threedifferentways:

I’m watching some folk having identity crises over the openness of the title ‘witch’. Perhaps they have come through/from a Wiccan, or Neo-Wiccan background where the barrier to entry was measurable and testable. Perhaps they have been told stories of great witches in the past, and feel a heavy responsibility to try and live up to those myths. Perhaps they have had to pay a dear personal price for coming out as a witch, and that wound is still tender.

Whatever their individual and personal reasons, the cry is still the same. “I am a true|real witch because of X. You have not X, therefore you are not a witch!”

That is a false barrier of entry. No one can live the same life as another person. No two people can experience the same ordeals. Even two people undergoing the same ritual in tandem will have difference experiences and receive different gnosis from it. With the exception of social stigma, most of the ordeals and teachings are those of a private condition. The coven, family, or group that held the witch to those higher standards only have rule over those supplicants that have yielded to them. They have no right to declare any outsider to be a witch, or to not be a witch.

I think the identity crisis comes from the realization that in the eyes of the general public (and especially online), all witches are the same. It doesn’t matter of Jane has been a practicing witch for over fifty years and has taught three generations of witches following her, while Jill just learned the difference between “altar” and “alter” yesterday and has decided to give this witch thing a go. To the general public, Jane and Jill are both witches. To the general public, there is little different between Jane and Jill. To the general public, because the democratization of the cosmopolitan word ‘witch’ means without qualifiers, or proof of differentiation, Jane and Jill are equals.

And that is burning down some candles faster than expected. Jane’s especially. Because the general public is now going to give Jill the same regard they give Jane, until one of the two makes a complete and utter ass of themselves publicly and gains new epithets to their titles.

What I thought was a different emotional response, I now realize is simply the Identity Crisis taken to a different level. “Since I became a witch, I had to deal with X, Y, and Z, and this little pissant is now going to claim to be as powerful as me and claim to deal with the same shit I do? I’m a real witch because I can do A, B, and C, and you are just a wishy!” I’ve also seen that same sentiment express itself in the form of a (not so gentle) warning: “If you claim to be a witch then D, E, and F, is going to happen to you, and you will be sorry!”.

The sentiment is there is a Special Club of Powerful Witches, that not just anyone can join. To be a member of that club, you have to prepare for $AlphabetSoup and be able to stand between the the worlds and all the gods having a bad eon. The Little Witch is berated and mocked. There is much bragging of what the Real Witch can do (and should do to teach the Little Witch a Real Lesson). Never is there an option of teaching the Little Witch, or even pointing the Little Witch in the direction of those willing to teach.

Instead, there is great cries of Destruction and promises of Unending Torment because the very Universe itself is pissed off like fuck that the Littlest Witch stood up and said he was a witch too.

So, how to join that Special Club of Powerful Witches? Be born to the right bloodline. Speak the right language. Wear the right talismans. Be part of the right coven. Place yourself in servitude to the right High Priest/High Priestesses/Masters/Teachers/Degree Holders. Read the right books by the right authors. Be the right nationality. Be the right ethnicity. Be born the right number. Have a near-death experience. Have “shaman sickness”. Be chosen. But don’t have your own will and your own desire to do as you please and to learn as you please, because that is hubris and arrogance and the Universe will punish you.

I don’t know how to answer to those having Identity Crises other than, “I hope things work out for you, bruh, but you’re on your own.”.

I’m not a therapist. I don’t even pretend to be one in my writings. I’m just watching from my own vantage point, while people that have no knowledge of each other outside of a contrived persona on the Internet scream at each other for having ideas about themselves that others find offensive.

If the idea of Jack and Jill deciding to be witches and deal with their water problem in their own way is a threat to your identity as a witch, you have other problems, and neither Jack nor Jill are among that number.

This.

I don’t care how someone came to be a witch. I don’t care how long they’ve been a witch. I don’t care why they call themselves a witch or how much shit someone had to go through to get that title. It literally has nothing to do with you. Get over yourself. You’re a witch. There’s millions of us in the world. That means you aren’t special. Deal with it.

Sec’s Somewhat Master List of Paradigms that she knows anything at all about.

asksecularwitch:

Context: This makes Spells work.

1. The Universe makes spells work.

Under this paradigm, the idea is that the universe as an entire whole of all things (including us) is what creates anything in this world. It’s a known, “awake” figurehead and out of this vastness called The Universe, we see that the Universe is known for making things - ie all the things that it is it makes.

Therefore, in order to make change, the Universe must be involved in the spell. Be it from the standpoint that the Universe’s energy needs to be involved or the figurehead/the All/the Consciousness needs to be prayed to in order for the spell to be worked through the creation which the Universe does. [Ie it’s the Universe’s Job to create things]

2. Harnessing the natural energy or living force or what have you of objects makes spells work.

See some forms of Animism.

Basically the idea here is that objects inherently hold some type of energy or living force or something which can be used within spellwork, in order to get something accomplished. For example, an herb or a plant, inherently based on it’s natural properties (ie a flower that’s shaped like a heart, would be good for spells about hearts [in every sense of the word]) - has a form of energy residing with it.

When it is used in spellwork, it is being drained of it’s energy/living force OR it’s living force/energy is being tapped INTO (see 1.) in order to symbolically create change. In some aspects this is literal rather than symbolic, such as a plant which may have healing abilities being utilized not just for it’s natural items but also for it’s spiritual ones (ie a pain reducer, which also spiritually counteracts anything supernatural that might be causing the pain). 

This is a lot harder to discuss without actually coming from the place of this paradigm.

3. The Human Will/Willing Things makes spells work.

This one is probably the most commonly discussed paradigm that there is in all of spellwork. It asserts that the human will is so powerful, that it can literally affect the world. And in some cases, which is used as examples of this, this is true. Such as the human will to create living spaces for themselves or manipulating elements to make nuclear facilities. In any case, the point is that the human will is the only thing that one needs in order to make spells work.

How the human will is harnessed depends on other levels of paradigms. It may be through using mental facilities, symbolism, rituals, and a lot of other things. 

4. Doing the spells makes spells work.

To sum up: If a spell is never performed, no results will come from this spell.

5. Asking/Praying to Deities makes the spells work.

In this paradigm, humans may or may not have any power, but the point is that in order for any of this spell to work a Deity must be asked either for permission for the spell to work or for the power to complete the spell. 

Basically, the deity is the only one who can fully accomplish the spell for one reason or another or yet another. 

6. (Old) Time makes spells work.

This paradigm is more explicitly stated: As the only working spells that exist are those which have been carried over time, why? Because if they didn’t work, then they wouldn’t be around. This paradigm basically uses time as an authority figure of what makes spells work. 

7. Going into the Astral Plane makes spells work.

This idea is that the Astral Plane is the place where the ultimate truth exists. This plane is a shadow plane of this True, Truth plane, ie a reflection or a bad copy. What happens on the Astral Plane happens on this plane through being a reflection (like a mirror, when you move your hand, your reflection moves it’s hand). 

In order to get to the Astral Plane, the Ultimate Truth place - is through Transcending this shadow plane and getting onto that Plane. How you manage this, is through layered symbolism and thought process. Ie you must think upon this symbolism and process it, and while also dealing with this symbolism you are deepening your thought processes and becoming a symbol yourself, and somewhere in here you break through the shadow realm of the physical world and transcend into the Astral plane to affect the change you want. 

8. Spirits make spells work.

This is like the Deity, this revolves around some level of asking a Spirit (whatever that is in this paradigm’s other spectrums) for some reason. Though this may or may not be due to the fact that the human cannot complete the spell itself, or the Spirit may be better equipped to handle the spell (like traveling through walls/down chimneys/invading people’s dreams/etc). 

However, unlike a Deity, the Spirit is not necessarily a Ruler over something and may actually be an aspect of some item (see Elementals) which may be why a Spirit is contacted in this kind of paradigm.

9. Doing spells the proper way makes spells work.

The idea here is that spells, if altered or done in some kind of incorrect manner, it will not work. This concept is directly related to the idea that spells are concrete recipes which can not and should not be altered or customized to fit personal perspective. 

There’s also the added, altering the spells may not only make it not work - but could cause problems due to the alterations. Ie a punishment for altering a spell. 

Some of this may actually be related to a long standing mystery tradition or religious association [ie a Deity has handed down these instructions and it is important to keep them true].

10. Being in the Spirit World makes spells work.

In this paradigm, spells simply do not work in the physical world of humans. There is nothing that a human can do in this world which could possibly make the spell work. A human must then by some form or means, travel into the Spirit World in order to perform any spells. By traveling to this Spirit World they end up gaining specific abilities, powers, on top of being able to perform spells within this realm. 

Required reading.

It should probably be noted that some paradigms are mixed and matched. 

Frankly, I don’t care what paradigm you do or don’t use. Your paradigm isn’t any more or less valid than another’s. Why do you even care how another beliefs spells work? It might mess with your worldview if someone believes something else but does it matter? Really, does it even matter how someone beliefs it works so long as it works? If it works for you then do it. Otherwise, don’t. Simple enough.

Musings on O Figo (Updated)

ginandjack:

I’ve been preparing for spring through the majority of the New England winter. Around Christmas, we have ancestral holy days, then the new year brings Lysia and more ancestral days. Then the fun starts, then we start trying to coax Dionysus out of the moist earth. Winter is harsher here than in the Mediterranean, it takes more work. So I call up spring time the best way I know how. I dance, so the ground beneath me rumbles, and I drink, so the grapes and grains on my breath stir the God in the ground, and I fuck, because spring is when everything is being birthed or trying to spawn. And, besides reveling like the hedonist I am in the name of my God, I also eat fruit.

Eating is a necessary action. We have to do it every day. It’s tedious. It’s easy to forget how amazing food can be. Yes, I’m a happy fatty, foodie, and cook, so food is a go to for me. But fruit, fruit is special. Fruit is sensual. It’s fleshy, it should preoccupy you, offer some kind of gratification of the senses, best when it can be all of them. The smell, the taste, the mouth feel and texture, the sound as it meets your teeth, the pulps and juices. Fruit is sex. Fruit is a divine gift, and in the modern era, when my ancestors didn’t have fruit at this time of year, I’m eternally grateful for the chance to bite into a slightly tart orange, browning banana, or cloying, pink fig,

Figs are some of my favorite fruits. I have fond memories of my childhood, sitting with a handful of large, dried, Turkish figs, and smushing them between my fingers. Slowly eating the seed filled pulp.

These guys here, are still some of my favorite treats. I may even prefer them dried, if I’m being totally honest. But, Oh, how I love figs, and how figs are lovely! I’m sure you can guess I was pleased as punch to find out that the fig is associated with Dionysus. The fig, the grapevine, the olive tree, and the wheat stalk supplied the Mediterranean and nearby areas with the majority of their foods throughout history. Is it any wonder then, that these plants became so intimately associated with the Eleusinian mysteries? Figs were part of the diets of Olympian athletes. The fig tree is best known for its moisture and fertility. Those traits perfectly encompass Dionysus and the spring.

Figs are sexy. The fruit resembles small, fairly leathery pouches, which instantly call to mind testes. Though, they’re thin-skinned and highly perishable (sounds familiar, guys?) and that’s why drying is so common. But, besides its outward symbolism, and that is apparent, for the fig was sacred to Priapus as well as DIonysus— the fig is also coy. It is probably the most sensual and secretive of fruits. The fig is endowed with a hidden love, its flowering is folded away (paraphrasing poet Andre Gide here). The fig tree bears no external blossoms, no feminine flowers, no seeming fertility display (though it is pollinated), unlike other angiosperms, the flower grows inside the fruit. What is eaten is the fleshy aril of seeds that develops around the preserved bloom within.

How brilliantly sexual, how very masculine! It’s no wonder that phalloi were carved from figs! Though to be fair, cut a fig in half, and tell me that bright pink pulp doesn’t look like the curtain of a swollen cunt? Otto himself said the fruits must have conjured up “secret significance” and let the blessed little things speak for themselves! The fig is a tree of many pleasures. The moist, sweet, richness of earth, with hidden mysteries, with associations to Meilikhios, with honey sweetness, with fertility cults, and post orgasmic glow! How could I not love the fig? Really, whenever you see me mention a craving for figs, or the infusions of fig brandy, or a desire to make a lemon fig sauce, or anything of the sort, know that the fig is a childhood comfort food, a sexual deviant, a divine bridge to the sacrosanct, is sacrosanct, is delicious. I sing the praises if the fig, and always will. I sing the praises of Prosymnos, and The God of Figs! Thank you for the Sacrament on my tongue!

Edit: In my haste to get this post out, I forgot to discuss a huge part of my heritage! Another reason I love figs is because they protect us from maldito/betadur/evil eye! A mano fica charm, also called mano/man du figo,  figa, or higa, is an apotropaic charm in the shape of a hand closed into a fist, with the thumb thrust between the first two fingers in a vulgar gesture of fertility and vitality.

The figa is often considered a piece of “Core” folk symbolism, meaning it expresses a common strain of cosmology amongst a wide group of cultures or nations as they interacted.
The Italian word fica means vulva, which in turn was derived from the Latin word ficus, for the fruit of the fig tree,(naturally) but this charm found all over the diaspora of Atlantic countries. I still have, tucked safely away, my own set of charms given to me in my infancy. It consists of a figa, star of David and pentacle, crescent moon, and cornuto (curved bull horn).  The motif is found all over ancient Southern Europe, and is very much still in use today! The fig is so potent a symbol of sex, fertility, and virility, the mere imitation of a cunt is an aegis against evil!

Did you know figs are also devourers of those little balls of weaponized sex, wasps?

Lastly, since I’m on a folk lore kick, it was believed, when your cattle was not giving milk, boiling figs in a bit of their milk would rejuvenate the virility of your animals!

The fig tree is a dildo, a vulva, a wasp eating monster, a strange orphan flowerless fruit which skips virginity and gets right to business! It is so raunchy, it deflects malevolent spirits and forces! Blessed are we who have sweet figs to sup!

Ginandjack being fucking amazing. Also, figs.

Shit They Never Tell You.

rootandrock:

Sometimes a spirit you work with will suddenly go rigid. They’ll get in your face and issue demands.

How you deal with that is up to you, but I like to think of them as friendly reminders that The Unseen are not Imaginary Friends.

Crazy lil’ thing called Faith

ginandjack:

Isn’t faith, spiritualism, and religiosity just the damndest lil thing?Isn’t it just crazy kookie when people are going on about saints, and spirits, and faeries? It’s kinda cute, you know, until they start asking for a moment of prayer. You go ahead and think whatever your cute lil’ head desires, just don’t ask me to witness what I can’t prove. What? You want to pray at work? That’s not what you do at work! Of all the selfish, lazy…

In the West, feign to admit it or not, the vast majority of people are persons of some stripe of faith or spirituality. But, should you be going about your day and actually encounter someone in prayer, meditation, on pilgrimage,or making sacrifice— it becomes one of the most uncomfortable, alien ,and/or unhinging experiences. Why? Why is it such a shake to find people expressing their faith in the world? Western society treats all religio-spiritual things as pure abstraction. Simply put, ours is a culture of total secularism, where faith is only touted out for elections and tragedies.

The U.S. is by and large protestant, and while those numbers may be dwindling, the majority are still church going folk. People live their lives, going about the same routine, where God is alive and well in his home, (and perhaps he listens when they pray privately at night) but not even a hint on the breeze outside of Sunday eucharist. The dominant culture is secular. It compartmentalizes faith/religion/spirituality until it becomes only a private, personal hobby. Tuck it away, behind American Idol, the shake weight, car insurance, and Taylor Swift jokes, Don’t bring God into the “real world” of The Bachelor, mortgage payments, and Ke$ha/Kanye West mash-ups. You’ll confuse, scare, offend, and exclude people, don’t do that! Here, retweet this Tina Fey quote instead, and do that other stuff in private.

Well, Western world, I say Fuck that. For me, there is no distant God that I can easily tuck away into a quaint abstraction. The world is rife with spirits, tutelary gods, and Gods. Gods are in the kitchen, Gods are in the elevator, Gods are in the garden, Gods are in the bathroom plumbing, Gods are in the sex dungeon, and Gods are in the liquor cabinet. I have spent the majority of my life perfectly complacent within a secular society, and it is soul- sickening. Our society emphasizes human potential, human agency, immediacy, and practicality, and in doing so we leave no room for the agency of a spiritual world. And I am tired of it.

I am an excellent secret keeper. I could withhold an entire world from you. I know this because I do it daily. And Lusios has been slowly cracking this nut in me as well. I am weary of an entirely secular world. Don’t tell me that to be openly religious means being discredited and sullied. Don’t tell me that only those whack job Baptists and “uncivilized” Eastern folks (you prejudice asshole) are openly religious. Don’t tell me that only a secular society can be truly egalitarian. Honestly, I don’t care if my reputation is sullied for taking a stand and proudly living my faith. I don’t agree with many Christian faiths, but they have religious convictions, and so do I. That is our battle to wage, should we ever, and has nothing to do with the rest of society.

Don’t tell me that a Muslim can’t say his daily prayers and still perform at work, and lead a regular life, That’s the thing about Islam, the Islamic faith is significantly more orthopraxic than the rest of the Abrahamic faiths. The Muslim community accepts that to have their faith they must live it, and that includes the manners in which they socialize and run their governments. And that is totally frightening to a Western, secular world. It’s no wonder, when so few in the West have any concept of a lived faith at all. And while dogma may get in the way of equality(even, I admit, in the cultures of the faith examples I have provided), it by no means dictates that we cannot be egalitarian about individual rights. My rights end where yours begin, we each have rights to our own bodily and spiritual autonomy. I genuinely believe I can be a proud person of faith, and strive for egalitarianism. Mostly because I am a person of deep faith who already believes in such. It’s no stretch.

Faith is a weak, bandy-legged girl, bullied about by the rough and tumble older brothers, Technology, Pop culture, Consumerism, and Socially charged issues. I for one, aim to take the woman out dancing. From here on out, without shame or regret, all the time. And I urge you do the same, she’s been mighty lonely, that crazy lil’ thing called Faith. She needs to get out into the world more.

How to Use Your Stuff

hellboundwitch:

The issue with realizing the problems and pitfalls of a pre-written correspondence list is that the next step is often to create your own correspondence tables. This activity can range from confusing and unapproachable to time-consuming and impractical.

While there are great guides out there on the matter, many rely on skills you may not have, such as advanced energy sensing, spirit communication, or meditation. There’s a lot to be gained from spending a year in trance communication with the spirit of your intended plant or wand, but sometimes you just need to get shit done, and now.

Hopefully these steps will be a helpful guide in getting started creating your own personal associations. This is just one way, though, and it isn’t set in stone — feel free to go in whatever order you like, taking whichever steps apply and appeal to you.

• What does it do?

This applies as “How is it used?” and “How does it act?” as well. A chicken egg holds life and potential. It protects the unborn chick. It feeds the hungry. It breaks as life emerges from within. I could go on!

For this post, however, we’ll focus on three things: A lightbulb, a magnifying glass, and a hypothetical plant.

Light bulbs illuminate. Some even provide warmth or extend growing periods for plants. If you turn on a light in a dark room, you reveal what may have otherwise been hidden.

Magnifying glasses help you see clearer, make out details, and give you a closer look at things you may otherwise miss. Very obviously speaking, they will magnify the appearance of whatever is in front of them.

Now for our hypothetical plant. It’s extremely invasive, but its flowers are fragrant and draw beneficial insects. The berries are poisonous to people when unripe, along with the raw leaves, but ripe berries are edible — delicious and sweet — and a tisane from the leaves will settle and calm an upset stomach.

• What does it look like?

It’s a bit Doctrine of Signatures-y but the appearance of a thing can help you define correspondence for it, and I don’t just mean the colours.

The hypothetical plant, for example. Let’s say that it has pink and red blossoms. The ripe berries are vaguely heart shaped, as are the leaves (perhaps more prominently so).

The light bulb, depending on the shape, may resemble a human head, a ball, a planet, a star or tear drop. When it’s on, you may think it looks like the sun.

What about magnifying glasses? I’ve always thought that they look like mirrors or portals. Maybe to you it looks like a pool of water. I’m assuming a round glass here, by the way, so perhaps its very shape is worth considering. There’s a lot of meaning put into circles, after all.

• What is its lore or background?

What are the stories behind it? You might take into consideration the circumstances the thing was created under, or with something like an animal or plants, what led to their creation or introduction to your area (Was it meant to eradicate a pest? Was it bred as a gift for a loved one? Is there a particular quality they tried to emphasize?).

Say that in a story, someone uses your hypothetical plant to charm a king.

Or what about Sherlock Holmes and his magnifying glass?

The light bulb is popularly associated with a “bright idea”.

• Your Personal Symbolism and associations

Come on, y’all knew I was going to bring up Personal Symbolism at some point.

Magnifying glasses remind me of my grandmother. The woman has owned at least 100 in my lifetime, and once even brought one with her to a computer class in order to get a better look at her monitor.

Light bulbs remind me of the years I spent as a child fighting for environmental protections and rights. Conservation (and later, efficiency) was a HUGE part of my fight and the light bulb reminds me of the time I spent in debate and conversation.

Since my plant is imaginary, I don’t have any real memories or associations for it, but hey, that’s okay. Like I said, you don’t have to hit everything on this list.

Now think sideways.

I don’t think this is what Holly Lisle had in mind when she came up with How to Think Sideways, but I’m gonna borrow her term for a bit.

It isn’t that much of a stretch to look at the improved vision a magnifying glass gives you and apply that to psychic vision, right?

Or to take the toxic berries from an invasive and noxious plant and use them to completely wreck someone.

(But maybe you want to take the beneficial tea from the heart shaped leaves to completely soak somebody’s life with an all-consuming, all-soothing love that will totally bind this person to you…or both! Know your love or know pain. Wow man, that’s cold. :|)

Speaking of manipulating people, a head shaped light bulb that has been turned into a glass poppet to fill someone’s mind with the thoughts you want them to have (thoughts that will come to them as though it were an epiphany — their very own Bright Idea!) may sound like a good time to you. Or maybe you’ll use it to scry their clever thoughts right out of their head to use as your own.

So by the end of it all, you may have a list like this:

Magnifying Glass

• Vision (including psychic vision)
• Details
• Portals
• Finding things
• The illusion of plenty

Light Bulbs

• Cleverness
• Ideas
• Revelation
• The Sun

Hypothetical Plant

• Curseworking
• Rapid growth
• Obsessive Love
• Calming down a situation
• Completely fucking up a situation

And those lists can get longer as time/your imagination goes on! The length isn’t really important though. What matters is that what you put on the list has meaning to you and works for you.

This is a flawlessly perfect post written by a flawlessly perfect person and I love everything about it. I want to take this post, cuddle it, and give it kittens and love forever.

The Hitchhikers’ Guide to the Spiritlands - Part Three

khalheyokha:

Another post inspired by my inbox. One that I need to keep handy for future reference. This is my personal list of traveling do’s and don’t’s. I am, by no means, saying anyone but me should follow them. I’m just saying I give myself very good advice (but I very seldom follow it). 

• DON’T go walking around someone else’s territory willy nilly. Some places are off limits. 
• DO listen to your gut. You’ll know if you stumble into a place you shouldn’t be. If you feel that, leave.
• DON’T go looking for trouble. You’re going to be like a tourist at first. You won’t understand the politics or the struggles there for some time.
• DO get involved. Take changes. Make mistakes. Get messy. I won’t lie, it’s fulfilling. 
• DON’T expect the spiritlands to be void of trouble, rules, or human emotions. 
• DO try things you’ve never tried, fly, learn, and explore. 
• DON’T trust every spirit you run in to. Spirits, like humans, can be bastards. They can be predators. They can lie, cheat, steal, and kill. 
• DO make friends and build relationships.
• DON’T fall in love…
• or DO fall in love. Either way, be aware it happens. And it’s hard to cope with. 
• DON’T forget you have a human life too.
• DO understand that you can build a life there, one that can be better than your life here. 

Witch Tip - Everyday Magic

peepswitch:

If you can make an oil, salve, or candle where the whole thing is charged with a specific intent and ready to go every single time you use it, why not charge things you use every day to your advantage? If you can shove intent into something, you can do this.

• Eye things like glasses, contacts, mascara, and eye drops to help you see opportunities, hidden things, truths, and dangers.
• Lotion for glamor, beauty, and youth or to help you shape shift in the astral
• Toothpaste, gum, mints or mouthwash that helps you be eloquent or to make your words pleasing and compelling to listeners
• A special pen that helps implant the words you write into your memory so that you get more out of classes and lectures with less studying to do

This post is so good I want to frame it and love it forever. Because yes.

asksecularwitch:

People are like, I’m scared that you’ll curse me because your upset that I said curses were bad. Good. That’s the point of awareness you need to be at. Some people will and may have already cursed you right the fuck now.

I’m scared of people cursing me all the fucking time. So yup. Welcome to the real world of people do what they Fucking want and don’t take kindly to being treated to your expectations.

Glad to know you have some sense of survival skills. But why you keep thrust a stick into a hornets nest is beyond me.

A Hearth Witch’s Calendar - Creating a Calendar for Personal Celebrations

khalheyokha:

khalheyokha:

A Disclaimer: I am one person and my opinions (which I have in abundance) may not reflect the opinions of other witches, in general, or other people who call themselves hearth witches. In fact, they probably won’t, because I’m an asshole. I have a bizarre sense of humor that doesn’t convey well in text and I rant about shit I don’t like. A lot. If you don’t think you can handle that, maybe don’t read anything I write. Ever.

“The Wheel of the Year”

How many times have you looked at the Wheel of the Year and thought, ‘Yeah, but this really doesn’t apply to me’? Plus there’s the constant bickering about who stole whose holidays and what came from where—and don’t even get me started on pronunciation! 

The fact is, unless you’re lucky enough to live on a farm in the country, a lot of the holidays on the wheel of the year are not going to apply to you. Even if you did live on a farm, it would have to be a huge farm with animals AND vegetables AND an orchard AND wheat AND woods behind the —which would be a big and beautiful farm, indeed. And, if you live there, I beg you to just slap a Bed and Breakfast on it and let me come work there for you. Please, for the love of mugwort.

Then, how many times have you wondered what it was that the holidays meant to you and the deities (if any) that you feel a connection to? And, if you never thought about that before, maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned it. The fact of the matter is that the modern Wheel of the Year is pretty…Wiccan. Not that there’s anything wrong with it being Wiccan, but not all witches are Wiccan. And this little Hearth Witch is certainly not. 

Creating Your Own (Relevant) Celebrations (And Still Totally Being Able To Celebrate With Other People)

Can I be honest for a second? I don’t like people very much. I bet you’ve noticed, if you’re following me. The only time I like people is when they’re happy (and even then, it has to coincide with my own happiness), which is why celebrations are a good time for me to be around them. 

For that reason (and that reason alone), I started my own calendar in the almost same format as the Wheel of the Year:

• October 31
• Winter Solstice
• Mid-February
• Spring Equinox
• Mid-late April
• Summer Solstice
• Some time in August
• Fall Equinox

Obviously, your calendar doesn’t have to follow those guidelines. Like I’ve said a million times, no one can tell you what to do. [And, believe me, when I start posting things that require by-the-book execution, I’ll let you know.]

When starting your own calender, here are a few ideas of things to consider:

• Do you have any interest in celebrating the Solstices and Equinoxes? If so, what are the things within that season you want to honor in your celebration?
• Are there any secular or religious holidays you want to include from your family? (This is nothing to be ashamed of, and don’t let anyone tell you it is. After almost 13 years of not being a Christian, I still stretch my winter holidays to include Christmas for my mum.) 
• Are there any events you want to celebrate every year or losses you want to remember? 
• If you have deities to work with, what are some important events to them you may want to celebrate in your calendar?

My Calendar

Just to give you an idea of how awesome and easy it is to create a personal calendar, here are my celebrations. 

• October 31 - Ghost Feast - A three-day (30, 31, 01) ‘celebration’ dedicated to my work with Baba Yaga, the Spiritlands, and my Ancestors (which are all a big part of my daily life). It’s when I give thanks to my Ancestors and remember them, and acknowledge the other spirits I’ve come to know. 
• Winter Solstice - Hogswatch - The name, I borrowed from Terry Pratchett, but the festival is all mine. It actually begins the day before the Solstice with baking and cleaning, and stretches until the end of December. It’s a festival of light and fire that celebrates the hearth fire as a source of warmth and protection, and the memories created around hearth fires before. 
• Mid-February - Heart’s Warmth - A three-day celebration of merry-making with each day dedicated to a different area covered by the Cups suit of the Tarot—a day for friends, a day for family, and a day for romance. Typically, I give gifts at this time. Usually, I give something handmade and wearable to my friends, candles and oils to my family, and chocolate to my romantic interest. If I don’t have a romance at that time, I usually buy something to go into my hope chest and bless it for future use. 
• Spring Equinox - First Deer - In my family, hunting is still a big deal, which means so is the wildlife around us. This is another three-day festival. The first day is giving thanks for the fertility of the years before, and celebrating the return of animal life after winter. The second day is celebrating the gift of meat and fur and asking for the fertility and well-being of the animal world. The last day is a feast with games and laughing and good times. (I’m big on good times.)
• Mid-late April - Sowing Feast or Spinning Feast - Where I live, it’s still usually pretty cool up until April, so I might have some things planted, but I probably haven’t done a ton of work in my garden. This ‘celebration’ is actually a workday on which I bless my garden, seeds, and such; and set to the work of really getting my garden started. After that, I usually have a tea, with lots of sweets and berries and cream. And I always leave offerings to certain Other People to help me out with the garden (and not make a mess of it). (I’ve also dedicated this day to Iktomi, due to the garden spiders I usually find while working in my garden. So, for me it’s a day of fragility and delicacy, on which I will probably start some sewing, weaving, or beading crafts for my home.)
• Summer Solstice - Fruit’s Festival - Okay, so…we don’t grow fruit. But I like fruit. And, because my family is poor, we aren’t able to buy quality produce when it isn’t in season. (Or really any produce.) So this is really a celebration of the fact that we have to opportunity to eat well and feel better. There’s an orchard nearby that I like to go to an pick from when I have the opportunity—and they usually have a Solstice festival too! Failing that, this is celebrated with (you probably guessed it) FOOD. But this is also a festival I’ve dedicated to the Sacred Clown, which makes it a time for merriment and practical jokes. 
• Some time in August - Corn Dance - This celebration is specific to Coyote. It celebrates Coyote’s dance to grow the corn for First Man. Corn is a staple food in my culture, so this is a huge deal for me. It’s basically a work/harvest festival and a time for giving thanks. I celebrate this with a lot of corn, beans, and rice—and (or course) dancing. 
• Fall Equinox - Hunter’s Feast - I told you hunting was still a big deal to us. This celebration marks the shift of focus from growth and harvest to hunting. It honors everyone who provides for a family (by hunting or otherwise) and celebrates their hard work. This is a two-day celebration with hearty foods like meat, bread, stews, and potatoes. 

And Then, You’re Done

Once you have your calendar ready, you just have to start celebrating. There you go. 

Reblogging because ‘tis the season a lot of people are going to realize that the traditions given in books either don’t make sense with where they live or don’t connect with them. 

My Words

asksecularwitch:

Deadpool, the Lord is Testing me. No seriously, shut the fuck up Jesus. I’m tired of you being in the corner telling me to slap the shit out of people. Stop it. It’s not cool. People don’t like that.

/i’m lying, I wanna slap some folk.

Here’s the deal. I have met a wide, large, variety of people who are pagans. Both online and offline, some of the gems being things like: ‘Native Americans are just drugged out whores. They are stupid and don’t belong in pagan circles.” to things like “Gay people are just gross. I mean, how can you have any kind of ritual sex with two vaginas or two penises? It’s not balanced.”

People feel safe around me, so that’s how I hear most of this shit. I am not one of the members of these groups, you heard that right. I am heterosexual, I’m white, I’m a settler, I’m privileged. One of my privileges is making racists, sexists, trans*phobes, homophobes, mental illness shamers, emotional abusers, and just other bullshiters feel comfortable about saying their shit around me. There’s something about my face, maybe, or my looks <blond and blue eyed> that makes them think that it’s okay to say things like that. That this is a safe place for them to make the place unsafe for others.

I see that some of you are perfectly fine with that. You are okay with someone being racist, sexists, phobic, etc around you because, and I quote, “It doesn’t hurt anyone.” No, bitch, it doesn’t hurt you. Let me make that clear, it doesn’t hurt you. It hurts someone, it hurts someone else. It hurts someone else that you do not, clearly, give a fuck about. Because you are OKAY with someone making a place UNSAFE for them. You are OKAY with racism, sexism, phobias, etc as long as it doesn’t hurt YOU. Get it? Get it sweetie.

Except it does affect you. Because by proxy, by your silent agreement, by your silent permission that they can keep doing that, you are saying to everyone around you that YOU also have those ideas, without you actually saying it. Afterall, if you didn’t agree with it, why not speak up about it? (Putting aside not being safe at the area you’re doing it, such as oh I don’t know a Klan meeting – why are you attending that?) After all, if you don’t agree with it, then why are you letting it be around you?

Why are you sitting there saying it’s okay to say that shit around you? Why are you clapping and saying go a head keep that up. There’s nothing wrong with having that sentiment that Native Americans are all the same and worship some fluffy cloud god. It’s okay to say that oh well it’s reverse racism that white people can’t be in person of color cultures, but all these people of color can be up in the white folk stuff [psst, guess what, a lot of times, people of color don’t want to have shit to do with your white shit. It was forced on them. Psst, you’re under the colonial idea that people want to be in a white majority rules society. Psst you’re under the colonial idea that it’s racist to prevent colonizing white people from coming in and shitting all over people of color and their cultures. PSST, you’re a racist.]. It’s okay. It’s okay.

Here’s a white, female, heterosexual who is standing up and telling you fuck no it ain’t, It isn’t right. People of color been doing it for years, years, YEARS. And what, one white person and you’re just all hyped up and being ashamed and mad and shit that someone perceives you for what you fucking are? DUDE. OTHER PEOPLE KNEW THAT SHIT BEFORE I DID.

Why? Because they experience every fucking day of their life. Every fucking second, right now in fact, they are experiencing it because you are mad at me for calling you out on your passive racism, cissexism, phobias, and hatred of people who aren’t like you fucking are. They are looking at you and saying, look here it is YET again, people are not LISTENING. If they can’t LISTEN to one of theirs (ahem, white, hetero, cisfemale), THEN THEY WILL NEVER LISTEN TO US EVER.

Grow the fuck up. Grow. The. Fuck. Up.

Stop making places unsafe because you don’t want to hurt (your) people’s “feefees.” Too bad you’re already hurting people’s feelings already by being in silent agreement.

Too bad you’re being lumped in together.

You know how you change that? You change it by changing your attitude of passive acceptance and passive hostility. You change that by saying: “NO. THAT ISN’T RIGHT AND I DON’T WANT TO BE A PART OF IT ANYMORE. I WILL STAND UP AND COLLECT PEOPLE, AND LET THEM KNOW THAT THEY ARE FUCKING UP.”

Because you know, I did. What the fuck is keeping you from doing so?

Oh right, your sense of shame and guilt, and oh I’m not a racist, I’m just a “friendly” person. No, you’re racist friendly. No you’re phobia, friendly. No you are unsafe. You are an unsafe person to hang around.

You are a person who will victimize victims.

You are a person who is cruel with or without knowing it.

You are silent.

I am not.

Don’t be mad at me because I’m not silent.

Be mad at yourself.

Then be mad at others for keeping that shit going.

One voice saying this isn’t right, will ALWAYS be louder than the majority who silently keeps it up.

One voice defying the social constraint that it’s okay, WILL ALWAYS BE LOUDER THAN THE SHEEP WHO KEEP THE STATUS QUO.

So be the voice in your community.

And you’ll change my perspective.

All this? This is keeping my perspective exactly where it is. I expect this. You are meeting my expectations.

Some things I think we’ve established in the pagan tumblrverse.

amber-and-ice:

dewognatos:

nwyfre:

thecrescentgrove:

So we’ve all seen those topic trends over the year, the conversations that seem to appear out of no where and then be beaten into the ground hours after emerging. We cling onto them, we debate them, we re-evaluate, we flame. 

So for you lucky souls who missed the drama fun, here’s what I think has been largely agreed on by the intelligent universe.

• Cultural Appropriation is bad.
• If it’s a dead religion (i.e. all of it’s culturally appropriate practitioners and ancestors are long dead or dispersed) like the worship of Egyption gods, you probably can involve yourself in it if done so respectfully.
• If a God comes to you things are about to get weird and it sorta over rides all cultural boundaries. Deal with it. Or tell them to fuck off, I guess, if you like.
• Patrons are not required.
• You can tell deity no. It just may have consequences.
• I am a flakey blogger when distracted or stressed out.
• Wicca is an initiation based, closed religion.
• No you cannot initiate yourself into a closed religion.
• No we do not all follow the Wiccan rede.
• Yes a lot of witches are, in fact, sort of bitches. It’s how we roll.
• Do you research or people will call you on it.
• UPG should always be labled as such.
• Speaking of UPG, you should really learn the lingo.
• Yes worshiping gods who are traditionally cast as villians is legitimate.
• There’s nothing wrong with satanists.
• Yes there are Luciferian pagans.
• Yes there are Christian witches.
• Yes sometimes pantheons interact and mix.
• Yes gods can do appalling things, yes they can be despicable.
• It’s not good to launch wars within the community against followers of a specific deity.
• Your UPG will not be everyone elses UPG all the time.
• Gods aren’t fair and they aren’t always nice.
• Being god claimed has its draw backs.
• Magic is not all melodrama and explosions and instant fixes.
• It would be really really cool if it was.
• Listen to folks advice when they legitimately know more than you.
• Know when they’re probably still full of shit.
• Witchcraft = a practice. Paganism= an overarching blanket term for religion.
• Herbs can be dangerous, yo.
• There’s no “right” way to do everything.
• Not everything is moon based, or goddess based, or even god/goddess based.
• Tumblr drama gets a bit over the top.
• I still love you guys.

*sparkly eyes* this post. I like it.

This is a fucking amazing post.

In fact,

WORDS WITH ASATRUARS (BUT NOT REALLY)

aggressivedevotions:

OKAY SO WE GOT A REQUEST FOR THE THOR IN DRAG MYTH AND I WILL NEVER TURN DOWN THE OPPORTUNITY TO TALK ABOUT THIS FUCK FEST.

OKAY SO ONE MORNING THOR WAKES UP AND IS LIKE WHERE THE FUCK IS MY HAMMER

IT IS NOT HERE

IT IS GONE

LOKI DID IT

BECAUSE TO BE FAIR LOKI IS USUALLY AT LEAST INVOLVED IN SHIT IF NOT THE CAUSE OF.

LOKI IS LIKE “FOR ONCE I DID NOT DO SHIT. SHOCKING RIGHT? BUT I THINK I KNOW WHO DID”

THOR  IS LIKE, “GET THAT SHIT BACK FOR ME OR I WILL CUT YOU.”

SO LOKI BUSTS ASS OVER TO FREYJA AND GETS HER SWEETASS WING CLOAK AND PAINTS WITH ALL THE COLORS OF THE WIND OVER TO JOTUNHEIM. 

SO LOKI GETS THERE AND HE GOES AND FINDS THRYM WHO IS ALL BUT SITTING IN A SWIVEL CHAIR STROKING A PERSIAN AND LOKI IS LIKE “YOU FUCKING HAVE IT DON’T YOU YOU PIECE OF SHIT.”

THRYM’S LIKE “YOU FUCKING KNOW IT GIMME FREYJA AND I GUESS I’LL GIVE IT BACK IDK WHY NOT.”

LOKI IS LIKE “FUUUUUCCCCCCKKKKKKKK” AND FLYS LIKE AN EAGLEEEEEEE ON BACK

SO HE TELL THOR THRYM’S DEMANDS AND THOR IS LIKE “OH THAT’S NOT TOO BAD LETS GET THIS WEDDING ON THE ROAD.”

SO HE BARRELS INTO WHEREEVER THE FUCK FREYJA IS, LOKI TROTTING ALONG BEHIND YELLING “HEY FREYJA CONGRATS ON THE WEDDING YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE BECAUSE I WANT MY HAMMER BACK HAVE FUN BANGING A JOTUN FOREVER!!!”

FREYJA SNORTS AND ALL BUT KICKS HIM IN THE BALLS AND IS JUST LIKE ” NO FUCK THAT”

SO THEY EVERYONE TOGETHER

BECAUSE YOU NEEDED EVERYONE TO SOLVE THIS FUCKING RIDDLE.

HEIMDALL WHO CLEARLY HAS AN AMAZING SENSE OF HUMOR TELLS THOR TO DRESS UP AS FREYJA AND GET IT BACK HIS OWN DAMN SELF.

THOR IS LIKE “NO WAY THAT’S NOT ~MANRY~ PEOPLE WILL LAUGH AT ME.”

AND LOKI IS LIKE “DO YOU KNOW WHAT I HAVE DONE FOR YOU FUCKERS? SUCK IT UP AND PUT THE FUCKING DRESS ON AND QUIT BEING A LITTLE BITCH.”

SO THOR SHUTS UP AND GETS DRESSED BECAUSE HE IS CLEARLY NOT WINNING THE FIGHT AND LOKI GETS FABULOUS SO HE CAN BE A HANDMAID.

THEY GET INTO THOR’S ZOMBIE-GOAT DRAWN CHARIOT AND THUNDER AND LIGHTING EVERY EVERY FRIGHTING IT OVER TO JOTUNHEIM.

SO THRYM FIGURING HE’S GETTING A BABE AND NOT BASKET FULL OF MUSCLES AND RAGEFISTS GETS ALL HIS SHIT LOOKING FANCY AS HELL FOR HIS FAKE BABE.

SO IT’S TIME FOR THE WEDDING FEAST AND THOR IS LIKE, “FUCK. YES.”

HE GOES TO MOTHERFUCKING TOWN ON THIS FEAST.

HE MAKES IT HIS BITCH.

EATS ALL THE THINGS.

HE EATS A WHOLE OX, 8 SALMON, 3 BARRELS OF MEAD AND THE FUCKING WEDDING CAKE.

LIKE C’MON MAN.

LEAVE SOME FOR THE OTHERS.

AND MAYBE BRING ME SOME OF THE CAKE. 

THROUGH LIKE TIME AND SPACE.

BUT ONLY IF IT’S GOOD CAKE AND NOT SOME SHITTY SCANDINAVIAN CAKE NAMED LIKE, JOMÖRRFGDKGJSASKRD. THEN YOU CAN KEEP THAT SHIT.

ANYWAY, THRYM IS LIKE “THE FUCK IS THIS???????”

LOKI IS PROBABLY HOPING THOR CHOKES ON THAT FUCKING FEAST BECAUSE THOR IS FUCKING BLOWING IT. SO HE GETS HIS MOST WINNING GRIN ON AND TRIES TO PACIFY THRYM BEING ALL LIKE “OMG SHE WAS LIKE, SOOOOOOO EXCITED SHE DIDN’T EAT FOR LIKE, 8 DAYS SO SHE’S SUPERRRRR HUNGRY.”

HE’S LIKE “SEEMS LEGIT”

SO THRYM WANTS TO START MACKIN’ ON MRS. NEW BOOTY LIKE NOW SO HE LIFTS THOR’S VEIL AND SEES HIS BRIGHT RED MURDER EYES.

THRYM IS LIKE “WHAT THE FUCK IS UP WITH THAT???”

I’M CONFUSED AS TO HOW THAT IS WHAT HE NOTICES.

LIKE THE GIANT MUSCLES DIDN’T RISE AN ALARM?

DOESN’T THOR HAVE A BEARD?

DID HE SHAVE?

IF HE DIDN’T AND THRYM DIDN’T NOTICE THAT SHIT THEN WOW WHAT A FUCKING IDIOT.

SO LOKI WITH THE OIL OF OLIVIER AND CHARISMA OF A KING STEPS IN AND SAVES THE DAY ONCE AGAIN BY SAYING THAT THIS BITCH WAS JUST SOOOOOO FUCKING EXCITED THAT SHE JUST DIDN’T SLEEP FOR LIKE 8 DAYS. 

SO SOMEHOW THEY HAVE NOT BEEN MURDERED YET AND THINGS ARE CHUGGING ALONG. AND IT’S TIME TO GET DOWN TO THE MARRYING BIT.

THOR GIVES THRYM’S SISTER SOME RINGS AND THRYM PUTS MJÖLNER ON THOR’S LAP AND THOR’S SO FUCKING EXCITED HE PRACTICALLY FUCKING RIPS THAT DRESS OFF AND THEN RAMBOS THE WHOLE FUCKING WHOLE FUCKING ROOM.

TALK ABOUT A RED WEDDING.

-WALKER