Pride is a virtue

25, Montreal, gay AF, socialist. Catholic folk magic, Traditional Witchcraft, and some Chinese folklore. And I'm a fuckin Libra. TERFs, Tankies, & Wiccans don't interact cus y'all don't know how to act. 

[naomisramblings]

catholics preparing to hear “halloween is demonic” and “christmas is actually a pagan holiday” for the next two months

[therobotmonster]

REMINDER:

Doorbusters are (almost always) scams 

Most sales will be going through the whole weekend due to retailer desperation. 

Cyber Monday has better deals.

There is no need for you to help make retail workers miserable this Holiday. Stay home on Thanksgiving, stay home on Black Friday, and help make your family and friends miserable instead.

[fattributes]

Genuinely, I don’t know how else to get the word out, but I feel like if your home-cooked dinners don’t taste right, you're missing either paprika, sugar, butter, or chicken bouillon.

[fattributes]

Still not right? It might be missing one of these: Mustard powder, soy sauce, fish sauce, vinegar. MSG. Ketchup. Mushroom powder. Maple syrup. Honey.

[fattributes]

Hey everyone, MSG is a valid culinary ingredient. It’s literally salt. Stop sending me racist messages.

[imsobadatnicknames2]

The way demonization of MSG is still so normalized drives me up the fucking wall. Even among people who don't think it's literal poison or believe racist conspiracy theories about it, you often see people talking about how it's lazy bc it's a shortcut to make mediocre food taste better and like... That's literally just how seasoning food works. "Oh MSG just tricks your brain into thinking the food tastes better by artificially stimulating your umami tastebuds" THAT'S HOW SUGAR AND SALT WORK TOO.

[shirtsthatgohard]

[unseendeity]

I need more ✨ witchy ✨ content on my dash ฅ⁠^⁠•⁠ﻌ⁠•⁠^⁠ฅ

so reblog this if you're into/post about:

deity work

angel work

death witchcraft

mythology (big on norse & greek)

catholic witchcraft (i'm not christian but the religion is interesting to me & i have a catholic dad so)

folk magic

any forms of divination

spell work

books on witchcraft

BASICALLY ANYTHING WITCHY! 🔮

[tiktoksthataregood-ish]

[jumpin-jahoosaphats]

That's the fuckn tea

[homofied]

[lemonsharks]

My ancestors, watching me dump an entire stick of cinnamon, two cloves, an allspice berry, and a generous grating of nutmeg into my tea, sweetened with white sugar and loaded with cream, while I sit in my clean warm house surrounded by books, 25+ outfits for different occasions, and 6 pairs of shoes, in a building heated so well I have the windows open in mid-autumn:

Our daughter prospers. We are proud of her. She has never labored in a field but knows riches we could not have imagined.

[sighinastorm]

I like this so much better than the idea that our ancestors would be embarrassed or ashamed of us for being “soft” or some crap like that.

[therinde-dreams]

My ancestors, watching me stuff my face with fried chicken while studying: She eats like an imperial concubine and can afford to study like am imperial scholar. WE MADE IT

[idhren]

She eats like an imperial concubine and can afford to study like am imperial scholar

[villainous-queer-deactivated202]

My ancestors watching me use my stand mixer while living in a small apartment and attending university: Thou hast kneadeth bread in FOUR hail marys??? FOUR??? And thou ist poor as a churchmouse, yet liveth in a fine cottage with four pounds butter and fresh berries in thy larder!! And two featherbeds! And thou attendeth the King’s college, as a lord!!

[lagt-duck]

My ancestors being like:

Look at this fine young lady! She can paint she can sew and embrody, she sings and read

And without a wealthy father to pay for that, plus she is florid in the body! She doesn’t know hunger!

We did it!

[ruffboi-mags]

Me: /wearily studying/

My Ancestors: TRULY SH— what? They? A little unorthodox, but reasonable I suppose. TRULY THEY PROSPER, FOR THEY LIVE IN A DWELLING WITH MANY ROOMS AND ONLY THEIR SPOUSE TO SHARE IT WITH! THEY HAVE DOGS WHO DO NOT PERFORM A FUNCTION! THEY HAVE MANY BOOKS AND DO NOT HAVE TO SPIN THEIR OWN YARN! THEY BATHE AT A WHIM WITH GENTLE SOAP FREE OF LYE! OUR DESCENDANT BRINGS HONOR AND PRIDE TO OUR LINEAGE!

Me: /yawns and sips my coffee/

My Ancestors: /cheer wildly/

[shadow-daughter]

Me: *hunched over at my desk nursing a headache.*

My Ancestors: “Truly, we prosper; see here, our infirm descendant need not even work on her poor days, but has the luxury to rest as she sees need! A doctor attends to her illnesses; her clothes are warm and free of pests; she cares for exotic and dangerous animals within her own home! We have found the height of luxury!”

[amuseoffyre]

Me: *treats myself to a pineapple and a bunch of bananas*

My Georgian ancestors: ZOOTH SHE HAS BOUGHT A PINEAPPLE! NOT MERELY BORROWED ONE! TRULY SHE HAS ACHIEVED FAR MORE THAN WE COULD KNOW!

[captainlordauditor]

me: [puts on warm socks and a blanket, is now warm regardless of the weather outside]

My impoverished Russian Jewish ancestors:

[existentialterror]

Me: [learns to knit from youtube videos]

My ancestors: Our descendant, the heir to all our hopes and fears for a far-off future… She can buy fine clothes woven and knit by automatons, with but a fraction of a day’s earnings… and she does… she has so much free time to do as she pleases… and she uses some of that time to do what we did.

One woman from rural Poland, who died from smallpox in 1717 CE, a grandmother at 35: I knit roses and peonies into my and my children’s gloves… it wasn’t much extra work to dye the red, once I had already cleaned the wool and spun the yarn, and to knit in the designs… and I wasn’t a gifted knitter but I was a good knitter, and I thought, well, it might not make a difference to how warm the glove is, but it made the children happy and it made me happy. I liked to make things beautiful when I could.

Another woman, a peasant from what’s now France, who died from getting kicked by a mammoth in 8995 BCE: [Patting her on the back] I made my family’s clothes too. Every day my sister and I wove and wove and tended our children. We went out of our way to make the cloth lovely. Not a trace of it remains anywhere on earth now… But it mattered to us. And she might not know our names, or know it was us, but evidently, it matters to her too. She has so much beauty available to her, in every direction, and she wants to make it where we once made it.

[everyone sobbing and high-fiving each other.]

A man from Britain, 1104 CE, sitting at the trans-temporal telescope, reporting on my doings: She’s stopped knitting and now she’s playing minecraft.

The other ancestors: Ah, yes, the dream of building. We know this one well. What vision doth she design now?

Telescope man: Looks like… Some kind of floating temple?

Everyone: [Goes completely apeshit]

[lasrina]

Me: *literally just sitting here petting my dog*

My ancestors from 25,000 years ago: puppy

[sancipriano]

✠ SORCERER’S SUPPLICATION TO SAN CIPRIANO ✠

✠OUR FATHER ✠

Our father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread and forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.  Amen.

✠ PRAYER ✠

Saint Cyprian, pray for us.

Saint Justina, pray for us.

Saint Theocistus, pray for us.

Saint Cyprian of Antioch, together with Saint Justina and Saint Theocistus, pray for us, now and at the hour of our death, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. + +

Saint Cyprian of Antioch, mage, martyr, mystic; theurge, thaumaturge, theophoros; saint,sorcerer, sage; pray for us, now and at the hour of our death, through Jesus Christ our Lord.Amen. + +

Saint Justina, who by the Sign of the Holy Cross defended herself and all Antioch from all spiritual affliction and demonic attack, pray for us, now and at the hour of our death, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. + +

Saint Theocistus, who witnessed the grace and holy power of Cyprian and Justina and converted at their execution, becoming a martyr even upon your own salvation, pray for us,now and at the hour of our death, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. + +

Jesus Christ, Son of God, hear our prayers and let our cries come to you, as once did and forever do the prayers of your saints Cyprian and Justina and Theocistus, whom you have made worthy to show your grace and glory to the world, that we may do the same and abide as one in eternal communion with them. Amen. + +

Blessed ancestors, holy departed ones of our families and our traditions, our blood and our faith, through the merits of Saint Cyprian of Antioch who stands at the gate of Hell, hear our prayers that we pray for your intercession, and pray for us for ours that we may be joined as one before the Heavenly Throne in righteousness and innocence and eternal grace. Amen. + +

Infernal demons and spirits of this world, by the grace with which you obey God and by the same Source from whence we all descend, and by the intercession and protection of Saint Cyprian of Antioch, look after us kindly and without malice, refrain from causing us harm or misfortune, and help us achieve our fate as man becoming God as God became Man in Jesus Christ. Amen. + +

Saint Cyprian of Antioch, as you insisted in the church to be baptized after seeing the light of Truth and preserving yourself from evil by the sign of the Holy Cross, wash us now, now,immediately, immediately, quickly, quickly, soon, soon in the living waters of your holy death that tempered your infernal power with heavenly wisdom that we may be blessed by Jesus Christ with the same. Amen. + +

Saint Cyprian of Antioch, you who hold patronage over all occultists, magicians, sorcerers,necromancers, and all those who work with spirits above and below, together with Saint Justina who tempers worldly power with divine wisdom, and with Saint Theocistus who combines the heat of the body and the coolness of spirit into the art of grace extending out unto the world, pray for us, intercede for us, enlighten us, empower us, and help us in all our works, in all our words, in all our rites, at all times, on all days, in all hours, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. ++

✠ PERSONAL PRAYER, PART ONE ✠

St Cyprian bless me, keep me, and protect me from all pain, plague, poison, illness, injury, infirmity,death, disease, defilement, curse, cross, catastrophe, and all wickedness of all kinds from all sources.Glorious Martyr,Saint Cyprian of Antioch,who by Divine Grace converted to the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ,you who possessed the highest secrets of Magic,build now a refuge for me against my enemies and their evil deeds.For the merit that you obtained before God, Creator of heaven and earth,cancel out all evil spirits, products of hate,the spells that hardened hearts have cast or will come to cast against my person and against my home.With the permission of the All Powerful God,answer my prayer and come to my assistance,through the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.Amen.

Recite 3 Our Father, 2 Hail Mary, and 1 Apostles Creed

✠ PERSONAL PRAYER, PART TWO ✠

St Cyprian,Mage, martyr, and mystic; theurge, thaumaturge, and theophoros; saint, sorcerer, and sage pray for us now and at the hour of our death through Jesus Christ our lord, Amen.

[ltwilliammowett]

Sea Witches

In the 16th and 17th centuries, the superstition that women on board ships brought bad luck became a hunt for witches. The belief in witches has always been present and sometimes seen as something positive but also negative among sailors. Many a captain resorted to the arts of a witch to buy a badn with wind knots. This was ribbon with three knots woven into it. When the captain needed it, he untied one knot and could call the wind with it, but he had to be careful not to overdo it, because if he untied all three knots at the same time, he would call a storm.

Scandinavian Witches call up a Storm, 1555 (x)

If a Sailor lived with a landlady and refused to pay her rent, whereupon she threw him out, he only had to call her a witch and she got problems, like no more tenants or even worse she had to defend herself in court. But it got particularly bad after 1589 when King James I of England believed that he and his Danish bride Anne had been personally attacked by witches who had conjured up dangerous storms to kill the royal couple during their voyage across the North Sea. Now James had always been a very superstitious man, but the supposed witches stirred up panic. 

The North Berwick Witches meet the Devil in the local churchyard, from a contemporary pamphlet, Newes from Scotland, 17th century (x)

One of the first accused in this panic was a woman called Geillis Duncan from Tranent in East Lothian. In late 1590 she was accused by her employer, David Seton, and forced to confess, naming several accomplices. Duncan later retracted her confession, but by then it was too late.

Following an alarming confession by an accused witch, Agnes Sampson, in 1591, King James authorised witch trials. It became known that 200 witches - even some from Denmark - had sailed to the church of the seaside town of North Berwick on Halloween night 1590. There they were instructed by the devil to baptise and drown a black cat in his name. This caused a storm to break out and kill the king and queen. As a result, many women were accused of witchcraft and burned. It was only after the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 - Guy Fawkes’ plan to blow up Parliament and kill the king - that James turned to the Catholics and abandoned the alleged witches.

It was during these 15 years that the rumour began in Scotland that the Spanish Armada had only been defeated in 1588 because Queen Elizabeth had made a pact with the witches from the Isle of Mull, who then caused a great storm that finally destroyed the Armada.

Demolition of the Spanish Armada by José Gartner De La Peña (1892) (x)

Although the witch hunt ended in 1605, the belief in witches was still present and some had to be used as scapegoats. Even though cats were considered companions of witches, ship cats were exempt from this, after all they were considered lucky charms, especially the black ones. But in 1864 it happened to the ship’s cat. Edward Man had to stand trial for incompetence, because he had brought his merchant ship Neptune to Milford Haven instead of London. He told the court that it was not his fault but that of the ship’s cat, which had bewitched him and forced him to do it. The court did not believe him and acquitted the cat, but found Man guilty.

In the course of the 17th century, the belief in witches diminished, but like Sailor, they were superstitious as hell and so they attached so-called hexmarks to important objects on board to prevent the evil forces from bewitching the guns, for example, and thus taking away their accuracy.

A cannon apron with hex marks found in the Queen Anne’s Revenge, before 1718 (x)

The belief that red-haired women were witches also remained, but they were only avoided or spoken to first in order to take away their power and no longer put on the stake. Red-haired men were also said to have certain powers and that you had to be careful when you were near them. In the case of Admiral Lord Cochrane, his seamanship was convincing, even if his private life was a little bumpy. Whether his crews also thought he was a witcher ? in any case, he brought them a lot of prize money.

In the end, the belief in witches had diminished, but was still present until the late 19th century and was tried to be fought with small rituals rather than with brute force.

[delightingintragedy]

Various Uses for Fossils in Magic from Wisht Waters by Gemma Gary

"Sea fossils, as well a guarding against drowning, had other protective uses. The fossils of sea urchins, or Echinoids, were employed for a variety of protections. Upon these fossils, one might find a star-like pattern, very reminiscent of the 'daisy-wheels', which one might find inscribed into the timbers and masonry of ancient buildings, most likely for apotropaic purposes. Their folk names include shepherd's crowns, thunder stones and fairy loaves. They protected against thunder, evil spirits and witches, prevented milk turning sour, and in common with other fossil amulets, they sweated in the presence of poison. As 'fairy loaves' they might be used to ward off supernatural interference from the baking process, and to ensure an abundance of bread."

pg. 104

"Belemnite fossils, from an extinct squid-like creature, were known as thunderbolts, and were thus kept as charms to protect against lightning. Once believed to be the tongues of ancient serpents, fossilised shark teeth were one of the fossil amulets against poison"

pg. 104

"Rings of stone, formed from the fossilised stems of the sea-lily were known as St Cuthbert's Beads, as were worn as amulets against evil influences."

pg. 105

"The 'Devil's Toenail' fossils were carried as charms against rheumatic pain, and they were powdered to be used in the treatment of soreness of the back in horses."

pg. 107

"Various accoutrements of the sea witch's divinatory work may be seen in the Museum of Witchcraft. Here we find that belemnites were employed by a Newlyn sea witch named Nancy. She would read the fall of her 'sea stones' to make predictions for fishermen. Perhaps their traditional association with lightning gave belemnites the virtue to make predictions regarding storms and changes in the weather?"

pg. 108

[...] There have been many ways to bless, consecrate and 'sain' water, thus rendering it more potent and useful within various rites and magical operations. This might be achieved by steeping or immersing charmed items within the water, or else allowing water to flow or be poured over such an item. These may include charm-stones, fossils, flints, or the metals gold and silver.

pgs. 115-116

"Ammonite fossils were also employed as charm stones to cure cattle in 17th century Scotland. They were known as 'cramp stones' because cattle afflicted with cramp would be treated by being bathed in water in which a 'cramp stone' had been steeped for a number of hours."

pg. 122

[crystallizedmoon]

Don't stop talking about Sudan.

Don't stop talking about Congo.

Don't stop talking about Palestine.

Don't stop talking about the genocides. Don't let any more innocent lives be lost.

🇵🇸🇸🇩🇨🇩

[hobohobgoblim]

[rat-council-official]

and the devout created idols in reverence of a god they could not reach.

[theshitpostcalligrapher]

hello

[scarsymmetry-deactivated2024022]

You guys better never shut up about Palestine. Even when they are liberated, your mouth better not close. Thousands upon thousands have died, and your words will never equal their lives, even if you spoke of them for thousands of years. You owe it to their memory, and to the people who live on, to never shut up.

[asianwitchcraft]

I don't know if you're still posting or not but I'm not sure who else to ask I guess I'll go for it. Is Chinese folk religion an open or closed tradition? I Googled it but I couldn't find anything.

Hi, thanks for the question. I (mod Han) have been a bit busy so I haven’t been on as I would like, which explains the radio silence.

Now that’s a tricky question. Firstly, I am Chinese and I grew up in a family that did maintain the practices of Chinese folk religion, so I do have lived experience regarding it.

Okay so I went to ask my mom for a second opinion on this just so we have a diversity of opinions on this. 

Chinese folk religion is both closed and open, I’ll explain. We don’t have a central authority that regulates the religion, it is very populist and of the people. Now there are outsiders who partake in the religion, I have come across white people who have been initiated in my google searches. When it comes to ceremonies and rituals, they are open to outsiders. The exception is ancestor worship, a major part of the Chinese folk religion. You have to have familial (blood or adoption) connection to the ancestors in order to partake in the ancestor worship. Praying to the wrong ancestor is considered a major offense. There are 2 possible ways for non-Chinese to be apart of ancestor worship. First, a non-Chinese woman marries a Chinese man and she’s considered part of the family. The non-Chinese has to be a woman because our ancestry is passed down through the male lineage. You can’t be a non-Chinese male marrying a Chinese woman, the Chinese woman would be able to pray to her ancestors but her foreign husband could not as those are not his ancestors. That’s one way as an outsider to participate in ancestor worship. The second way is if you’re adopted into a Chinese family. In Malaysia, we do have Chinese families who adopt Indian babies and they are considered to be as Chinese as a full-blooded Chinese. Those are the only ways for outsiders to be able to participate in the ancestor worship at temples.

Now with all of that said, I will now be putting down my personal opinions on outsiders wanting to partake in Chinese folk religion. Keep in mind that other Chinese people may disagree with my views, because we are not a monolith. These are just my views on the matter.

I personally feel uncomfortable with white people in particular wanting to have a piece of my culture, mostly due to centuries of colonialism, imperialism and anti-Chinese racism that has affected my people greatly. If you’re a white person interested in participating in Chinese folk religion, I would suggest that you take a moment to reflect on why exactly you would want to participate. Reasons like “it looks cool”, “it’s so exotic”, “aesthetics”, etc. are not good enough reasons. If you really want to participate, take the time to read up on the issues that plague the Chinese community. Read up on colonialism and imperialism, and how they have affected the Chinese. Read on how the West has harbored anti-Chinese sentiment and how that has affected us. That’s especially important as many Chinese living in the West have had to give up Chinese folk religion in order to assimilate. I was lucky I was born in Southeast Asia as we were able to preserve our practices. Read up on how exotification and fetishization affects us. I suggest to look into those things because I feel that if outsiders wish to participate in our culture, they must first care about the people that originated it in the first place. You can’t separate the culture from the people. If people want me to go into any further detail on the above, send me an ask on my personal tumblr (hanwitchx), I don’t mind expanding a bit more on what I’ve wrote.

- Mod Han

[dreamycastaway]

The original pride flag and the sewing machine it was sewn on

[iwriterobots]

[crazycatsiren]

Take this from a Chinese immigrant: it is not "racist" to call it "Chinese New Year". In fact, I think it was Chinese people who came up with this English name for it.

White people stop deciding what is and what is not racist for the people whom racism affects challenge year 2024.

[blackstaarrr]

Free Palestine.

[phobic-human]

More than 8,000 children and 6,200 women have murdered by israel now, as of December 20, 2023

[phobic-human]

Over 11,000 children have been murdered, and over 67,000 people are wounded, nearly 28,000 innocent humans are gone. As of February 9, 2024. A horrifying number by all means, yet the so called "jewish state" gets a free pass by the so called "western democracies" because of horrors commited almost eighty years ago. This number will only increase to inconceivable numbers because of complacency.