~Wendy~

In no Particular order~Cemeteries, Monuments, Tombstones, Death Art, Funerary Rituals, Mourning Art & Jewelry, Victoriana, Edwardian Era, Pin Up, Spiritualism,
Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, Red Musk, Witches, Witchcraft, Fortune Telling, Superstition, History, Gothica, Halloween-- I really LOVE Halloween!!,
Day of the Dead, School, Old Churches, Literature, Roses, Flowers, Azrael, Vintage, Antique, Burlesque,
Oddities, Costume, Gypsies, Pre-Raphaelites, My Dark Red Hair, Egyptian, Black Velvet, Long Skirts, Autumn, Spring,
Mardi Gras, The Moon, Bizarre, Jazz, Spells, Hexes, Sacred Hearts, My Daughters, Patchouli, Guadalupe, Alice in Wonderland,
Corsets, Cats, Catholic Iconistic Art, History, Coffee, Oreos, Hats, Black, Skeletons, Stripped Stockings, Ruby Slippers
Jeff, Lions, Silver, Disneyland, Ouija, Tarot, Oracles, Saints, Friends, Mac, Candles, Incense,
Sage, My Coven Sisters, Home, Feather Pillows, Sleep, Reading, Writing, Walking, Bike Riding, Iced tea, Beach,
Shells, Beach Glass, Ocean, Labyrinths, Jasmine, Ojai, Muertas, Ravens/Crows, Folk Art, Folk Lore, Books,
Classical, 1920's-1940's Music, Classic Rock, Marilyn Manson, Ojai, Gemology, St. Expedite, Hour Glasses, Journals, Shoes, Fairy Tales,
Geneaology, Pellegrino, Skulls, Vodou, Hoodoo, Conjure, Pow Wow, Gargoyles, Besoms, Cauldrons,
Tea Cups, Pirates, Long Nails, The Pearl, Anubis, Gardens, Carousel Horses, Lemons, Local History, Ghosts, Hauntings,
Museums, Folk Lore, Soiled Doves, Lavender, California, The Number 9, Thinking, Red, White Gold, The Occult, Arcane studies, Anthropology, Archaeology,
Geisha, Odd Dolls, Jeeps, Mardi Gras, Crystal Balls, Rubies, Garnets, Shakespeare, Clocks, Fetish, The Unusual, The Bizarre,

I am a Native Californian- several generations back on my Maternal side. I LOVE California~ it Rules!

The Crow is my main totem animal, guardian and messenger. They always have been with me.

DISNEYLAND- Did I mention I like Disneyland? Jeff and I go there at least once month, sometimes more like 2 or 3 times a month in the autumn, in October when the Haunted Mansion gets it's Nightmare Before Christmas makeover. I ADORE it as Jack Skellington's house. We always ride Pirates of the Caribbean of course, and at least one spin on the Tea Cups!

The Doll’s Funeral~circa 1899

When - my - dolly - died, - when - my dolly - died, I - sat - on - the - step - and - I - cried - and - cried;
And I couldn't eat any jam and bread, 'Cause it didn't seem right when my doll was dead. And Bridget was sorry as she could be, For she patted my head, and "O," said she, "To think that the pretty has gone and died!" Then I broke out afresh and I cried and cried.

And all the dollies from all around Came to see my dolly put under the ground; There was Luly Lee and Mary Clack Brought their dolls over, all dressed in black; And Emiline Hope and Sara Lou Came over and brought their dollies, too, And all the time I cried and cried, 'Cause it hurt me so when my dolly died.

We dressed her up in a new white gown, With ribbons and laces all around; And made her a coffin in a box Where my brother keeps his spelling blocks; And we had some prayers, and a funeral, too; And our hymn was "The Two Little Girls in Blue." But for me, I only cried and cried, 'Cause it truly hurt when my dolly died.

We dug her a grave in the violet bed, And planted violets at her head; And we raised a stone and wrote quite plain, "Here lies a dear doll who died of pain." And then my brother, said he, "Amen," And we all went back to the house again, But all the same I cried and cried, Because I'd a right when my doll had died.

And then we had more jam and bread, But I didn't eat, 'cause my doll was dead. But I tied some crape on my doll house door, And then I stood and cried some more. I couldn't be happy, don't you see! Because the funeral belonged to me. And then the others went home, and then I went out and dug up my doll again.

I once had a sweet little doll, dears, The prettiest doll in the world;
Her cheeks were so red and white, dears, And her hair was so charmingly curled.
But I lost my poor little doll, dears, As I played on the heath one day;
And I cried for her more than a week, dears, But I never could find where she lay.
I found my poor little doll, dears, As I played on the heath one day;
Folks say she is terribly changed, dears, For her paint is all washed away,
And her arms trodden off by the cows, dears, And her hair not the least bit curled;
Yet for old sake's sake, she is still, dears, The prettiest doll in the world.

A meeting place for the Eclectic Wicked Witch

Los Angeles Gothic Women's Tea Society

Please check out The Tea Society using the link above. Ladies of darkness from anywhere are welcomed. Please state your interests on your submission so I know you are not a spam-bot!

Witchcraft (from Old English wiccecræft "sorcery , necromancy"), in various historical, anthropological, religious and mythological contexts, is the use of certain kinds of supernatural or magical powers.
A witch (from Old English masculine wicca, feminine wicce, see Witch (etymology) is a practitioner of witchcraft. The Online Etymology Dictionary states a "possible connection to Gothic weihs "holy" and Ger. weihan "consecrate," and writes, "the priests of a suppressed religion naturally become magicians to its successors or opponents. Practices to which the witchcraft label have historically been applied are those which influence another person's mind, body or property against his or her will, or which are believed, by the person doing the labelling, to undermine the social or religious order. Some modern commentators consider the malefic nature of witchcraft to be a Christian projection.

The concept of a magic-worker influencing another person's body or property against his or her will was clearly present in many cultures, as there are traditions in both folk magic and religious magic that have the purpose of countering malicious magic or identifying malicious magic users. Many examples can be found in ancient texts, such as those from Egypt and Babylonia. Where malicious magic is believed to have the power to influence the mind, body or possessions, malicious magic users can become a credible cause for disease, sickness in animals, bad luck, sudden death, impotence and other such misfortunes. Witchcraft of a more benign and socially acceptable sort may then be employed to turn the malevolence aside, or identify the supposed evil-doer so that punishment may be carried out. The folk magic used to identify or protect against malicious magic users is often indistinguishable from that used by the witches themselves.

There has also existed in popular belief the concept of white witches and white witchcraft, which is strictly benevolent. Many neopagan witches strongly identify with this concept, and profess ethical codes that prevent them from performing magic on a person without their request.
Where belief in malicious magic practices exists, such practitioners are typically forbidden by law as well as hated and feared by the general populace, while beneficial magic is tolerated or even accepted wholesale by the people - even if the orthodox establishment objects to it.
Probably the most obvious characteristic of a witch was the ability to cast a spell, a "spell" being the word used to signify the means employed to accomplish a magical action. A spell could consist of a set of words, a formula or verse, or a ritual action, or any combination of these. Spells traditionally were cast by many methods, such as by the inscription of runes or sigils on an object to give it magical powers, by the immolation or binding of a wax or clay image (poppet) of a person to affect him or her magically, by the recitation of incantations, by the performance of physical rituals, by the employment of magical herbs as amulets or potions, by gazing at mirrors, swords or other specula (scrying) for purposes of divination, and by many others means.
Strictly speaking, "necromancy" is the practice of conjuring the spirits of the dead for divination or prophecy - although the term has also been applied to raising the dead for other purposes. The Biblical 'Witch' of Endor is supposed to have performed it, and it is among the witchcraft practices condemned by Ælfric of Eynsham: "Yet fares witches to where roads meet, and to heathen burials with their phantom craft and call to them the devil, and he comes to them in the dead man's likeness, as if he from death arises, but she cannot cause that to happen, the dead to arise through her wizardry." Powers typically attributed to European witches include turning food poisonous or inedible, flying on broomsticks or pitchforks, casting spells, cursing people, making livestock ill and crops fail, and creating fear and local chaos.

Belief in curses is found in many cultures and is mentioned in the scriptures of many religions. Many if not most established religions forbid such practices outright, but others, citing the long history of scriptural curses, utilize them only in defense against evil that struck at them first. All religions offer forms of blessings of homes and objects and people, with the intent of removing curses. Typically, then, a curse is only a category or type of something much larger, namely the entirety of any given culture's religio-magical paradigm. The deliberate levying of curses is often part of the practice of magic, taking place at the boundary between organized religion and folkloric customs. Magic, sometimes known as sorcery, is a conceptual system that asserts human ability to control the natural world (including events, objects, people, and physical phenomena) through mystical, paranormal or supernatural means. Special names for specific types of curses can be found in various cultures: • African American voodoo presents us with the jinx/haitians and crossed conditions, as well as a form of foot track magic, whereby cursed objects are laid in the paths of victims and activated when walked over. • Middle Eastern and Mediterranean culture is the source of the belief in the evil eye, which may be the result of envy but, more rarely, is said to be the result of a deliberate curse. • German people, including the Pennsylvania Dutch speak in terms of hexing (from the German word for witchcraft), and a common hex in days past was that laid by a stable-witch who caused milk cows to go dry and horses to go lame.
The prototypical "magicians" were a class of priests, the Magi of Zoroastrianism, and their reputation together with that of Ancient Egypt shaped the hermeticism of Hellenistic religion. The Greek mystery religions had strongly magical components, and in Egypt, a large number of magical papyri, in Greek, Coptic, and Demotic, have been recovered. These sources contain early instances of much of the magical lore that later became part of Western cultural expectations about the practice of magic, especially ceremonial magic.They contain early instances of: • the use of "magic words" said to have the power to command spirits; • the use of wands and other ritual tools; • the use of a magic circle to defend the magician against the spirits he is invoking or evoking; and • the use of mysterious symbols or sigils thought useful to invoke or evoke spirits. • The use of spirit mediums is also documented in these texts; many of the spells call for a child to be brought to the magic circle to act as a conduit for messages from the spirits. The time of the Emperor Julian of Rome, marked by a reaction against the influence of Christianity, saw a revival of magical practices associated with neo-Platonism under the guise of theurgy.

Especially in media aimed at children (such as fairy tales), witches are often depicted as wicked old women with wrinkled skin and pointy hats, clothed in black or purple, with warts on their noses and sometimes long claw-like fingernails. Like the three "Weird Sisters" from Macbeth, they are often portrayed as concocting potions in large cauldrons. Witches typically ride through the air on a broomstick as in the Harry Potter universe or in more modern spoof versions, a vacuum cleaner as in the Hocus Pocus universe. One of the most famous recent depictions is the Wicked Witch of the West, from L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. • Witches may also be depicted as essentially good, as in Bewitched, or Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels, as well as in the television show Charmed, where the main characters are witches and they must protect the innocents from demons and other malevolent creatures. • Following the movie The Craft, popular fictional depictions of witchcraft have increasingly drawn from Wiccan practices, and portrayed witchcraft as having a religious basis. • Though now in modern culture witches can be depicted as just normal looking humans such as Harry Potter and the line between "good and evil" is becoming less black and white.

Because I could not stop for Death He kindly stopped for me; The carriage held but just ourselves And Immortality

We slowly drove, he knew no haste, And I had put away My labor, and my leisure too, For his civility

We passed the school where children played, Their lessons scarcely done; We passed the fields of gazing grain, We passed the setting sun

We paused before a house that seemed A swelling of the ground; The roof was scarcely visible, The cornice but a mound

Since then 'tis centuries; but each Feels shorter than the day I first surmised the horses' heads Were toward eternity

Skulls and Dead Roses Group

I died for Beauty, but was scarce Adjusted in the tomb, When one who died for Truth was lain In an adjoining room

He questioned softly why I failed? "For Beauty" I replied "And I for Truth- the two are one We brethren are" he said

And so, as kinsmen met a night, We talked between the rooms, Until the moss had reached our lips, And covered up our names.

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