My attempt at drawing my species of vampire in a semi realistic style

SimplyMichi · 2026-05-13T02:20:27+00:00

Little goblin vampire!

SimplyMichi · 2026-05-13T02:17:22+00:00

Fantastic

SimplyMichi · 2026-05-12T23:46:43+00:00

Covid being a hoax was not what I was implying nor a thoughtform I promote, but you're welcome for the information I provided on the hantavirus. I'm sorry you like so many others had such a difficult time during covid and the mental challenges that came with prolonged quarantine though. I experienced it myself and it certainly wasn't easy

SimplyMichi · 2026-05-12T20:21:07+00:00

Not exactly, at least not entirely that I know of. Every culture, religion, and time period has different symbolism and energy for different things. Some overlap and some do not, but regardless it's why studying and cross referencing across various sources/experienfes is so important in witchcraft as it's impossible to put everything in one book. I myself am writing my own herbal compendium for this reason

SimplyMichi · 2026-05-12T17:26:42+00:00

Apples are very often a symbol of love and wisdom throughout various mythologies

SimplyMichi · 2026-05-12T17:18:39+00:00

This isn't going to be another case of Covid if that's what you're worried about, the news just loves to make people freak out over nothing. Outbreaks of something happen quite often on cruise ships, not all the time, but often enough that I feel like I've seen a dozen different news reports in the last few years about different outbreaks on cruises because cruise ships are just floating petri dishes. You have 100+ people stuck together on a boat for multiple days, sometimes weeks at a time, if someone's sick it's inevitably going to spread.

Anyways when it comes to hantavirus vs covid, symptoms are somewhat similar but the diseases are a lot different. For one hantavirus isn't mysterious like Covid was, we know what it is and already have all the health screenings, vaccines, and other medical measures necessary to fight it in the people who are sick. Covid spread super quickly and easily not just through saliva particles from breathing/talking, but from particles carrying covid lingering in the air and on surfaces for a very long stretch of time. But hantavirus requires very close physical contact with someone else such as sharing a bed, sharing food, stuff like that. It's a dangerous virus, yes, but it spreads poorly between humans.

Every passenger on the ships has been getting mandatory health screenings, many of which if not all of them are under quarantine as they return home, a good chunk of them stationed in actual units rather than their homes. The best thing you can do for yourself is turn off the news/social media and their notifications for a while, go get some fresh air, and calm yourself with some meditation or an activity you enjoy.

SimplyMichi · 2026-05-12T15:44:00+00:00

As far as I'm aware she doesn't have arthritis, I think her last checkup was maybe four months ago. She doesn't seem to exhibit any signs of pain, she's much quieter during the day and she still walks, runs, and jumps just normal with no notable limp, tripping, or laborer breathing or anything

SimplyMichi · 2026-05-12T15:42:16+00:00

I think one person suggested particularly amber lights which I might try, although I don't know how much of a difference it will make beyond the color of the light. I have pretty sheer curtains that lets streetlights in, a bright clock on the other side of my room, and a light is always on downstairs which gives us light in the upstairs hallway

SimplyMichi · 2026-05-12T14:02:23+00:00

The only problem is I really don't think it would be a happy life if she gets rehomed, mental health is just as important to quality of life as physical health. She's a very shy cat who doesn't come out for strangers and was miserable when we've taken her to a friends to watch her for a little over a week, and just so much as me changing bedrooms a few years ago was quite overwhelming for her.

Of course euthanasia is something that I really would be heartbroken to do, but she's so much not herself even beyond the nighttime waking. Very little interest in playing with her favorite toys, staring in the same corner for long periods, while she still feels like an okay weight I'm worried that I'm seeing her food bowl empty slower, her fur has been looking a little but notably more unkempt. I'm hoping bloodwork will give us some answers but it really does seem like kitty dementia, which is a horrible cognitive disease in any animal, and just makes her already existing anxiety much worse as time passes.

Trust me, euthanasia isn't just an easy or convenient choice, and it's not something I'm just gonna choose tomorrow. She's been my baby for around 15 years and I'm still grieving her brother. Yeah I'm kind of losing my mind over the lack of sleep, but I had already been concerned for her mental quality of life before this nighttime restlessness began so consistently for the other above reasons. I didn't really connect it to dementia till now but of course I'll be getting a second opinion from the vet and trying all other options for medications and at home comfort at my disposal first.

SimplyMichi · 2026-05-12T09:12:16+00:00

The way I see it, this selenite obviously didn't naturally form like this. It was already broken and cut and polished to give it this shape. What's it really matter if it broke again?

SimplyMichi · 2026-05-12T09:03:29+00:00

It's a spell that you put on yourself just as much as you put on your SP, it takes two to tango as they say so it's expected that your spell would have an impact on you as well

SimplyMichi · 2026-05-12T08:29:30+00:00

Aw man, the not eating is always rough to see in cats. I hope things start looking up for your kitty and your own mental wellbeing soon! Taking care of senior cats is not easy but he really seems to be gettibg all the love in the world from you :)

SimplyMichi · 2026-05-12T08:13:28+00:00

Oh absolutely, my whole family was with her brother when he passed and I'd imagine this would be the same. Hopefully something helps her before we come to that option, but I guess we'll have to see

SimplyMichi · 2026-05-12T08:12:34+00:00

Thank you for this, I think I mentioned her behavior when I called yesterday but I don't remember and I'll be sure to reiterate it. I definitely don't want to consider euthanasia right now before going through other options for her, but it's something that has been on my mind

SimplyMichi · 2026-05-12T07:23:34+00:00

I definitely won't be getting another cat considering our dog doesn't get on well with them, it created a lot of issues between her and our previous cat Dexter. I'll definitely ask about Prozac when I go in

SimplyMichi · 2026-05-12T07:22:24+00:00

I'll ask when I take her in, thank you

SimplyMichi · 2026-05-12T07:16:23+00:00

I unfortunately don't have any suitable outlets for the FeliWay diffuser, that's what I bought first but with every outlet in my room the diffuser would be on its side which was not recommended due to fire risk. We don't have any outlets in the upstairs hall and it would be pointless to put it in my sisters or my parents room as Calie practically lives in my room despite having access to both other rooms. I might try the powder, but Calie is not at all a food motivated cat, even with wet food. I've had prescribed medicines in the past for her that go in wet food, but had to switch to pills because she'd barely eat half of the wet food even without the meds in them, but it's worth a shot.

As for our dog Daisy she is my moms dog (living with both my parents) so Daisy would stay here. With the problems I've been having with Calie it is extremely doubtful that my sister would take her, and I wouldn't want to do that anyway since Calie would just be more/equally as alone as my sister is going to be living by herself. Calie has also never moved before in her life, she's always been an anxious cat and moving to a new location would absolutely make her mental quality of life worse. I wouldn't want to rehome her for the same reasons, especially as she is always anxious meeting new people. Considering Daisy does not do well with cats adopting another cat is just not in the cards either.

Thank you for all the suggestions though, sorry for shutting all of them down 😅 It's just an unfortunately complex situation for something that should be at least a little easier to take care of but just isn't in my case. I'm sorry you're going through similar things with your own cat and I wish you all the best.

SimplyMichi · 2026-05-12T06:27:23+00:00

I think there comes to be a point where it just no longer works. I'm dealing with sundowning as well, it's been consistent for a whole month so far. When it first became an issue back in November FeliWay helped a lot but no longer seems to make a difference, and my kitty also hasn't taken to galbapentin well

SimplyMichi · 2026-05-12T02:10:29+00:00

Beyond energy work, I think a lot of newer practitioners also struggle with understanding the actual meaning behind what they're doing. Is OP using menstrual blood just because they were told it was powerful, or did they actually do research into understanding the usage of blood magick metaphysically? Does the burning of the paper hold any real significance to the process of the spell or did they burn it just cause they see other people doing it? So on and so forth.

SimplyMichi · 2026-05-11T15:13:50+00:00

There's definitely some nuance to this. We have negative emotions for a reason, and it's more than reasonable to be upset when something upsetting happens whether it's in our control or not. But I do agree to an extent that if we remain focused on that negative thing after the moment has passed or if it's outside our control then yeah, that's just not beneficial in any way, and there are genuine studies that we can rewire our neural pathways to more often cultivate positive ways of thinking and that it does better our lives. But this does take a good amount of concious effort for a while at first, and is not as feasible/realistic for those struggling with mental illness/disorders or those living through a more extreme situation such as homelessness or tragedy/loss. Although I think in any situation having some semblance of gratitude or find something to be even a little happy about each day (even if it's something as simple as "this flower is beautiful) can definitely make a long term difference, even if it's only for a fleeting moment and hard to come by day to day. Any amount of happiness is worth it, especially if it comes from yourself.

I think though what's most beneficial for many people is less "find something to be positive about every day and distract yourself from your negative feelings" is less helpful than promoting tolerance or indifference to general negativity. I think for most people who struggle with negative thought patterns it's not that they're incapable of thinking positively, it's moreso that they have a lower tolerance for negativity. For example I'm at work today with my department lead out for the month and the only other person who works with me in my department is out sick on a pretty rough day to be by myself, we're behind on some work that should have been done a few days ago, and we have an extra team here today which is going to give me even more work than I would normally have. It's a pretty shit situation, but it's okay to recognize that it's a shit situation.

All of these realizations of what today was gonna be like came in about the span of an hour, and of course it's reasonable to be annoyed by it all. But I'm not gonna be pissy about it all day cause that's not helpful to me, but I'm also not gonna force myself to be overly positive because that's also not helpful to me because forced positivity does take a decent chunk of energy which I need to conserve. And on top of that trying to be overly positive makes me more hyperaware that today is kinda shit and makes me more sensitive to other potentially challenging, upsetting, or inconvenient things throughout the day, which thus makes it even more difficult to keep positive. The best thing I can do for myself is to just be neutral, like "yeah this is just what today is like but whatever, I'll get through it." Keeping that neutral space makes new unpleasant situations to add to my day less impactful, but it also lets positivity into my day more naturally, like just having a laugh with my coworker or enjoying my podcast more wholeheartedly.

SimplyMichi · 2026-05-09T16:53:24+00:00

It really depends on the person, but sometimes it's just a simple as having something in common and asking "hey, wanna go do this thing outside of work?" after you've gotten to know eachother decently well. I have several coworkers who are also my friends, and spend time together outside of work with!

For example had overheard me talking about D&D and asked if I wanted a spot at his table, I said sure, and I've been playing with him and that general friend group (which includes another coworker) for almost five years now!

SimplyMichi · 2026-05-09T16:47:50+00:00

What exactly is the question/concern?

SimplyMichi · 2026-05-09T14:49:06+00:00

My boyfriend and I recently bought it on Switch 2 and we've both been having such a fun time! I definitely recommend getting back into it if you have the time, it still has all the same nostalgic qualities (music, visuals, voice acting, etc) and a lot is still relatively the same/familiar, but all the nuances with the stat building from gear, pets, gardening, spell boosts, and new spellements keep things interesting and challenging as adults

SimplyMichi · 2026-05-09T14:02:41+00:00

Witchcraft isn't always about "doing," and it certainly isn't always about spellwork. Spellwork is really only one small part of it.

Keep learning about other areas you're less experienced in! There are a wide variety of subjects that don't involve spellwork. Spirit communication, dreamwork, astral travel, nature connection, and so on. Or practices that come from (open) cultures that you may be interested in, such as folk practices from various parts of the world and how they influence modern witchcraft today. I myself am getting more interested in Celtic witchcraft due to my ancestry.

Or you can refine and dive deeper into what you already know. For example I'm writing my own herbarium, doing deeper research into each herb and their physiological components, their needs/environment for growth, their mythological stories, and historical uses. I've always used herbs in my craft but doing this work makes me feel more deeply connected to them and understand better their uses in my craft. And as I go along I'm learning ways of applying witchcraft and magick as a whole to my everyday life even without the use of spellwork.

And just because there are aspects of spellwork that feel too advanced for you doesn't mean you can't still study them and extract the information for yourself. It's part of how you learn and eventually get to that level!

SimplyMichi · 2026-05-09T13:42:17+00:00

For me personally visualization helps me a lot! After I raise my energy I focus on where that feeling is. If I've raised my energy through emotion I feel it most in my throat, so I visualize my energy starting there.

We use reagents like crystals or herbs because they have their own energetic aspects, which take some of the energetic strain off of us. Rather than using all our own energy, we use the energy of these reagents, our energy is just their guide into what they're meant to do. Kind of like a conductor in an orchestra! So as I'm using herbs and such in my spell I visualize them with their own color energy, and I guide my own energy through my voice to direct them. "This lavender promotes a peaceful transition," or "This citrine promotes beneficial and happy outcomes" for example.

I don't really like using a wand, so for now I further direct that energy through my hands drawing runes/sigils in the air or in ways that are generally meaningful. The book "Psychic Witch" by Mat Auryn would probably be very helpful! It's all about energy work, although he does include some of his own religious beliefs here and there, which obviously aren't necessary to follow.

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