the bones beneath me scream

traditional witch anyone can interact, I do not care

[saintofsilence]

The Witch (2015)

[oceanmirage]

I have so many reasons for believing transfeminism targets children but especially mentally unwell children, which is probably not news to anyone but I'd like to elaborate on some specifics. I think part of what is so damaging about gender ideology on kids is the very concept of a "gender identity." It is extremely common for all kids but ESPECIALLY kids living in unstable, unpredictable, abusive and/or chronically traumatizing environments to have little to no sense of identity. One of the tricks transfeminism plays on you is by instilling in you the belief that having a "gender identity" means "feeling" like a boy or a girl. Identity is not a set of beliefs, experiences, personality traits and preferences, but something you feel. When you feel good you are right gender, when you feel bad you are wrong gender. Gender identity is a feeling everyone is supposed to have. You know you are a woman because you feel like a woman, or whatever. And most traumatized kids don't feel anything about themselves except a sense of disappointment, confusion or outright self-loathing. Their identities are at best blank slates, because what they've undergone hasn't really allowed them to form any coherent sense of self yet. This is interpreted as there being something wrong that needs to be fixed. If society tells you that you are a woman but you don't FEEL like one, then clearly something must be amiss. You try on various presentations and the only thing that approximates comfort is androgyny or masculinity, because at least it gets you away from some of the shame of femaleness. The gap where your real identity is supposed to be has instead been filled in with aesthetics and consumerism, and while you've been trying to figure out your "gender identity" because you have now been convinced that it is the source of all of your suffering, you have been neglecting forming a real one. In my opinion this is part of why so many of them are so immature, under-developed or obsessed with superficial things like collecting objects. Most of them were once children in unhappy situations who were confused about who they were, and instead of receiving the care and support they needed to discover themselves their lack of a coherent identity was taken advantage of, prevented from developing and replaced instead with materialism and weird sex stuff.

[oceanmirage]

I have so many reasons for believing transfeminism targets children but especially mentally unwell children, which is probably not news to anyone but I'd like to elaborate on some specifics. I think part of what is so damaging about gender ideology on kids is the very concept of a "gender identity." It is extremely common for all kids but ESPECIALLY kids living in unstable, unpredictable, abusive and/or chronically traumatizing environments to have little to no sense of identity. One of the tricks transfeminism plays on you is by instilling in you the belief that having a "gender identity" means "feeling" like a boy or a girl. Identity is not a set of beliefs, experiences, personality traits and preferences, but something you feel. When you feel good you are right gender, when you feel bad you are wrong gender. Gender identity is a feeling everyone is supposed to have. You know you are a woman because you feel like a woman, or whatever. And most traumatized kids don't feel anything about themselves except a sense of disappointment, confusion or outright self-loathing. Their identities are at best blank slates, because what they've undergone hasn't really allowed them to form any coherent sense of self yet. This is interpreted as there being something wrong that needs to be fixed. If society tells you that you are a woman but you don't FEEL like one, then clearly something must be amiss. You try on various presentations and the only thing that approximates comfort is androgyny or masculinity, because at least it gets you away from some of the shame of femaleness. The gap where your real identity is supposed to be has instead been filled in with aesthetics and consumerism, and while you've been trying to figure out your "gender identity" because you have now been convinced that it is the source of all of your suffering, you have been neglecting forming a real one. In my opinion this is part of why so many of them are so immature, under-developed or obsessed with superficial things like collecting objects. Most of them were once children in unhappy situations who were confused about who they were, and instead of receiving the care and support they needed to discover themselves their lack of a coherent identity was taken advantage of, prevented from developing and replaced instead with materialism and weird sex stuff.

[doingitatmybirthdaydinner]

"gender-neutral"

it's very interesting to me how TRAs will sometimes refer to they/them pronouns as "gender-neutral" pronouns, and insist that we all refer to strangers and passerby with these gender-neutral pronouns to avoid "assuming their gender". but they also insist that sex, gender identity, gender expression, and pronouns are all separate, there can be butch trans women, she/her non-binary people, he/him women, feminine males, masculine females, etc. they'll even make posts that say "friendly reminder pronouns do not equal gender!". so.... aren't she/her and he/him also gender neutral? when someone random in public refers to you in third person like "I think she left her bag here" or "hey is his register open?", they are literally only saying that because of how they perceive your sex. if they perceive you as female, they say she/her, if they perceive you to be male, they say he/him. they probably aren't even thinking about your gender identity, they are just gender-neutral-y referring to your sex. plus, pronouns don't equal gender, so how is using certain pronouns based on how they perceive your sex somehow NOT gender-neutral and is them "assuming your gender"? if anything, they're assuming your sex. this same weird confusing question also pops into my mind when I see parents who refuse to disclose the sex of their baby, use they/them pronouns for it, and buy vaguely masculine clothing, toys and decorations to "raise their child gender-neutral". but isn't being female or male "gender-neutral"? because you can be either sex, and be any gender, and use any pronouns, and there can be male women and female men, right? and pronouns don't equal gender anyway, so really using she/her or he/him would be equally as gender neutral. plus, boys can like pink and princesses and dolls and dresses, and girls can like trucks and blue and sports, so all of those things are gender-neutral too, so why are you opting for everything to be yellow and blue and vaguely boyish clothing? so basically, raising a female child with she/her pronouns, pink, princesses, dolls, etc. is equally as gender-neutral, because pronouns, interests, personality, likes and dislikes are all not exclusive to one gender, so those are all gender-neutral. it's so convoluted and vague and nebulous and abstract it's hard to even talk about, but you get what I'm saying right? they say all these things are separate, but behave like they are all very related. they also constantly betray that they do not believe that sex and gender are different, as they always claim, and they always betray their inner sexism by thinking that soft masculinity is the only gender-neutral thing in existence.

[echosblanketfort]

beginner witchcraft conversations: this is a helpful list of correspondence for attracting wealth I've found :)

Advanced witchcraft conversations: okay so you want to attract some wealth. What works for me is to gather the dew you left out on some coins during the Taurus full moon , astrally visit your Abundance Guardian (mine looks like a frog but yours might look different) and astrally connect your Abundance Guardians energy to the dew and put the coins in the frogs mouth as an offering. Anoint bay leaves with the Taurus moon dew water and mail them anonymously to your workplace. There are quicker ways but this one never fails me

[rosieandthemoon]

Fontainebleau State Park in Mandeville, Louisiana

[kkoffin]

i see the most recent TRA argument against sexual dimorphism in humans regarding male strength (and height) is “girls are fed less and told to keep thin, if they weren’t malnourished as children, they would be just as strong as men”

i’d like to ask: how do you explain the physical advantages women have over men, then? how do you explain women having higher body fat, stronger immune system, greater flexibility, higher pain tolerance and endurance? if women are capable of being just as strong as men, then do these advantages make us strictly superior? or would men eating less result in somehow having more body fat and more endurance??

idk why they insist on completely denying sexual dimorphism in muscle mass like it doesn’t make sense that evolutionarily, men evolved to be glass canons since they are less necessary for reproduction, and women evolved to survive. no one is saying women are destined and doomed to be barefoot pregnant housewives, but it’s stupid to pretend evolution doesn’t occur based on survival and reproduction of the species. it might be uncomfortable, but i don’t think feminism is going to go anywhere if we insist on denying science and reality.

men have no advantage over women in STEM, management, education, social sciences, arts, or just about any other non-physical field. lord forbid, maybe women aren’t the best pick for lifting as much weight as possible, but that isn’t particularly relevant in modern life anyways, is it? besides the value men put on their own strength, awarding themselves for lifting, it really isn’t very practical - would you rather be able to lift more or get sick less often, experience less pain and live longer?

the fact that people hear “less muscle mass” and for some reason think that translates to “incapable of paid work in modern society, only useful for making babies” is absurd

[vexingwoman]

I don’t understand gender ideologues who claim to also be gender abolitionists. If the goal is to eradicate gender, how does actively identifying with the construct of gender—and attributing such personal, sentimental value to it on top of that—move us closer to that goal?

How does redefining the word “woman” into a prescriptive gendered category, rather than allowing it to remain as a descriptive sexed category, move us closer to that goal? It doesn’t. It patently does the opposite.

[capricorn-season]

[shadowfem-deactivated20260123]

The way women’s clothing is so much worse than men’s pisses me off. It’s so difficult to find clothes that fit because they’re all made for the same handful of ideal body types, and designed for “fashion” (the male gaze) first. Even “comfy” clothes like sweatshorts are designed to make your ass look good half the time.

They can’t even get something as basic as underwear right. The fact that “wedgie-free” women's underwear was marketed as this novel breakthrough less than twenty years ago is WILD. And it doesn’t even fucking WORK!

We deserve clothes that fit, clothes that are comfortable, clothes that are functional, not overpriced skintight garbage.

[anjomecanico]

There was even a dude that did a test with the same types of clothes but for women and men, and found out every single one of the women's versions were low quality in comparison to the men's versions, including the clothing for baby girls in comparison to baby boy clothing. That's how deep misogyny is ingrained in our lives

[pibin]

And it's been found out, even shoes are tested only on males. The female versions are just smaller with some pastel or pink. And yes, there is differences on our bodies. Medicines, clothing, car seats, most things made for males only.

Finding how misogyny is integrained in almost everything is both awakening and depressing.

[creature-wizard]

Reminder to the witchcraft community that:

Pretty much every claim of Christians stealing pagan holidays comes from sloppy scholarship and conspiracy theories. Please get your information from modern scholars instead of trusting random witch blogs/videos/infographics.

The witch hunts were driven by the early modern equivalent of QAnon, not by any credible evidence that a bunch of cryptopagans were out doing rituals in the woods at night. Most of the accusations were repurposed from accusations made against Jews for hundreds of years at that point.

Christianity and monotheism aren't the reasons you have to deal with patriarchy. It existed in polytheistic cultures long before either one existed, and it would still be here without them.

There are plenty of real reasons to be pissed off at Christians, both at present and throughout history. We don't need to make any up.

[herpsandbirds]

European Adder (Viperia berus), family Viperidae, Sweden

Venomous.

Photograph by Jennipher Jerrevång Uhlhorn

[tiktoks-i-enjoyed]

[anjomecanico]

You can't be against bioessentialism if you believe in male/female brain lmao this shit was even scientifically disproven

[sacredlittleember]

land spirits do not have to be dramatic.

sometimes reverence for land starts very simply:

learning the names of local plants. noticing where water gathers. thanking a tree before taking from it. picking up trash. leaving a place better than you found it. sitting quietly long enough to feel the mood of the land.

animism is not always spectacle.

sometimes it is relationship, attention, and care.

[chekhovsglock]

it's scary the amount of people who wholeheartedly believe that men and women are fundamentally different creatures

[breelandwalker]

Oh for fuck's sake, are we having the curse-shaming argument AGAIN??? Every time I think we're done unteaching this nonsense.....

Arright, quick rundown of the points, more or less in order, because I've already had this discussion a hundred times:

One - There is no universal moral or ethical code in witchcraft. Not every witch is a Wiccan or follows Wiccan principles. Not even all Wiccans follow every Wiccan principle, and that includes the Rule of Three / Threefold Law. The Wiccan Rede is ADVICE, not a set of hard and fast rules or divine mandates. You don't get to tell other witches what types of spells they should and should not cast.

Two - If you think the Rule of Three / Threefold Law means, "Whatever you give out comes back to you times three" or if you think it only applies to baneful magic, you don't understand the rule. The original rule, as stated by Robert Graves in "The White Goddess" (you know, the fictional novel that Gardner used as a model for Wicca) states that whatever a witch is dealt, they should deal back three times over. In fact, the passage cites a particular initiation ritual that involves symbolic flagellation, NOT a code of ethics for witchcraft.

It was picked up by later authors as "Whatever You Give" and popularized by media like The Craft and Charmed and authors like Silver Ravenwolf in the 90s when the modern witchcraft movement was having its' millennial boom. (This is a gross oversimplification, but that's when the concept became common enough in pop culture that non-witches were starting to become familiar with the term.)

Three - Karma has absolutely nothing to do with it. Karma is not instant or sentient and the bastardized version of the concept that's been worked into much of modern witchcraft literature more closely resembles the Christian concept of sin and judgment than what karma actually is. Remove the word from your vocabulary when you're talking about magic. The universe does not give one single flying fuck what you do with your spells.

Four - The word you're searching for when you talk about these concepts is CONSEQUENCES. Every action you take, every spell you cast, everything has consequences and everything has a price. This isn't a divine mandate or a cosmic law either. It's a simple fact of life. BUT. It doesn't mean that baneful spells are morally or ethically wrong or that they're going to blow up in someone's face. The only reason a baneful spell might be more likely to rebound is that it's one of the only types of spells that witches actively ward against.

Five - Witches have a right to use magic for persuasion, defense, justice, retribution, binding, prevention, or outright harm if they so choose. If you don't like those types of spells, then don't cast them.

Six - Moral puritanism is a cancer that will destroy us all. Get off your high horse, drop the holier-than-thou bullshit, and remember that being a witch does not make you immune to propaganda.

Thank you for coming to my Toad Talk.