a Witch's Guide to Tanning HidesThis is the third and final part of a ridiculously long post covering at home methods for tanning hides and leather. These methods are of particular interest to the witch due to their simplicity, great results, and fun use of questionable substances. Part 1 covered important terms and how to prepare a hide for tanning, part 2 explained how to tan hides with battery acid, and this post will cover how to tan hides using brains and smoke. Together, these mark the fifth installment on a 6 post series: Working with Zoological Remains -that is, the use of bones, feathers, wings, paws, and skulls in witchcraft. Previous posts include An Introduction to Working with Zoological Remains; Bone Collecting: How-to acquire Bones and Other Zoological Remains Regardless of Where you Live; Of Skull & Bone: Cleaning and Whitening; and The Joy of a Salt Box: Preparing Wing & Paw. The final installment of this series will focus on the actual use of zoological remains in witchcraft. Of course, while there is no one and true way to employ these sacred items within witchcraft, we will look at general techniques and methods, building off of the basic ideology that has been discussed throughout each of these posts. Tanning Hides with BrainsAnother option that you have is to use the brain of the animal as part of the tanning process. This is a really great option if you happen to go hunting yourself or have a friend who hunts and would be willing to give you the hide and head. Conveniently, the size of any animal’s brain provides the right amount needed in order to tan its hide. This makes it a very economical choice and is definitely one to consider for the magickal worker as it puts another part of that animal to good use. Taking those extra steps to ensure that as little as possible goes to waste is the least we can do when taking the life of another creature in exchange for the continuation of our own lives. This also pays the most respect to the spirit of that animal who -possibly, though not guaranteed- may decide to stick around, maintaining the connection to its remains and, thus, being able to aid you in your Work.
a Witch's Guide to Tanning HidesThis is part 2 of a 3 part post on at home tanning methods. These are relatively simple methods that will produce tanned hides and soft leather, but do vary considerably in amount of effort and time. Part 1 introduced some important terms, as well as discussing skinning, fleshing, and long-term preservation for hides. In this, part 2, we'll jump into a relatively quick way to tan a hide, leaving the fur on. This complete post makes up the fifth part of a series on Working with Zoological Remains. Zoological remains are carefully preserved animal parts that are used with reverence within witchcraft. They may house the spirits of animals or other entities or be used exclusively for their symbolic or archetypal value. Previous posts in this series include An Introduction to Working with Zoological Remains, Bone Collecting: How-to Acquire Bones and Other Zoological Remains Regardless of Where you Live, Of Skull & Bone: Cleaning & Whitening, and The Joy of a Salt Box: Preparing Wing & Paw. The final post of this series will focus on methods and techniques for working with bones in witchcraft, as well as other zoological remains, such as wings, feathers, feet, horns, hooves, and antlers. Tanning Hides with Battery AcidThe following method is relatively simple, though it will require a number of materials. It also is much faster than the brain and smoke tanning method, which will follow it. This method allows you to tan a hide -keeping the hair on- to produce a soft and pliable hide that can be used for just about anything, dependent upon the size of the hide and your sewing skills.
The children and I stood gathered about the shrine, watching as the last of the torches atop the amphiphontes glowed from within the cake. The other torches had all extinguished themselves by now, but this one held on stubbornly, a tiny spark and subtle glow holding tight to the candle wick. My five-year-old daughter’s eyes were wide and round above the small hand she held across her mouth, not trusting her ability to hold her breath. Each of the children held a wish in their minds, eyes focused on the shrine. A Witch's Guide to Tanning HidesThis is the fifth post in a series on Working with Zoological Remains. This series is focused upon the use of zoological remains -the preserved remains of animals- in witchcraft and has explored the ideology as well as the practical aspects. Previous posts include An Introduction to Working with Zoological Remains, Bone Collecting: How-to Acquire Bones and Other Zoological Remains Regardless of Where you Live, Of Skull & Bone: Cleaning & Whitening, and The Joy of a Salt Box: Preparing Wing & Paw. The final post of this series shall focus on actual usage. For now, we will be looking at various ways to tan hides and make leather at home. Due to length, this will be a 3-part post. Tanned animal hides and leather are versatile items in witchcraft with a range of uses that vary from extremely practical (e.g. using to make bags, jewelry, clothing, or altar clothes) to very spiritual (e.g. being used to connect with the spirit of the animal whose hide it is, to connect with the archetypal energy of that species of animal, and/or to connect with another spirit or deity Who is connected to that type of animal, amongst others.) Of all preservation methods, with the exception of taxidermy and creating full body mounts, this is the most complicated. However, this is only because the number of steps is considerably greater and deviating too far from the prescribed steps can lead to disaster -in this case, rotting hides, hides that hair falls out in large patches, and hides and leather that smell bad. To help ensure the greatest amount of success, alternative steps and techniques will be given where appropriate. Regardless of what method you favor and whether you prefer to read for yourself or to have someone else read for you, divination can be a powerful tool to help you navigate coming obstacles, to more fully take advantage of opportunities, and to realize things that you may be missing. It can help you to make decisions, to reveal choices you didn’t know you had, and to warn you of some pretty nasty shit headed your way. But, there is a lot that divination cannot do for you. The concept of power animals has become pretty common throughout the magickal community now, though my stubborn mind insists it was barely present just a decade ago. It’s a concept that doesn’t play a part in my own practice, despite my being a witch (which, by definition, includes a heavy dose of animism both in practice and in fundamental worldview. I go into this further here, if you’re interested in a greater explanation) and for far too many reasons to rant, I mean, ramble about here*. Suffice to say, while the concept of power animals is prevalent throughout the world, the misappropriated use of the name “totem” to describe the same practice paired with an undeniably appropriated American Indian flare is something that I can’t stomach and want no part of. But I promised not to rant so… I thought I would share how I do work with animal spirits, as a North American based witch with ancestral heritage stemming from Poland, Mongolia, and Germany. Too rarely do I speak of my own practice on this blog (though I’ve been trying harder to do so the last two years,) so I thought it would be a nice change to shake things up a bit and post something more personal.
This post is part of a series on the use of zoological remains in witchcraft. The term “zoological remains” refers to the physical remains of an animal after it has died. Within witchcraft, commonly used zoological remains include bones, shed skin, antlers, wings, claws, paws, pelts, organs, and even blood. Most of these items require some sort of preservation in order for them to be effectively put to use for any duration of time. This series of posts will explore the ideology behind the use of zoological remains in witchcraft, as well as more practical matters, such as acquiring and preserving material. Previous posts include An Introduction to Working with Zoological Remains and Bone Collecting: How-to Acquire Bones and Other Zoological Remains Regardless of Where you Live. Future posts will focus upon preserving wings and claws, tanning hides, and how to use zoological remains within your own practice. Once you’ve acquired animal remains that you would like to use in your witchcraft practice, the next step is to prepare them for use. Preparation will vary depending on what you have, as a found skull and fresh wing require very different methods to clean and preserve them, but will ultimately culminate with consecration. The general process (i.e. preparation, consecration, use) is the same regardless of whether the spirit of that animal is still attached to the remains or not. In this post, we’ll take a look at the various methods available for cleaning bones, with the next post in this series discussing how to clean and prepare items such as wings, paws, and claws for use. These methods are simple, require nothing more than materials you very likely already have in your home, but do differ in the amount of effort or time that is required. All will produce clean bones that you can then consecrate and begin using. How to Acquire Bones and Other Zoological Remains Regardless of Where you LiveThis post is the second in a series on the use of zoological remains in Witchcraft, which explores the why’s behind the use of bones, teeth, claws, hides, and such as well as the more practical side, such as acquiring bones, cleaning bones, preparing zoological remains for use, and how to use zoological remains in witchcraft. The previous post is An Introduction to Working with Zoological Remains. To the witch who wants to expand their practice to include the use of bones and other zoological remains, trying to figure out how to get bones can be daunting. Not everyone has access to wild spaces or the inclination to hunt, so what options are there? Depending on how you would like to use bones and such in your practice, there are actually a few options available to you –regardless of whether you are an urban witch or a rural witch. No hunting or trapping required, so even a vegetarian or vegan witch can ethically acquire bones and other animal bits and begin using them with the respect and sacredness owed to them. As providing a recommended reading list is damn near obligatory for anyone who puts themselves out there in the online witchcraft world, I finally present my own list. Big important note here: this is a recommended reading list for witches, a recommended reading list for Pagans can succinctly be summed up in “consult the mythology and historical cultural spread of the Deity or pantheon of your interest” with little else of worth to add. In a similar spirit of practicality and functionality, in alphabetical order, I offer the following reading list. |
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January 2023
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