Spirit Work: Superstitions

Originally published April 1, 2025, on Tumblr.

Okay, my fake sockcourse post has too many genuine reblogs on it, so here are some actual spirit work/cemetery-related superstitions I have and practices I do:

• I never go anywhere without a head covering. I generally consider it veiling, though I'm usually in either a beanie or a baseball cap. It keeps a no-effort barrier up to keep me from hearing spirits when I don't want to be hearing them.
• Anytime I visit a new cemetery, I bring a variety of options for offerings to leave at the gate: coins, bird seed, peanuts, handwritten notes, pretty stones, etc. Not all cemetery guardians want the same thing, so it's good to have options. They tend to appreciate getting to pick out their own goodies.
• When making offerings, I try to have one thing representing each element (earth, air, water, fire). Again, options.
• Sitting quietly in an appropriate place is a significantly more effective method of getting a spirit's attention than performing some grand ritual.
• If I have to cross a bridge in a cemetery for any reason, I hold my breath. If I have to go under a bridge, I set my hand atop my head until I'm out the other side.
• If I walk or drive by a cemetery, I remain silent until I've passed by out of respect for the resting dead. It'd piss me off if some guy went by chattering away while I'm trying to sleep.
• Within the confines of a cemetery, graveyard, or other place sacred to the dead, I keep my voice low at all times and stay as silent as possible. Similar reasons as the above, but also so that I can hear and feel more clearly. You can't listen if you're talking, you know?
• I always ask permission before bringing divinatory tools, magical items, or ritual supplies into any place where the dead have been buried. I ask again before starting anything, since permission to bring something in isn't always permission to perform an action.

Aaaaaand a whole bunch of other stuff.