Witchy Wednesday@ Geeks’N’Nerds

November 26, 2014 by Lisa Millar ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Of course, an event like Geeks’N’Nerds is going to be filled to the brim of a witch’s hat with Harry Potter references, and there are plenty to find if you look for them. For the blog I try to find something that can be used to create a more authentic Pagan ambiance in-world, and I found just the thing at Geeks’N’Nerds. I’m desperate to find more witchy items made from mesh, but they are hard to come by. Sure, you can find some amazing altars (Poppy Teskat has always been a favourite creator of mine) but they tend to be prim-heavy, and these days I much prefer the mesh alternatives.
Fortunately, BLUEBERRY HILL has crafted a rather lovely mesh piece. It’s a table-top altar, and it features magical books, a wand and some Tarot cards. There are spell bottles on there too, and I think it’s a rather sweet way to declare your Witchy inclinations for Just L$150. If you’re a witch that likes to cast circles with swords, then you should also pick up the ‘Sword Wall Mount’ at L$125. Both items have a bang-tidy land impact of just 1 too, what’s not to love? Both pieces and more besides are available from BLUEBERRY HILL at the GEEKS’N’NERDS event until December 10th.

HORRORFEST 2013 – Something Witchy This Way Comes!

October 25, 2013 by Lisa Millar ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

During my time in Second Life I’ve managed to collect some lovely Pagan and Wiccan items, and I often like to have an altar display in my home.

Alas so far I haven’t seen any made from mesh, but I do have a favourite, the PD Altar Table (Peculiar Designs By Poppy Teskat), Unfortunately for me, my Altar Table has gone walkabout from my inventory, but I do have a smaller alternative, an Altar Crate, that is just as nifty. It’s a little prim heavy, but really lovely and I’ve situated it in my Summer House on my land so that I have a ritual space, and yes, it does get used. It’s a real joy to host and participate in rituals in Second Life, and places like Sacred Cauldron and Gaia Rising I’m sure will be hosting Samhain celebrations over the coming days.

But the aim of this post is to share a few of my Horrorfest goodies with you. This picture features a number of items including a fantastic manicure (a black nail with red, bloodied tips) and pose from ELEPHANTE POSES. The pose in particular is very impressive, it’s from a pack called ‘Witchcraft’ and it works perfectly in situ around the altar or cauldron. The star of this show however is my frock. It’s called ‘Arachne’ and is from the SENZAFINE label. and the Sepia colour-way that I am wearing is the 100% charity donation item, with monies of course going to The Epilepsy Therapy Project. It’s a scrumptious frock; a beautiful shape with web pattern and faded colour towards the hem. The sleeves are generously cut and fluted, and there’s a range or colours to select from if Sepia isn’t your bag (I’m an Earth-sign, so I like to wear earthy colours in my Witchy workings). I’m not one for role-play particularly, but I do like to wear something long and flowing when attending a moot in-world, and it strikes me that this dress is the perfect choice. I don’t know about you, but I am totally impressed by the variety and quality of items featured at Horrorfest this year, it really is proving to be a highlight of a very busy year for events and sales in-world.

Take a trip over to Horrorfest and pick up the poses, dress or nail polish (for SLink hands only) by clicking HERE.

Witchy Wednesdays: Ostara Edition

March 20, 2013March 22, 2013 by Lisa Millar ♥ 2 Comments

I realise that I haven’t produced a ‘Witchy Wednesday’ post in a VERY long time, so here’s a quick post. Today is Ostara after all, a time for new beginnings and fresh starts, so I felt spurred on to write for you all; but what to write about?

In need of inspiration, I took a trip over to Witchfest island Mall. In real life I used to be a member of the Children Of Artemis, so it’s always pleased me no end that they have representation in world. But truth be told, the mall is looking somewhat depleted these days. The always wonderful Artemis Tavern is still going strong, and servicing the community with pride, but I can’t help but feel that it’s time for an image change. I stayed and had a good nosy around, but I didn’t see many sculpted items for sale, let alone any mesh. In fact compared to other areas of Second Life it looks very dated indeed. This saddens me, and it pains me to say that, because I have a lot of admiration for the people that put in their time and effort to run the community there, but I really do think that the area desperately needs freshening up and a re-model is past due. That aside the area is still VERY popular with Witches, Wiccans and Pagans in Second Life, and rightly so, so please don’t think I’m dissing it entirely, I just think an image change would bring even more people to the shops and into the wonderful community that resides there.

After my quick wander round I felt a tad-deflated, so I had a nosey at in-world search and an ad for Raven Keep piqued my interest. I’ve never heard of it before, so I TP’ed over to take a look, and it’s rather interesting!

There are a great array of items here for any Second Life Witch to enjoy. You’ll discover lots of home ware at great prices, with many unique, pleasing touches. It’s clear that the owner, Karra Babii, has a great imagination which is just what you want to see when it comes to all things Witchy! You’ll see cauldrons in various sizes as well as weather-vanes, wiccan signs and textures and ritual equipment. There’s a black Altar that would certainly look the part at the centre of a ritual; with the black and shiny marble giving it a really masculine feel. Something for the male Witch in your life perhaps?

You’ll also spy some really nice prim spell books, goblets mugs and drinking vessels, and my favourite part of the store was the herbal collection and apothecary. This is great fun; a startling array of jars and potions all with labels detailing the concoctions inside; Earthworms, Petrified Butterflies or Dragon Flesh anyone? Stick a few of these in your kitchen and see who notices!The Wiccan Attic Wash Table’s are very pretty and modern, with a sort of shabby chic, and would look good as a mini-altar in the home. There’s space to fit a Crystal ball or statue, wand and candle on the top, and at L$99 they’re not going to break the bank.

A quick sprint to Sable Rose so I can quickly mention of an old favourite of mine, the Ostara jewellery set.

I’ve always liked Rosie’s designs, and I’ve always loved the male and female versions of this particular set and worn them both with pride (I’ve kinda always liked the male version better..shh!) but it’s the perfect item to wear to an Ostara ritual, or to gift to a friend on the Spring Equinox, so do go and check it out.

I’ve just learned that my favourite altars of all time, from Peculiar Designs, have been upgraded to make them even more awesome! Alas, they’re a little too prim heavy for my everyday use, but I’m hopeful that in the near future perhaps esteemed creator Poppy Teskat will come up with something to alleviate the prim count a smidgen, because to be perfectly honest I’ve yet to find altars that are this good. I’ve seen some that come very close, but there’s just something about the way her items are constructed that makes them worth the L$450 price tag. That may seem steep, but consider these an investment as you will never need another altar in-world again. In my pictures above I’m displaying the older versions which are still stylish after a few years, but I notice that Poppy now has new versions for sale that feature different rezzable props for each Sabbat. If you‘re planning your ritual for this weekend let me tell you that the Ostara version of this altar features a moon-gazing hare! How delightful is that?! (Picture below taken from Poppy’s marketplace listing)

The Altars themselves are available in some really lovely wood textures now too. as well as featuring previous details such as their changeable textiles and metals .I know I said they’re prim heavy BUT if you have the spare prims to accommodate these altars then I seriously wouldn’t think twice before splashing out. I notice from Poppy’s profile that she’s got quite the year ahead of her but I really hope she finds the time to come into Second Life and add even more to her range of amazing Wiccan items..wouldn’t some sculptie prims or even mesh be just wonderful?

Last but not least, I zoomed over to Gaia Rising,which is probably my favourite Pagan sim in Second Life, to see if they were having an Ostara ritual there. I’ve featured their lovely rituals on these pages before, but sadly when I got there I couldn’t see anyone around. Instead I lit a candle and threw a wish into their wishing cauldron before taking a slow, enjoyable walk around. (I had some fun taking a few pictures of the area using the ‘depth’ feature in the camera options, and then added some light via Picmonkey, the result is below)

Whatever you’re doing for Ostara, may it be a very blessed time for you indeed.

I hope I can find some lovely Witchy items to feature again here in the near future, especially quality sculpties or mesh items, so if you know of any be sure to drop me an IM in-world and let me know!

Witchy Wednesdays-Nothin’ Peculiar about these goodies!

March 10, 2010March 10, 2010 by Lisa Millar ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Witchy Wednesdays is all about sharing wonderful Witchy things with you, dear reader. That could mean a place, an event or an occasion, but more than likely it means an object or item that will bring extra Pagan potency to your Second Life. I’m pleased to say that I’ve found a corker to share with you today!
First up; confession time. I’m obsessed with knick-knacks. You may have noticed this because of my tendency in recent posts to focus on brooms and altar decorations, athames and vessels.I just love all the frippery and fuss involved with being a witch, and while I know of course that you don’t need the tools, all you need is the intent, it has to be said that having the right kit for the job makes it a whole lot more fun…what can I say, I like my gadgets:) Anyway, I was going to take you on a wander into a wonderful location today, but I’ll save that post for another time because I have to tell you that I’ve just discovered the most lovely wee altar you could possibly imagine, in fact it’s one of the very best that I have seen so far.
Here’s a trick that I’m going to share with you; when looking for items I always start off with a search on Xstreetsl, using the keywords “Witch” “Wiccan” or “Pagan” to see what comes up. Witch tends to bring up role play items and costumes for Halloween as well as full avatars, but Wiccan and Pagan are much more successful search terms indeed. Anyway. I was having a quick whizz through today when I spotted a gem of a find, and decided totake a trip in-world and investigate further.
What I’d stumbled across was the rather spiffing ‘Altar Table’ made by an avatar called Poppy Teskat. If you follow the links from her XstreetSL listings, you’ll see that Poppy has an in-world store, ‘Peculiar Designs’ and it’s full of Pagan happy! It’s a small, gorgeously created store, set in a lovely location, with not many wares for sale inside (yet!) but the items that are on offer are second to none. There are beautifully sculpted candles and candle arrangements, the nicest crystal balls that I have seen in Second Life (You can see them on the mantle in the photograph; beautifully simple with wooden carved stands. I have similar in real life so I guess that’s why I like these so much, aren’t they pretty?) fairy jars, a beautiful romantic dinner set and of course the aforementioned Altar Table.
So, why is this so good? Because it looks realistic for starters, laden with sculpties and some of the best texturing I’ve seen yet on an in-world altar. It’s meticulous crafting of the highest standard. Not only that, it’s simple and effective; the altar isn’t laden down with items that aren’t needed. I especially like the fact that Poppy shows empathy and understanding and evidently knows her stuff, in her ad she states that this is loosely based on a traditional God/Goddess layout and you’d only know that if you were familiar with Wiccan practise.
There are four candles on the table top; two slender taper candles for the God and Goddess and two more chunkier specimens. All four are colour change (20 colours) and touch on/off. There are salt and water bowls, a gorgeously fat bellied cauldron, a censer of incense, a glass of wine and a plate of cakes, a bell, a crystal ball, boline, wand and athame. The censer will smoke if required, and the Pentacle at the rear can be changed to silver, gold or bronze. The crystal ball has on/off sparkles, and there’s a slight ‘bling’ to the wand that can also be removed too. The most customisable item on the altar is the altar cloth itself, which is perfectly crafted and hangs perfectly. There are 4 styles to select from and a total of 57 combinations when you add in the colour change element.
The altar is 60 prims which is rather a lot, BUT if you have the space and you want an elegant and understated work area for ritual I think this is a great find. At L$300 it’s not going to suit everyones budget, BUT there is a smaller Altar Crate that has similar features for just L$200. (Personally speaking I think you should get both, but hey, I’m greedy like that!)
This is great work, and from reading Poppy’s ad I can see that she constantly updates her products and strives to ensure that all previous buyers receive updates when released. I’m also impressed by the way she includes in her ad that suggestions are welcome.
My only suggestion Poppy is that you keep creating these beautiful items because I’m sorely impressed, and I’m sure Kittywitchin’ readers will be too:)