I didn’t learn to cook very young, I would have starved. If I wasn’t well researched on a topic, well… I used to live, study, and work with people who took my gender and/or cultural heritage to mean I was naturally stupid, so I’ve constantly had to fight to be heard at all. Stuff like that.

Like you implied, we can be good at certain things without having a competitive mindset about it. Sometimes, it’s just trying to survive, and any competition in that is only the inherent nature of the environments.

I know it’s just me saying this, but… I also understand the desire to have misunderstandings openly clarified. So, you can trust me to ask if I have a doubt.

[Nixi]

But I don’t remember what I’m good at

[Devenne]

Ouch this is a toughie for me

[starborn]

@Nixi and @Devenne To steal Georgia’s words: you will both find that you are good at more than you think.

[Artemisia]

Challenge Entry - Finding Your Witchy Talents Pt 1 of ?
Still on the fence about putting up a Yule/Christmas tree this year with an 8-month-old Kermit kitten

, but I decided to craft Yule presents and decorations in the meantime!

Last-minute inspiration and creations for two running friends.
I made peppermint bath salts

as well as a soothing herbal bath soak with calendula, chamomile, and lavender.

I included a muslin bag with the herbal bath soak.
I made myself a set as well.

I’ve also been drying orange, clementine, and lime slices for teas and decorations.

I also finished my yule wreath with pinecones I found and dried to open and holly sprigs I found along my run.

I also made a swag that I will decorate tomorrow along with a few making a few witch balls.

And I’m drying evergreen materials (cedar, redwood, juniper, pine) for smoke cleansing bundles/sticks and grass I harvested for making mini hand brooms/altar besoms.

Then it’s on to cookies!