#and it is easier for me to say that- I don't believe in the christian god- than it was to write that kiss

[likeabxrdinflight]

something has gone fundamentally wrong in your church if hang ups around sex persist longer than hang ups around blasphemy after leaving it.

after all this time I find it easier to deny the resurrection than to consider the possibility that a man named yeshua of nazareth might have had sex. read that again. it is easier for me, someone raised devoutly catholic, to deny the divinity of jesus than his virginity.

something has gone very wrong there, because one of those things is objectively a far more damning sin than the other should this religion be true. and yet.

#I didn't realize writing a kiss scene with JC and Judas was going to awaken this much anxiety in me #but it sure did #I've blasphemed all over this fic in all kinds of ways #but this was the scene that got me anxious about damnation and divine retribution #from a god that (and I cannot emphasize this enough) I don't believe in anymore #and it is easier for me to say that- I don't believe in the christian god- than it was to write that kiss #the sex shaming and purity programming (also threats of hell and punishment for deviating from that) went deep #and I'd argue based on my reactions here that it was more deeply ingrained than the cornerstones of the faith itself #at least it was for me #and that's fucked up #can I argue that this stuff is inherently abusive? that to wrap up ideals of hell and punishment with sexuality is inherently harmful? #...I'm certainly tempted to #ex catholic tag

[sapphsorrows]

"people only pick on trans people because they're easy targets" yeah no shit they're easy targets just like flat earthers and antivaxxers. what they believe is absolutely fucking insane when you think about it for more than 2 seconds.

the idea of trans is no different from the idea of predestination.

predestination says only those who have been chosen by god will be saved and will go to heaven. how do you know you're predestined? there is literally no way to tell externally. there is no test you take to make sure you're predestined. you just have to put your faith in jesus and know, internally, in your heart, or whatever. funny how literally everyone who believes this also happens to be one of the ~chosen ones~.

the idea of being trans is that some people are born in the wrong body. how do you know you're born in the wrong body? there is literally no external way to tell, aside from maybe a few "am I trans?" quizlets (which as we all know are 100% accurate always and only made by professionals and not 12 year old furries). you just look inside, or whatever, and somehow "know" or you decide for yourself. then, based on your own self-reporting, which you have no way to externally verify, you expect people to bend to your will and you expect society to give you special privileges that no one else gets. no other man gets to pee in the ladies' or compete in women's sports but once you self-id as trans? well, right this way "ma'am", pay no mind to the women cowering in fear of you. their rights don't matter nearly as much as your feelings. funny how damn near everyone who believes in this also happens to be trans themselves, will a few outliers.

even "gender critical" transes like mr. blaire white and ms. buck angel will talk in hours upon hours of videos about the importance of gatekeeping and protecting women's spaces, yet /they/ demand the exact same privileges as every other "fake" (in their words) trans person on tiktok. do you seriously think "fake" trans people are going to listen to you and suddenly not go into the women's? No! are you fucking kidding me? it's so much easier to tell a buck or a blaire to fuck off than it is to a delusional fetishist who will 100% either hurt you or make a scene. there is no "true trans" because EVERYONE claims to be truly trans, everyone from bruce jenner to the "IT IS MA'AM" gamestop dude.

it fucking baffles me how youtube skeptics - people i used to admire, people who taught me how to think critically about shit - will spend all damn day dunking on flat earthers and creationists but will turn a blind eye to the trans cray and will even go as far as to support them. they think they're so above it all and they can't be fooled, but they have been, and I keep waiting for them to snap out of it - just like I waited for my own family to snap out of christianity - but they haven't.

if you seriously think a dress and some hormones and plastic surgery will make a man into a woman, you're insane, and you're no more crazy than a youtuber who thinks antarctica is an ice wall or a pastor who still prays to his "sky daddy". you have no right to make fun of these people for the insane shit they believe when you believe in this nonsense. you are quite literally the pot calling the kettle black.

and if you're one of those people who's like "oh well i know they're not actually women i just call them that to avoid hurting their feelings" im sorry but you're still in this cult, you're physically in but mentally out and the only way to really get out is to call a spade a spade, admit the emperor has no clothes, admit you were fooled just like me - just like all of us - and speak out against it.

#trans cult #gender critical #peak trans

[qqueenofhades]

what's been particularly vile to me is this group of white online leftists who insist that anyone who cares about more than this one issue for the election is a bad person, like, as if us black and brown people are making up reasons to be afraid and not.....believing the gop when they say they are coming for us. believing trump who has said previously that he does not bluff, that he will do the things he's said he will do (i hate what social media has gone to the word gaslighting but it feels like gaslighting. we lived through four years of trump. we saw the damage. stop treating us like we're being dramatic). it must be great to not have to worry about that i guess? "life won't change under trump" is such a telling admission because maybe theirs won't but mine will. and so many others' will.

and it is often again these (white) online leftists that love to call anyone who disagrees with them a white liberal (derogatory) because they know it would be racist (bad) to be this shitty and condescending to poc but they don't want to actually listen to anything black and brown voters are saying. it's easier to just call us white liberals and throw our opinions out, to ignore the work of black people for decades to gain the right to vote, to disregard the weight of telling them to not do that. it's genuinely appalling. they care so much about racism until it's time to engage with poc who have different opinions than their online echo chambers, then we're just stupid liberals with terrible opinions like..... wanting to live. not wanting four more years of trump. so sorry for that.

sorry for this vent in your inbox, i'm just so fucking tired of white people trying to rewrite history as if trump wasn't that bad. he was for my family and countless others and i am terrified for what's to come if he wins.

The thing about (the often-white) Online Leftists is that they have become just as much as a radicalized death cult as the diehard Trumpists. If you don't want to die for The Revolution and/or sacrifice your life, friends, family, the rest of the country, etc., then you're Insufficiently Pure and must be Purged. (Which I think is just complete BS, as none of them could actually handle sacrificing anything, but it's increasingly the only kind of performative rhetoric that is acceptable in leftist-identified discourse spaces.) This is functionally identical to "if you aren't willing to lay down your life for our Lord and Savior Donald Trump and the Great White Christian Nationalist Dictatorship, you're a liberal cuck," but with the names and justification changed. It doesn't change the underlying radicalization, nihilism, and insanity of the premise.

Another thing the Trumpists and the Online Leftists have in common is that they are busily rewriting just how bad Trump was in order to serve their Ideology. Ever since January 6, 2021, the Republicans have thrown everything they have at revising and whitewashing any suggestion that it was an "insurrection," and the Online Leftists have done the same, in an attempt to "prove" their insane point that Trump "would be better" than Biden. This is embodied in the recent ultimate-brainworm-nonsense maximalist-online take that "Biden has to lose so the rest of the world will see that the US rejects genocide!!!" That's right, the message that the rest of the world would take from Biden losing to Trump is that the US rejects genocide. Never mind if Trump literally wants to commit all the genocide possible and to install himself as a fascist theocratic dictator. In the deeply twisted minds of the Online Leftists, this is the only possible interpretation of Biden's loss, so they'll push for it as hard as they can! The Trumpists and the Online Leftists, at this point, are working pretty much in concert to damage Biden for similar insane reasons and get Trump elected. Etc etc., one Nazi and ten people at the same table is eleven Nazis.

Like. Sure. Four years ago, when Trump was president and people were dying by the thousands because he didn't want to wear a mask because it smeared his bronzer, just to name literally one of the terrible things he did every single day (and not even mentioning how much worse a second term would be) we were absolutely better off. Super-duper great. (Sarcasm.) Either that or "there is suffering and evil in the world and the only solution is to drastically increase the suffering and evil for everyone and to destroy what progress we have managed to make because It Does Not Fix Everything Now" is an absolute moral imperative, and either way, yeah. I'm calling bullshit.

#anonymous #ask #politics for ts

[tales-from-syscord]

I believed this happened a couple of years ago? But I'd thought it was a very peculiar experience for me to share.

So, I used to be in this traumagenic server with what seems like a lot of blacklists and claims to be POC friendly. It was one of our few DID/OSDD focused discord servers that we joined when we first suspected we have DID. (We got diagnosed a year later.)

I remembered being in a ticket with one of the mods because they looked at the names of our alters through pk. They then LITERALLY did some google research on the name origins and made it something like this.

" Hi! We noticed your names may be considered cultural appropriating blablabla

Casey = Irish

Ari = Jewish

Please consider changing your names!"

And then had the nerve to even ask me what my race is, but I felt so uncomfortable?? I said Asian. They want me to specify further. I said Southeast Asian. And if my memory serves me right, they wanted me to specify more than that.

When I looked at that message where I had to change my own and my alter's names, I felt like they were JOKING?? HOW IS CASEY A CLOSED NAME??? It's.. a generic name used by pretty much everyone in the world.

They mentioned how Irish is a closed culture, and I think they mentioned Irish discrimination during the US immigration and all. I understand, but at the same time, Irish itself isn't a closed culture at all?? Not to mention, I've been using Casey as my name for quite some time now.

Ari being linked to Jewish makes no sense to me either. People sometimes use it to shorten the name 'Ariana' for short, but I also see many non-Jewish people also using that name too.

Ari is an alternative spelling of our body's name, so we don't feel weird using our irl body's name (which is Arabic) to the people online. It's not a sense of shame of the body's name but more privacy concerns, easier pronounciation, and having our own individuality.

It's worth mentioning that a lot of Muslim and Christian names are derived from Judaism, too. The Muslim and Christian names just have a different spelling to it, so I don't know what the hell they were thinking.

I felt so mad and felt this was all too ridiculous. I had to keep my cool and leave because what kinda server is this??? That claims to be POC safe?? I'm sorry if I don't sound the most open-minded, but it's just a weird experience to me, really. When I think of cultural appropriating, I would think of taking a name from, let's say, a Romani name or a Tamil name, and then use it without realizing the significance of that culture just because it looks pretty for some aesthetic. Not whatever tf this server was pulling.

As an Irish system, what the fuck?? Casey is definitely not a "closed culture Irish name," LMAO?? You're not overreacting DW anon, that's just wild.

#tales from syscord #tales from anon #tales from the queue #discord #closed culture #irish #ireland #jewish #did #osdd #osddid #anti endo #endos dni #dni endos #plural #actually plural #plural system

[traegorn]

Okay. So I got a super long ask that is... a lot. And it's anon, so I can't respond privately -- but I want to address it.

Y'see, sometimes I get asks which I'm pretty sure get sent to me just because I'm a witch who happens to publicly exist on the internet. Like the person sending it to me doesn't seem to be someone who's familiar with the kind of stuff I say -- or else they probably wouldn't have sent it to me to begin with. And they ask me for advice or help though. So I feel like I want to give it still.

But it's probably not the advice they think they want.

Let's see how this one starts:

So this is how it starts. Now the first thing you might be asking yourself is "When has Trae ever talked about 'demons' online?"

The answer is never. This is not a thing Trae talks about. Frankly, I don't even like the word, because it frames the supernatural world in a very Christo-centric viewpoint. Like I believe in noncorporeal things and "energy-shit," and I believe those things can be malevolent -- but calling them "demons" invites a framework I literally do not believe exists.

(You can think whatever you want -- I'm not in charge of you. I do think plenty of witches need to unpack their Christian upbringings though)

The other problem with the "which demon" line is that it implies some sort of authoritative list exists that wasn't just some jackass occultist writing down everything he could think of to piss off some Christians -- or some Christian pissed at some non-Christians trying to other and villainize them. These two kinds of people are largely where 99% of those lists come from.

If a noncorporeal being exists, and if it's malevolent, and if it's "attached" to someone... it's just some guy, y'know? This isn't some grand story. When someone gets mauled by a bear, we don't say "But it was Lord Ursus! King of all Bears!"

Nah. It's just "that bear over there ate Bob's face." We might name it then -- "That Face-Eater" -- but it's not special.

Anyways. That's just the first paragraph. There's so much more, I'm going to put in a cut.

Okay. So... The person "Dabbles." You know I'm a witch, right? And that I literally promote people dabbling? Like I want folks to try stuff out. And like when y---wait, SUCCUBUS? I read that, right? You think she's a literal succubus.

Can she shape shift like in that Piers Anthony book?

This is where I kind of immediately fell off. Like, no ma'am -- she is not a succubus. She might be a shitty or manipulative person, I don't know - I just have your account of things, but she's not a literal succubus.

Human being. She is a human being. I don't even know what "creates deceit and deception" is supposed to mean. Are you saying she lies to them? Or are you saying she makes them want to lie? Because those are very different. If it's the former, okay -- liars lie. Got it. If it's the latter... nah. That is not happening. If they're lying, then it's their own damned fault.

And like... I don't want to dismiss the concept that a malevolent being can't attach itself to someone, because I've... seen shit I don't talk about. But, like, they don't make people do shit. People do shit all on their own.

If you're to be believed, it just sounds like you're dealing with a manipulative jackass. No external paranormal shit required.

But we continue:

So I dated this person for a while, and she was great when we were the only people in the room. Like when it was me and her, the person she acted like made me fall in love with her.

But the moment a third person entered the room, she would become someone else. She was sharper, meaner, and more defensive. She wasn't the same person.

We broke up for a lot of reasons, but this certainly made it easier.

You're right, this isn't DID. This is just normal, human shit. We become different people at different times. And sometimes the better version we think we see in someone else isn't the true version of them at all, or at least it's only a part of them.

And sometimes when someone changes in a way you don't like in a different context, it's not always the context's fault.

You need to define "portal." Different people use that word for different stuff.

And I see we're moralizing drug addiction. Great. Awesome. Horse is preeeeeeetty high there for someone going to random witches on the internet for advice.

And, like, ma'am (I've been assuming you use she/her from the context of this -- but I'm sorry if I'm wrong), you're asking a witch this and bringing up tarot and talking to spirits and... like... that stuff's normal for like 80% of the people I talk to on a daily basis. None of those people have "demons" attached to them.

It's a weird thing to bring up as "proof."

I feel like you've forgotten what community you've come to with your issue.

So, nothing affects them. Could it be, and I want you to consider this, that it's because nothing supernatural is happening.

There are so many details that I'm missing here, so I can't be sure of the actual dynamics at play, but what you're describing to me sounds like an incredibly mundane, human scenario.

Like, it literally just sounds like you're describing an incredibly unhealthy home -- and I'm not even sure if that's true since I just have your version of events. I don't even know the ages of the people involved. You have given zero indications of anything out of the ordinary happening that isn't explained by "one or more manipulative people are somehow involved in this story and it's unclear which ones they are."

This is not a "demon." What you've described is just dysfunction.

#witch #witchcraft #witchblr

[beatingdrumspouringwine]

Personal Dionysian Ritual

This is the ritual form I use for my Sunday worship (or, in this case, first-day-of-Anthesteria worship). I think this may hit closer to Catholic or Christian formats than historic Greek pagan ritual formats, at least if the book Hellenic Polytheism - Household Worship is to be believed. But this format is just a bit easier on me in terms of supplies, time, and ability to keep it semi-covert. I don't have the ability to light fires in my current space, but when I do, I usually include a prayer to Hestia at the beginning and end.

Dionysian Ritual (for Sundays) (Usually) (It's not set in stone)

Approach the altar or worship space. With you, there must be:

A bowl or other vessel filled with water (can be small).

Optionally, you may have:

Wine

Barley

Sea salt

Divination tools (I prefer tarot, or Sappho/Homeromanteions when I can get my hands on it).

A candle or other source of heat/light/incense (smells, basically)

Place the bowl of water either in front of your statue of Dionysos, or, if no statue is available, in a central spot in your space of worship. The wine and extra supplies may be placed anywhere else. Begin:

Orphic Hymn to Dionysos (Apostolos N. Athanassakis translation) I call upon loud-roaring and reveling Dionysos, primeval, two-natured, Thrice-born, Bacchic Lord, savage, ineffable, two-horned and two-shaped. Ivy-covered, bull-faced, warlike, howling, pure, You take raw flesh, You have triennial feasts, wrapped in foliage, decked in grape clusters. Resourceful Eubouleus, immortal God sired by Zeus when He mated with Persephone in unspeakable union, Harken to my voice, O blessed one, and with your fair-girdled nurses, Breathe on me in spirit of perfect kindness.

After the Orphic hymn, consecrate the bowl of water to make khernips. You may add salt if desired.

Dionysian Khernips Prayer (In between each verse of the Khernips Prayer, I move from just having the bowl on the altar, to holding the sides of the bowl, to holding the bowl up for the last verse.)

After the Khernips Prayer, I pray to Hagios as I actually ritually wash myself with the newly made khernips.

Hagios (For every verse of Hagios, I start with washing my face, then move to washing my hands, and finally sprinkle khernips on my feet, especially if I'm planning on dancing. This isn't actual washing, but more like lightly splashing water on the different parts of me that I wash.)

After Hagios, if there is wine, then I consecrate that, which I'll link my prayer for below. If there isn't, then I libate clean water (will be writing a prayer for that at some point soon), and move on to the next part of the ritual.

Wine Consecration to Dionysos (From the part where I say "This is the gift that..." through to "on the slopes of Mount Kithairon", I raise the wine towards my statue Dionysos as though toasting Him, which is inspired by art showing Maenads serving Dionysos wine.)

After the wine consecration, I pour out a libation of wine to Dionysos while praying my prayer to Dionysos Theoinos:

Theoinos

After the prayer to Theoinos, whatever happens next is up to you. If I'm doing any divination, I'll say a prayer to Dionysos Mantis before going ahead with it. Otherwise, I may dance, or talk about my day, or simply do prayer after prayer after prayer until I've kind of exhausted my talking point. Since most of my rituals are done at night, however, the consistent part is frequently the end, which is my second prayer to Dionysos Nyktelios:

Nyktelios II

And there you have it! I definitely finished this a bit later than I was planning, but that's okay - I got it out, and that's all that matters! I hope everyone has a good night and a beautiful Anthesteria, and that this was helpful to some degree :)

#dionysian #dionysos #dionysus #hellenic polytheism #hellenic polytheist #dionysos deity #dionysus deity #hellenic pagan #hellenic gods #hellenism #paganblr #helpol #pagan rituals #ritual #anthesteria

[messenger-of-stupidity]

As a bisexual with a raging hand fetish, when men, women, and everyone in between or outside of wear rings, it is something glorious.

But as much as I would adore every character wearing rings, I just don't personally believe they all do. Could they all pull it off? Abso-fucking-lutely.

But here's my opinions that no one asked for but people are getting regardless. Starting off strong with the Shaw Pack. (I'll do the listeners in part two)

David - I'm sorry but the only ring he wears and is going to wear is his engagement/wedding ring. No matter how much Angel wishes he would wear others.

Asher: no rings, but his nails are always manicured. He loves getting designs done. (Besides wedding ring ofc)

Milo - thumb rings. That's all I have to say. He wears a promise ring on his thumb since he doesn't want people to think he's married since he and Sweetheart agreed that marriage wasn't for them.

Christian - he likes wearing rings on his middle fingers and pinkies.

Arden - nah.

Amanda - she gives off bracelet vibes.

DAMN SQUAD (+ Cam) -

Gavin - he's got the rings that have chains to connect it to the bracelet. He knows he has nice hands and likes to accentuate it in whatever ways possible.

Lasko - he had a fidget ring on his thumb of his non dominant hand so whenever he is talking someone he can spin that bitch like a record player

Damien - I wanna say yes, but he wouldn't. The metal would take longer to cool off and it would just be a pain. He doesn't know when he's going to have high emotions that raise his temp.

Huxley - no. The rings would get dirty if he was digging in the dirt and he doesn't want to dirty them because that "like, not very cool to do ya know dude?"

Caelum - Freelancer once tied a piece of string around his finger and he shows it off everywhere he goes because it's his favorite piece of jewelry.

Cam - yes. He wears fidget rings but they only exist to gift to his more anxious charges so he can help them. It's easier to keep them on hand for when needed. (Haha get it?)

Sovereign-related storylines (+ Hush) -

Elliot - yes. I can't really explain why but he gives like twisted metal delicate ring vibes. He definitely has pinkie rings, if not others.

Blake - as much as I want to say yes because I adore him... No. he doesn't. 😭 He feels it would get in the way of him tracing the designs on his listeners skin. Plus if he's touching them, he doesn't want anything between him and them, rings included.

Avior - Yes. Very much yes. Yes bark bark grrr woof bark awoo

Vega - considering he doesn't really care for human materialism, I don't see him wearing rings. Unfortunately. Fingers crossed that Warden convinces him to.

Brachium - yet another I wish was true but he hasn't ever been to the mortal realm in person so he's never had the opportunity to try rings. I think he would look nice in them though. 👉👈

Hush - he seems to be having an interest in humanity, so I can see him exploring it. He figured out rope knots so he obviously been researching. So yeah, I could see him playing with rings.

Unempowered (+ Morgan for organization) -

Aaron - No he doesn't. I can't explain why but he doesn't give me that vibe.

Ollie - yes. But for one reason. Erik said Ollie is most like himself and Erik wears rings. (Does that make me simp for his hands? Perhaps. but that doesn't matter nor is it something I will ever put where he will see it.)

Guy - I'm going to say yes. He consistently takes them off and tries to use them as currency to Honey so he can have the hoodie. He takes them off before going to work since he works with his hands (ehhhn)

Ivan - sometimes. It's not a habitual wearing, but rather needs a reason.

Geordi - he used to. Then they felt like they weighed his hands down too much. He talks with his hands a lot, he's very expressive.

Morgan - No. Another that doesn't give me that vibe.

Vampires -

Vincent - Yes. He was the reason I made this post because I wanted to talk about how fucking amazing he would look in rings. 🤤🤤🤤

Sam - He doesn't seem much of a ring person for some reason. He would look good in one, especially when driving.

William - Yes. He likes to buy one at each turn of a half century. He has favorite ones he wears all the time. They have big jewels and are older than most vampires in his clan.

Adam - he only lost his head, not his hands. He was wearing spooooky rings when he died. (Plus he liked the way Lovely shuddered ever so slightly when the cold metal of his rings dug into their skin just before he bit them. ... God I'm a simp)

Quinn - yes. Just... Yes. He also had those full finger rings. The ones that have claw at the end, you know what I mean. He wears those to draw blood from his victims needlessly. It only serves to bring them pain. (I'm going to hell for this thirst)

Alexis - yes. It makes her feel superior to have pretty things.

Edit:

James - he only really wants to wear his wedding ring. He only wears other rings to make people believe all his rings are decoration and people don't go looking for his partner.

Marcus - no. I don't know why but no

Anton - also no. He could look nice in them though I think.

Brian - his wedding ring. That's it.

Xavier - before he died, he wore rings when he wasn't playing. He didn't mind the cold material.

#redacted asmr #redactedverse #redacted audio #redacted headcanons #redacted david #redacted asher #redacted milo #redacted shaw pack #redacted damn squad #redacted avior #redacted sam #redacted gavin #redacted damien #redacted huxley #redacted lasko #redacted caelum #redacted vega #redacted hush #redacted solaire clan #redacted ollie #redacted guy #redacted aaron #redacted elliot #redacted blake #redacted brachium #redacted morgan #redacted william #redacted vincent #redacted adam #redacted quinn

[hellenicrisis]

How do you reconcile the mainstream Christian ideals of not worshipping any other god than YHWH/trinity with Hellenic paganism?

Hi sunshine! ☀️

I see this topic debated a lot and answers vary. I think one factor that makes this reconciliation easier for me is that I was raised in an athiest/agnostic household. I was then purely Hellenic pagan for a few years so I have a slightly different – some would say heretical – view of Christian/Catholic practices. For context, I am now Christopagan. I worship Hellenic (Greek) pagan deities and Jesus, and I work with some of the saints.

To my knowledge, the verses that touch on this subject are Exodus 20:3, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me", and Exodus 22:20, "He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto the Lord only, he shall be utterly destroyed".

Now personally, I don't believe that the Bible is the word of God. I believe that the Bible is the word of man inspired by God. It is similar to how we understand the Greek myths as being written by human beings, portraying how they and society of the time interpreted the gods.

However, while man may be divinely inspired, we are also flawed. It is no secret that the church constantly seeks power, and the Bible was written during a time when paganism was the church's biggest competitor. While it was compiled roughly 200-400 years before the official outlawing of paganism, this was still a time when the church would have sought to diminish the number of pagan followers. Lines like those from Exodus were, I think, written with the agenda of turning people away from pagan faiths.

A way for the church to dominate pagan religions was to demonise the practices and to instill fear in the people, which we continue to see today. I have no problem with the Bible and I would never disrespect it, but I believe we must consider its historical context and recognise that it is, in part, religious propaganda. That's the stance I take, at least.

There are parts of the Bible I take more to heart than others. Lines that sound more like propaganda than something to bring you closer to God and to Jesus, I acknowledge as a part of history and something to be left in the past. The Greek myths are also not perfect and depict many values that are outdated and strange to us today, but again, those are aspects to be understood historically and interpreted accordingly.

This is just what I believe though and how I personally view things. Debate is welcomed, as long as it is respectful. Thank you so much for asking, sunshine!

Khaire! ☀️

#asks #answered asks #christopagan #christopaganism #pagan #paganism #polytheist #polytheism #folk catholic #folk catholicism

[theawesometrinculo]

Significance of The Heart Sutra in Blue Eye Samurai

The Heart of Prajna Paramita Sutra is a very popular sutra in Buddhism. Even today, millions of people recite and copy this sutra. The text might be short, but it's quite dense. While I don't really understand this sutra myself, I'll try my best to get across the main idea of this text.

"The body is emptiness and emptiness body. All things are only empty. Nothing is born. Nothing broken."

While this line is not exactly what the sutra says, it does a good job of getting the episode's message across, in that Mizu realizes that the things she thought held her back were actually what made her whole.

The Heart Sutra is an exhortation towards Bodhi, Enlightenment, Perfection. Mahayana Buddhists believe that everyone has an innate buddha-nature, which points to our potentiality of becoming buddhas. This buddha-nature is said to be be pure, whole, and complete, yet it is also empty, meaning that it doesn't have a substantiated self or ego. To make this easier to understand, this would be opposed to Christianity where everyone is born with sin and guilt and strives to be morally pure. Because the buddha-nature is empty, the dichotomy of good and bad isn't a "thing", so to say. That doesn't mean that they don't exist or that we shouldn't continue helping others, but instead the idea of them are just notions we attach to and what we use to judge ourselves and others.

The Sixth Patriarch of Zen Buddhism said, "Affliction is Bodhi." They are two sides of the same coin. I think this quote encapsulates Mizu in this episode. Mizu might not find peace through revenge, but she definitely found some semblance of it reforging her sword.

When making swords, Eiji emphasized that while you have to hammer out the impurities, the impurities are actually what makes the blade strong. If the metal is too pure, it will become brittle and break. However, just because it broke, doesn't mean it can't be meld again. "Affliction is Bodhi" points to the ability to transform what causes pain into clarity and peace. A common analogy used is ice turning into water. Mizu held tightly to anger and hate, making her cold and distant. But with the help of Eiji and Ringo, she stopped running away from the things she hated about herself.

Finding peace requires courage and vulnerability. It requires us to confront the things that we are ashamed of and the things that we fear. After her talk with Eiji, Mizu starts a new fire, undoes her hair, and sheds her male attire. Throughout her whole life, Mizu felt inadequate and broken for being mixed and being born a girl. Now she sees things as they are, no longer rejecting that side of herself. She becomes more open, and even asks Ringo to help her finish writing the Heart Sutra on her body.

"There are some things I cannot do alone."

"The body is emptiness and emptiness body. All things are only empty. Nothing is born. Nothing broken."

Going back to this line, I need you to repeat after me: Emptiness is not the void! Emptiness holds all things, and all things are within emptiness, and therefore is the source of it all. It speaks to the interconnectedness of all things. Emptiness has always been there, whole and complete. Mizu realizes that she is whole and complete, because she is not alone. And so, nothing is born, nothing dies, nothing is broken.

#blue eye samurai #bes #mizu #heart sutra #eiji #ringo #i hope that made sense #wrote this as soon as i finished watching #if you are confused about anything pls ask #this is based off my knowledge of Chan Buddhism #which is the chinese predecessor of Zen

[griseldagimpel]

Why Basira Hussain in The Magnus Archives Isn't Textually Muslim

I've noted before that Basira Hussain in The Magnus Archives isn't textually Muslim and is implied not to have strong religious faith. And it is religious faith I want to talk about in this post. Basira may very well come from a Muslim cultural background. But she isn't depicted as a capital B Believer.

Let's start with: a character's background - of any and every sort - is going to have some kind of impact on that character. The specifics of that impact will vary - there is no universal experience of anything - and the extend of the impact will be affected by the specifics of the story they are inhabiting. But a character's background shouldn't just be garnish.

With The Magnus Archives, it's a story that deeply involves religion and religious faith, what with the fear entities being worshiped as gods and all. And that means that characters' non-fear-god religious background comes up more than it might in another narrative. Thus, we get stuff like Eugene opining that the Cult of the Lightless Flame shouldn't just imitate Christianity and Martin & Jon discussing whether the Christian God is a force they can invoke.

As such, the fact that religion never comes up with Basira - when it comes up with so many other characters in the story - leads me to believe that she doesn't have a strong religious background.

Are you following me so far?

Right. So why is this? Why did the creative team make this creative decision?

Well, it's because of season five.

The fourth season ends with the fear apocalypse beginning, and then throughout all of season five, no deity intervenes to stop the fear apocalypse. (Well, unless you want to argue this was the case with Georgie and Melanie's immunity, and there, yeah, I think from an in-story perspective their cult's pretty justified, honestly.)

We spend most of the our time with Jon & Martin, who explicitly come from culturally Christian backgrounds but don't have particularly strong Christian faith themselves and predominantly experience religion in the context of the fear gods. Then there's Basira, Georgie, and Melanie.

The goal of the fifth season is the stop the fear apocalypse, which the characters do, and then the series quickly ends. And the sequel series is over there in a whole different parallel universe.

Because, look, even after being undone, the fear apocalypse was going to fuck with a lot of humanity's religious faith (or lack there of!) something fierce. Gods are real but also they're monsters and also no other god intervened.

That's...a lot.

Basira's doesn't have strong religious faith because if she did, she'd have to process season five through the lens of her religion.

And that's...a lot.

And the creative team wanted Basira's story arc to be about her confronting the harm she and Daisy did as corrupt cops.

Also, look, a British podcast depicting the Christian God as either probably nonexistent or useless? That's like, whatever. England's got a whole Church of England. Christians in England aren't being persecuted for being Christian. The episode "The Architect of Fear" can have Robert Smirke write, "I am certain the Dread Powers cannot take a soul who keeps faith in the Resurrection." and then drop dead before he can even finish his letter. It's fine.

But a British podcast specifically depicting a Muslim character having to confront that their faith is false?

Muslims in England are a religious minority. They don't have a whole institutionalized Mosque of England behind them.

Yeah, that could easily end up coming off as Jerk Move.

Not saying that it couldn't be done or couldn't make a compelling narrative, but it would be a lot to take on. It would risk overpowering the corrupt cop reckoning character arc. And the creative team would have to tread carefully for it not to be a Jerk Move.

Ergo, it's easier on the creative team for them to just...not have Basira be religiously Muslim.

Relatedly, Melanie and Georgie aren't depicted as strongly religious for similar reasons. Because they're outside of the Eye's power! If either of them had a strong religious faith, the characters would likely be interpreting their exemption as being a reflection of their faith! And that would be another plotline where the creative team would likely feel like they had to tread carefully lest their story come off as Jerk Move. Again, not impossible to pull off. But difficult.

#the magnus archives #meta #religion #islam in fiction #christianity in fiction

[timetobeaghost]

Wow, I got legit antisemitic hate messages. Never seen this kind of bile. They are far gone.

I am not in fact, as they think, jewish nor Israeli. That makes this so much easier for me, of course. I can not speak for jews or Israelis, but I speak in deep solidarity with them! From my point of view.

I do stand in solidarity with Palestinians who just want to live in peace and thrive! I do not stand in solidarity with genocidal, islamist terrorists. I also do not stand in solidarity with radical Israeli settlers, who want to displace people.

But dear harmless nice young fandomers, who like humanity. Do not fall for the hate mongers. Because many do. You don't have to.

They say Israel has no right to exist where it it because Europe Blabla stolen land Blabla colonialism. They literally say that, no right, none.

Do you agree? Do you really think a person your age born in Israel, has no right to exist? Or has to be displaced at least, has to go and beg for a right to stay elsewhere, because they do not have the right to stay where they grew up and their parents grew up? And if they don't go willingly, they should be slaughtered? How about Christian or Muslim Arab Israelis? Do they have the right to exist? Why is it different for Jews? And how about non native Americans, is it different for them? Why? Pretty sure there was something with Europe and colonialism in that history...

This is literally what they believe. You take your "Free Palestine" and "genocide in Gaza" and "Israel bombed quadrillion babies specifically" talking points from people who think the genocide of Israelis is a must, people who really do want a one-sided "ceasefire" from Israel in order to help Hamas to commit genocide. Which is the Hamas' declared political goal, do you know that?

Is that what you stand for?

PS: Anons, if I reply to stuff strictly about the Israel-Hamas war from now on (and once already), I don't tag Byler or Noah anymore, you can see by clicking on my blog. I'm not posting the antisemitic bile, but I didn't delete it, I can show you if you want.

#free palestine from hamas #israel #hamas #noah schnapp #byler #for the last tome tagging that #unless it's really about it #antisemitism #palestine #israel hamas war #i stand with israel

[valeriasdream]

I know people say this a lot but I keep seeing people get demotivated by anti-shifters and you know you don't have to engage, right?

I understand that it can be demotivating to see someone make a video or post or comment being like, "Wow, can't believe you're a shifter, it's not real/you're crazy." But like...

Just don't engage. Don't watch that shit. No one is holding you hostage saying you gotta watch shit that doesn't coincide with your beliefs... If something demotivates you, just don't engage with it anymore.

Likewise, if you have anti-shifters in your DMs, asks, or trying to engage with you... ignore them? Don't respond. You're not required to respond to anyone, engaging with people who are seeking you out to hurt you is entirely optional. Just don't acknowledge them, they'll eventually find someone else to bother. The block button exists too. You're not a bad person for keeping things that bring a negative experience out of your life.

We shape our experiences, so you're allowed to remove any negativity that doesn't benefit the experience you are having. You're not obligated to engage with anyone or anything that causes you stress, anxiety, pain, etc.

Idk, it bums me out seeing people become really discouraged bc of anti-shifters or just negative people in general... I know it's easier said than done to be like, "Don't give them power" but the best thing you can do for yourself is just blocking those who bring negativity into your life and 100% NOT engaging with them anymore.

If they don't agree or don't believe, who cares? I don't believe in organized religions, but does that stop people I know who are Christian or follow specific religions? No, because their faith is their faith and my beliefs are my beliefs and I know how to co-exist with another who views differently from me. Anyone who tries to be negative or hurtful about it doesn't get space or energy in my life, and likewise if I was being rude or hurtful towards someone about their beliefs I would expect them to block me or cut me off for it.

So yeah... longer than I intended. Stop giving weirdos energy.

#shifting #reality shifting #reality shift #reality shifter #desired reality #lawofassumption #law of assumption #shifting blog #shifting motivation #shifting community

[spiritualclaymore]

💛 ʀᴇᴛᴜʀɴɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ᴛᴜᴍʙʟʀ | ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ᴍᴇ!

This post will include some information about me and a short testimony. Thanks for checking out my blog!

💛 ᴀʀᴛɪsᴛ & ᴡʀɪᴛᴇʀ

Howdy! I'm a Christian artist from the southern US who enjoys creating stories & characters that glorify God and share the gospel! 🔥⚔️ ✝️ I like anime and various comic styles. I'm currently working on my own style. I’ve enjoyed creating various OC's of humans, animals, anthro, and hybrid varieties!

sᴏᴄɪᴀʟ ᴍᴇᴅɪᴀ: I can be found just about anywhere and have compiled everything on my carrd. I am also accepting commissions, my carrd will have more information. I may compile and post commission information on tumblr in the future, Lord willing.

carrd

💛 ғᴏʀᴍᴇʀ ʀᴏʟᴇᴘʟᴀʏᴇʀ sᴀᴠᴇᴅ ʙʏ ɢʀᴀᴄᴇ

It's surreal to be here after taking a long hiatus around 2021. I'm used to having "missing e", a dozen extensions, and all of my pretty post formatting. It seems tumblr has tidied things up to make formatting easier. Back then, I used to copy/paste blank spaces, pretty symbols and emojis, indent all of my paragraphs, and then use a bunch of key commands to select and make my font size small and neat! Haha! I don't have any problems with people who do that, it was a style choice for writers and roleplayers.

“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness.” Romans 1:18

jaegerbombed | warpathpanther | blacklightburns | rubmyrosary

(CONTENT WARNING: above blog archives have explicit and/or adult content and are TESTIMONIES of what I used to write, portray, and how i lived my life. the last one is referring to a satanic voodoo cult character and I do not endorse the rosary/catholicism.)

I was part of the tumblr roleplay community and many other rp communities across the internet, including Gaiaonline, jcink, and proboards. I was doing this hobby for about 16 years before I started to take my faith seriously in 2021. To clarify faith, I was never really a believer or follower of Christ until I was BORN AGAIN in January 2023! Hallelujah! Note: I am not saying Christians cannot role play or enjoy writing as a way to develop characters, stories, etc. As long as it's not used to write content that would make you sin and it's not becoming an obsession.

Before that, I hyperfixated on horror genre, supernatural and horror anime, tv series, including video games, movies, stories, and more. I had gender dysphoria, went by 'khan', or 'khanivore'. I internalized a lot of it and would act out by doing drag king stuff and drag cosplay IRL.

I idolized playing hypermasculine male characters in the roleplay communities I was a part of. I saw many friendships made, torn apart, and savagely destroyed due to the toxicity of the community. Without Christ, people unhealthily hyperfixate on their idols and become jealous of other people writing better, portraying a certain character better, seeking all types of 'shipping' relationships that don't go well.

Wrote hundreds of thousands of words portraying s*xual fantasies with males & females. I obsessed over becoming male characters; thinking their thoughts, living their lives, not my own. I became oppressed by demons while playing songs that made me think of these characters, obsessively studied their dialogues and did some crazy forms of method acting. These characters had their own birthdays & astrology signs that I celebrated.

I had deep loneliness & despair, a void within me, & I filled it with video games, p**nography, alcohol, cosplay & role playing. When the convention was over, I felt like my heart was being burned alive & there was nothing to fill that void. I had insomnia from late nights living my double life. I was hateful, rude, condescending, competitive, swore all the time, & angry.

But JESUS set me free! He had been knocking on the door of my heart. I did not seek Him, I wanted to live in my filth, I loved my sin. But HE sought after me & my heart slowly softened. My eyes began to open. I don’t share this testimony to glorify myself; don’t want the wrong attention, nor things my old self would have gloated over. I share this testimony of where I WAS, to show where JESUS SET ME FREE!

Seek Jesus - He isn’t religion, He’s a real person, the son of God, who was sent to die for our sins. Someone who wants a relationship with you. He wants to set you free from pain. He can give you answers & true identity; not the CULTure.

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.” Romans 8:1-2

#christian #chrumblr #christian artist #✝️umblr #christian testimony #my testimony

[doverstar]

Hey Doverstar. Fellow Christian here. :) What do you think about The Chosen? They just started releasing Season 4 eps in theaters this February in the United States. I really love this show. What about you? If you do...I think that would be groovy! If not...well. That would also be groovy too. ✌

Hi there! Woah, it's in theaters, that's crazy! Back in my day it was barely stream-able and we had to be in a specific person's living room to get it on the TV, how far we've come by matchbox twenty- I'm glad you asked, this will be long-ish!

I used to attend the church that the creator of the show had been attending at the time when we lived in IL (his name is Dallas, I think we had dinner with him? don't remember). That was before The Chosen was a thing. He had great ideas about what Christian media could be, but The Chosen in particular went downhill fast for me. I think it's an excellent show, but I also think that when you're using historical, real people in the content, you have to be very careful. Especially when it's biblical figures in history. Then you have to be insanely careful, and Dallas is not being as careful as one would hope. Because you don't want people who know nothing about Jesus to watch that show and have that expectation in their minds when they go to read the Bible. Jesus probably didn't talk like that, may not have looked like that, and may not have even smiled like that during His ministry here. But I've literally spoken with people who say things like if Jesus doesn't smile like Jonathan Roumie when they get to Heaven, "what's the point". That's dangerous. (And theologically the show is not sound.) I get taking creative liberties in order to make a television show more engaging for a modern audience, but not with the Bible. I get trying to make it easier to understand and follow for people who are just not brought up in the church and don't know the language. But I've decided for me, personally, not to continue watching The Chosen. For one thing, I don't want those actors/actresses in my head when I'm reading the Bible, and for another, I don't want to start being in a "fandom" for a show that's supposed to be portraying the events in the Bible. I don't want to start treating the Bible like it's fiction, like Peter's my blorbo (as the kids say), like it's just entertainment. It's not. It's real. It's all real, and I know me, and I know I have a tendency to over-romanticize the media I consume. I'm not going near that show with a 39-and-a-half foot pole anymore. It would be too easy to start thinking the wrong way about what I believe based on the way the show makes me feel. That, and I think the show is disrespectful and wrong. Great idea, good execution, went off the rails. And yeah, The Chosen is so good at making you feel things! I saw that first Season. I loved that first Season! Little ideas like having the Jesus-character laugh in bed while knowing exactly what the family of the lame man he cured is waking up to, literally able to see them rejoicing miles away? That's beautiful. When the Jesus-character cries with the woman at the well, and he tells her from now on it will all be about the heart, not about works? And she says "You promise?" And he cries and smiles and promises and she's so happy? That's beautiful. I cried too. And my favorite was the line when Mary says that before she met Jesus, "I was one way. And now I am completely different. And the thing that happened in between was Him." That's perfect. That's so good. That's what it's like, in three sentences. Excellent. Well done. Oh, and the music swelling at the end of each episode? Fantastic. Emotions everywhere. But like I said, I don't trust it. I got through about four episodes of Season 2 before I was like, okay, that's enough. This isn't good for me. Does that make sense? I could go into the discrepancies and how they often treat Jesus in the show as though He wasn't fully man and fully God (He was), and how they often make it seem like you can believe He was or He wasn't and it's all fine, when it's not all fine. But that would take a while! In a nutshell: I'm glad the creators had the right heart to start out with, and I'm pleased to see it proven that Christians can make excellent media, but not if it's like this, and I don't think the show should continue. If it does, I think they need to get their heads on straight and be super clear about the Truth, otherwise there's no point. I won't be watching it. Doesn't make you evil if you watch it! This is just what I think. Since you asked. Glad to hear from you! <3

#asked #answered #ask doverstar #doverstar's thoughts #the chosen #the chosen tv series #christianity #jesus #jesus christ #faith #dashdotdashdotdashdot #christian #jonathan roumie #dallas jenkins #christian tumblr #bible

[something-in-the-seas]

Why I think Sol Invictus might actually be the overarching villain of the next saga (I blame Valhalla for this)

⭐️ Valhalla's release date being two weeks before Christmas and being described by so many as an "early Christmas present." Listen, we have never had anything in God of War released around Christmas before. Ever. And the release dates of these games always tie into mythology in some way: the Greek games releasing in March ties back to Mars, Ragnarok's release date of Wednesday ties back to Wednesday being Odin's day, even Valhalla coming out on a Tuesday is a reference to Tyr.

So, why is Christmas so important than? Well, December 25th, is the date of Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, the Birth of the Unconquerable Sun. It's a commonly held theory that the Early Church appropriated the date to make it easier to integrate Roman converts.

⭐️ Getting back to Christianity... we know it's confirmed in the God of War universe, we know the original ending of the Greek saga was going to be Kratos becoming one of the Three Wisemen. No way in hell are they touching Christianity with a ten foot pole, but that doesn't mean monotheism isn't going to be addressed. Jesus was drawn as Sol Invictus in Ancient Roman art, the depiction of Jesus having a halo came from Helios, Psalm 104:3 describes God as having a chariot...

"Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind." -Psalm 104: 3

Kratos isn't suplexing Jesus, but Sol Invictus could be a villain that is the closest we get to a Fallen Christ figure. All the Jesus parallels are right there:

Jesus refers to himself as "the light of the world" and goes on to say "whoever walks with me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (John 8:12). Not quite exactly the same thing as Kratos using Helios' head as a flashlight, but Kratos did use him to light his way through the darkness to ultimately beat Zeus. His light also lit up the entire Underworld. Greece cannot survive without him.

In some translations of the Bible, Jesus is described as being raised up from the realm of Hades. Chains of Olympus is heavily, heavily referenced in Valhalla and what is the plot? Raising the sun- Helios- up from the Underworld.

Jesus, particularly his resurrection, was associated with the Phoenix (we'll get into that later).

Later on in the medieval era, Jesus would be described as descending into Hell before rising from the dead, which if the theory that the Roman gods are revived Olympians... where does Kratos take the head of Helios? Tartarus, the equivalent to Hell. In popular culture, Hell is usually always depicted as fire and brimstone, going off of Dante's Inferno and this passage of Revelation describing damned souls being thrown into a lake of fire. What seemingly has rivers of fire? Tartarus in God of War 3.

⭐️ We don't know what Athena's plan is, in fact, we don't know what the hell is going on with Athena at all. All we know is that she changed from wanting to save Olympus to being ready to sacrifice her entire family for the chance to rule on her own in a second. Monotheism. It could be just greed, but that's also so not Athena? I think her being a villain can work: I can believe ascending to a higher plan has changed her and that her priority is her new Ascended Council, but what do they want exactly? They definitely were involved with Odin's mask and the rift, they want Kratos to 'fulfill his destiny,' and then what?

⭐️ We know Rome exists in the God of War universe: the Norns speak Latin. While Athena/Minerva was still an important deity to the Romans (even if Ovid seemed to despise her), a lot of her significance as a god of war/strategy went to Ares/Mars and Bellona. Minerva was primarily a goddess of wisdom and crafts and only became a war goddess later on.

Minerva has an interesting history when it comes to Rome's push towards sun worship. Before Aurelian revived the cult of Sol Invictus, Emperor Elagabalus stripped Jupiter of his position as King of the Gods in order to give the title to the Syrian sun god, Elagabalus (Heliogabalus) instead. The Romans were already pissed, but the cherry on top was Elagabalus moving a statue of Athena/Minerva from the Temple of Vesta to be by Elagabalus' stone in a symbolic marriage that fell through after backlash.

There are theories that Sol Invictus is a combination of Elagabalus and Sol Indiges (the traditional Roman god of the sun), or that Sol Invictus was always Sol Indiges. It's hard to find information because most ancient writers were very, very bias and so much was lost over thousands of years. Anyway, a storyline of Sol Invictus over throwing Jupiter and having a connection to Minerva/Athena has precedence.

⭐️ Finally, there's the most damning piece of evidence... this line right here: "You think I'm afraid of a little fire? Don't threaten me with a good time, Kratos. Maybe I'll be infused with power and achieve my final form."

You know what mythological animal is infused with power and revived by fire? The phoenix. It's canonly seen in God of War 2 and after Kratos stabs himself with the Blade of Olympus in 3, the post credit scene has his blood seeping into a large engraving of a phoenix.

You know what the phoenix is also heavily associated with? The sun. Or, the God of the Sun. In Egyptian mythology, where the Phoenix originates, it's name is the Benu and instead of being an eagle or peacock, it's appearance is that of a heron. It's believed to be the ba (part of the soul) of Ra, but it's also associated with Atum and Osiris. There was significant reverence for the Benu at the Temple of Ra in the Egyptian city of Iunu, its Greek name being Heliopolis, "the City of the Sun." The Greeks took the concept of the Benu and associated their phoenix with Helios such as Herodotus when he first introduced the concept of the phoenix to the Greeks:

"There is another sacred bird, too, whose name is Phoinix (Phoenix). I myself have never seen it, only pictures of it; for the bird seldom comes into Aigyptos (Egypt) : once in five hundred years, as the people of Heliopolis say. It is said that the Phoinix comes when his father dies. If the picture truly shows his size and appearance, his plumage is partly golden and partly red. He is most like an eagle in shape and size. What they say this bird manages to do is incredible to me. Flying from Arabia to the temple of the Helios (the Sun), they say, he conveys his father encased in myrrh and buries him at the temple of Helios [i.e. in the temple of the Egyptian god Ra]. This is how he conveys him: he first molds an egg of myrrh as heavy as he can carry, then tries lifting it, and when he has tried it, he then hollows out the egg and puts his father into it, and plasters over with more myrrh the hollow of the egg into which he has put his father, which is the same in weight with his father lying in it, and he conveys him encased to the temple of the Sun in Aigyptos (Egypt). This is what they say this bird does." - Herodotus, Histories 2. 73 (trans. Godley) (Greek historian C5th B.C.)

Rome also associated itself as being like a Phoenix and had images of them on their coins. The phoenix is immortal, much like how the Romans envisioned their empire, constantly going through a cycle of death and rebirth. Maybe I'm just becoming Charlie Kelly but... idk... I feel like SSM is onto something.

#god of war #god of war ragnarok #god of war spoilers #kratos #helios gow #athena gow #minerva gow #sol invictus #tw sa mention #in sources #tw blo0d #religious mention

[fairfoxie]

hi!! i was wondering if i could get your perspective on something, as i really respect the resources you share about being faekin and i want to know more about it! i am irish reconstructionist pagan who works with the good folk, and i admit that i often have trouble reconciling my religious beliefs with 'kin posts that i see. i was wondering, if you felt comfortable responding, what your perspective on the clash that sometimes occurs between faekin and the cultural evolution of the fairy archetype is? if this is offensive i apologise and absolutely did not mean it as such! i'm still relatively new to the nonhuman community (my nonhuman blog is foxwyrm!) and am trying to learn more about it :} regardless, i love your blog, and appreciate what you share!!

Hi! I'll start by saying this is not even a little bit offensive! I know you're asking a question in earnest and I'm honestly really grateful to get the opportunity to voice my perspective.

And really, I wasn't sure at first how to approach all of this at all. My brain and beliefs are scattered, and to be quite honest I make it up as I go along. That's why I used to be petrified of doing any kind of spirit work, especially with the Good Folk. So only recently have I combined my own Neopaganism with my Otherkin experiences. I am still learning. But I'm learning a lot, especially now from others who walk a similar path.

I'll admit I had to look up just to make sure I understood what an Irish Reconstructionist Pagan is, and it seems to be exactly what I was hoping it would be! I may not be strictly of that faith myself, but I'm highly grateful that there are people who are, who keep that alive. I'm so fascinated by pre-Christian Celtic faiths and I do wish it were easier to find the old stories. But stories survive through people, and I enjoy sharing videos I've found where Irish people who coexist with the Good Folk, talk earnestly about their faith and how it impacts their lives. I think those collective experiences are very real and important and culturally valuable. I see parallels in our perspectives, when they speak of mutual respect and of leaving nature undisturbed. I highly value the words of the people who live where there are said to be Faeries.

Still I'd hesitate to discuss being faekin with someone of that particular tradition. I do get overcome with doubt and worry about myself. Is my very existence disrespectful? Just yesterday I ran off into the woods in tears with a question of who, what, am I?

I have discussed being Otherkin with the trees before. I'm an animist at heart, and I like to keep company with the friendly spirits of trees often.

Tree spirits are good listeners, and they understand the humans they live with. When I talk to the trees, I don't have to explain what I am. I show them. They understand. They accept me. They don't judge or argue, and they accept strange contradictions like me being human and nonhuman at the same time.

I see lots of things in the forest. Things that renew my belief in magic every time in different ways. I have hardly a choice but to believe in all manner of beautiful spirits, fae big and small, even gods. I believe in monsters too, but I believe in myself more, and I value my autonomy, and so I choose not to let my spirit be harmed.

And because I value my autonomy, I am drawn to the Otherkin community, where you don't have to have all the answers, just be who you are and you will be accepted in the best of our circles. We respect each other's minds, bodies, and spirits, and each of us walks a parallel but completely different path into ourselves. I'm glad there are others like me, who don't know why they are nonhuman in some way, just that they are, and that we have carved out a space in which to exist as we are.

I don't have all the answers, and probably never will. But I find little congruencies that allow me to slip through the cracks between what is and isn't. Here are some of them.

Many Faeries do look like humans. Changelings of course, and selkies, and Hulder and Skogskra, and nymphs and elves and many others. And much folklore seems to have it that people who seem to be human turn out to be Fae.

But I was born to humans, I know that for sure. And as such, I consider myself a Human Fairy. Of sorts. Like I said, I value my autonomy, and my right to say what I am and be what I am.

For me, the difference between a Faery and a Fairy is that Faeries are the beings that already existed, living at arm's length from most humans for most all time. We only remotely understood them back then, we only remotely understand them now. But we respect them, and many do respect us back and seek friendships with us.

The Fairy, on the other hand, is that cultural archetype you were talking about. A Fairy can be created by a human, it can be a human, it can be a character, and most importantly, it can be the link between people and magic. I have an affinity for pixies and pillywiggins, flower fairies, gnomes, brownies, dryads, sylphs, and all manner of tiny winged beings of nature, and yes, Tinker Bell, who was my personal introduction to the Fairy world, and the idea that there are magical beings who live in another world but also interact with our world. My first 'kin feels' would have been daydreaming myself in Pixie Hollow/Fairy Haven as a tiny fairy with wings and a talent, just the same way Prilla blinks to the Mainland. I still clap sometimes, because I do believe in Fairies.

And I think that the spirit world contains multitudes. I think it contains Faeries and Fairies all at once, and that thoughtforms, spirits, fae, and gods are all a big part of what makes humanity who we are in the first place.

And even still, I don't know if I have all of my facts and beliefs straight. But I know that I don't have to. If I waited until I understood myself completely before going and living my life, I'd simply never get the chance to. And so I just go live it. As I get older I care less about the labels and more about the experiences. But I love being a Fairy. I love being Otherkin. And I love talking to the kindest of the Good Folk. And I'll love this whether or not I will ever fully understand any of it.

I truly hope this is something like the answer you were hoping for.

#fairfoxie replies #otherkin #faekin #fairykin #fairfoxie #oh wait my ask tag is actually #ask pine #:3