Lord make me chaste!

But not yet! Resident Tumblr Occultist. Theythem

[cryptotheism]

Hey I'm CT. I study magic, mysticism, esoterica, cults, conspiracy theories, and con-artists, and I post about it here.

PATREON https://www.patreon.com/c/cryptotheism (get access to all my research, drafts, notes, sources, and whatnot)

TWITCH https://www.twitch.tv/cryptotheism (Live streams)

TAROT DECKS https://www.pubgobshop.com/shop/Divination/5 (I designed some divination decks)

DISCORD https://discord.gg/paXqmVE3DX (everything else!)

WEBNOVEL You can read amber skies here

VOD CHANNEL Catch up on any Philosophy Friday's you missed

(My promo image and header are the work of @terrafey)

[cryptotheism]

Thank you for signing up @ggghosties

What a cute hand! The cards speak of warm days, fun, friendship, and the bounties of imagination. Also something will test your limits and you will barely escape unchanged.

Back by popular demand: If you want a reading, you can support me here.

[cryptotheism]

Theres also 2 hour video essay analyzing Snape wives as a new religious movement that draws on the history of Christian mysticism, midrashs, and idea of what unifies religion as a concept. Why do you think Harry Potter fanfic has lead to so many movements like them and the Zizians?

Harry potter fanfiction itself didn't lead to anything. If Harry potter wasn't around, these groups would use some other popular media property. They wrapped these things in Harry Potter aesthetics because for nearly a decade it was one of the most popular pieces of media on earth. I also generally don't like to focus on whatever pop-culture thing is wrapped around these groups. It distracts from more meaningful discussion. It also leads to people comparing Snapewives and Zizians in ways that are not necessarily useful or material.

[cryptotheism]

A lot of people cover groups like these from the angle of internet anthropology, or public interest journalism. This isn't inherently bad, people have done it well, but inarticulate discussion can lend itself to sneering internet freak-show behavior. Or more commonly, relegating the topic to an incurious fun fact.

[cryptotheism]

Theres also 2 hour video essay analyzing Snape wives as a new religious movement that draws on the history of Christian mysticism, midrashs, and idea of what unifies religion as a concept. Why do you think Harry Potter fanfic has lead to so many movements like them and the Zizians?

Harry potter fanfiction itself didn't lead to anything. If Harry potter wasn't around, these groups would use some other popular media property. They wrapped these things in Harry Potter aesthetics because for nearly a decade it was one of the most popular pieces of media on earth. I also generally don't like to focus on whatever pop-culture thing is wrapped around these groups. It distracts from more meaningful discussion. It also leads to people comparing Snapewives and Zizians in ways that are not necessarily useful or material.

[3liza]

i gotta be real with you guys im just sort of stunned tumblr has been running an open-front ZenDesk form for tumblr TOS reporting this whole time that doesnt require any kind of validation except a fucking email address. this one fact alone explains every single "why did so and so get banned for no reason" event of the past X years. however it is equally baffling that i didnt notice it before now. i would say it is baffling they implemented it in the first place but like i said, the management of their website is verifiably not well

[cryptotheism]

The Greco Egyptian Magical Fragments are so fun

[cryptotheism]

If I was drinking with the girls and someone threw a dog-bitten rock near me, I would ask the caster what's up. Why we throwing dog rocks?

[cryptotheism]

The Greco Egyptian Magical Fragments are so fun

[3liza]

why is pjackk back unbanned?

Post by @3liza · 1 image

💬 1  🔁 0  ❤️ 60 · reference post about the "phantom report bug" · this post is not rebloggable because i need to be able to update it and ed

^^^ i spent all night and yesterday compiling information about a "phantom report bug", where people are getting emails from tumblr support about TOS reports they did not file. pjackk was banned off one of these phantom reports, i told tumblr support about it, and now he's unbanned. i think @garaks-padded-bra was also banned erroneously off a phantom report, so hopefully that will get reversed soon as well

PLEASE CHECK YOUR EMAIL FOR PHANTOM REPORT EMAILS. if you spot any, even if theyre old, tell me about them so i can add them to the list (linked above), and report them to tumblr support. POLITELY. tumblr support wants to fix this.

[cryptotheism]

Parading his big stupid unmoving chrome body around like a sainted reliquary

[cryptotheism]

[pjackk]

Dont be very woried about me since i deserve all of this

[theancientwayoflife]

~ Twenty-Nine Hole Game Board.

Date: ca. 664-332 B.C. (?)

Period: 26th dynasty, Late Period

[cryptotheism]

How would you describe the relationship between "spirituality" and "rationality" in religion? To use an exteme but specific example, the aztecs would sacrifice children to Tlaloc in order to summon rains. This is clearly not a "rational" activity, rooted in magical thinking, but at the same time religion cannot be described as being "irrational" without being reductive. People do things for a reason, and the way we do those things is ultimately informed by our material conditions. So how does the study of spirituality explain this?

Well the eternal question is how, right? To use your example, yeah sacrificing people to appease Tlaloc was irrational. But, it likely served as a meaningful show of force for the thriving and expansive Aztec triple alliance. Generally speaking Aztec ritual murder was not a "sacrifice" in the sense of a Greek offering to the Gods. It was the execution of prisoners of war. It served a social purpose similar to the similarly-brutal Roman practice of decimation. The Aztecs just had a special building and special knives for it. Which makes sense. It's a special activity.

[cryptotheism]

Me: Yeah when the Ptolmaic dynasties collapsed the temple system in egypt ran out of money. It was hard to find alchemical work so I moved to Alexandria. I'm living with like, four other eunuchs in a scriptorium closet.

Cobblers "son" with shaky eyeliner: Ma'am your arms are quite well defined for an alchemist.

[cryptotheism]

One could argue that these men were not performing magic. One could argue they never thought of themselves in the terminology of magicians, nor any equivalent term from their own language and period. One could point out they considered their actions wholly permissible under Jewish law, even if others may have disagreed. But if producing metal talismans inscribed with text meant to ward off evil spirits is not magic, what on earth is it? The language of magic is certainly useful for describing it. This dynamic also serves to illustrate the circular relationship between priesthoods and magic. What was acceptable –or at least tolerated– behavior for a priest class one year, might be unacceptable magical behavior the next. Religious institutions must wrestle with magic, incorporating and rejecting it as the time and culture demands. But, this process leaves footprints in scripture. Institutions cannot incorporate or reject magic without giving a reason why. The result of this process, the shape of these scriptural footprints, is a mythology of magic. For the Judeo-Christian chaos of the 1st century, this manifested in the Book of Enoch. 

Today on Patreon

[louisegluckpdf]

i think every publisher should have to institute a ban on books that fail what i’m calling the “little life” and “what else?” tests

[louisegluckpdf]

for reference.

[cryptotheism]

PGM VII 652 calls for the "Blood of a Typhon" which in this case refers to the blood of an Ass.

But here, in PGM XII 96, we see a recipe that calls for "typhonian ink." The citation at the bottom of this spell references PGM VII. Which seems to imply that this poppy juice ink functions as synthetic donkey blood? Like if you don't have Donkey Blood on hand, this recipe for Typhonian Ink will serve as a replacement?

Firey Red Poppy Juice + Artichoke Juice + Seed of the Egyptian Acacia + Red Typhon's ocher + Abspestos + Quicklime + Wormwood with a single stem + Gum + Rainwater = DONKEY BLOOD