iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Michelle Cunningham ⛤ @oldstoneways.bsky.social · 04/01/2025

Just another Friday night studying the geologies and geomyths of the Inner Hebrides.

Michelle Cunningham ⛤ @oldstoneways.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

If the pins remained in the wick after the candle had burnt away around them, their lover would swiftly appear. If they fell out, their lover would be disloyal. A few variations are recorded in Notes on the Folk-Lore of the Northern Counties of England and the Borders (1866).

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Michelle Cunningham ⛤ @oldstoneways.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

Candles and pins are common features in folk magic. A damsel desirous of seeing her lover would pierce a candle with two pins, taking care that they crossed through the wick, whilst reciting: “It is not this candle alone I wish to stick, but my love’s heart I mean to prick” #folkyfriday #witchsky

Black ink image of an extinguished candle stuck through with a large pin, standing upright on a small wooden base. Surrounding the candle are folded pieces of paper featuring magical sigils and text. This drawing is part of the collection at the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic in Boscastle, Cornwall (object number R/6/848).

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Michelle Cunningham ⛤ @oldstoneways.bsky.social · 07/12/2024

Merry meet! Yes of course feel free to use it… would be a lovely thing if it caught on!

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Michelle Cunningham ⛤ @oldstoneways.bsky.social · 07/12/2024

I’m fascinated by the folklore of objects from antiquity. Legend has that the spectre of a Druid at Rillaton offered travellers refreshment from his perpetually filled cup. One man grew angry at his inability to drain it and threw the cup, only to be met with his demise on the slopes of the tor.

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Michelle Cunningham ⛤ @oldstoneways.bsky.social · 01/12/2024

I’m a pagan writer, I’d love to be considered 🖤

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Michelle Cunningham ⛤ @oldstoneways.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

Absolutely. Frankly I’m so tired (bored?) of the perfected aesthetic. There was so much hidden in plain sight in the past. Regular objects, farming implements, etc, were important for their symbolic / functional essence. Use what you have on hand is really a cornerstone of practice!

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Michelle Cunningham ⛤ @oldstoneways.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

Really looking forward to diving into it. Also, Underland is one of my favourites! Robert Macfarlane is brilliant, of course.

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Michelle Cunningham ⛤ @oldstoneways.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

What is common knowledge in your field but shocks outsiders? The Burning Times myth was largely perpetuated by second-wave feminism. In English speaking countries, those executed for witchcraft were hanged or strangled, not burned. The Old Religion referred to Catholicism, not a surviving Paganism.

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Michelle Cunningham ⛤ @oldstoneways.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

So wish I could have attended. Congrats!

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Michelle Cunningham ⛤ @oldstoneways.bsky.social · 25/11/2024

Bookish Checkpoint! ✦ Last book read: The Charmer’s Root (Roger J. Horne) ✦ Current read: The Witch in History (Diane Purkiss) ✦ Top of TBR pile: Ecstasies (Carlo Ginzburg) ✦ Next anticipated read: Serpents of Circe (Various) & Witches Among Us (Thorn Mooney) #witchbooks #occultsky #pagansky

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Michelle Cunningham ⛤ @oldstoneways.bsky.social · 25/11/2024

Very different things seem to be happening in Bald’s Leechbook and the Lacnunga, however. Distinctly northern magic that doesn’t appear to perpetuate Pliny…

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Michelle Cunningham ⛤ @oldstoneways.bsky.social · 25/11/2024

Yes! Pliny is so pervasive, isn’t he. Such a lasting influence on folk remedies / folk charms.

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Michelle Cunningham ⛤ @oldstoneways.bsky.social · 25/11/2024

I’ve only been here a few days but already it feels like a place of joy, magic, and resilience. A collective breath of fresh air. A community. It’s really lovely.

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Michelle Cunningham ⛤ @oldstoneways.bsky.social · 25/11/2024

How lovely we are so close! *waves from the Sunshine Coast*

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Michelle Cunningham ⛤ @oldstoneways.bsky.social · 24/11/2024

There was so much in the zeitgeist at that time. Fascinating!

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Michelle Cunningham ⛤ @oldstoneways.bsky.social · 23/11/2024

My wife is Aussie, though we’re currently based in the northern hemisphere!

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Michelle Cunningham ⛤ @oldstoneways.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

I lived for this album in the 90’s! The Tea Party are masterful in their darkly esoteric vibes.

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Michelle Cunningham ⛤ @oldstoneways.bsky.social · 21/11/2024

Hay-on-Wye is top of my pilgrimage list atm. Hallowed ground, surely.

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Michelle Cunningham ⛤ @oldstoneways.bsky.social · 21/11/2024

As creatures, they are magical resistance embodied. Absolutely both!

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Michelle Cunningham ⛤ @oldstoneways.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

Deeply honoured to have my writing included in this anthology alongside so many talented witches & occultists. This book holds some potent workings for dark times. If you need reminding of your own power at the moment, or the power of building resilient communities, be sure to pick up a copy 💙

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Michelle Cunningham ⛤ @oldstoneways.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

It really has been a mass migration over the last few days!

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Michelle Cunningham ⛤ @oldstoneways.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

Greetings! I’m Michelle - a queer folk witch with ceremonial tendencies. Practitioner of 25 years, eternal student. Walker between the worlds and between continents. Currently living on the edge of dense wilderness in what is now known as British Columbia, Canada. Merry meet across the firmament!

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Michelle Cunningham ⛤ @oldstoneways.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

I am also a keen participant of both cultures… currently curled up with blankets and six books beside me to satisfy whatever whim arises. The power has been knocked out due to a massive windstorm, which makes for the most exciting kind of book-indulgent day 📖🕯️

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