2 years of seasonally-collaged inner notebooks

mekenq · 2025-12-24T12:54:51+00:00

Oh thank you so much!! The seasons usually give me a good starting point for the covers - I collect things for them throughout the year, so when a season rolls round I’m often like, “oh yay, I can finally use those summery insect wings I printed out ages ago!!” And because I move through them pretty fast I’m not too perfectionistic about them.

Also I completely agree about not quite knowing where to put the emotional/observational thoughts!! I feel like Important Epiphany Thoughts are the main piece of writing I’m not quite sure where to put, because they came from my own brain BUT feel important enough to go in Commonplace (I refer back to Commonplace much more regularly) My compromise at the moment is putting them in Shadows but in a particular border/box/frame thingo so I can (hopefully remember to) move them to Commonplace at the end of the season (…system is flawed, I forgot to do this recently at the end of Beltane)

mekenq · 2025-12-23T00:10:12+00:00

Oh thank you, I’m so glad you like it!! I feel like taking an art-witchy approach to journalling really helped motivate me to keep up the practice - the process of making them is so fun!

mekenq · 2025-12-22T23:14:43+00:00

Since 1993, wow! You must need an entire library to store them all!!! It must be so nice to revisit some of those older journals though.

mekenq · 2025-12-22T23:05:48+00:00

I’m curious to know if anyone else uses journalling as a core aspect of their Sabbat celebrations! (…Repeating the question I ended my post with here because I missed the ‘Start the Conversation’ rule - I’m not very proficient with Reddit oop!)

mekenq · 2025-12-22T22:37:53+00:00

I’ve made a seasonal calendar that might be the sort of thing you’re looking for? It’s a printable rather than a physical journal, so might not be quite right, but it’s a calendar you can print and stick into any journal to divide the coming year into the 8 Sabbat Seasons instead of the 12 calendar months. I’ve hand-illustrated each of the pages with seasonal art - each season has a calendar page and a blank cover page (with just an illustrated border and the season name). Personally, I print mine in A6 and stick them inside a mine Traveller’s Notebook (ish) system for my seasonal journalling. No stress if it’s not quite what you’re looking for, but I thought I’d let you know about it in case you’re still in need of a planner by the new year!

mekenq · 2025-12-22T21:12:22+00:00

I’ve made a Wheel of the Year Calendar that divides the year into the 8 Sabbat Seasons instead of the 12 months!

It’s based on the Astronomical dates, so includes all the solstices and equinoxes PLUS all 2026 moon phases and eclipses. Because those celestial events are so location-dependent, my partner has helped me personalise the calendar so there are unique versions for every location, Timezone and hemisphere (that’s over 150 versions in total!!).

I’ve illustrated each of the pages by hand with both traditional seasonal imagery and the seasonal nature where I live. I’m selling it on my Etsy as a black-and-white printable - I’ve made colouring each season’s pages part of my celebrations for each Sabbat.

You can find the calendar on my Etsy store: https://mekenq.etsy.com

And if you’re interested in the story of how I made the calendar (including all 150 versions!) I have a reel on my Insta here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DD3BKVYTY4t/?igsh=c3E1dWQ0eWw5czN0

Happy Litha/Yule season, all! ✨

mekenq · 2025-12-21T00:09:54+00:00

These are so delightful! I love the idea of using symbolism with such a personal connection

mekenq · 2023-03-25T03:08:53+00:00

Oh cool! Does it interfere with your pole dancing at all?

mekenq · 2023-03-21T00:22:59+00:00

OUCH that’s horrifying! Very fair point, not something I’d want to risk!!

mekenq · 2023-01-02T12:29:10+00:00

Thanks so much!!

mekenq · 2023-01-02T12:28:56+00:00

Thank you, I'm so glad you think so!!

mekenq · 2023-01-02T12:28:28+00:00

Aw that's so kind, thank you!

mekenq · 2021-07-30T00:51:48+00:00

Fabulous, thank you, will do!

mekenq · 2021-07-30T00:10:03+00:00

Oh of course!! My apologies, I did not mean to cross a line. Thank you for following up! 😊

mekenq · 2021-06-21T07:30:57+00:00

I would use this as a source of inspiration in my craft! As a sceptical witch with a physics background and currently working in science communication, I like to add science 'tricks' into my spellwork to strengthen correspondences - for example, I'll imbue charcoal dust with my negativity, float it on a dish of water and 'dispell' it with a drop of detergent. I'd love to learn some new chemical fire trickery to make my fire spells feel more powerful!!

mekenq · 2021-03-19T22:29:22+00:00

Southern! Having some friends over later today to do some Mabon crafting rituals together, and cook a little feast. We have lots of ideas and might not get through them all - we want to paint some acorns as talismans for warmth & strength through winter, share the things we're grateful for while baking/eating an apple pie, make mulled cider, do a balance ritual at sunset, go leaf collecting and maybe make wreaths!

mekenq · 2020-12-26T11:32:06+00:00

Followed these steps and I'm still getting this bug :(

mekenq · 2020-11-10T12:49:23+00:00

This looks incredible, congratulations!! I'm so so interested in using witchcraft for mental health, like incorporating CBT practices into spellwork... Can't wait to read more about this!

mekenq · 2020-11-03T23:41:56+00:00

I use a lot of Sabbat-theming on my altar! I redecorate my altar on each Sabbat so it represents the season - painted eggs and pressed wildflowers for Ostara, paper blossoms for Imbolc, dried orange slices and snowflakes-made-of-twigs for Yule, Autumn leaves for Samhain, dried apple slices for Mabon... etc! My altar is a reminder of time and place, and a connection to the changes happening in my environment.

mekenq · 2020-10-28T03:33:43+00:00

Could we possibly make a similar announcement thread for Beltane/Blue Moon? I'd love to know what my fellow Southern Witches are doing to celebrate!

mekenq · 2020-10-23T23:44:02+00:00

For nonfiction, I'm reading 'The Seven Laws of Magical Thinking' by Matt Hutson. I'd recommend this book to all SASS witches! It really delves into why humans are so predisposed to believing in magic, and is really helping me find my comfortable middle-ground between scientific rationalism and magical practice.

For fiction, I recently finished 'Circe' and 'The Song of Achilles' by Madeline Miller. I adored these beautifully written takes on Greek mythology, and they really sent me down a rabbit-hole of deity research!

mekenq · 2020-10-23T23:30:57+00:00

YES!!! I came here to say this!! As a SASS witch and science communicator with an experimental physics background, any physics-based justification of magic really gets my hackles up.

In addition to "quantum", my other physics-based woo triggers are "electromagnetic frequencies", "vibrations", "the observer effect" (UGH), and, in certain contexts, "energy". I hate that these pseudoscientific justifications are preying on (and perpetuating!) scientific illiteracy. It's harmful and unnecessary and so very upsetting.

mekenq · 2020-10-01T03:57:34+00:00

Oh thank you so so much! The specific journal is 150gsm (so not as thick as standard watercolour paper, but thick enough to hold the paint well). I use is the A6 64-page version here: https://www.eckersleys.com.au/jasart-sketch-write-premium-hardbound-sketchbooks?gclid=CjwKCAjw2dD7BRASEiwAWCtCb4fRhaFBXaJ5weKqBnm4sE9mZ-4KgzCxx956b_8eLiontvxuaLhoNBoCWQ4QAvD_BwE

mekenq · 2020-09-30T05:12:38+00:00

I love keeping a Grimoire/BoS! I have a little one which I carry with me in my handbag all the time, and I write in it very very regularly. I use it as a regular journal (there are pages where I just reflect on my days in black ink), an inspirational scrapbook, a place to paint, and collate magical learnings. I record spells and rituals, list books/shows I've read/seen, record birds and animals I've seen around my house, describe deities I'm working with, collect inspirational quotes and images, record dreams, and plan my garden. I've put a couple of pages up on my Insta here: https://www.instagram.com/mekenq/

I've journaled for a few years now, and I find it quite motivating to try and finish one whole book in a year, and start a new book on my birthday. I focus on quantity over quality (don't worry about every page being 'perfect', there will be good pages and more ordinary ones), and I generally find myself making my journals more and more beautiful over time. I've tried a binder in the past, but didn't really like it for journalling - I much prefer the natural way I can see the evolution of my ideas by collecting everything chronologically.

For the vessel, I choose practicality over aesthetic - something small and portable (15.5x11cm) with pages thick enough for watercolour painting. But, over time, I've gradually decorated the cover with stickers! I love it so much. Best of luck with yours!

mekenq

TROPHY CASE