24th Spell - The Venus, Sara

I got a pet! Er, sort of.

One day, my friend Kieran took me to Lowe's and purchased me a very cute pet. What kind of pet do they sell at a home improvement store, huh?

A pet plant, that's what!

This is a picture of Sara, my Venus Flytrap. Isn't she cute? After reading the care instructions and putting her in the window, my curiosity got the better of me. I decided to look up some of the magical properties for the plant. Of course, you learn a lot when you research.

The scientific name for the plant is Dionaea muscipula. While the common name is of course a direct allusion to Venus, the Roman goddess of Love, its scientific name has its own meaning itself.

The etymology behind the genus name Dionaea is in reference to Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of Love. It literally means "daughter of Dione", whom was noted down as Aphrodite's primary mother in Homer's Iliad. The word muscipula is Latin for "mouse trap". With that in mind, it would make sense that the magical properties of the Venus flytrap, especially if it so reputable as a houseplant, would be good for the protection of the hearth and home.

And the name Sara? Well, the name is Hebrew, the meaning being 'Princess'. So while the name is fitting (she's the Princess of Hearth Protection!), I was thinking about another Sara entirely.

Have any houseplants yourself? Feel free to take a gander in your house! You might be surprised what you find, and what it means! And when you're done, you can leave a comment here and tell me all about it!

Magick in Everyday Life - Mark of the Beast

While flipping through news feeds on the internet, AOL News posted a very interesting article that I thought was worth mentioning.

Witchcraft is a very interesting subject; there's something about it that makes it very interchangeable to the user, depending on their beliefs. The ability to have a choice in the patron deities the God and Goddess represent to you can hold a sort of power to the person. Like in Christianity when people pray to the saints, the patron God and Goddess of the individual's choosing invoke perhaps the same feeling of spiritual gratification--you feel as if someone is taking the time to hear a prayer.

However, one of the biggest subjects on Witchcraft to those whom don't know better is its association with the  Devil or Satan. Now, the Wiccan religion doesn't believe in the Devil. But one cannot casually toss aside that the usage of "demonic" or "satanic" symbols aren't what someone could consider a curse. 


While some people may or may not believe in magick, people are still very aware when they are being cursed, and there is still come fear behind it. After all, whether using the Devil as your advocate or any other type of invoked magickal deity, a curse is still Witchcraft, and thus we still continue to be haunted by this time-old visage of dancing skyclad around a bonfire and sacrificing our cats.

The article outlines an incident at a Walmart that's perhaps close by to where I live; the story takes place in Fort Worth, TX. A woman only known as "Jessica" in the article, tells that when she picked up her car from the auto department of a Walmart after an oil change, a kind associate alerted her of the markings on the underside of her car. In bright blue was 666, and upside-down cross, and an upside down pentagram. Jessica has a feeling of who it was, and the company has apparently reached out to her in this incident.

She even worries if its a curse, which is understandable. Words, feelings, and symbols all have power in their own right. I wonder if she was able to wash it off, or if its stuck on the underside of her car? And if so... does she still feel comfortable driving it?

You can check out the article and video here, while AOL News still has it up.

Beltane Book Publishing!

Happy May Day, everyone! Have you guys noticed I've been absent lately? Beltane is here, and perhaps you've managed to go out and about, celebrate, and make merry!

I was lucky enough in the past weekends to go to Scarborough Faire, a Dallas/Fort Worth area renaissance festival with Lore an my lovable god father. I even got to see people dance around the May Pole for the first time, ever! I've always wanted to see that! And do that, as well.

Beltane is know for spring and birth, and rebirth! So how does the University Witch celebrate?

...By publishing her own book on Amazon!

That's right! I'm happy to present University Witch: A Witch's Guide to Surviving Higher Education for download onto the computer or Amazon Kindle! Click here to visit its page on Amazon!

I thought of publishing it on the Kindle, especially due to my post, Techno-Witchcraft when I received my Kindle for Yule. You can download and check out the sample before purchase! It has the Table of Contents in it, so you can look it over to see what's in the book before deciding on purchasing though purchasing would really help me out considering I'm still unemployed, hahahaha...;;. 

May you all have a happy Beltane! Look forward to the next University Witch post!

Love,

Soull Soothslayer, University Witch