[wanderingwoodswoman]

How to Read Candle Flames

Hey witches! This is a little post on candle scrying, and how to interpret the flames, especially before casting a spell. Begin by lighting your candle and getting into a meditative state. Once you are calm and your mind is quiet, look at the flame. Use this guide to interpret the flame.

A Strong Flame: This indicates that power and energy are going into your desire for manifestation. When a figure candle is used, a strong flame generally means that the person represented is winning, angry, or using authority over another. When two figure candles are present, the higher and stronger flame represents authority over the other.

A Weak Flame: This can show that you are facing heavy opposition and must redo the magic several times to overcome the power you are facing. The weak flame can also indicate, on a figure candle, that the subject is losing the battle. The weak flame that goes out means that you’ve missed your target altogether, start over.

A Jumping Flame: This is an attention getter. It can indicate raw emotions along with explosions of energy.

Rainbow Flame: If your flame is composed of various colors this indicates that there are outside influences at work that may be beyond the power of the questioner. Colors can also show that the question may be best answered at a later date. The factors involved may need a change to develop and evolve for a clearer view of what may occur.

Direction of Flame Movement

North: On a waxing moon, something physical is manifesting.

East: Something mental is manifesting.

South: Your energy is strong, and is good for spell casting. In love matters, you can expect love that doesn’t last too long.

West: Emotional aspects. A good sign of success and love.

Direction of Smoke

Northern Movement: Something physical is manifesting. You will have to work for what you wish to achieve.

Eastern Movement: Something mental is manifesting. Think things through and have patience.

Southern Movement: Something intense and short lived is manifesting. Success comes rapidly and with intensity.

Western Movement: The manifestation of strong magic intervention. The issue is too emotional. You are too involved. Step away for a time. Clear your thoughts.

If you have any spirits, they may converse through the candle’s sound:

Infrequent Noise(Soft): Pure thoughts, intimate conversation.

Frequent Noise(Mild): An authority figure giving orders or directions.

Frequent Chatter(Strong): Arguments, quarrels or loud disagreements.

[mogwitch]

Things you could put in a devotional journal

•Their names in Ancient Greek, transliterated, translated, and pronunciation •Epithets (traditional and upg) •Favourite myths •Retelling/interpretation of the myths •Other information about Them •A photo or drawing of how They appear to you or that you think of as resembling Them •Delphic maxims •Key words in both languages and what they mean •An altar page or photo of an altar •Hymns, prayers, poems and stories •Pictures of other things you’ve made for Them •Updates on skills you’re learning in worship of Them •Letters you write to Them about anything at all (could just be telling them about your day or whatever) •Specific tarot spreads •Readings and conversations you’ve had with Them •Sacred animals/plants/colours/food/symbols etc (or just ones that make you think of Them) •Drawings/paintings/collages for Them •Experiences and encounters •Worship days/holidays/celebrations •Ideas for things you could do/make/give in offering (including low spoons devotional ideas) •Playlists •Books and movies that remind you of them •Aesthetic and word associations lists •Places that remind you of Them •Any other upg stuff •Quotes •Any signs or dreams etc you think might have been from them •Checklists for things you want to do for Them or have done and want to do again •Stick in pictures or dried flowers •Charities or other causes you can give to

*I’m mostly posting this for myself just to have the list saved but if anyone has any other ideas please feel free to add to it! I love having new things to add to my journals

[servantofthefates]

I know you said before that palmistry is best learned 'hands on' 😁 ideally, and maybe with the support of books with diagrams and all. But my question is not how to do it, but why it works and what are the basic principles behind it? Thank you so much, Lady Diana!!

PALMISTRY 101

What is it?

Palmistry is the practice of reading the lines on one’s palms and the shape of one’s hands in order to divine one’s identity and destiny.

Why does it work?

In palmistry and astrology, the same principles apply. When we were born, our identity and destiny were carved into our hands and written in the sky.

What is excluded?

Everything artificial.

Do not observe how long the querent’s nails are. Fingernails can be cut, shaped and groomed.

Do not observe the nail polish or the manicure. A salon employee did that, not the gods.

Do not observe how clean the hands are. That reveals their hygiene, not their path.

Do not observe how smooth or silky the hands are. That shows their habits, routines or social status, not their future.

Do not observe the skin color. That reflects their race or the quality of their fake tan, not their soul’s contents.

What are considered?

The Shape of the Palms and the Fingers

The wider or shorter they are, the more practical the querent is. Earth sign-dominants tend to have such hands.

The longer and narrower they are, the more logical the person is. Air sign-dominants tend to have this.

The softer or more delicate the shapes appear to be, the more intuitive the individual is. Water sign-dominants tend to have this.

If they are long and thin, as well as bony and sturdy-looking, the more adventurous the person is. Fire sign-dominants tend to have such hands.

The Topography of the Palm

A palm is like a landscape with hills and valleys.

The rounder the hills, the more balanced a person is. They are likely to end up happy.

The taller the hills are, the more extreme the querent’s personality is. Their future would likely mirror this.

The flatter the hills are – almost indistinguishable from the valleys – the lesser potential there is for the individual to achieve anything remarkable or wonderful.

The Quality of the Lines

The deeper and thicker the lines are, the richer the future could be for the querent.

The longer the lines are, the more emotionally or spiritually fulfilling the person’s life could be.

Shallow and broken lines could either mean a weak will, a short life, a questionable character or a lukewarm future.

Can I read palms now?

The above information is general and only serves as an introduction. Palmistry is heavily visual and tactile.

Look at as many free diagrams as you can online, and dive into the details. Acquire books if you can afford them. Only then can you start reading. But you will never be an expert without consistent practice.

Even then, to really master palm reading, get your hands read by a real expert. Here is why I suggest it.

[luxautemnox-deactivated20200706]

FYI to the witch and pagan communities:

Not everything is a sign.

Not everything is a sign.

Not everything is a sign.

Not everything is a sign.

Not everything is a sign.

Not everything is a sign.

Please try not to assign symbolic meaning to legitimately everything.

Sometimes a leaf is just a leaf and a bird is just a bird.

[solravn-deactivated20220901]

VERY IMPORTANT NOTE

I’ve seen a lot of witches say they saw x wild animal, and the animal didn’t seem afraid, so they approached the animal because it was obviously a sign.

If a wild animal seems unusually calm or unafraid of you, DO NOT APPROACH. It could be rabid.

Common signs of a rabid animal include: unusually calm/unafraid of humans, biting/snapping/attacking nothing, excessive drooling, and foaming at the mouth.

Whether or not it’s a sign is irrelevant, do NOT approach wild animals for any reason!

[criophorus]

WITCHY PSA

DON’T YOU DARE PUT SALT IN THE GROUND.

DO NOT CAST SALT CIRCLE IN THE DIRT. DO NOT SALT THE GROUND TO CLEANSE IT. DO NOT BURY SACHETS THAT INCLUDE SALT.

STOP SALTING THE GROUND.

YOU WILL MESS UP THE SOIL AND HURT THE PLANT LIFE. USE SOMETHING ELSE.

[murmuring-forests]

Try using ground dried eggshells instead.

[bijoux-et-mineraux]

Polished Malachite Stalactite - Copper Crescent, Congo

[xekstrin]

*looks around*

Is

Is anyone gonna say it

[brambledboneyards]

malachite is a poisonous mineral. please do not fuck the malachite stalactite

[zdravomilla-deactivated20220114]

@lizaleigh do you know any rock people that can confirm/deny because I am very curious and really don’t feel like getting into a conversation with my geophysicist brother that MAY somehow get back to the fact I saw a malachite that looked like a weird dildo.

[lizaleigh]

…sadly, I am not on good enough terms with any of our partner geologists to just attach this to an email with the subject line: “EXPLAIN.” Although I think @mollisaurus is a mineral person. Thoughts?

[mollisaurus]

oh geeze, i’m kinda rusty on minerals but malachite is just copper carbonate and is really common in both antique and modern jewelry so i think like if you were really gun-ho about it you could go ahead and put it wherever you want?

[vulcanology-geology]

It’s really only a problem if you’re polishing or cutting it. The particles would be bad to breathe. It’s rather porous too, so I would worry about bacteria growing. Well, being literal anyway… Better to leave the poor thing alone. ._.

[thepioden]

I mean it kinda depends on where you stick it because malachite does not like acidic environments very much and the malachite will degrade and also might dye your bits blue-green as the copper dissolves out.

So use a condom when fucking rocks is the takeaway here.

[rosenagldky-deactivated20201223]

Oh my god guys it’s poisonous

It is super poisonous

There is a reason we do not use it in make up any more

Not even with a condom, do not fuck the rock

[nassadii]

Try this one instead. 

[naughtylittledragon]

malachite literally explodes in water does it not?

[rosenagldky-deactivated20201223]

I… no… I think you’re thinking of pure sodium?

Malachite is however water soluble, which really just means it will poison you quicker

[reclusiveandelusive]

This is both hilarious and cool as fuck because you’re getting all this information on minerals and rocks. You’re also watching people argue over wether or not you can fuck this rock

[bijoux-et-mineraux]

I go on hiatus for a week and come back to find tumblr molesting my post, but hey, at least we all learned something so yay tumblr, you just keep on  being you.

[aimee-b-loved]

I’m still not sure if I can fuck this rock.

[adulthoodisokay]

I’m looking into it.

[adulthoodisokay]

UPDATE:

[buzzfeed]

Today in “I’m so sorry, coworkers, it’s for Tumblr,” I brought this post to the attention the science reporters at BuzzFeed. Dan Vergano did a some research and weighed in on the question “Can you use malachite as a dildo or is it toxic?”

The answer is “It’s probably fine, just wash it first and maybe use a bunch of lube.”

[sprigglebearstudios]

Oh man this got so much better than the last time I saw this post

[0hcicero]

This is my favourite. Science side of tumblr: asking the REAL questions

[badscienceshenanigans-deactivat]

*biologist crashes through the underbrush* Ok so here’s the thing though Malachite is not poisonous to YOU. BUT fucking this stalactite will probably wreck your vaginal flora and leave you with a gruesome infection within a couple days. Want details? SO GLAD YOU ASKED, ‘CAUSE HERE THEY ARE. • Malachite is not copper oxide. It’s Cu2CO3(OH)2. Like most carbonates it’s water soluble– that’s how it became a stalactite in the first place! And technically any given chunk of “malachite” isn’t just malachite– it’s a mix of various copper carbonates & oxides. This will become important later.  • When malachite dissolves it makes a bunch of copper (Cu++) ions. Cu++ is GREAT at killing bacteria and fungi– so good at it that sprays with Cu++ get used a lot as a spray in agriculture to stop plant disease. It takes such a large dose to harm larger organisms that copper sprays are used a lot in organic agriculture (like Bordeaux mixture).  So bottom line, yes malachite is technically nontoxic to humans. But it kills bacteria when it dissolves and releases Cu++. • Malachite dissolves somewhat slowly in water– but vaginal secretions aren’t just any water. A healthy human vagina has a pH of 3.8-4.5 and a salinity of about 0.9%. It’s also warmer than your average underground cave at 37°C (or 98.5°F in American meat units). As luck would have it, acidity, salinity, and warmth all make malachite dissolve faster.  • In other words, the human vagina dissolves malachite.  • I have no deeper explanation for why human females can dissolve rocks with our genitals. It simply is.  • Gonna to take a quick moment to point out that sex toys that dissolve when you use them are maybe not the best investment.  • Anyway the key question now is “how fast does the human vagina dissolve malachite?” Are we talking geological timescale, a Nazis-in-Indiana-Jones situation, or something in between? If the reaction kinetics of dissolution are very slow, then there’s nothing to worry about. An encounter with a stalactite would have to last years for enough Cu++ to leach out to cause problems. If it’s quick then we’re in trouble.  • Unfortunately it looks like nobody really knows. One of the best sources on how malachite dissolves & precipitates in water– an EPA document on how to avoid too much Cu++ in municipal drinking water systems– helpfully says “The kinetic constraints on the formation of these solids in water systems are largely unexplored” (p. 42) because end equilibrium points is all you need to run a city water system safely. In other words, the experiments that would tell us how fast malachite dissolves in various types of water just don’t exist because nobody’s ever needed to know before. So we’d better assume it’s going to happen reasonably quickly, #for safety. • So in best scientific fashion, we’re just going to bullshit our way ahead using what facts we DO have on hand: endpoint equlibria.  • Is there any info out there telling us what equilibrium concentration of Cu++ we get in salty acidic water at body temperature? Almost! One J.F. Scaife published some great data on this back in 1957. TAKE IT AWAY, SCAIFE. 

That orange box is how many moles of dissolved Cu++ Scaife got from sticking malachite in some water that had 0.171 moles NaCl/L (body salinity is about 0.154 moles NaCl/L so this is slightly less salty than people) at 30°C. He’s got no acidity in there, and again the salinity and temperature are slightly lower than people. But this is probably the closest we’re going to get to data on how malachite behaves in vaginas anytime soon, folks. From this we can take away that if you leave malachite alone in a vagina you’ll get AT LEAST 9.12 x 10^-4 moles/L, or 5.8 ppm, of Cu++ at equilibrium.  • Recall from above that most “malachite” isn’t actually pure malachite, it’s a mix of various copper carbonates & oxides. The EPA document elaborates: “[T]raditional ‘eyeball’ identification of malachite by its blue-green color is extremely unreliable, because almost all cupric hydroxysulfates, hydroxycarbonates, hydroxychlorides, and even fresh cupric hydroxide can be some shade of blue-green. … Thus, the uncertainty in the computed copper concentration in equilibrium with malachite is at least about a factor of 2 … until further experimental data focusing on this problem is generated.” In other words, “do your math and then double how much Cu++ you think is going to be in the water, just in case.” So that gives us 11.6ppm Cu++, at equilibrium, with malachite in a (til now!) healthy vagina.  • Next step: do we have any idea what happens to bacteria in acid conditions with copper? OH MY GOD WE TOTALLY DO. Gyawali et al 2011 checked this out in the context of “so what if we rinsed tomatoes with a solution of lactic acid and copper, because that would be a safe & organic way to get rid of E. coli?” So now this post has officially ruined stalactites, vaginas, and tomatoes.

^This would happen. These are the counts of 4 E. coli strains exposed to various levels of lactic acid & Cu++ for 8 hours. This table only shows the end counts but it represents the death of 99.7% of bacteria*. • Losing 99.7% of your vaginal flora is seriously bad news. You’re looking at really good odds of a yeast infection, bacterial vaginosis, and/or other infection issues. And that’s if you’re lucky enough to not be in the 4% of the population or so that’s sensitive to skin contact with copper.  • The good news? Biochemically speaking, you’re probably ok to put it in your butt. It’s not as acidic or salty in there, plus there’s a huuuuuge stockpile of gut microbes right upstream that can quickly repopulate the colon after spelunking is complete. However this stalactite is not flared at the base so it is the wrong shape for putting in your butt. Do not put this stalactite in your butt.  • This all looks like fun and games, but I think it’s really interesting that the internet’s mistake in concluding that this stalactite is fuckable is very similar to the mistake made by the Flint water management system. Hear me out.  • Central to the Flint lead poisoning crisis is that authorities only looked at & tested Flint’s water in its central treatment plant before it went out through the pipes. Not after it went through the pipes. They did not consider what would happen biochemically as it went through the pipes and metals started dissolving.  • Similarly, in concluding that the stalactite is fuckable, the internet only considered the stalactite itself. Not the biochemical processes that would happen to it as it, welp, went through the pipes.  • Media frequently reports that the Flint River’s water is “corrosive,” leading many to believe the river is full of industrial waste. This ain’t the case. You’d need industry to fill a river with industrial waste, and industry left decades ago. That’s why Flint’s so poor. So what IS in the water? Road salt. Plain old stupid road salt. The old Detroit-based source didn’t have salt because it came from Lake Huron which has a large, mostly rural watershed. Meanwhile the Flint River runs through a lot of towns, making it slightly salty as everything melts down in spring. And as we recall from the stalactite experience, a little salt is all it takes to get metals to dissolve.  • Information on this engineering problem was not coming through clearly from the engineering or chemistry sides. It took a biologist, pediatrician Mona Hanna-Attisha, to document the real-time results and provide the data to kick-start a high-level investigation.  • Morals of the story: when dealing with a biological system pls consider asking a biologist, your vagina and/or city could depend on this • Pls use a condom when fucking any water-soluble material • Still don’t put the stalactite in your butt -3/10 do not recommend

[astolat]

OK, I haven’t reblogged this before now but the final post takes it to a whole new level and I can no longer resist. 

[pomegranateandivy-deactivated20]

Things I've learned

Easy Kitchen remedies:

Eat fresh ginger if you’ve got an upset stomach

Drink peppermint tea or chew on peppermint leaves when you have a stomach ache

Hold cloves against your gums to numb a tooth ache

Boil parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme and drink them to reduce fever

After cleaning a wound, apply honey to help it heal and keep it from getting infected

Drink catnip and lemon balm tea to calm down after a stressful day

Take 5 grams a night of powdered valerian root to help you sleep and combat depression

Eat garlic to promote digestive health and prevent diarrhea

Dealing with Spirits:

Always leave an offering to house spirits and garden spirits

Only hang bells where you don’t want spirits entering (though there are a few do actually like bells, but they’ve been nothing but positive in my experience)

Clean from the east side of the house, westward

If a fairy ring grows in your garden, wait for the mushrooms to start dying before you pull them out

If you “lost” an heirloom, check your jewelry box, curio cabinet, or the favorite spot your deceased relative liked to keep said object, even if you don’t put it there ever. It may not really be lost.

Always answer the door on Halloween, but don’t let anyone in. (this goes for creepy people too, not just spirits)

Your pet is not crazy. When s/he flips out, reassure them, and be aware that you may not be able to see what they can.

Believe in your own Abilities:

Don’t buy in to the power of persuasion. You may not notice anything supernatural, because there may not be anything supernatural going on.

If you think something happened because you cast a spell, even if you can’t “prove” it, then it happened *at least in part* because you cast a spell. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Sometimes, the only effect a spell has, is to give us enough confidence to deal with whatever it is we were asking for help with. That’s a success in my book, and it should be in yours too.

If you’ve got a bad feeling about something, then don’t do it.

[damekitty]

Ginger tea is also good for a fever, but to much ginger in your tea will give you a fever. Always use fresh slices ginger instead of powdered ginger to avoid this problem.

Local honey plus lemon slices plus ginger slices all mixed in a jar with room to move and stored in your fridge make an amazing healthy allergy and cold fighting potion.

[lemonsv]

As always, don’t replace your doctor and medical care with witchcraft!

[pleasejulia]

the twelve olympian gods

[thestrangestoxymoron-deactivate]

I love Greek mythology and I wanted to have this on my page soooo yeah:)

[kaamosnoita]

🌿✨ Finnish Midsummer Juhannus spells ✨🌿

Juhannus was originally a celebration for Ukko the supreme god of weather and harvest. It was also a time for making magic since the spirit world was more active at the time of the white nights. A loud feasting and drinking brought luck in love as well as a good harvest and kept the evil spirits at bay.

1. Roll in dew

If you roll around naked in a field, your future spouse will appear in your life within a year. Dew was believed to have a healing effect and rolling in it was supposed to make you beautiful and healthy. Earlier, dew was even collected in cloths and pressed into bottles for the year to come.

2. Put a spell on a field

Find a four-leafed clover from the yard in the evening. Hide the clover under your shirt, next to your bosom. When the clock strikes midnight, let your hair loose and run to the field. Go around the field three times. When the person of your fancy will eat bread made out of the wheat from that specific field, they will fall in love with you.

3. Collect seven flowers

Collect seven different types of flowers from as many meadows. When going to bed, put the bouquet underneath your pillow. You will see “the one” in your dream. Flowers and plants have an important role in Midsummer celebrations. Previously, it was common to scatter tree leaves on the floors and build tree houses in the yards. Even cows were decorated with garlands, so as to secure a good year for the cattle and milk production.

4. Sweep naked

Sweep your bedroom floor naked, just a red thread tied around your waist, and the ghost of your love will greet you.

5. Tie a sauna whisk, vihta

Vihtas are always made for the Midsummer sauna. They are usually made out of birch as its fresh leaves are soft and have a lovely fragrance. For your magic spell, the Midsummer bath whisk should be made out of eight different tree and flower types. After the sauna, throw the whisk on the roof of the sauna. Climb up after it and see whereto the stem of the whisk points. That is the direction from which your future spouse will come.

6. Make a bonfire

The smoke of the bonfire will turn to the person who will find their spouse next. When the flames start to go out, jump over the bonfire to bring luck in love.

7. Look into a mirror

When you put two mirrors opposite each other on a midsummer night, you can see your future spouse in the reflection of the other.

8. Listen to the first sound

In the wee hours of the night, climb up somewhere high – on a hill, on top of a fell or a big rock. To a place where it is easy to hear surrounding sounds. Your future spouse will come from the same direction as the first sound of the morning. If you hear music, it means an approaching wedding. If you hear a child crying, it is a sign of birth. The number of cuckoo sounds tells how many years you have to wait until you find love.

[fangedbratz]

🏳️‍🌈🌈❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🌈🏳️‍🌈

A pride month emoji spell to grant you good luck and gayness throughout june!

likes charge, reblog cast!

[openedwaystarot-blog]

Some Witchy Truths that are Ok

Sometimes being a witch and dealing with magic isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Often it’s nothing like the profound stuff you see in movies and TV shows. The glow can wear off. And you know what? That’s ok.

The honeymoon phase can end. When you first start practicing, you can find magic and meaning in everything. You want to do a spell for every major and even minor thing in life. You might do a spell or meditate every morning and/or every evening. But sometimes that first honeymoon phase wears off. Maybe it’s because you didn’t notice a change or life just catches up and the time for that constant tie to magic catches up with you. And that’s no biggie.

Keep reading

[bombus-lapidarius-deactivated20]

hey kids if ur parents r gross n transphobic n homophobic then guess what aphrodite (goddess of wlw) is ur mother and eros (god of mlm) is ur brother and dionysus (god of trans people) is ur cool wine uncle

[khtheological]

anyway since people dont know how to act

⚡️I LOVE ZEUS!!⚡️

⚡️HES WONDERFUL AND LOVING AND KIND!!⚡️

⚡️ZEUS THE PROTECTOR OF FOREIGNERS AND TRAVELERS!⚡️

⚡️ZEUS OF KINDNESS AND HOSPITALITY!⚡️

⚡️ZEUS THE GOD OF FATHERS, OF LAW OF ORDER⚡️

KING OF THE LIGHTENING, GOD OF GODS, CROWN OF OLYMPUS!! I! LOVE! HIM!

[snazzywitchcraft]

Disrespecting the old Gods??? In my good Pagan household???

I think the fuck not

[samezukas-deactivated20171227]

so i don’t think a lot of people really understand how often south asian culture is misinterpreted and appropriated so i’m making a post about it right here.

any mention of third eyes

any mention of chakras

people wearing bindis when they shouldn’t be 

fucking “om” or “aum” tattoos or appliques on things like yoga pants. do you know how fucking disrespectful it is to put a symbol that is so important to my religion and culture on the ass of some white chick’s yoga pants

people wearing maang tikka when they shouldn’t be

anklets with bells on them are very important to the dance culture of south asia and it’s disrespectful to wear them outside of a traditional dance setting

feel free to add any more that i missed because i’m fucking tired

[samezukas-deactivated20171227]

this is okay to rb if you’re not south asian. in fact it’s encouraged that you reblog this post, regardless of your race

[fierce-little-afro-witch]

^^Anyone is capable of appropriation without meaning to, even other poc. Please respect!

[afrocentric-divination]

All of you asking if it’s still ok if youre pagan can also go choke. Y’all will use any excuse to appropriate and not care what other people say not to use. They are literally saying “DONT” and y’all are saying “yeah but…” But my ass. Learn to stop being so entitled.

[witch-yy]

So here are the witchy apps that I use! Most of them are free which is awesome!

[appropriation-free-witchery]

A brief guide to open vs closed cultures:

What do these terms mean?

-Closed traditions are traditions that have survived colonization or belong to marginalized groups like Indigenous spiritual traditions, Brujeria, Ifa, and African Traditional Religions, for example. Feel free to provide more examples! Send me a message or reply to this if you want me to add them to this main post!

-Open traditions are either apart of the colonial power structure, modern practices/religions, or reiterations/reconstructionist practices such as neo-paganism or Wicca. (Be watchful as some of these reconstructed or modern practices actually do appropriate from closed cultures.)

What does open/closed mean for my witchcraft?

-An open tradition means it’s something anyone can participate in. There is often readily available information about them too!

-A closed tradition means that it should not be used by someone who isn’t part of that culture. It’s important to keep in mind that with some traditions, even if they’re part of your background, they require initiations, guidance, or specific protocols. Do your research if you’re reclaiming!

When is it okay to participate in closed cultures? How can I be respectful of them while doing so?

If you are invited to participate in a cultural event or tradition from a closed culture, keep in mind a few things:

-That invitation is a one-time thing. It doesn’t give you the right to use any part of that tradition at another time. For example, if you are invited to a ceremony by a Native person, that is not permission to replicate that ceremony on your own.

-You have to follow the rules and be respectful. For example, if a culture has rules about covering bare skin during a certain event/ceremony/practice, do it. If they ask that you not take photos, leave the camera at home.

-People aren’t textbooks. Don’t treat people at cultural events as interactive textbooks or encyclopedias. Speak if you’re asked to, but don’t interrupt to ask questions. If you DO find time to ask questions later and the person is willing to answer, be polite, remember to thank them properly- find out ahead of time if you can if there are specific traditions around asking/receiving knowledge.