I see the crystal visions

The Daoist witch is IN, baby. What that means is basically my main spirituality is largely pagan (leaning quite heavily on a Wicca framework, even though I was taught originally way back when by some lovely lasses in the Reclaiming trad) with a few personal tweaks, with a lot of my philosophy underpinning everything else coming from Daoism (or Taoism, depending how you want to romanise it). For example, I honor a pantheon of deities, celebrate the wheel of the year, cast spells and work magic, while embracing wu wei and striving to be in harmony with the Way. I don't find that any of these things clash with each other, and my spirituality brings me great peace and enriches me as a person, so all good, I think. ♥

Books I'd recommend anyone to get a surface-level understanding of my beliefs are "Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner" by Scott Cunningham, Starhawk's "The Spiral Dance", Ron Hogan's modern spin on the Dao De Jing, "Getting Right with Tao" (read the free version here, and hear Emma Clarke's lovely reading of it here), and Benjamin Hoff's "The Tao of Pooh" (skip "The Te of Piglet", however...what a garbage fire).

the 401 transmission

Ganked from this page; some questions reworded to sidestep some problematic shit. I think I might have done this one (or at least something like it) way back in the Livejournal days, but hell if I can remember precisely, and my answers have definitely changed if so.

1. What kind of witch are you?
I'm a Kirryn witch. I'm a dragon witch, a sea witch, a Dao witch, a star witch, a witch from the universe next door. Lots and lots of things. So I suppose that's a very long way of saying "I'm an eclectic witch". Either way, and most importantly, I am a witch. Which witch? Doesn't matter. Just witch. Always have been, always will be.

2. How did you discover your path?
I'm still discovering it; it's an ever-evolving process and I hope it always will be. I want my path to be as dynamic and alive as I am; when I change, it changes with me. Nothing's truly set in stone.

3. How long have you been practicing?
Since I was around 15 or so years old. I performed my dedication at 17.

4. What path/tradition do you follow?
None in particular; I tend to eschew rigidity in my spirituality as a rule these days...which doesn't mean I force syncretism where there can't be any, nor engage in closed practises; I'm not as disrespectful as that.

5. Are you solitary or do you have a coven?
Solitary. There are a few people in the world I'd be willing to practise with, but they're far away from me, so I'm solitary by default.

6. Do you practice divination? If so, what techniques?
Yes: cartomancy (tarot, Lenormand, oracle cards), i ching, scrying, trance/journeying, and dreamseeing.

7. Do/would you teach and practice witchcraft to your children?
I'm almost certain that I don't want children, but if I did, I think...I'd like to raise them with a general witchy framework, so to speak? But I'd like them to form their own beliefs or lack thereof organically.

8. Do you have a patron/matron/guardian deity?
The deities I feel particularly close to are Anpu (Anubis), Loki, Persephone, the Lady, Kannon, and a few others I'll keep secret for now. I consider myself a "child of Anpu" in the Kemetic sense.

9. Favourite pantheon?
Quite probably the ancient Egyptian pantheon.

10. Favourite goddess?
Possibly Artemis, I think. I'm also very fond of Aset (Isis). Weirdly, though, the goddess I identify the most with is Persephone, even though I haven't been called to work with her...yet.

11. Favourite god?
Anpu and Loki, hands down.

12. Your sun sign?
Pisces (empathetic, dreamy, creative, jealous, all at sea, oversensitive).

13. Your moon sign?
Capricorn (determined, resourceful, reserved).

14. Do you have a familiar?
If you mean in the traditional, spiritual sense...yes. If you mean on the physical plane, no -- as much as I love my cat, she has zero respect for ritual stillness!

15. Thoughts on the afterlife?
They're generally too complicated to fit into a single sentence, and I think each afterlife is highly personalised, anyway. I do believe that life continues after physical death, and death is just a momentary parting (despite how painful it is).

16. Have you had any paranormal experiences?
A few, but I'll keep them close to my chest for now.

17. Are you out of the broom closet? If so, how do your friends/family feel about your path?
Yes and no? I have no problems with, when asked, identifying as a Daoist witch -- provided I know I'm not talking to someone who literally thinks I'm evil or worshipping Satan or suchlike. I've become a little more hesitant about sharing the nitty-gritties of my beliefs and practice, due to enduring emotional abuse (please note: not bullying. ABUSE.) and having said beliefs used as weapons against me (for the record, I am NOT sorry about "believing in weird things"...especially not towards abusive asses who ALSO could be classified as weird-thing-believers. Eyeroll.)

18. What is something that inspires you, spiritually?
Oh, stars...and the moon. Sunrises and sunsets! And always always always and forever music. Music is the very language of the gods themselves.

19. Do you have an altar?
Yes! After three years of having none, due to life circumstances, I have a very small and very temporary one set up -- but it's more than enough for me at the moment. I can't believe how much I missed having my altar.

20. What's a spell that you've done?
Most recently (25/11/2024), a new moon ritual to bring about change in my life.

21. Do you have a guiding animal? If so, what is it?
Not to sound like a living Mary Sue, but it's Dragon. I know, I know. I also seem to have strong ties to Fox, Rabbit, Bat, Unicorn, and Dog.

22. Favorite pagan holiday that you celebrate?
Yule, for sure! The weather's beautiful, the night is deliciously long and star-brimming, and in my tradition, it's always a night for stories and story-telling. It's brilliant.

23. Do you meditate?
Not quite as often as I should, but I do have a decent excuse for that: my physical health means that any chance my body thinks it's going to be able to get a nap in, it snatches with both hands. :P I can't flow if my brain turns itself off at the switchboard! XD

24. Have you ever used the services of a psychic/tarot reader/(etc)?
A few times, when I feel like I can't quite get the reading down myself, or my head feels too muddled to even try.

25. What are some books that you recommend, have influenced you, or that you simply enjoy?
Apart from the ones mentioned above, I very much like Sandra Kynes' "Sea Magic: Connecting to the Ocean's Energy", and pretty much everything that flower witch Cheralyn Darcy writes -- her stuff is amazing!

26. Favourite witchy websites?
...you know, I don't think I have one, these days? Also, a lot of people online think "witchy" is just an aesthetic and wouldn't know spirit and magic if it jumped up and punched them in the face, and I'm so done with surface-level ANYTHING.

27. Favourite witchy movie?
Labyrinth. If you don't think that's a witchy movie, then we aren't ever going to be on the same wavelength, I fear. :P

28. Favourite mythological animal?
Dragons, hands down and far away. I'm also quite fond of kirin, as well.

29. Favourite season?
Winter! And how! :D

30. Favourite herb?
For some reason, cinnamon seems to resonate with me to a ridiculous degree. Some others I tend to jive with include rose, paperbark, sage, aloe, and oak.

31. Favourite gem?
Larimar! Other favourites are amethyst, rose quartz, pearl, paua shell, honey calcite, Carribean blue calcite, labradorite, opal, aquamarine, sodalite, picture jasper, and crazy lace agate. ...I could keep going, but I won't. Aaaah, I love me some pretty rocks!

32. Your personal rune?
Dagaz, methinks, though I'm pulling Thurisaz quite a bit lately.

33. Your tarot card archetype?
The High Priestess, and the Page of Cups.

34. Symbol/sigil of your choice?
The septagram has always had a big pull on me; lately the Tree of Life seems to be cropping up a lot, too, as well as the Green Man...

35. Do you use (or want to use) an athame?
I use a catfish bone (found while beachcombing) as an athame.

36. Do you use (or want to use) a wand?
Yes! I have two; a eucalyptus wand I've been working with for years, and a jacaranda wand I just made recently. Both are ridiculously simple and unadorned with anything, but I love them all the same, especially my jacaranda wand, which I shaped and sanded myself.

37. Do you use (or want to use) a cauldron?
I have a small silver salt cellar, of all things, that I've used as a cauldron for a long while, but I'm thinking of buying a nice big fireproof one, seeing as I'm using flames more often in my magical work these days.

38. Do you keep a Book of Shadows or similar?
I do indeed -- I have a Book of Winds & Tides, which I use as a traditional grimoire, and a Book of Flotsam and Jetsam, which is my more personal diary-like book. (Spot the sea witch, haha.)

39. Do you use (or want to use) a tarot deck?
I use several! My very first was a gift from my mother, given to me when I was 15, and my collection has grown exponentially since then! The art of tarot is something I'd love to truly master during this lifetime. The deck I use most often is the Blake tarot, which sings truth at me like an alethiometer. It's amazing how well I resonate with that deck.