Secular Witchcraft & DIY Witchery

Greetings and welcome to DIY Witchery!

I’m Alex (they/them & she/her) I am an agnostic secular witch and have built my personal witchcraft practice over 15+ years. I am the owner of Portland Button Works and the PBW Witch Shop. I am an organizer for SASS Witch Con (Science-inclined Atheist/Agnostic, Skeptcial and Science Witches) and librarian at the Archive of Witchcraft, Magic, and Occult Zines (AWMOZ), I’m 43 years old adult punk,vegan, anarchist, feminist, and zinester It means I make zines). I’m white, bisexual, and a (mostly) cis woman. I love DIY projects, building altars, making charms, collecting jars, filling my pockets with acorns, zines, travel, befriending crows with peanuts, my Jackie Cat, Ian B, my house and home and things I grow in my garden while living in my 120+ year old house in Portland, Oregon.

I have built my own practice and I do not discuss particulars about it very often. I call it DIY Witchery because it is built on my personal DIY punk ethics and methodologies. It takes a hands on and trial and error approach to witchcraft.

I don’t cast spells so much a build them and then release them. From the outside it probably looks like cottage witchery set loose in a punk house of a philosophy student drop out. In reality, I probably draw a lot on folk magic, traditional witchcraft, and a twist of chaos magic for the fun of it.

My witchcraft, as my politics, is intersectional and I work to decolonize my practice.

I do not give away spells or take spell requests, but I’m happy to help brainstorm ideas for spells.

Please note:

I am agnostic
I am a secular witch
I am a “soft” animist
I am not religious
I am not Wiccan
I am not pagan
I do not work with deities as deities but occasionally as archetypes
I do not work with spirits in a way that is relatable to others
I don’t work with auras or chakras
I do not work in the astral
I do not work with runes or ogham

What I post here: reblogs of things I think similarly minded witches might find useful but not necessarily things that are included in my practice, my answers to asks, witch humor, pictures of my garden, talk about the crows that I’m friends with by way of giving them peanuts and telling them secrets, and the occasional personal things or reblog-style correspondence with other tumblr witches.

To get an idea of the flavor of this blog check out these “greatest hits” posts.

New to witchcraft and might have some questions? Check out my “Witchling” tag for resources, tips, and book recommendations to get started. Check there before asking questions because it might have what you need. I get asked frequently about how to start practicing witchcraft and that is a good place to start. Here’s another post with tips about starting a witchcraft practice.

Please check out my DIY Witchery Resource page for more information.

Still got some questions? Ask them here!

When asking questions please keep in mind:

I do not give spells away but I will help you brainstorm ideas for spells.
I am assuming you are asking me for an answer that pertains to my style of agnostic secular witchcraft.
I will get to answering question when I find time to do so
Please do not send messages through the tumblr messaging system unless we have spoken before. Do not send me message for things that should be asks. I will not respond to them.

Other Stuff

My primary blog is @alexwrekk (I’m alexwrekk pretty much everywhere on the internet)
I have an upthewitchypunx instagram and twitter
Gemini/Cancer cusp, rising Sagittarius, Leo moon
Wanna know more about me? Check out the “about me” page.
linktree

My day job is making custom button at Portland Button Works and running the PBW Witch Shop and mail order. We have a thoughtfully curated catalog of things related to witchcraft and magic, lots of books, zines, tarot decks, pinback back buttons, and more. I also have an Etsy shop here.

I wrote two zines about my exploration of secular witchcraft, Brainscan #33 & #34. You can find them on my Etsy here and in the PBW Witch Shop here.

In a discussion with Heathen B about the amount of people who post photos of their fire hazard candles and illconceived egg cleanses to Facebook asking strangers for interpretations, I remarked how they are using strangers on the internet to do their work for them.

Heathen B said “it’s like HexMD”

Which got me laughing “so, instead of WebMD where people just think they have cancer, HexMD just tells you that you are hexed?”

acidicpuma:

offcameras:
“There’s millions of Tumblr users” to you. To me there’s only about 12 and we all reblog the same five posts from each other
And I love you all platonically and from afar, not expecting any of you to acknowledge my existence. As one loves a sunset.

Last week Ian B received change that included a counterfeit $10 bill. It sucks that the store didn’t stop and see it because it’s pretty obvious.

I put it on our postal altar in the shop because some of those messenger deities love a good joke.

pbwzindistro:

Today at Pagan Fyre in Cornelius, OR! We are here until 5!

We were able to fit everything on one table!

pbwzindistro:

We are vending at this event on Saturday!
OWOW YULE BAZAAR!
December 11, 2021
10 am- 5pm
@ Pagan Fyre
1517 N Adair St, Cornelius, OR 97113
The Season is the Reason, and with the help of local store Pagan Fyre we are hosting a Bazaar that celebrates all the beauty and fun of gift giving during the Winter Holidays. We invite local Pagan Artisans and Merchants to gather together in a shared space. We are collecting toiletry items and non perishable food donations for Esther’s Pantry. We will also have holiday cards to sign that will be sent to Pagan soldiers over seas.

This is today! Hope to see you there!

californiaquail:

the relationship between a person and the native flora and fauna of where they grew up is something that can actually be so personal

pbwzindistro:

New in the Portland Button Works Shop!
The new printing of the Next World Tarot by Cristy C Road in pocket size! These are great for tiny hands! The box is black and has shiny silver. Available at Portland Button Works for $25.
Featuring body outlaws, endangered cultures, and anti-colonial belief systems, THE NEXT WORLD TAROT envisions a world where justice relies on respect and revolutionary love. The Fool’s Journey is about smashing systematic oppression, owning their truths, being accountable to the people and places that support them, and taking back a connection to their body that may have been lost through trauma or societal brainwashing. The NEXT WORLD TAROT is a visual spectacle of both the battle cry and the reconnection between outcasts and their criminalized identities.
This set includes 78 shuffle-friendly Tarot Cards at the standard 2.5" x 3.5" size, as well as an accompanying Tarot Reader written by Cristy C. Road.
We still have a few copies of the 1st edition larger size as well!

pbwzindistro:

2921 USPS Holiday Shipping Estimates From Your Friendly Postal Witch at Portland Button Works and Zine Distro and the PBW Witch Shop:
USPS Shipping Estimates for Holiday shipping to arrive by December 25th are here! Remember, these are just estimates and based on orders placed on our website by 2PM each day:
USPS First Class Package: Ship by December 17th.
USPS Priority Mail: Ship by December 18th.
USPS Priority Mail Express and UPS Next Day Air®: Ship by December 23rd.
UPS 2nd Day Air®: Ship by December 22nd.
~~USPS First Class Package International, and USPS Priority Mail International:~~ ~~Ship by November 29th for Africa, Central America, and South America—and by December 6th for the rest of the world.~~

Anonymous asked:

I'm almost upto date with your witchcraft podcast, and I know I *want* to start practicing. (Even if I don't fully believe in it, but I WANT to believe and I think there is power in that.) But I admit I'm scared it's not gonna click, or that I'm going to do it wrong or not be informed enough when I start and then get disillusioned later and it's gonna be like loosing faith in the Christian pantheon and mythology all over again.

I dunno, it just feels like I'm paralyzed with fear and Im not sure how to overcome it to even get myself to start with anything. Any advice?

traegorn answered:

So whatever you start with in witchcraft, odds are you’re going to find out it’s not the exact right fit for you no matter what – and that’s okay. You’re afraid you’ll “do it wrong” or “not be informed enough.”

Okay. Well, I promise you that almost everyone does it “wrong” or isn’t “informed enough” at some point in their witchcraft journey… so join the club?

The first thing you need to accept if you want to go down this path is that no matter what, odds are you are going to get something wrong or something isn’t going to be right in how you first go about it. The key is to then identify those things that aren’t working or don’t feel right… and change them.

I’ve been a witch for about twenty-five years – and while I’ve been a Wiccan this whole time, the version of Wicca I practice now is very different than the version I started with. Adapting and changing is good, and you shouldn’t be afraid of it.

And really – what’s the worst case scenario? That you find out that witchcraft isn’t for you? Is that such a big deal? Like not everyone enjoys every thing. It’s… it’s okay to try something and then find out you don’t like it.

That’s not something to be scared of. That’s just learning something new about yourself, and that’s a good thing.

I think a good thing to start is to ask yourself why you are interested in witchcraft. Are you looking for a religion? Are you looking for a spiritual practice? Are you looking for a cosmology? Are you looking for a way to feel power in your own life?

Honestly, the first few years feels like treading water, and that’s okay. Your brain is gathering new information and just shuffling the puzzle pieces around mixed with the puzzle pieces you already bring to your witchcraft table. Don’t be afraid to draw on your personal interests, experiences, and curiosities.

As Trae said, not everything is for everyone. You have to do a little dabbling to figure out what works for you. Dabbling is okay! Embrace the awkward and potential to find thing don’t interest you. Sometimes knowing what you don’t want is as powerful as knowing what you do want.

pbwzindistro:

We are vending at this event on Saturday!
OWOW YULE BAZAAR!
December 11, 2021
10 am- 5pm
@ Pagan Fyre
1517 N Adair St, Cornelius, OR 97113
The Season is the Reason, and with the help of local store Pagan Fyre we are hosting a Bazaar that celebrates all the beauty and fun of gift giving during the Winter Holidays. We invite local Pagan Artisans and Merchants to gather together in a shared space. We are collecting toiletry items and non perishable food donations for Esther’s Pantry. We will also have holiday cards to sign that will be sent to Pagan soldiers over seas.

hypoallergenicpunx asked:

what is SRW's 'to ride a silver broomstick' i would look it up but the chance that it's weird porn scares me and my therapist already has enough to deal with

traegorn answered:

Silver Ravenwolf is a terrible witchcraft writer who wrote a very popular but poorly sourced book called “To Ride a Silver Broomstick.”

traegorn:

ei-len:
upthewitchypunx:
The idea that To Ride a Silver Broomstick would be porn literally had me giggling.
CHUCK TINGLE, PLEASE DO IT
Nah, the Chuck Tingle version would be “Pounded in the Ass By a Silver Broom Stick” or “Slammed by the Anthropomorphic Representation of Margaret Murray’s Ahistorical Great White Wicca Witch Cult Myth”

Lol

hypoallergenicpunx asked:

what is SRW's 'to ride a silver broomstick' i would look it up but the chance that it's weird porn scares me and my therapist already has enough to deal with

traegorn answered:

Silver Ravenwolf is a terrible witchcraft writer who wrote a very popular but poorly sourced book called “To Ride a Silver Broomstick.”

The idea that To Ride a Silver Broomstick would be porn literally had me giggling.

pbwzindistro:

New at Portland Button Works and the PBW Witch Shop!
Look at these lovely tarot or oracle card holders. They are great to display a daily tarot or oracle card of the day or to view a tarot reading.
Check out these and many other fine tarot decks, books about witchcraft and magic, and other tools and magical supplies at The PBW Witch Shop.
(The deck pictured is the Science Tarot)

pbwzindistro:

2921 USPS Holiday Shipping Estimates From Your Friendly Postal Witch at Portland Button Works and Zine Distro and the PBW Witch Shop:
USPS Shipping Estimates for Holiday shipping to arrive by December 25th are here! Remember, these are just estimates and based on orders placed on our website by 2PM each day:
USPS First Class Package: Ship by December 17th.
USPS Priority Mail: Ship by December 18th.
USPS Priority Mail Express and UPS Next Day Air®: Ship by December 23rd.
UPS 2nd Day Air®: Ship by December 22nd.
USPS First Class Package International, and USPS Priority Mail International: Ship by November 29th for Africa, Central America, and South America—and by December 6th for the rest of the world.

pbwzindistro:

NEW IN THE PORTLAND BUTTON WORKS SHOP
21 - NOVEMBER 2021
Hex Twisting - Countermagick Spells for the Irritated Witch by Diana Rajchel
Weird Walk Issue Number 5
Skeletor’s Guide to Surviving the Holidays from Eternia Press
After Tonight, Everything Will Be Different by Adame Gnade

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