2025 Witches' Calendar

bit of a rant

TW: mentions of cults/toxic behavior

the biggest thing that I see when folks bring up physical shifters/nonhumans/mythicals are cults or toxic people/behavior. yes, there will be the few that are shitty individuals or people that hurt/traumatize others. but I think that people fail to see that in or outside of this community, those shitty people exist anyways. in fandoms, clubs, groups, out on the street, etc. the demonization of individuals who are physically nonhuman is extremely harmful and unnecessary. the real problem is the individuals who actively hurt others, not the community as a whole. you take multiple bad experiences and cast it over the entire community, how is that acceptable or fair? why do you fail to see the bigger picture, the entirety of us? isn't it easier to be open minded, to realize that there will be horrible people all over in the world and not just within pshifter spaces? and yet you decide to focus and target us.

you don't have to like us, you don't have to understand us, but we were standing beside what we now know as modern therians and otherkin years ago (those who don't believe in being physically nonhuman). we were a part of therian and otherkin groups regularly. we were a part of your spaces, and I'll never let you forget it. you don't have to like us, but that doesn't give you the right to demonize or erase us.

this is why learning about history is important, this is why being able to archive things is important, this is a part of why I've made it my own personal job to make a timeline and collect information geared towards physical nonhumanity; so that we may never be erased. your hatred will never erase us, and you'll never silence our voices as long as we live.

No, I'm not human and I never have been. I've always been a werewolf. Yes I may appear human but I'm not. It's just my human form, I'm a wolf under all of this flesh and bone.

Im a werewolf in every single way

Wolf shifter here 🐾.

Do you have any tips to getting motivation to start shifting again??

hi!

I think something that might help with motivation is going back to the beginning of your journey and why you want to shift in the first place. what are your goals and dreams and what do you want to achieve by shapeshifting? I feel like surrounding yourself with feelings of empowerment and inspiration could help jumpstart motivation and help you get back on track.

also, triggering m-shifts or surrounding yourself with themes or feelings relating to your instincts/species etc could help too. for me, having m-shifts or phantom shifts inspires me to want to p-shift.

if you have stuff like masks, tails, ears, or other things that can make you more wolf-like, it might help to dress in the colors of your wolf side or put things on that makes you look like a wolf. for me when I put on ears or tails I always wish they were physical and when I wear brown clothes (bc my fur is brown) I tend to wish it was my fur, so putting things together to make yourself look like your wolf self might help with motivation to shapeshift so that you CAN have your ears/tail/paws/fangs/fur again.

if anyone else has any other tips, feel free to add on!

Some little things I've learned over a decade of witchcraft:

If you are feel called to work but are tired/drained, sit outside. Take in all the energies around you. Nature can help charge you

Every witch does a little bit of a bunch of types of magic but sticks mainly to one or two in general. You usually won't be eclectic forever. You'll find what magics work best with you.

Never be lazy or cut corners with spirits. Always be respectful and always tell them to leave when you're done

When you see a plant or ingredient with a long list of properties, there are different things at play. Season of collection, the part of the plant, the health of the plant, etc all play a role in impacting which properties it will carry.

Don't call on spirits unless you have confidence and control

Be careful with sea/water magic. Get into it gently and slowly until you have the energy figured out because it can get out of hand quickly.

Adding a little pinch of magic into your breakfast can make a major difference in your day.

Your personal emotions/feelings over something will impact a work

Planting some plants is good, not only to have a garden, but the dirt helps cleanse you too. Get all dirty and muddy. It's good for ya

Not all trees are nice

The more you listen to your intuition, the easier it will be to tell it apart from your anxieties and worries

Incense is very easy to make which is why it's usually cheap to buy. But you can find a million tutorials online on how to make your own personal incense which is great if you want a spell to take effect over a while but also want to infuse the fire energy in it.

The more you work with something the better feel you get for it. Cinnamon goes in almost everything i cook and most of my spells because me and cinnamon just get right along

Your path is yours and no one else's. It will look like yours and no one else's

reminder than simply being outside, drinking water, opening the windows, sun bathing and moon glancing, etc. are all real devotional acts to our earth — no matter how small !!!

being low on time, effort, and energy does NOT make you a bad witch or pagan. it makes you human.

— 🦌🌿☕️✨

the stereotype that physical nonhumans are "harmful" does more damage than good.

this really shouldn't be a hot take, but it is for some reason. no matter how you consider yourself to be physically nonhuman (pshifters, holotheres, endels, clinical lycanthropes/zoanthropes, extra limb growers or other titles/identities i forgot to include), i strongly believe that we all deserve a space to exist in.

no, physical nonhumans aren't out to get you. we aren't out here to scam you or hurt you, we are simply living our lives amongst you. the shitty groups and people of the past gave us a bad name, not because we're actually physically nonhuman. just bc we have different experiences doesn't make us lesser; it just makes us alive.

in my eyes, we are all equal. if you identify as a song, concept, plant, the vibes of a room. if you are able to physically change yourself somehow, internally or externally, whether or not other people can see this transformation or if you are/were growing extra limbs, we are all equal no matter if we are able to understand each other or not. i like to think we can agree to disagree and be kind, but clearly for some it's hard to do that.

anyways i know ive made this post before like 100 times but the topic of excluding physical nonhumans REALLY bothers me because we are an important part of the nonhuman/alterhuman/therian etc community as a whole. it bothers me a lot that there's people out there that think nonhumanity is exclusively spiritual/mental and throws out the "pshifters are abusive scammers" card. like, girlie pop we are just minding our own business in circles we've created bc YOU THREW US (the ones who had no connection to the actual shitty individuals of the past) OUT.

TLDR; stop throwing out physical nonhumans because of some shitty individuals that ruined our reputation. also i know i say this a lot but it's a topic that's on my mind quite a bit bc i feel like physical nonhumanity is excluded a lot and it feels unfair to have our community watered down to just "delusional or gullible ppl/children" or "toxic lying scammers".

anyways (again) i love u all fellow shapeshifters and critters and other things/folks in the world out there somewhere! /p

𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐲 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐢𝐬 - 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠

this week i've really fallen in love with the act of praying.

i've been praying to my deities first thing in the morning and sometimes even right before bed. i've been keeping them updated on life, and really taking the time to strength my bond with them.

and it got me thinking - why didn't I do this earlier?

I think coming from a catholic background, I was always told how to pray and what to say. I was taught the structure from an early age and learned it until it felt comfortable and second nature.

but with paganism, there aren't any structures to follow - there aren't any rules to learn and memorise. you have the power of doing your acts of worship in any way you want - and that can be a little daunting for someone like me.

I didn't know the right things to say or how to structure it - and I guess I didn't want to look stupid 'doing it wrong' if that makes sense.

until it dawned on me that prayer is just a conversation. it doesn't have to be magical and one of a kind. It can just be a good morning or even a thank you to count and sometimes that is all you need to keep that connection alive with your deities + loved ones.

so for those overthinking it like I was - remember it doesn't have to be a massive grand gesture to be special.

sometimes deities just like to know that you're doing okay ‪‪❤︎‬

this gif is not mine.

Jfc let me touch this before some weird conspiracy theory pops up

On the whole debacle, since it's revving up-

• Silvër and her pack (what everyone is calling "the p-shifters of 2020") are not All P-shifters Ever, and were disliked by other members of the community. She deleted and remade because other shifters were getting on her case, and eventually went silent because she was unable to handle the pressure. Her pack has never been "every p-shifter", nor does every shifter agree with her opinions.

- Additionally, most shifters don't approve of abusers or cultists in the community. It's why Silvër was ran out of it, along with other abusers. It's why when dodgy people appear shifters tend to avoid them or disperse elsewhere, and why shifters do warn others about cults and unhealthy groups.

• "P-shifting has never been used in a derogatory sense": It is literally considered a trait of "fake therians" in some spaces. It is not a positive thing in the therian and otherkin community to be a p-shifter. People get banned for claims of p-shifting. People literally refused to interact with Xem directly because the post was made by a p-shifter. This is the definition of derogatory.

• Reclaiming a term: if by "reclaiming" you mean "using it in a way that isn't abusive" then actually yeah, I don't have an issue with that. Which is what I've seen most who want to reclaim the term want to do so for. Like, p-shifting doesn't inherently equal abuser - there's multiple groups who have used the term without forming unhealthy groups or packs, so it's not inherent to p-shifting as a concept. (See the Were vs. Therian debate and Social Media Sites part of The Shifter Timeline.)

• I thought p-shifters weren't delusional! You're changing your tune!": I can't speak for Silvër and her pack's views, but I still don't believe all shifters are delusional. While the definition of clinical lycanthropy necessitates delusions, a p-shifter is ANYBODY who claims to physically shift. P-shifters can't ALL be delusional because there's a wide variety of reasons why someone (even incorrectly!) might consider themselves a shifter. I've written about it before. I personally don't have a problem with delusional or schizospec people considering themselves p-shifters as long as other shifters aren't pushed out of the community, something I mentioned when I said, "as long as other shifters aren't defined out."

▪︎The claim that "P-shifters are purposefully targeting endels and delusional people": How? The shifters here (excluding Silvër and her defunct group) are not a pack. There's no concerted hivemind or effort to do anything, most of us are quite scattered honestly. As far as I'm aware most of us either post in our own tags, have warnings for delusional and clinical folk, or block them. This also goes both ways, so delusional folk can (and do!) also block us if they see something they cannot handle.

If we wanted to target endels, wouldn't we be posting in their tags? Wouldn't we be privately contacting endels with sensitive materials? Wouldn't we be making a concerted effort to make their lives miserable? And for what - an acutely psychotic person is uncontrollable (from what I know) so making them suffer in that fashion would only appeal to a sadistic abuser. Yet this is online, meaning that anybody trying to abuse others in that fashion would not even get to see that. How does that benefit anybody?

Those using the p-shifter label currently seem to be doing so because they're uncomfortable with the label of "clinical" or implying that their shifting is in any way false. Which tbh is fair, and since I do feel they have grounds to the label (it's not like they weren't already considered p-shifters by the community in some instances) I'm not bothered by them "reclaiming it". That's my reasoning, anyway.

book recommendations pt. 1

i read,,, a lot of books. and with a special interest in this shit that means i have a considerable amount of books that are just witchcraft/paganism related. ofc, not all of these are going to be the Best options out there, i know that it's much better to get your information from a primary/secondary source or academic study, but i'm working with what i have and what i know how to get access to. if you have any recommendations or addendums to these, let me know! i'd love to hear what yall have to say.

THE WITCHY BOOKS

sigil craft: teaches you the basics of creating your own sigils using existing imagery, alphabets, and your own creativity

encyclopedia of magical herbs: honestly just a great resource to have for any witch. i'd say any herbal magic book is a must have for a witch

don't wanna buy the book? here's a great alternative!

crystal, gem and metal magic: another must have imo!! i prefer this book to the crystal bible because that book/those books spend a long time on chakras, whereas this book is more concerned with things like astrological associations and cultural contexts

don't wanna buy the book? here's a post i made that has some basics

enchanted tea time: love this book, it was honestly such a good find. tbh though, i wish there was more clear warnings about some of the ingredients, and some of the recipes like the lucid dreaming ones could have a more thought out presentation

don't wanna buy the book? here's a post i made that's similar

the complete book of incense, oils and brews: another great book by scott cunningham (honestly i had no idea how much of a shill i was for him until now), but it's probably not a must-have, especially if you're not very crafty or already have an herbal grimoire and a good youtube tutorial

guided tarot: it is so important to me to have a book like this, because no matter how many little guidebooks and online guides i looked through, NONE were as detailed and accurate as this. i personally prefer this book the most out of all that i've seen, although it could have more information on reversed cards tbh. i prefer this book to seventy-eight degrees of wisdom cause that book has some weird overlapping ideas of qabbalah, although i do recognize it's very well written and thought provoking

just some good spellbooks!