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broomsick · 7 months

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Hello! Where can I start with witchcraft? I am a very new pagan so I thought I could as you for help.

Hi! That's a very good question. First of all, before I dive into details, it's important that you know there's no right place to start when it comes to witchcraft, just like when it comes to paganism.

However, it could be very useful for you to learn about different paths, or different types of practices before starting your journey! You'll discover very quickly that witches tend to specify what type of witchcraft they practice most when introducing themselves. Of course, one doesn't need to be confined to a particular practice! A witch could very well be as comfortable doing hedge work as doing storm witchcraft, or kitchen witchcraft. Still, there are loads of very different practices within witchcraft, and it could be super interesting for you to learn about them. You might immediately feel drawn to one, or a few in particular, simply because of your pre-existing personnal preferences. For example, you might know right away that you'd like to work with the sun, or with the sea! Before diving into the craft, I suggest that in this manner, you determine right away which kind of path you want to tread. Of course, you're always free to change, to practice many vastly different paths at once, and to altogether leave this or that practice in the past if it doesn't feel right anymore.

When that is done, there is one key-word to keep in mind: learn, learn, learn. You may want to purchase, or rent books on witchcraft, wildlife, omens, nature in general, folklore, and/or open traditional practices! Explore the many many websites that post articles about witchcraft (A few of my favorites: Round the Cauldron, Tea & Rosemary, Witch of Lupine Hollow, Flying the Hedge, Cailleach's Herbarium because I'm simply obsessed with Scotland, Otherworldly Oracle...). Look thoroughly into anything that piques your curiosity, really! Be open to taking new knowledge in, even on topics that might not have interested you at first. From star maps, to folk recipes, to seasonal holidays, to dream interpretation, to full-scale spells, to element work, to herbalism... There are so many topics to explore that's it's downright dizzying. And all of them are fascinating!

Now, there are also a few forms of practice to steer away from. These are closed practices, meaning that to practice them is to appropriate them, as they belong to groups who still traditionally practice them to this day. White sage smudging, working with deities from closed traditions, and hoodoo are all examples of practices you absolutely cannot engage in, unless you have been properly initiated into them.

With that having been said, I'll jump right into my personal tips. If we're talking concrete, hands-on practice, I do have a few suggestions as to where you can start! To me, cleansing is a very fun and simple way to practice witchcraft on the day-to-day. I usually start my cleaning up the space I mean to cleanse, for example, the kitchen. I simply put away what I can (dirty dishes, groceries and the like), and once that's done, I proceed to the spiritual cleansing. I often burn incense in the room, or I will sometimes "sound cleanse" using a little bell. This helps to keep unwanted spirits away, and to protect the home (I very much value hearth work). Brewing a tea and charging it with intent, working with sigils, and learning simple spells to say out loud are also extremely simple ways to start becoming familiar with witchcraft.

Finally, there are also a few questions I suggest you try answering as you begin your journey in witchcraft: "What do I believe in when it comes to magic? How do I think it works?", "What type of change do I want to create using magic?", "What local/family traditions am I attached to? How can I integrate them into my craft?", "Can I believe this or that piece of information?". In general, it's important to keep asking yourself these types of questions! Never mindlessly accept information you receive, and find your own answers with time and experience.

#witchcraft #paganism #ask #asks #spirituality #witchy tips #mabon #heathenry #mabon 2023 #wheel of the year #pagan witch #green witch #kitchen witch

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solarpunkpresentspodcast · 1 month

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Happy Spring!

Hello, solarpunks! And HAPPY SPRING. Woot! Woot! It’s finally here!

This year, it feels like the ancient Persian tradition of Nowruz are everywhere. Or, at least, it feels like they’ve popped up this week in every online news service I peruse. As have articles filled with top tips for spring cleaning. Meanwhile, although Passover is still a month away, Easter is coming up fast.

All of this has me wondering, how do I want to mark the Sun’s having crossed the Equator? How do I want to bid briefly goodbye to winter, and pat myself on the back for surviving that duration which, where I’m living now, is so grey, wet, chilly, muddy, flooded, and miserable?

I’ve also been wondering how a solarpunk community might celebrate the return of the green, fecund, and growing time of the year. Because what could be more solarpunk than a big party with feasting, music, dancing, bunnies, community, hope, rebirth, and love?! Or, how would people in general celebrate spring in a future where people value what’s good and spiritually moving about traditions but shun the aspects of organized religion that are dangerous, repressive, abusive, racist, misogynistic, controlling, and patriarchal?

It’s kind of weird growing up on the secular periphery of Easter/Passover. I feel like it’s one of my favorite holidays and yet, I don’t quite know what to do with it. Having not ever been Christian, I don’t feel the need to celebrate the resurrection of a martyr who means nothing to me. How can I be thankful for being saved from my sins if I can’t even grasp the concept of sin! (It is possible to be as moral as just about everyone else without feeling like there are such things as sins.) Not having been raised in any religious tradition, nor do I feel the urge to engage in a rite to protect my household from evil or witchcraft, nor do I feel the need to celebrate the Exodus, even though, through the murdered segment of my family that I never met, I almost certainly had ancestors who took part in it.

But spring! I love spring! And I do want to welcome it back. So, I’m all for ditching the moveable feast aspect of Easter and Passover, pegging the celebration of spring to the vernal equinox. This just makes sense and it returns the festival back to its pre-Christian and pre-Judean roots. Not that I’m any sort of practitioner of a pagan religion. And not there needs to be an originalist observation of the spring celebration. It’s just that I personally feel more connection to the astronomical and ecological aspects of the celebration than the theological ones. I also think adding a spring celebration on the vernal equinox would include everyone while simultaneously not precluding anyone from having a religious observation of Easter or Passover. It does overlap with Nowruz, but that wouldn’t need to be a problem. If people are already celebrating on the equinox, I say, keep it up!

In addition to just the plain old idea of a Welcome Back, Spring! celebration, I’m also personally totally for the colorfully dyed or hand painted hard boiled eggs, chocolate eggs, chocolate bunnies, panoramic sugar eggs, jelly beans, and marshmallow chicks (and marshmallow chick art) aspect of the Celebration of the Arrival of Spring (but, egads, we need to come up with a better name for the celebration). I’m also totally for a big bunny bringing that basket of sweets and hiding brightly dyed eggs in the backyard. I’d even be fine with replacing it with a gigantic hen. I must, however, say non to the the blessed, flying, chocolate dropping church bells the French went for because a bunny was just not Catholic enough.

Another tradition that I know and love is the Germanic/Northern European burning of an Easter bonfire, even if all that smoke gives me asthma and you have to be careful not to roast hedgehogs or bunnies. That being said, though, these huge bonfires, held the night or two before Easter, are now more about beer and sausages, chatting with the neighbors, and getting rid of all the debris you trimmed off your garden’s bushes and trees during winter than a deeply moving mystical celebration of the arrival of spring. Still, that’s not too many steps away from drinking alcohol and dancing wildly around a bonfire in order to banish winter and welcoming spring.

I also love the Germanic/Northern European tradition of hanging colorful eggs (these days made of paper or plastic) on a tree for a few weeks before Easter. And I love the Slavic tradition of intricately dyeing eggshells (although blowing the innards out of the eggs is a good way to make yourself dizzy—or perhaps I need to work on my technique).

And spring cleaning of your home and relationships, as I’ve heard is a part of Nowruz, also sounds super to mark the end of winter and the beginning of spring. Free your life of dirt and clutter! Wash the windows to improve your view! And make true amends to your friends and family for the niggles and failings of the past year so you may start anew with a tidier slate.

And the aspect of all of these celebrations like Easter, Passover, and Nowruz that involves bringing loved ones together to partake in a feast after the long months of winter darkness and perhaps also fasting sounds like the wisest, most wonderful part of a spring celebration.

If I was a part of a real life solarpunk community, or if I had a family that was amenable to altering their own traditions, those are the aspects of the celebration of spring that I’d weave back together into a new tradition. And I’d mash in a bit of Earth Day as well, celebrating, not just the arrival of spring, but the start of that year’s greening and growing of ecosystems everywhere (at least in the Northern Hemisphere). The spring celebration would be a time to celebrate new life and new growth in general and the health of, our respect for, and our connection to the natural world.

Okay, though, there are still wrinkles to work out. Like, what about the Southern Hemisphere? We’d have to move the spring celebration away from Easter/Passover and shift it to the austral spring in the Southern Hemisphere. And I’m not at all sure what a spring celebration would mean for people living in the tropics, which are not terribly seasonal. A spring celebration is definitely more of a higher latitude happening, ecologically speaking, so if you take the Abrahamic religion aspects out, I’m not sure what you’re left with in the tropics to unite people in celebration.

But hang on. I’m getting off track. I’m not trying to invent a new feast for everyone in the world. Just dreaming of how I’d celebrate the arrival of spring with family and friends if I was given free rein. I’d have chocolate, and bunnies, and colorful eggs, and colorful eggs hanging on trees, and a bonfire we’d dance around all night long, and a big feast with family and friends. And spring cleaning (beforehand) and a making of amends to love ones and maybe also to Earth. Because a spring celebration done my way would deeply involve loving and appreciating the Earth whose surface we live on.

But what about you? Comment below! If you could reinvent our celebration of the arrival of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, or start a celebration of the arrival of spring in the Southern Hemisphere, what would you want to include in it? What are your favorite parts of Easter/Passover/Nowruz/etc? Do you come from a family that carves butter lambs or does something similarly spectacular? What do you eat for your feast? Do you dye eggs? Do you paint them? I have so many questions!!! And I’d love to hear all of the things that you do to celebrate Easter, Passover, Nowruz, or anything else along these lines, or what cool ideas you can share from spring celebrations from cultures around the world. And I want to see photos of your Peeps dioramas and your gorgeously dyed eggs and anything else beautiful and breathtaking that you create for your celebration of spring!

#solarpunk celebrations #Christina #spirituality #Organized religion #spring #pagan #Easter #Passover #Nowruz

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wathanism · 8 months

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Hi! I am also an ex Muslim I have been struggling a little bit with religion but I would like to learn more about paganism especially in mena regions. I can't find a lot of sources so I was wondering if you could tell me or offer me some sources. Also, I was wondering, if you still live in a Muslim majority country, do you find it harder to practice? One of my biggest concerns is I don't think I will be able to be fully committed because of family restrictions since I live with my parents. So will that affect my connection with the Gods? Thank you 💞💞

i have a lot to say so TLDR: the #1 source that i recommend is this paper in the journal of religious history. it's always good to do more research and seek out multiple perspectives, but this paper imo makes a very intentional effort to be kinder and more respectful of the pre-islamic arabs than most other sources bother trying to be. it's very accessible even if you don't study history or theology, so it's a great starting point). more under the cut!

firstly i wanna give the disclaimer that i don't know much about any other pagan religions in the swana region, as i've only started looking into wathanism which was practiced in the arabian peninsula and the levant. there are other folks that practice the ancient egyptian religion (kemetism) and probably other maghrebi religions, but i haven't had a chance to learn about those yet.

i wanted to answer this ask sooner than later, but unfortunately my answer might not be the most satisfying, since there really aren't many sources out there to begin with, especially not reliable ones. ancient arabs relied a lot on oral systems of knowledge, and a lot of the written records of their worship were destroyed during the coming & spread of islam. as far as i know, we actually don't have a clue about any of the mythology of the arabian gods or anything like that, though we know what was associated with some of them (ex: manat was a goddess of fate, allat was a goddess of combat and prosperity). soooo the way i see it, there's a couple ways you can go about practicing wathanism:

the first is that you can view it in a very academic sense and literally become an amateur historian lol. google scholar and scihub are your friends!

the second is to take a more intuitive approach and really let your feelings guide you. that can look different for everyone, but generally it's good to try out a few different approaches drawing from other practices and to decide with trial and error what makes you feel good/what your gods respond to.

these two approaches are not mutually exclusive and i personally try to apply both in my own practice. if you want, i can get into all the details of what being a wathanist means to me and how i practice it, but i wanna try to keep this answer at least reasonably short for now lol. but to give an example: christopher moreman's 2016 paper, rehabilitating the spirituality of pre-islamic arabia, talks about how stones were used to mark graves and how historic records do show that stones and statues were important in the pre-islamic religion, and he interprets this to mean that the religion had a strong emphasis on ancestor worship and that the stones may have been thought to house the spirits of the dead. based on that and if you connect to the idea, you can try to find ways to apply ancestor worship in your own life. this is where looking at other similar religions for inspiration can help, and with time you can find what you like.

on the flip side, there's another interpretation of the same facts about the relevance of stones and statues to the arab pagans, which is more animist in nature (i.e. all things on earth have a spirit and to live in harmony with your environment means to respect all of them). a lot of indigenous american religions have this view and are worth studying if this idea connects with you. and of course, the animist interpretation and the ancestor worship interpretation are not mutually exclusive, and you can apply both in your life.

i actually don't do a lot of deity work, so i can't speak much on that. i actually have been meaning to change my bio abt that since i wrote it when i just started this blog lol.

as for how to practice safely in your home... that's a really complicated question, but i'll do my best to give some advice. keep in mind i'm not currently living in a muslim country, and even when i visit, my family gives me enough privacy that i'm relatively safe.

the main thing i think you should keep in mind is plausible deniability. a lot of pagans online have these big fancy altars with lots of explicit pagan symbolism and spell jars and all the works, and you want to avoid something like that that would catch people's attention. you can set up an altar in your room, but organize it in a way that it might just seem like a cute decor item rather than something religious. for example, just having a vase with flowers and candles is enough, and it won't draw any attention. lots of people like candles and flowers and even crystals without any witchy or pagan connotations.

the important thing is to know what your family will consider suspicious. for example, my parents wouldn't be able to identify tarot cards, so its no problem if i have them, because they just think i have pretty playing cards. be aware of what the safe boundaries are, and if you're ever unsure, you're better off being cautious.

also, not everything in your practice has to be external. for me, the act of cooking a traditional dish or reading a poem are acts of worship because they connect me to my culture. caring for others around me and learning about the world are acts of worship. sunbathing and smelling flowers and petting a cat are acts of worship. to me, my religion is a lot more than just having a designated time and place to perform a set of rituals that are sacred. it's a shift in perspective, and anything that makes me feel more grounded and connected with the world around me IS the practice of my religion, ykwim?

#asks #i hope this was a satisfying enough answer!!! lmk if you have any more questions #also if anyone wants to add more then please do ❤#(if you notice any typos no you didn't ❤ i wrote this at 5 am lol)

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will-o-the-witch · 2 years

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Hi, I hope you don't mind but I thought I'd come to you to ask a couple questions. It might be long. Also, brief conversion therapy mention tw.

I've been having some personal issues with my spirituality lately and I can't seem to get my head around something. For context, I've been raised pretty much predominantly by my Jewish grandmother but I'm technically not considered "officially Jewish" (no official Conversion, mother doesn't consider herself Jewish) and I don't call myself Jewish, obviously out of respect. I've been a Demonolatrist for many years and consider myself a witch, and I've been interested in Jewish Demonolatry, folklore, spirit work etc. on and off. I've just always been hesitant about it because I'm not sure if I'm overstepping any boundaries here considering Judaism is a closed religion and I'm not sure if I can go through the process of becoming Jewish to follow this path. (I don't think it's possible, but it's doing my head in. Would it be offensive/wrong?).

I believe in God 100%, but I don't necessarily worship Him either. I've a very odd relationship with God because I was a victim of gay conversion therapy at our local temple during my childhood and it's kinda dulled my views on Him. It's a kind of "I love you, but you hurt me really bad" relationship. Regardless, I still pray. I would feel comfortable following Jewish culture, customs, holidays, and I've thought it through a lot, but I just can't bring myself to fully worship God and only God. It'd be more like "yeah, God exists and we're cool these days but we have an iffy history".

I'm just curious. How can I approach Jewish witchcraft from the perspective of not wanting God to be at the centre of my practice? Or, more specifically, is it possible? Because Judaism is supposed to be monotheistic...

Ooh, this ended up being way longer than I thought it would. Thank you very much in advance if you decide to take time out of your day to answer this, and I genuinely hope I don't offend. I would love to hear what you have to share on this. It's been on my mind for a fair while now.

This is a really really interesting question! Thank you for asking it.

To start, your relationship with Gd to me feels like a distinctly Jewish one, so I wouldn't worry too much about that aspect. It's very normal if not expected to wrestle with Gd and want to fight Them in the yard sometimes. Obviously anything shared willingly with you by your family/community is fair game, but if you don't consider yourself Jewish you may still need to convert to get into the Deep Stuff. That said, there are totally Rabbis out there who would be willing to work with you. (When I told my Rabbi I considered myself a polytheist, he just replied, "Actually there's a decent argument for that if you look at X, Y, Z...") At the end of the day, your relationship with the Divine is your own, and it's okay to wrestle with the texts, disagree with some of them, and cobble together what feels the most Right for you. What helped me personally wrestle with the monotheism was pouring over religious texts and realizing Jews often define and relate to Gd in a way that is actually quite different from how we envision Pagan deities. HaShem is much more synonymous with how we describe the Universe or the All, and by definition there is only one All. Pagan deities can still exist within that framework. What works for me may be different than what works for you! As for witchcraft, it is 100% okay to not have your craft, even the Jewish elements, center around HaShem. Even many devout religious people are secular witches! It's all about where you believe your "power" is coming from and whatever you bring into your work.

All that said, if you do choose to become a Jew I would hope it is for more than just being able to access closed mysticism! You're already connected to the culture so you've likely already taken on some of that Peoplehood and generational trauma, but you also become a target of antisemitism rather than an observer which can be difficult.

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imhephzibah · 1 year

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'Then you will remember your past sins and despise yourselves for all the detestable things you did. But remember, says the Sovereign Lord , I am not doing this because you deserve it. O my people of Israel, you should be utterly ashamed of all you have done! '

Ezekiel 36:31-32

The context of the chapter is God’s promise to restore Israel, not because they deserved it, but because God had to protect his Holy name and reputation—he was not only worried about the salvation of his people, but also of the world. They were claiming to be the chosen nation, but being defeated and destroyed by other nations who were worshipping pagan gods!! (crying at how this can be so easily applicable in our current day lives). They had the responsibility to represent God to the rest of the world, but they were definitely not doing a good job. In order to protect his Holy name, he brought them back to their land and promised to to restore Israel, not only physically but also spiritually (25-27).

They defiled the land God gave them with their conduct and their actions continued to disrespect God. They became so calloused to their sins and had lost their sensitivity. It says they had to remember their sins lol.

The way I see it as Christians we can also easily lose sensitivity to certain sins. It might not be sins of commission, but as we grow in our faith we commit sins of omission (James 4:17 says whoever knows the right thing, but doesn’t do it…that’s a sin to them). The truth is knowing everything there is to know, not doing it which leads to a separation between me and God is considered a sin of omission. It’s obvious that the Holy Spirit can make me tender and receptive to him, but I need my heart to approach it in the right posture and attitude. It is a sin that needs to be recognized and is rebellion against my loving Father. If we are to examine our lives against God’s standards of right living…truly we cannot even come close. But we have been given grace, that is the abundant strength we have access to to help us with that "standard" of living and it’s dynamic lol and very faceted in the way it can be applied to anything in our spiritual life. Though there is no condemnation for us anymore, we need to say sorry for displeasing Him and ask for forgiveness. Then ask the Holy Spirit to make us receptive to God’s truth. I believe this will be the first step to removing the barrier between us and God. (James 4:8-9)

“Forgive me for forgetting your fulfilling presence”

“Forgive me for claiming to know you when I have not been intentional about interacting with you”

“Forgive me for representing you wrongly in so many parts of my life”

“Forgive me for the sins of omission I commit”

“Forgive me for being so calloused to my disobedience just because I have knowledge of the right path”

Not just saying change my desires, make me more intentional, make me more receptive, let me understand the power of grace and Holy Spirit, but starting with the right posture of “I have grieved you Holy Spirit and I ask for forgiveness." Just like what it says above, remember your sins and despise them.

It’s crazy how this can apply to present day Christians and the Church…me! going back to Malachi 1:6-10 and 2 Peter 2:21…ugh

Anything in life that feels like a valley of dry bones, whether it's people, finances, problems, family, don't give up. Rather pray for renewal and for God's breath of life to come. God can restore!

#02

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traumasurvivorshelpingsurvivors · 1 year

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Tw: Christianity, holidays, general religion/spirituality stuff, feeling invalid, potential stampeding over others spirituality, if that makes sense

Christmas has honestly been good this year - for the first year ever - but I still don't connect with it. I connect more to Pagan stuff, but I feel really invalid, or invading, if I try to practice anything. The thing is, it's slowly becoming part of my day-to-day life, in just how I see the world if nothing else.

But I always feel like I'm stampeding over someone else's religion, if that makes sense? It's tricky for me to find consistent or reliable information, what part of Paganism is closed or not, if I'm allowed to do certain things, etc. My mother is also Pagan, but she's the first in our family line(?), so it's not really reassuring.

I've been trying to make the world more comfortable for me lately, if nothing else so I have a safe and secure place to retreat to in the case of more trauma so it may not affect me as much long-term, and holidays are a huge part of that. But I don't know if I'm allowed to practice Pagan holidays, or if there's certain traditions I need to back away from, and everything is vague and I don't know how to respectful and it's frankly driving me up the wall.

I love holidays. They provide structure. They help me cope with the things around me. They help remind me that the smallest things are magical, or that I can always feel a child's joy, or that I can be anything, or that there's always a warm light in a cold darkness if I or someone else makes it real.

I just hate the ones I celebrate. They bring so much religious trauma back and I...I need a clean break. But I don't know how to go to the ones I connect to because I don't know enough about them, I just know of small things and I feel guilty about it. I feel like I'll never be happy because I'm trapped in holidays I'll either never belong to (because I can't connect or because it's not mine to celebrate) or no holidays at all.

And I know it might seem small but it doesn't feel that way.

Hi anon,

Thank you for reaching out and sharing. I’d like to start by saying that I don’t think this is “small” at all - to me it sounds like you’re navigating a complex space where you are trying to honor both a wounded part of yourself (and I’m sorry for the experiences you’ve survived), but also trying to connect with something spiritual that speaks to you.

I thought this extensive post titled “For the Beginner Pagan, Wiccan, & Witch: Tips & Resources to Get Started” could be a thorough starting off point since it includes basics, books, sites, apps, and more.

You mentioned concerns about what you’re “allowed” to practice, and (if I’m reading this right) trying to discern things for yourself - is there a potential to explore local communities around your area? Or even online? Anyone you could ask questions and explore the practices further with? If not, I still think that anyone interested in spiritual practices can decide the boundaries for themselves on what uplifts them, what brings joy and connection - because religion and spirituality, though possible to do with others, is still, at the end of the day, a personal experience. Regardless of what you decide moving forward, I hope you find some peace along your healing journey <3 - Mod Kat

#trauma talks #mod kat #tw spiritual abuse #spiritual abuse #tw religion #religion #tw holidays #holidays

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sowthetide · 2 months

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heyyyyyy *saunters saucily into your ask box* congratulations! you have written a character so appealing that i cant stop thinking about her! and considering shes an alternate version of an already fictional character, i literally have no one else to bother about the brainworms she gives me. so, youre stuck with me. (side note if you do get sick of my endless asks just say the word and i will limit myself to like. two per chapter. probably. i can be normal i promise) ANYWAY i was listening to incredible amazing bigbrained theon playlist this morning and foreigners god by hozier came upand. the way i see it, in asoiaf canon theons one of the characters with the most interesting relationship with religion. he has the conflicting background, and doesnt really seem to connect with either. which isnt bad, not every character needs tk be spiritual, yet he is also some sort of mesiah figure??? like he has visions and talks to the weirwoods and has SO MUCH religious imagery like im not gonna get into it all but dude literally got crucified?? at a stake??? shit idk man. i like it. i like the part where he swears by the seven WHILE AT THE ISLANDS BEFORE HIS DEATH BAPTISM CEREMONY bbg theyre not pagans. but but but back to quenn- i feel like this is more emphasized in her story? maybe thats just me being delusional but (she lights insence in the sept after cat leaves hahahha im normal about this i swear) shes been abandoned by ALL the gods but still prays??? and for what??? stability???? hope?????? shes can seem like such a pessimist at time, a down to earth realist at best, but SHE STILL PRAYS. to what god???? im not very eloquent with words but you should listen to foreigners god the end byeeerer

-TeaInABowl

Why, hello again ;-) You're so nice to me 🥺 I really appreciate it cause I've been dealing with some Family Issues lately ❤️

Also, you do not have to tell ME about the pain of Quen brainworms!!! Thank god I have goddcoward, Ashen_Onion, and, of course, Y'ALL to scream with about Quen with, because otherwise I'd have probably lost my mind by now. Never worry about being normal because I've spent the last year being increasingly Unnormal about Quen, with extensive daydreaming about all of the Saw traps I have/will put her in.

You've reminded me to update my Quen playlist (the link is around here... somewhere...), but I also reallyyyy need to finish my Theon playlist too... eventually...

But back on topic! Yes, Theon's relationship with religion is such an interesting part of his character, and it's something that really drew me to him while reading (as someone with a complicated/agnostic outlook on religion). He has an unusually strong connection with the North's old gods, which is especially apparent in his ADWD chapters (which are some of GRRM's best-ever chapters, I will die on this hill), and I can't wait to see how that (hopefully) intersects with Bran's journey in TWOW.

I took this aspect of Theon's character and ran with it for Quen, as she has a lot of exposure to all three of the main religions in Westeros: the Drowned God during her childhood on the Iron Islands, and the old gods + the Seven during her time with the Starks. Quen has a closer relationship with the Seven in particular, due to her closer relationship with Catelyn/Sansa/Arya/Septa Mordane (by nature of being female in this 'verse), but she oscillates between all three when the occasion calls for it.

What is she praying for? Does she even believe in any of these gods? Who knows! Quen certainly doesn't. But she'll pray to the gods of the people she loves, so their gods might protect them. Also, as my dad would put it: "there are no atheists in foxholes". This is to say, Quen will cling to whatever gods get her the hell outta this clusterfuck in one piece. And, unfortunately, she finds herself in an inordinate amount of clusterfucks. She's clusterfucks Georg, really.

"Foreigner's God" is Thee Theon song fr. We all listened to it and collectively went THEON 🫵 If anyone has any other Theon song recs, I am always open to suggestions... 👀

#ask #another ask??? you're spoiling me ;-)))))#it was also such a relief after some veryyyy unfun Family Stuff :'-)#my parents rock but my brother? call me asha the way i very much Don't Like That Asshole #A LITTLE BROTHER MAY LIVE TO BE A HUNDRED BUT HE WILL ALWAYS BE A LITTLE BROTHER!!!!!#gartin rartin rartin martin was a prophet for that line #anyway. onto chapter 40!

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carolineslife · 4 months

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Witchy Stuff: Talking about my spirituality

I had a realization recently: that I'm going through a spiritual awakening, and that I've been going through it for a long time.

I suppose I started on this journey when I first stopped going to church about four or five years ago. I stopped listening to anything having to do with God or religion, and instead turned to paganism. I worshiped Norse gods and Greek gods, but it never felt right. I always felt like I was talking into nothingness, like no one was there, and no one was listening.

So I turned to witchcraft without deities, believing that the source of any kind of power I might have came from the universe itself. I went on this part of my journey for a few years, but it never felt right either. It did, however, lead me to the path that I'm on currently.

For about a year now I've been practicing Christian witchcraft, in which my deity is Jesus. I hadn't realized until recently that this whole time, with leaving church and studying the ways of other gods, I've been deconstructing the faith I once had and slowly leaving it behind. When I came back to reading the Bible and looking at theologies different from those I grew up learning about, I replaced that old faith with a new one, a faith all my own, and I've grown so much because of it.

Over the past few months, I've noticed a few things that could be signs of my spiritual awakening. One thing was that I've stopped pretending to be happy, and in that, I've started to feel actually, truly happy.

I've also stopped thinking that everything in life is either positive or negative; there can't be positive without negative, and some situations in life can be both at once. I realized this most recently when my boyfriend was sick and at home for most of his work week; the negative was that he wasn't feeling well at all and wouldn't be making a lot of money for that week, but the positive was that he would actually be there when I would get home from work and we could spend some time together.

I'm also learning to change my way of thinking when it comes to negative situations. I realized this just this morning when a coworker of mine was supposed to pick me up for work so that I wouldn't have to walk in the cold. This coworker had offered the day before to do this and I gave them specific instructions for how to get to where I live. Then this morning they called me about ten minutes after they were supposed to pick me up and told me that they couldn't find where I live and that they just went ahead to work without me. Then for the rest of the work day, they acted like they were mad at me, even though I did absolutely nothing wrong. I was angry, and I still am a little upset about it, but I reframed the situation in my mind. I realized that this was a life lesson for me, that I can't always depend on people to do what they say they will.

I've also been having a lot more dreams, vivid, detailed dreams that sometimes turn into nightmares. One was possibly a premonition about a coworker of mine passing away, and even though this person is still alive and in fairly good health, it still scared me. Another coworker of mine said that dreaming of someone dying could mean that someone in my family might be giving birth soon, but there's no one pregnant in my family, and I've had a premonition in a dream that came about halfway true once before.

This journey will last a long time, maybe even years, but I hope that I can remain open to anything I experience on it and learn whatever lessons I can along the way.

#spiritual awakening #online diary #online journal #Jesus witch #christian witch #dreampre #premonitions #journey #long journey #spiritual #awakening

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kayotlthegod · 5 months

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So about me let's get started on this s*** LOL. I'm an infja in Briggs Myers personality type thing you know. I'm very antisocial that's what people think but actually I'm just an introvert that doesn't like fake people. I'm very empathic and I can sense energy that is and can be either or. I'm a November Scorpio and proud of it. I'm scared of Aquarius especially Mariska hargitay. I am part Nigerian and part Scottish. My maternal grandfather is a demon.. IDK IDC how you take it. I don't give a damn. Anyhoo. I do have a primal astrology sign which is the astrology sign of the Raven which is a combination of Scorpio and the year of the monkey. I'm very developed in pens and gemstones and some tarot cards a lot of spiritual stuff you know new age pagan. The fact that I was born into a close-knit family book because my grandfather wanted me dead I was given up at birth before my grandfather can even touch me I was giving up to an habitual f****** liar of a redheaded woman.. redheaded white woman. And she was a liar lied to me all my life. And a stalker lady that was from.. I don't care and I don't know where basically thought she was my mother which basically gave me mommy issues and confusion which led to myself Identity or self knowledge quest. Which was completed through genetic study and turns out I knew I was lied to. I didn't know I was that lied to. And I'm referring to that as in I thought it was native American or Jamaican. I am zilch present 0% Jamaican and 0% native American. My ancestors never touched the islands the Caribbean islands you called them. My ancestors were part of an African tribe that worshiped dogs as deities and it's not Igbo and it's not your root but it's some African tribe that nobody knows still deep within the African realms. A part of me a little midget of me is this African slaves that is what you call a 2% of me is descended of African slaves the rest of me is to send it of African tribes that nobody knows. So mostly I'm not descendant of African American slaves I'm a descendant of the African tribes so I'm not a descent of any slave at all mostly I'm also a descent of witches that they fail to burn. And I might be part of the McKay clan. And I did an ancestry DNA test as far as my heritage goes yes 23% Nigerian 23% Scottish and not even the Nigerian side of me is a descendant of slaves it's just a 2% Senegal was and that 2% was the descendant of slaves from a long time ago basically during the beginning of United States back then in the 1700s. Well that being said those ancestors moved back to Africa and Lisa my dad's side because my dad's an African ginger I'm proud of it my dad's an afro Ginger my whole entire dad's side of the family are African gingers. And if people got a problem with that they hate let them hate. My mom Rachel Diane Roth is of Scottish blood well not completely Scottish cuz I also have Germanic European and English and a little bit of Irish. Means I could be a descendant of Ragnar lothbrok and y'all wouldn't even know it neither would I LOL. I live in a group home thank the gods. So I end up living a group home with a housemate that has a mind of a 5 year old and I have a mind of an 85 year old always needing coffee in the morning basically because I'm an old soul. I'm an indigo Crystal being and my higher self is that of Kayotl in which my higher self is not male or female but both male in the chest female in the crotch and it is also a coyote cat hybrid humanoid tall a bit then my mortal self and even a bit more taller than my primitive self which is a coyote cat hybrid. That is all I got to tell you for now

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fvneral-m00n · 9 months

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hope you're doing okay on this fine day!

I'm curious as another pagan, what's an/some experience(s) like connecting with the gods while you're going through a trip?

They're pretty much always around in some form, even if it's not directly or loud enough, or they seem like they're off paying attention elsewhere, but you've also mentioned DMT? Have any of ya gods interacted with you through a trip?

Thanks for giving this a read! Take care.

Yes, yes they do. I use acid to help with rituals. I work with loki. Also in the dmt world things are alot different. When you break through 360 degrees around you you will be in a different place. I have met entities there that don't fall under any pantheon. I also feel the need to connect to my roots and meditate before doing dmt to increase likelihood of spiritual experience. I often on acid feel loki calling me to come outside and he makes me feel joyous and not alone as I go into nature and il strip and skinny dip under the moon and not just worship loki but worship the water and the sky and the beauty and that moment in time. Il float and meditate staring at the stars. Also onetime I was very depressed to the point I had pretty much made up my mind to end my life I iust needed my partner to leave the house. I did some dmt while I waited which Is unusual for me because I know how taking psychedelics when in a bad place can become psychotic hell but I was dying soon. Do your worst I thought. And I think this was lokis coercion because the trip I had it felt like beams of love and light where being blasted into my heart. I'm adopted and even my adopted family suck and loki to me I'd patron of lost souls and people the world forgot. I think he was trying to show me that he loves me. I felt validated and soothed. I felt the presence of a fatherly figure too. I think the allfather. Odin. Usually it's just loki and me on our little trips doing rituals and connecting to the earth but I have a great respect for odin as I do all the gods. But hearth and home fire love and mischief is where my heart is. He helps me in the dmt world and his energy is brotherly. So I know he took me to odin. Because of the unconditional love I felt I stayed. I knew how loved I was by the gods and the earth and the people making me sad could blow me. Before I felt alone but that was a great loving reminder I'm not. If you use psychedelics to much they might start to ignore you. Loki will not show up in my trips If I take somthing stupid like 7 300ug tabs because I'm not doing anything spiritual im just being a junkie and he trys to help me not be an addict and to sooth me through the life of an addict so he doesn't like me doing dumb stuff like that in the name of spirituality because there is nothing spiritual I'm just being a wreckhead. So I say use them as the tools for magic they are. Dmt is basically real life backrooms since people share encounters and places it takes you. It can also take you back to trauma which can be hard but the point is to see it a different way but it can still he hard learning these lessons. This is a very complicated question. Yes you will connect with the gods if you use it as a tool for ritual and spirituality. If you act like a junkie you will just have them ignore you or even admonish you alittle to say stop saying your doing this in my name.

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thesimplyluxuriouslife · 1 year

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347: How to Savor Christmas at Home, Alone, Simply Luxuriously

The holiday of Christmas is a festive time that arrives a mere one week before the new year begins.

The arrival of Christmas stirs up nostalgia for some, angst for others, seasonal stress for most of us and a stream of quiet hope for perhaps nearly all of us that a Christmas miracle will occur. And regardless of what we imagine it to be as November arrives and we look ahead to the final two months of the year, it is a holiday capable of being exactly as we most wish it to be when we approach it with a conscious and loving heart and mind.

Discovering and then honoring what brings us joy is a step in the direction for a most enjoyable holiday.

Nigel Slater reminds in his The Christmas Chronicles that "many of the festival's observances date from pre-Christian times, and those who celebrate it as a purely religious event might be surprised to find out how much of the festivities hails from pagan times." The celebration of the winter solstice just days before the 25th, the beginning of more light to our days was, again as Slater shares, celebrated long before Christmas was celebrated "Saturnalia was the Roman festival of honor of the God Saturn, with feasting lasting from December 17th to the 23rd". And so in many ways, while religious or not, spiritual or atheist as Slater shares he is happily, we all borrow from each of the reasons to celebrate during this Christmas time of year, and that too is something to celebrate.

I had planned on posting on an entirely different topic for today's episode/post, but in the days and weeks leading up to curating this episode, I found myself becoming increasingly excited about my own plans for Christmas. Knowing that how I am choosing to celebrate is a less celebrated approach by the culture, I wanted to share because as I wrote in the December chapter of my book The Road to Le Papillon, it is imperative that we celebrate all holidays that come with traditions in such a way that brings us true joy. I acknowledge that not everyone lives alone by choice as I do, but even in a household of a couple or a family, knowing and voicing and observing what brings true joy to those we love and then honoring this need in some way as you design your day of celebration is a priceless gift to give.

So day, as the final episode of 2022, the holiday episode it will be, and along with the ideas for savoring Christmas home alone simply luxuriously, today's Petit Plaisir will be holiday inspired as well and ties in quite nicely with the theme of our conversation. While alone typically signifies one person, it can also include you and your significant other/partner/spouse or you and your household - family. Let's take a look of how to savor Christmas by focusing on quality rather than quantity thereby elevating the entire experience.

~Note to readers: More is discussed in detail in the audio version, so do be sure to tune in. 😌

1.Choose to celebrate alone

During the past three years, more than most of us had no choice but to celebrate Christmas alone, so understandably, doing so yet again, may not be enticing or desired. However, I was one of those people during the pandemic who enjoyed spending some of the holidays in my own company, but this is also coming from someone who prior to 2020 chose to spend both Thanksgiving and Christmas in my own company more than a couple of times and had, hands down, some of the best holidays in my adult years I have ever had.

Knowing you have chosen to spend Christmas Day in your own company gives you time to plan, to anticipate, to prepare and thus to then savor the day when it arrives.

Especially if we are changing our plans from previous years of spending this day with family, knowing we have communicated and perhaps shared some holiday time together earlier in December, will make the change into a holiday tradition you desire more enjoyable knowing you have prepared well, so that your conscience can be at peace.

2. Savor other holiday social outings/gatherings/volunteer activities leading up to Christmas

Christmas Day has always been a day I don't want a grand dinner, nor do I want to dress up and throw a dinner party; however, as many of you know, I love hosting a dinner party, so it is rather how I view what Christmas Day is - cozying-in, getting snuggly and just having a wide-open day to savor the joy that has culminated over the past month or so. With all of that said, we need not wait for the actual date of the 25th to arrive to celebrate Christmas. No, no, no, no!

As I know many TSLL readers do, plan a special lunch or dinner date with your dear friend or friends to exchange gifts. During the past couple of years, my dear friend Veronique and I have done this, and dined at a favorite European-cuisine restaurant here in Bend, enjoying sparkling wine and oodles of conversation as the hours pass by, only remembering at the end to exchange our gifts because we've been talking so much! :)

3. Do something special on either the 23rd or the 24th

Every year I have done something slightly or significantly different, but these two dates are the special ones for me when it comes to soirées, hosting a dinner, going out to dinner and splurging, seeing something special with family or dear friends.

Every year as a child, Christmas Eve was the BIG dinner at my parents' house in which we and our guests would dress up for and we kids would do so obediently because we knew soon we would be in bed awaiting Santa's arrival. Now as an adult, the energy of the season is palpable and spending time with others, more than a handful is something even this introvert enjoys because it only happens once a year.

One year, in fact the last Christmas season I was in my house in eastern Oregon (Pendleton), I threw a soirée and more people came than I imagined, and it turned out to be one of the most beautiful memories of my time living in this home with the people attending from my neighborhood, my colleagues at school and my brother and his wife. It was held on Christmas Eve Eve (the 23rd), and it was perfect timing as then I had time to decompress on the 24th and look forward to a quiet Christmas Day.

This year, I am excited to be able to enjoy a full five course meal and share the meal at my neighbors', along with my own, respective houses as we will be enjoying a progressive dinner, and since we all live either next to each other or on the same street, we need only walk a couple house-lengths to enjoy the next course. The clean-up is less, the cost for each of us is more affordable, and as the weather looks to be snowy, it will be safer to imbibe and thoroughly just enjoy the evening. I cannot wait!

4. Plan your Christmas meal - brunch, dinner, dessert, etc.

As you will be in your own company and can dine whenever you prefer, decide what meal you want to enjoy and then do so at your leisure. Brunch is always a must-have on Christmas with pastries, eggs, a meat of choice - sausage or bacon, perhaps a Bellini and paired with The New York Times annual Puzzle section, I will be enjoying a good long meal in my pajamas, of which doesn't take that long to cook. Speaking of pajamas . . .

~Here is my recipe (and video) for homemade French croissants~

5. Select your favorite pajamas and have them ready to be worn

As it is quite cold in Bend, I enjoy wearing linen pajamas, and make sure they are freshly laundered and pressed. Just knowing you are wearing something comfortable and warm that you will likely be wearing part, if not all of the day, eliminates the guilt of doing something that is quite foreign to most of us, but something to savor on this special day.

6. Stuff the stockings for your four-legged companions

My pups each have their own stocking, and while Nelle doesn't know the fun that is in store for her just yet, both Norman and Oscar loves/d their stockings, and as you can see below, waited patiently to explore the contents each year.

7. Don't forget to give yourself a gift

While no doubt you have already shopped and wrapped and delivered your gifts for loved ones, even filling out holiday cards to send to personal and professional contacts and acquaintances you are grateful to have in your life, be sure to remember to include yourself on Santa's list to shop for.

Whether the gift to yourself is tangible (a nice Trudon candle) or not (purchase those tickets for your trip next year, or put the deposit on the vacation rental), give yourself something you've been dreaming about and maybe wouldn't purchase freely any other time of the year.

8. Make plans to do something unique/special on Christmas Day

Whether you stay home and take part, attend an event locally or pop up to the mountain to go skiing if snow is in your backyard as it is mine, have a plan to do something special on this day. This will get you up and give you an opportunity to move and perhaps exercise and just looking forward to enjoying this special something is a joy in and of itself.

9. Plan a special evening ritual to savor

As shared above in #4 if you have already planned on either a brunch, a lunch or a dinner, I would encourage to also include a delicious evening-into-the-night treat. What I will be up to after having a good brunch, then a jaunt to the mountain or a long walk in the snow somewhere nearby, is enjoying a slice of homemade Bu1che de Noël that I will be making a few days earlier, paired with hot cuppa or maybe a sip or two of cognac and enjoying whilst sitting by the fire, reading a bit from a book that is calling my name to suit whatever mood I am in, and then watching a bit of the new series that is this week's Petit Plaisir (see below).

A preview of what I hope I can recreate in my own kitchen. This was my mother's Bûche de Noël made, and we all enjoyed, last Christmas Eve.

Wishing you a wonderful, happy and merry Christmas this coming Sunday (and a Happy Hanukkah as well). Thank you for stopping by and look for a new episode on Wednesday January 4th, 2023.

SIMILAR POSTS/EPISODES YOU MIGHT ENJOY

Why Not . . . Enjoy the Holidays Even If You're Single?

M.L. Longworth Talks Provence during the Holidays, Favorite Cookbooks and her new Provençal Mystery, episode #268

Merry Christmas and What Made Me Smile This Year (2019)

Petit Plaisir

~A Storm for Christmas, Netflix limited series

~The Simple Sophisticate, episode #347

Tune in to the latest episode of The Simple Sophisticate podcast

#tsllpodcast thesimplesophisticate

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beaversatemygrandma · 3 years

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Learning that the wiccan girl i used to work with is currently spouting qanon bullshit doesn’t even surprise me.

It all started with her coming up to me immediately recognizing the fact that I’m highly empathic and then proceeding to try to convince me that im one of the select few with special abilities and whatever. (i mean my mom says the same. i just pass off as a damn fae creature at this point) Then once we were friends, there was her trying to convince me to go to a ritual at the beach on the full moon to drink menstrual blood. Well i didn’t do any of that. I just kinda backed away at that point but she was friends with literally All of my work friends so i was stuck with her even after she lost the job. I still see her around somehow and its been like 3 years so yeah.

#starting to wonder what kind of people i wouldve met if i didnt move to fl rn #because holy fuck theyre really showing their crazy around here #the only good thing she did was talk me down from a panic attack at work by using a damn healing crystal #how it worked idk #but it did #i keep amethyst and citrine around now #but then again my mom also supports the healing crystal stuff and got me a nice set of stones last year #that girl also shamed me for not dating the guy i was sleeping with when we had first met #she even once did it while i was not in a good mindset which sent me into a SPIRAL #the spiral somehow pushed me towards the guy and we somehow never even dated but we still talk a lot and are close friends #so maybe she was right about how sex makes you spiritual level because we're still on the same wavelength #then again we might just be compatible people sooo #if i meet another dang wiccan who thinks im a wiccan im gonna scream tho #im not i swear #i was just raised by a pagan woman who genuinely thinks im a fae #i also found a book of healing spells in my late grandmothers stuff while living with my granddad #i kept that book #is all this because of the pagans in my family and how i might spiritually be at these people's levels #possibly yes #do i understand any of this stuff #no not at all #but do i keep getting gifted healing crystals and white sage?#oh yeah ive got a lot of pretty rocks now #and sage that i will never burn most likely #but yeah today is just me looking over the local people ik and wondering what the fuck theyre thinking #because i dont think they think #most of them are just showing their evil sides lately and im getting nervous #fl locals are damn wild my dudes #i wonder if theres a spell in that book for these sorts of situations #beavers speaks

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gendercensus · 3 years

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On fae/faer pronouns and cultural appropriation

HOW IT STARTED

I had a handful, a very small handful but more than two, responses in the Gender Census feedback box telling me that fae/faer pronouns are appropriative. The reasons didn’t always agree, and the culture that was being appropriated wasn’t always the same, but here’s a selection of quotes:

“Fae pronouns are cultural appropriation and are harmful to use“ - UK, age 11-15

“I’m not a person who practices pagan holidays but, my understanding is that pronouns like fae/faeself are harmful because the fae are real to pagans and is like using Jesus/jesuself as pronouns“ - UK, age 11-15

“I know you've probably heard this a million times, so has everyone on the internet, but the ''mere existence''of the fae pronoun feels really uncomfortable for some of us. I'm personally not against neopronouns like xe/xim, er/em and the like, I am a pagan but apart from the, imo most important, reasoning of that pronoun being immensely disrespectful, I worry as an nb about people who banalize the usage of pronouns ''for fun'', and I'm quoting what some people have told me.“ - Spain, 16-20

“I don't agree with fae/deity pronouns just from a pagan perspective it's very disrespectful to the cultures they come from. Like Fae are a legit thing in many cultures and they hate with a fiery passion mortal humans calling themselves Fae to the point of harming/cursing the people who do it“ - USA, age 16-20

“only celtic people can use far/ faers otherwise it’s cultural appropriation, many celts have said this and told me this“ - USA, age 16-20

So that’s:

❓ Someone who doesn’t say whether they’re pagan or Celtic.

❌ Someone who definitely isn’t pagan.

✅ Someone who is pagan.

❓ Someone who doesn’t say whether they’re pagan or Celtic.

So, just to disclose some bias up-front, I am English so I’m not Celtic, but I do live in Wales so I am surrounded by Celts. The bit of Wales that I live in is so beautiful in such a way that when my French friend came to visit me she described it as féerique - like an enchanting, magical land, literally “fairylike” or thereabouts. Coincidentally I have also considered myself mostly pagan for over half of my life, and I can’t definitively claim whether or not the Fae are “part of paganism” because paganism is so diverse and pick’n’mix that it just doesn’t work that way.

To me the idea that fae/faer pronouns would be offensive or culturally appropriative sounds absurd. But also, I am powered by curiosity, and have been wrong enough times in my life that I wanted to approach this in a neutral way with an open mind. Perhaps what I find out can be helpful to some people.

So since we only have information from one person who is definitely directly affected by any cultural appropriation that may be happening, the first thing I wanted to do was get some information from ideally a large number of people who are in the cultures being appropriated, and see what they think.

WHAT I DID

First of all I put some polls up on Twitter and Mastodon. [Edit: Note that this post has been updated with results from closed polls.]

I specified that I wanted to hear from nonbinary Celts and pagans, just so that the voters would be familiar with fae/faer pronouns. I asked the questions in a neutral way, i.e. “How do you feel about...” with “good/neutral/bad” answer options, instead of something more leading like “Is this a load of rubbish?” or “are you super offended?” with “yes/no” options. I provided a “see results” option, so that the poll results wouldn’t be skewed as much by random people clicking any old answer to see the results. And I invited voters to express their opinions in replies.

Question #1: Nonbinary people of Celtic descent (Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, the Isle of Man, and Brittany), how do you feel about non-Celtic people using the neopronoun set fae/faer? [ It's good / No strong feelings/other / It's bad ]

Question #2: Nonbinary pagans, how do you feel about non-pagans using the neopronoun set fae/faer? [ It's good / No strong feelings/other / It's bad ]

The Twitter polls got over 1,100 responses each, and the Mastodon polls got over 140 responses each. With a little bit of spreadsheetery I removed the “N/A” responses to reverse engineer the number of people voting for each option, combined those numbers, and recalculated percentages.

Obviously this approach is not in the least scientific, but thankfully the results were unambiguous enough and the samples were big enough that I feel comfortable drawing conclusions.

Celts on fae/faer pronouns being used by non-Celts (561 voters):

It's good - 42.5%

No strong feelings/other - 44.0%

It's bad - 13.5%

Pagans on fae/faer pronouns being used by non-pagans (468 voters):

It's good - 47.2%

No strong feelings/other - 39.5%

It's bad - 13.3%

Here’s how that looks as a graph:

The limitations of polls on these platforms means that we have no way to distinguish between people who have more complicated views (”other”) and people who have “no strong feelings”, so we can’t really draw conclusions there. If we stick to just the pure positive and pure negative:

Celts were over three times as likely to feel positive about non-Celts using fae/faer pronouns than they were to feel negative.

Pagans were over three and a half times as likely to feel positive about non-pagans using fae/faer pronouns than they were to feel negative.

So Celts and pagans are way more likely to feel actively good about someone’s fae/faer pronouns, even when that person is not a Celt/pagan. That’s some strong evidence against the idea that fae/faer pronouns are appropriative, right there.

CORRECTIONS

To be clear, I haven’t done any research about the roots of fae/faer or the origins of the Fae and related beings, but my goal here was to get a sense of what Celts and pagans think and feel, rather than what an historian or anthropologist would say.

On the anti side, here were the replies that suggested fae/faer either is or might be inappropriate:

“I only worry that not everyone understands the origin of the word outside of modernized ideas of fairies.“ - pagan

“As a vaguely spiritual Whatever (Ireland), I think a mortal using "fae" as a pronoun/to refer to themselves is asking for a malicious and inventive fairy curse (on them, their families and possibly anyone in their vicinity, going by the traditions). I have not heard of this term before, so this is an immediate reaction from no background bar my cultural knowledge of sidhe/fae/term as culturally appropriate. My general approach is people can identify themselves as they want.“ - Celtic

So we’ve got a pagan who’s wary that people who use fae/faer (and people in general) might not have a fully fleshed out idea of the Fae. And we’ve got a Celt who doesn’t mind people using fae/faer personally, but based on what they know of the Fae they wouldn’t be surprised if the Fae got mad about it. No outright opposition, but a little concern.

There were not a lot of replies on the pro side, but not because people weren’t into it, judging by the votes. There were a lot of “it’s more complicated than that” replies, many of which repeated others, so quotes won’t really work. Here’s a summary of the Celtic bits:

“Fae” is not a Celtic word, and Celts don’t use it. It is French, or Anglo-French.

“Fae” can refer to any number of stories/legends from a wide variety of cultures in Europe, not one cohesive concept.

There are many legends about fairy-like beings in Celtic mythologies, and there are many, many different names for them.

The Celts are not a monolith, they’re a broad selection of cultures with various languages and various mythologies.

And the pagan bits:

Paganism is not closed or exclusive in any way. It might actually be more open than anything else, as “pagan” is a sort of umbrella term for non-mainstream religions in some contexts. A closed culture would be a prerequisite for something to be considered “appropriated” from paganism.

From my own experience, pagans may or may not believe in the Fae, and within that group believers may or may not consider the Fae to be sacred and/or worthy of great respect. (I’ve certainly never met a pagan who worshipped the Fae, though I don’t doubt that some do.)

And then we get into the accusations. 🍿

“this issue wasn’t started by Celtic groups or by people who know much about Celtic fae. It was started primarily by anti-neopronoun exclusionist pagans on TikTok.“

“[I’m] literally Scottish [...] and it’s not appropriative in the least and honestly to suggest as such is massively invalidating towards actual acts of cultural appropriation and is therefore racist. Feel like if this was actually brought up it was either by some people who seriously got their wires crossed or people who are just concern trolling and trying to make fun of both neo-pronouns and of the concept of cultural appropriation and stir the pot in the process.“

“It wouldn't be the first time bigots falsly claim “it's appropriative from X marginalized group" to harass people they don't like, like they did with aspec people when they claimed "aspec" was stolen from autistic language (which was false, as many autistics said)“

“It's been a discussion in pagan circles recently ... People were very quick to use the discussion as an excuse to shit on nonbinary people.“

“I think it would be apropos to note that the word "faerie/fairy" has been a synonym for various queer identities for decades, too. The Radical Faeries are a good example.“ (So if anyone has the right to [re]claim it...)

A little healthy skepticism is often wise in online LGBTQ+ “discourse”, and some of these people are making some very strong claims, for which I’d love to see some evidence/sources/context. Some of it certainly sounds plausible.

HOW DID IT START?

I had a look on Twitter and the earliest claim I can find that fae/faer pronouns are cultural appropriation is from 18th February 2020, almost exactly one year ago today. Again, tweets are not the best medium for this, there was very little in the way of nuance or context. If anyone can find an older claim from Twitter or Tumblr or anywhere else online, please do send it my way.

I have no idea how to navigate TikTok because I’m a nonbinosaur. (I’m 34.) I did find some videos of teens and young adults apparently earnestly asserting that they were Celtic or pagan and the use of fae/faer pronouns was offensive, but the videos were very brief and provided nothing in the way of nuance or context. For example:

This one from October 2020 with 29k ❤️s, by someone who I assume is USian based on the word “mom”?

This one from December 2020, that says “I am pagan and i find it rather disrespectful. It’s like using god/godr or jesus/jesusr.” That’s probably what inspired the feedback box comment above that refers to hypothetical jesus/jesusr pronouns.

If anyone is able to find a particularly old or influential TikTok video about fae/faer pronouns being appropriative I’d really appreciate it, especially if it’s from a different age group or from not-the-USA, to give us a feel for how universal this is.

For context, fae pronouns were mentioned in the very first Gender Census back in May 2013, though you’ll have to take my word for it as the individual responses are not currently public. The word “fae” was mentioned in the pronoun question’s “other” textbox, and no other forms in the set were entered so we have no way of knowing for sure what that person’s full pronoun set actually is. This means the set may have been around for longer. The Nonbinary Wiki says that the pronoun set was created in October 2013, as “fae/vaer”, later than the first entry in the Gender Census, so I’ll be editing that wiki page later! If anyone has any examples of fae/faer pronouns in use before 2013 I would also be very interested to see that.

IN SUMMARY

Obviously I can’t speak for everyone, as the Twitter polls are not super scientific and they only surveyed a selection of Celts and pagans within a few degrees of separation of the Gender Census Twitter and Mastodon accounts, but I can certainly report on what I found.

For a more conclusive result, we’d need to take into account various demographics such as age, culture, location, religion, race/heritage, etc.

As far as I can tell based on fairly small samples of over 400 people per group, a minority of about 13% of Celtic and/or pagan people felt that use of fae/faer pronouns is appropriative.

A much higher number of people per group felt positive about people who are not Celts or pagans using fae/faer pronouns. The predominant view was:

It can’t be cultural appropriation from Celtic cultures because fairy-like beings are not unique to Celtic cultures and Celtic cultures don’t call them Fae.

It can’t be cultural appropriation from pagan cultures because paganism is not “closed” or exclusive in any way, it’s too broad and open.

If your experience of your gender(s) or lack thereof isn’t described or encompassed by the gender binary of “male OR female”, please do click here to take the Gender Census 2021 - it’s international and it closes no earlier than 10th March 2021!

#fae/faer #pronouns #neopronouns #cultural appropriation

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samwisethewitch · 4 years

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Cultural Appropriation in Modern Witchcraft

Cultural appropriation occurs when cultural practices are taken out of their original context and misused by outsiders. Cultural appropriation is different from cultural sharing, which occurs naturally in any multicultural society. Eating at an Indian restaurant is not cultural appropriation. Wearing a bindi when you don’t understand its significance in Indian culture is.

Cultural appropriation is a huge issue in modern witchcraft. When you have witches using white sage to “smudge” their altars, doing meditations to balance their chakras, and calling on Santa Muerte in spells, all without making any effort to understand the cultural roots of those practices, you have a serious problem.

When trying to understand cultural appropriation in witchcraft, it’s important to understand the difference between open and closed magic systems. An open system is one that is open to exchange with outsiders — both sharing ideas/practices and taking in new ones. In terms of religion, spirituality, and witchcraft, a completely open system has no restrictions on who can practice its teachings. A closed system is one that is isolated from outside influences — usually, there is some kind of restriction on who can practice within these systems.

There are different reasons a system might be closed. Some systems require a formal training and/or initiation, but there is no restriction on who can be initiated. Reiki and some forms of Wicca operate this way. (All other forms of Wicca are completely open.) Some systems are closely tied to a complex set of cultural beliefs that may not be fully understood by outsiders, so they are closed to people outside of that culture. Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) is an example of this. Some systems require a family lineage, so you must have been born into the system to practice within it. Zoroastrianism and some forms of traditional witchcraft fall into this category. And finally, some systems are closed as a kind of self defense, usually because they have been the target of persecution from outsiders — keeping the system closed is a way to preserve beliefs and practices that might otherwise be lost. African Diaspora Religions fall into this last category.

If a belief or practice is part of a closed system, outsiders should not take part in it. It really is that simple. If you aren’t Native American, you should not be performing smudging ceremonies. If you aren’t Jewish, you should not be practicing Kabbalah or working with Lilith as your “goddess.” If you aren’t Black, you should not be practicing Hoodoo. You get the idea.

On a similar note, just because a system is open does not mean you can do whatever you want with its teachings. You should still make a point of educating yourself on the system you are practicing and take care not to take things out of their original context. Some forms of Shinto are open, but you wouldn’t involve the kami in a Wiccan- or pagan-style ritual — Shinto has its own rules for ritual, which are very different from Western paganism. If you feel called to work with a cultural system you are not already part of, you need to be willing to put in the work of respectfully learning about and preserving that system.

It is impossible to appropriate a dominant culture. For example, in the United States, white American culture is treated as the default. There is tremendous pressure on all other cultural groups to speak English, dress like white Americans, and act like white Americans. White American culture has deep roots in Protestant Christianity, and these religious influences are enforced through social norms and sometimes through laws. Many businesses are closed on Christmas and Easter, and I live in an area where it is illegal to sell alcohol on Sunday mornings. White (Christian) American culture is literally being shoved down everyone’s throats all the time. A non-Christian immigrant wearing a cable-knit sweater, taking Sundays off work, or celebrating Christmas isn’t cultural appropriation, because they are expected to adopt these elements of the dominant culture.

It is also impossible to appropriate your own culture, even if you weren’t raised in it. For example, a Latinx person who decides to learn brujeria does not need anyone’s permission to do so. That practice is a part of their cultural heritage.

Dead cultures are a gray area, but the general consensus is that you cannot appropriate a system that isn’t connected to a living culture. For example, Hellenic polytheism is very different from modern Greek culture. A non-Greek person practicing Hellenic polytheism isn’t appropriating Greek culture, because that religion hasn’t been openly practiced in Greece for thousands of years. The same goes for many other types of reconstructionist paganism (paganism based on recreating ancient beliefs and practices) such as Kemetic (Egyptian) polytheism, Celtic paganism, Norse paganism, etc.

This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t still make an effort to be respectful of the cultural origins of these religions. If you worship the Kemetic gods, you should probably educate yourself on at least the basic history and philosophy of Ancient Egypt. You should probably try to be faithful to the ancient beliefs in your practice. But you don’t need any sort of initiation, because there is no direct connection between the ancient religion and modern reconstruction.

So How Do We Avoid Appropriation?

Know the difference between open and closed systems, and respect if a system is closed.

If a system is open or only partially closed, try to find a teacher or mentor who is already a part of that system. If an in-person mentor isn’t possible, try to find books and other resources created by people who are actually part of that culture.

Only use items or practices in your witchcraft if you have a good understanding of their cultural, religious, and/or spiritual significance.

If a member of a culture or magic system tells you their system is closed and asks you to stop using it, listen to them.

Educate yourself on how cultural appropriation contributes to systemic racism and other social issues.

Don’t try to sneak around culture appropriation. If you burn white sage to cleanse your space, you are still appropriating Native American spiritual practices (and contributing to the overharvesting of an endangered plant), even if you don’t use the term “smudging” or appropriate the entire smudge ceremony. If something is not yours to practice, leave it alone.

Learning about other cultures is not the same as cultural appropriation. Here’s a personal example: I live fairly close to New Orleans, and I think New Orleans Voodoo is a fascinating tradition. When I visit, I like to speak to local Voodoo practitioners and learn from them about their practice. That being said, I recognize that I am not a part of that practice, and I’m not about to start incorporating elements of Voodoo into my personal practice.

As a white woman, my track record is not perfect when it comes to cultural appropriation. When I first started my witchcraft journey, I burned white sage and worked with the chakra system. I didn’t know any better, and these things were presented to me as if they were open to anyone. But now I do know better, and I’m making a conscious effort to avoid appropriation in my practice.

I’m also trying to do better for new witches just entering the world of alternative spirituality. It’s important for us to talk about things like cultural appropriation so that baby witches know from the beginning what the issues are and why they matter.

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slavicafire · 3 years

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Hello! A post i saw recently (that you had said you couldnt stanf tbf) claimed that the ancestor veneration portion of slavic paganism is what is closed? How should i make sure to go around this as Im aware its a major part of the practice/beliefs

it is not that it's closed, really -- it's just that it makes little sense otherwise.

as in, if you have no slavic ancestors (to your knowledge or estimate, at least, especially in the case of ancestry over the last couple of generations) it does not make much sense to adjust your ancestral veneration practice as if they were slavic -- or worship somebody else's lineage entirely, truly.

it is all a complicated matter, of course: first because of how complex ancestral veneration is and how complex the understanding of "ancestry" as such, and then because actually establishing one's ancestry beyond the last, let's say, five or seven generations becomes pretty much a counterproductive task.

one part of the complexity of ancestral veneration is the fact that we want to worship or connect to or honour a variety of people:

- you might want to honour your direct ancestors, ones you know by name; yet this generates plethora of even more complex issues. there are, of course, dead relatives we do not want to honour, ones who do not deserve it in our eyes. there is also the matter of great likelihood of a given dead ancestor being devoutly Christian, for example, and seeing the practice as too pagan for their dead tastes. I do not ascribe too much gravitas to that last part, personally, but that's between me and my dead. and again, most of your direct ancestors you will never know by name nor creed nor ethnicity. you just won't.

- you might want to honour all your ancestors, whether they directly contributed to your existence (by simply having children) or not (aunts and cousins and uncles and all forgotten childless dead). this also means that it is, of course, virtually impossible to know all by name or creed, or even ethnicity as such. while the term ancestor would not fit this approach, precisely, it is widely understood as such when it comes to spiritual matters. I, for one, do honour a wide array of people, paying little attention to whether their reproduction affected my production at all.

- you might want to honour dead who are not related to you by blood at all, but evoke a certain connection through their deeds, history, importance in relation to yourself. this means, of course, that blood ties are entirely meaningless and a non-slav can honour dead within the slavic dead-umbrella with no issues at all.

the above is personal, of course. nobody else's business but yours.

additionally, slavic pagan religion can only gain from having outsiders within its practitioners, and I personally doubt any of our dead would be particularly appalled by prayer or offering from a non-relative. death, I believe, changes your perspective quite a bit -- and if we all based our ancestral veneration on the estimate of acceptance on the part of the dead, it'd all be pretty much useless. it's not like we actually know these people, you know?

and we come to the last part of this rambling: estimate.

for example, in my case, it is pretty safe to assume my ancestors were slavic (which in itself is a wonky term) more or less, of course: I might have Tatar or Mongol or Jewish blood, or Roma, or Celtic, or anything else, really, if they had eyes charming enough to woo someone in my bloodline. it hardly matters, too, really: the word "slavic" was, most likely, not at all an important part of the identity of any of my ancestors, and in death it matters even less. or so I believe, that is.

still, given I do not come from any royalty (to my knowledge, of course, and we do not count demonic and undead hierarchy) or a famed and rich family, chances are that most of my ancestors however many generations back lived more or less here. here, of course, being this part of Europe (not Poland, nations are even more apparently meaningless when injected into the context of multigenerational span) with a range of so-and-so kilometers if they liked walking a lot.

the harder one tries to establish their ancestry, the less sense it makes -- and the more dangerous it gets. it can be a trap that might warp the way you perceive yourself and others, and it can ruin your spiritual endeavors.

at the end of the day, slavic faith is open -- and your spirituality is yours alone, and a complex and intimate matter at that. a lot of trial and error -- a lot of belief.

and ancestral veneration, while a wonderful journey, is not at all a necessity in your religious path.

#slavic #rodnovery #ancestral veneration #death #death tw #ancestors #slavic paganism

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