sheepfilms
let's talk about Bridgerton tea, my ask is open
JBB: An Artblog!
Cosmic Funnies
Aqua Utopia｜海の底で記憶を紡ぐ
dirt enthusiast
oozey mess
$LAYYYTER
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Peter Solarz
NASA
TVSTRANGERTHINGS
Janaina Medeiros
izzy's playlists!
occasionally subtle
pixel skylines
Kiana Khansmith
blake kathryn
PUT YOUR BEARD IN MY MOUTH
Show & Tell
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@liminalgods
Since Apollo Noumenios is “he of the new moon” and was honored on the new moon in antiquity and Artemis is the goddess of the moon, worshipers and witches alike can incorporate the twins in any moon phase ritual! Start with Apollo on the new moon 🌑 and end with Artemis on the full moon! 🌕
Carolina Horsenettle
This morning I found a huge patch of one of my favorite poisonous plants. Carolina horsenettle (a nightshade). In my own bizarre UPG she is tied up with Rozhanitsa in her ancient deer mother aspect. Last year I stumbled upon a glade with the remains of a mother and fawn. It was revealed to me after much searching that this was a sign from deer mother during a dark time for me. Plants in the glade surrounding the pair at the time included the horsenettle, perilla, elephants foot, and Chinese bush clover.
Native Black Cherry
I found the most immense quantity of low hanging native black cherries this morning that I have ever seen! I am very much hoping that they will ripen in time for me to celebrate midsummer again this year with wild fermented black cherry cordial combined with elderflower syrup. 🤤
The gods of the Egyptians, 1904
Gods of the hearth - Zeus Meilichios
Zeus Meilichios is an archaic epithet of Zeus in Greek religion, designating a chthonic figure who was both benevolent and fearsome. The name Meilichios carries several meanings: “the gentle one,” or, as Jean-Marie Pailler writes in Zeus ex machina. Le Meilichios ou l’oubli de la troisième fonction, the “Zeus of gentleness,” whom one may associate with Philios. In Robu Adrian’s Le culte de Zeus Meilichios à Sélinonte et la place des groupements familiaux et pseudo-familiaux dans la colonisation mégarienne. La norme en matière religieuse en Grèce ancienne, the term is translated as “the benevolent one” or even “sweet as honey.”
In religious practice, Zeus Meilichios was often honored as a god of purification and benevolence. In Athens, for example, he was celebrated during festivals such as the Diasia, where he played a central role in rituals of atonement and purification for those carrying ritual pollution. In Sicily, his cult is attested at Selinunte among the Megarians as a family-oriented cult, practiced not only by individuals but also by groups of people, as evidenced by the dedications that have been discovered.
His iconography often depicts him in serpentine form, symbolizing both his connection with the chthonic world and themes of regeneration and prosperity. This representation highlights the god’s ambivalence: capable both of punishing and protecting, he embodies a divine force that is at once intimate and terrifying.
This is one of the reasons why he is sometimes associated with the Agathodaimon, or Agathos Daimon, a protective household spirit charged with safeguarding prosperity and health. In several cultic contexts, particularly in domestic or rural sanctuaries, the functions and attributes of Zeus Meilichios - protection, benevolence, and serpent symbolism - overlap with those of this “good spirit.” The animal representation therefore seems to emphasize less the god’s status than his function: that of a bestower of blessings connected with prosperity, both agricultural and social in the broader sense, founded upon philia.
A particularly interesting example can be found at Amathus in Cyprus, where Thierry Petit demonstrates that Zeus Meilichios was associated with Zeus Xenios and other local divinities, such as Malika, within a composite pantheon. This configuration reflects the flexibility of ancient Greek religion and its capacity to integrate local figures into a broader cultic framework, combining the protective, royal, and hospitable aspects of the god. At Amathus, Zeus thus appears not only as a celestial ruler, but also as a polyvalent divinity linked to the protection of the city and its inhabitants.
(i'm sorry my sources here are in french :'))
A lot of modern pagans are much too casual in their interactions with the gods. Not to say we should be distant or fearful, but there's got to be a middle ground between that and "The gods are smoking weed in my basement with me uwu"
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This is literally one of my biggest gripes is how every deity is literally a direct clone and mirror of the practitioner.
This shouldn't even be a hot take, and the fact that it is (+ the fact that the current majority answer is "disagree") is proof that people do not engage with 'paganism' as their religion but as their commodity. Deities, no matter which religion(s) they find their origins in, are intangible cultural heritage. They are literally the embodiment of a culture's way of understanding and engaging the world around them, and worshipping the powers at hand. They have thousands of years of history that formed them and created a web of ritualized behavior around them, because that's the point of religion. If you are not interested in engaging with that respect, and that ritualized behavior, you are not interested in religion, you are interested in an imaginary friend. And it's okay to be interested in an imaginary friend, or a comfort character, or fandom behavior. But it's not in any way okay to use religion as a free for all to accomplish that, because that is cultural material that deserves integrity and intentional maintenance. If you forsake literally everything that makes a cultural way of doing what it is, in order to have shallow, casual relationships with your mental image of a deity, that's not only appropriation, it's ethnocide. There are no living members of these ancient pagan cultures. There is nobody to defend them, except the history books. It is plainly disrespectful to these cultures that you cannot belong to, and who cannot defend themselves, to turn their divinities into toys. The point of religion is to act as a framework to understand the world around you and give it meaning. That framework shapes the deities, not the other way around - they are created, defined, and maintained by the actions taken in honor of them. The stories told, the veneration committed, the effort put in - that's what makes a god. You cannot engage with a god without following the doctrine and rituals their original worshippers did. You cannot engage with a religion without respecting and sharing their beliefs.
There is no deity smoking weed in your basement except the one you made up and call by the name of a cosmic cultural force.
I bought a giant textbook on herbal medicine and it actually goes into the chemical processes that explain why medicinal plants do what they do rather than just explaining that they do them, and I'm actually salivating over the idea of reading it
For everyone asking, the book is called "Medical Herbalism: The Science Principles and Practices Of Herbal Medicine" by David Hoffmann. It's around 672 pages long and depending on where you get it, it costs anywhere from $30 to $60
Because I'm a lover of the Internet Archive, you can also check it out here:
666 pages : 28 cm
The most important thing I have ever learned in witchcraft is the mindset of having nothing to prove to anyone. Oh, you don't believe in any of that witchy stuff? It's nice how we can all have our own beliefs, isn't it? You think my practice is "aesthetic witchcraft" because my altar looks nice. It does look nice, thanks. I don't need to prove how functional it is. You want to see my spirit flight experiences validated? They're validated to me and, since they're personal, that's all that matters.
My witchcraft doesn't need a peer review system. I remain open to new information that impacts my worldview. I am open to the opinions of my family, friends, respected acquaintances, and former mentors. But I don't have to prove anything to them either. And that's the most helpful witchcraft mindset I've ever come to.
I was today years old when I realized my collection of bird feathers (that I have collected off the ground and use on my altar and in amulet bags) is illegal.
The law prohibits the possession of feathers from most native North American birds, including molted feathers found on the ground, to prevent poaching. Before the law poachers collecting feathers for the fashion industry led to the extinction or near extinction of several species.
Reading about it, it makes sense, but that doesn’t mean I’m putting them back.
https://www.fws.gov/law/migratory-bird-treaty-act-1918
wished a customer happy new year yesterday and he responded “happy new moment! you get as many of those as you’d like :)” so we’re all gonna be okay
Today’s one of my favorite days! My village puts up their Maibaum (maypole) today. I can’t wait to see it!
okay so as a unit i understand we don't like the divine feminine & masculine bit. so idrk what yall are talking about at all to begin with, but if its wrong to assume that any one particular thing or attribute or color or style could be divided clearly into either masculine or feminine. then what do those actual words mean? if feminine ISN'T defined by soft and delicate, if masculinity ISN'T defined by authority and power, then what ARE the definitions of those words? i mean this fully in good faith. maybe i genuinely have had the incorrect interpretation all along. somebody take me to school on gender takes.
Feminine: Of or pertaining to the female gender.
Masculine: Of or pertaining to the male gender.
So to say that feminine = soft and delicate is to say that these traits are inherently related to women.
To say that masculine = authority and power is to say that these traits are inherently related to men.
Are/should these concepts be gender-specific? Or do we believe that women can be powerful and men can be soft?
I don't inherently have a problem with the concept of divine masculine & feminine, I just don't understand why we'd assign narrow gender roles to them.
Divinity should be allowed an infinite range of gender expression. As should people, for that matter.
The kind of broad "Western Esoterica" definitions of "feminine" and "masculine" have little to do with gender, and a lot more to do with Chemistry.
Early alchemists didn't have a word for the polarities of how different materials interact with each other. What they did have is a long history of describing "holy marriages" so they adapted that language to their taxonomic ends. Something being "female/feminine" in an alchemical sense means that it can dissolve something within it. Something being "male/masculine" means it can "impregnante" some other material with a property. Water is feminine not because it has any relation to women, but because it can dissolve many substances. The Philosopher's Stone was supposed to be a perfectly balanced "Rebus" of these two properties which would allow it to dissolve any material and confer any property.
During the esoteric explosion of the late 19th and early 20th century this alchemical terminology was adapted into religious practice. Under groups like the Golden Dawn Death is masculine because of its ability to pierce life and deposit the mortal substance of individuation into the continuity of life. Life was female because it could dissolve the individua into its continuity. While these concepts began to re-acquire some gendered aspects, these were meant to be transcended. The Master should be a Rebus, both esoterically masculine and feminine.
Of course the New Age sanded a lot of this nuance off the topic. The idea of cosmic dichtomy, point and continuity became lost. It was replaced with a very anthropocentric concepts of gender as a divine attribute, as opposed to a metaphor to explain something else. The aspiration to achieve an androgynous "rebus" state was ignored. This has left us with words devested of their symbolic significance, being waved around as tools to enforce the gender binary they once transcended.
I still sometimes use masculine and feminine as esoteric descriptions. My answer for what masculine and feminine are in a traditional western esoteric context is:
Masculine= The force which changes by leaving an instantaneous impression upon an Other at its point of contact.
Feminine= The force which changes by dissolving an Other within it's own continuity.
Every thing that exists is both of these, to exist as a living creature you must both "pierce" and "dissolve". These are not end-points for me, but rather steps in a process and tools of transformation.
One week left until May Day! Here are a few ideas for a quick and easy solitary celebration:
Make your home smell like flowers! Using a fragrance diffuser, room spray, scented candles, or any other method on hand.
Open the windows and the curtains, let the sunlight and the outside air in. I find that on tough mental health days, when it's difficult to even leave the house, this is enough for me to feel refreshed and in tune with the season.
Wear colorful clothes and jewelry! Let yourself stop caring what people think, and show your joy outwardly.
Eat a simple, healthy and nourishing meal! I always go for something cold, like a salad or a bowl, because it reminds me of the summer season!
On a warmer day, grab a cold drink and sit outside, in the yard or on the balcony, and just bask in the sun for a while.
Play with fire! In the gaelic tradition, Bealtane was a fire festival, symbolizing the return of the sun. If a bonfire is out of the cards, then simply lighting a candle will do!
Treat yourself to a new houseplant, a bouquet of flowers to decorate the table, or even start planning for your garden.
Engage in spiritual work related to the sun!
sometimes I really get particularly irritated by the paranormal "hype" around Appalachia, especially the claim that the land itself is somehow spiritually more dangerous or the implication that magic and spirits from there are more potent. it just feels like repackaged racism and classism all over again. yes, yes, tell me more about how the region famously inhabited by poor people, small-scale farmers and African Americans is sooooo mysterious and dark and powerful and inhabited by dangerous spirits. it doesn't at all sound like... 19th century colonial propaganda about black people and the wrong kind of christians, or anything. just because you think you're saying it with a tone of admiration doesn't mean it's not fucking racist. it's still othering, and for that matter so is your weird glorification of hoodoo and vodou practitioners. confront your internalized racism even when you think it's flattering. fetishization takes away power, it doesn't give it
One of my favorite litmus tests for whether a spiritual mf on my timeline is actually, substantially connected to Appalachia is what they choose to discuss. Are we hearing about the ways that your family and community protected each other when they were being terrorized by goon squads or treated injuries and illnesses when the nearest doctor was two days away minimum (or only available through the company that owned the town) or are we hearing about ‘not deer’ (typically suffering animals with chronic wasting disease or something equally awful) and how you “never go outside after dark and always keep your blinds shut”?
The shuttering after dark gets on my nerves in particular bc whenever we were out in WV visiting family during the summer, our house’s windows would be open and stay open because we did not have a lick of air conditioning. Or insulation.
Do you know what counties and communities have high Melungeon populations, what their names usually are, and why or do you just holler about possibly being Melungeon because your hair has multiple textures?
Why is it always your Cherokee great grandma and never Haudenosaunee, Shawnee, or Lenape?
Can you tell me what the cultural dynamics between Slavic/Hungarian, Scottish, and Irish Appalachians are? Are you even aware that those dynamics exist?
Better yet, can you tell me the significance of Black communities in our labor rights movements? Because Appalachia has Black people, regardless of what your stereotypes and pop culture interpretations insist on.
Y’all are all about Appalachia and it’s “wild magic” until you have to be respectful about people who have to eat roadkill or hunt off of their back porch, respect that people sincerely believe in Christianity, or until you realize that our communities didn’t just not share remedies because of skin color.
This region has been exploited to hell and back, and back into hell one time just for good measure, don’t think you’re immune to being an exploiter just because you talk about medicine instead of coal.
Anyways, if you are interested in contributing positively to Appalachian communities, Western NC is still recovering from Hurricane Helene almost two years on because the federal government has no interest in offering any real effort at aid, take a look at this site for ways to help:
https://cfwnc.org/initiatives/helene-recovery
IDK I'm mostly ok with the not deer people these days, they seem to be young people absolutely starved for nature. Appalachia IS gorgeous and dripping with nature and biodiversity, it's very easy to fall in love. If you are living in some monotonous suburban hellscape with endless pavement and the same 5 non-native plants over and over and over, these mountains can definitely seem like a mysterious eden.
Those people are not the enemy, they just need to learn that there's beautiful nature everywhere - it just needs our help. Cleaning up garbage and encouraging the planting of native plants, helping to change city/town/HOA bylaws to encourage more native plants are all things people can do to help nature around them. Guerrilla gardening native plants is one of the easiest things to do, most people don't even notice, and the natural world comes back in droves when you do.
The real enemies are Trump and the 1%, the owners of Fox news, all the data centers that are trying to build up here. The wealthy assholes clear cutting the mountain tops so they can build their 4th vacation home "for the views" but don't contribute to the local economy. Chronic lack of social services? Long term policy issues aggravated by the endless right wing propaganda here. Yes our local governments are broke as hell from the lack of FEMA funding. They spend a lot of money that was never reimbursed by the feds.
As someone in a Helene-ravaged area, never heard of cfwnc. My family gives to MANNA, the regional food bank and will continue to do so for as long as we can - and I highly encourage donations to them.
We also need tourism money from the not deer people! Come come see these beautiful mountains! Please don't feed the wildlife - you'll get them killed - but come see this beautiful region.
Project 2025 wants to sell off our National Forests and Parks to the 1% and Trump and co have already been pushing for that. We will need everyone's help to protect the rich natural resources of this area.
I can't speak for @dvudushnydiaries but I disagree with the sentiment that not-deer people are harmless youngsters just craving nature. For one, it's spreading cruel misinformation about animals that harms and mischaracterizes them, and paints their suffering as something it isn't, something to be afraid of and revolted by.
For two, the whole thing about Appalachia being so spiritually dangerous, which is where the darn not-deer thing got so popular from to begin with, is always framed in the context of "guys listen!!11! Appalachia is so dangerous!! you guys need to listen to us and stay out of the woods!!" which achieves rather the opposite of what you said, which is to get people to appreciate how beautiful the region is and appreciate nature.
I agree with you that people should appreciate those lands and any lands, and that they need funding and protection and care. Perpetuating misinformation about the land and the inhabitants of it, especially in a way that frames them as scary, disgusting, dangerous and ugly is NOT how we achieve that. By a similar token, I disagree with the implied sentiment that tackling interpersonal problems needs to take a backseat to tackling governmental problems, because if everyone hears Appalachia and thinks not-deer, they will not instead be thinking beautiful forests and wildlife, which is what motivates people to feel love and the desire to protect for lands. We need people to be WILLING to donate to those charities and oppose Trump's policies, and we can't do that if they're completely misinformed and full of fear and hate.
the physical body is also a spirit and not enough people want to acknowledge that. spirit work isn't just about the intangible
(via @allieinarden )
To get out of the habit of thinking of the Norse or Irish gods as being "gods of" stuff, try to think about what their occupations are instead.
Are they a chief or a king of something? Are they a protector of humanity? Are they skilled at magic and therefore could be considered a wizard, mage, or magician? Are they a warrior? Are they an entertainer? Are they a teacher?
And if you want to play this on advanced mode: Don't try to define the gods' occupations according to what they do in their myths. Think about what they do in relation to us and our societies right here and now, and in relation to the real world.
