[lovecorekiss]

Tips for shopping safely as a pagan

Buying things for our religious praxis is a joy. I love receiving something for my gods and my devotion to them. Yet, there is always a danger when searching for new items. In paganism, bigots are everywhere, and that is atrocious. As I’ve collected shops for my Masterpost, I’ve learned a couple of ways to make sure that you do not support these bigots.

1 • Know dogwhistles

An excellent way to avoid bigots and hate groups in general is knowing dogwhistles. Products, websites, etc may all contain these. By knowing dogwhistles you will be able to avoid buying from awful people.

2 • Know hate symbols

An excellent way to avoid horrible shops is knowing hate symbols. Make sure to check each shop to see if they sell them. For example, an effortless way to check is to search up the well-known n*zi symbol, the “black sun”. If a shop sells black sun imagery, report, spread the word, and do not buy from them. There’s plenty of other cases — but generally, please look through the shop’s collection to see if they contain these. It’s an easy way to avoid bigoted sellers.

3 • Know which pagans are bigots

I mention this because some still buy from shops run by known neo-n*zis. Plenty of pagans have been shown to hold bigoted and dangerous beliefs. Therefore, know them and their shops so you do not buy from them.

4 • Check reviews and callouts

Generally, it would help if you are looking at shop reviews. Reviewing will help you and your overall shopping experience. In this case, look at reviews for certain items. If they mention instances of bigotry — or if you see bigots buying items with imagery such as the “black sun”, you want to avoid. Secondly, look for call outs. If a shop itself seems to be okay but the owner has been proven to be a terrible person, don’t buy from them.

5 • Avoid genuine cultural appropriation

In paganism, I have seen pagans run around claim to be “mystical shamans” who burn white sage, claim to have opened their “third eyes”, have extra powers from crystals, and aligned their chakras. Naturally, some of these pagans will own stores. Do not buy from pagans that exploit and harm other cultures/peoples.

This requires you to know what genuine, actual cultural appropriation is, and that is on you. Research is your friend and so is following people from these cultures & practices. Some are willing to answer questions about what is and is not an appropriation of their practice. The resources are there, and you just have to take them.

6 • Do not buy from folkists

Folkism is a special kind of bigotry/hate group within paganism. Do not buy from them — if you do not know what a folkist is, please learn. They are dangerous.

There are likely more tips for shopping safely as a pagan. These are just the ones that I have collected over time. Please remember to be safe and do not put money in the hands of those who harm others. Bigotry hurts people, and supporting these bigots is even worse.

Tldr; My tips for shopping safely as a pagan are: know dogwhistles, know hate symbols, know which pagans are bigots, check reviews and callouts, avoid genuine cultural appropriation, and do not buy from folkists. Avoiding buying from bigots is necessary.

[punkylilwitch]

Shapes in magick

Circle: The sun and moon, enlightenment, unity, wholeness, infinity, perfection, ideals, protection, containment, gods/deities, rebirth and completion, and the element of spirit 

Triangle: The triangle is heavily associated with the power of three, and ergo the following concepts/rules:

Birth, life, death

Past, present, future

3 stars on Orion’s belt

Hear no Evil, See no Evil, Speak no Evil

Liberty, Equality, Fraternity

Beginning, middle, end

Sunrise, noon, sunset

Body, mind, heart

It is also associated with summoning symbols. Orientation matters just as much as the actual shape when it comes to triangles, as a point-down triangle symbolizes femininity, air, fire, goddesses, and the decent into the physical world. Meanwhile a pointed-up triangle represents stability, foundation, earth and water, energy flows, ascents into the after life, and masculine elements. 

Square: associated with the number 4, it is a nod to the main compass directions, the physical elements, seasons, solidity, static perfection and dependability, and the material world in general. In many other cultures the square also generally means order, safeness, and a square in most cultures is a meeting place or plaza at the heart of a city (ie town square, etc.)

Spiral: relating to circles, it is one of the oldest geometric shapes and associates with the achievement of the altered states of consciousness

Infinity: the infinity symbol represents reincarnation, lessons/knowledge, the maternial plane, the karmic circle a calling to wake up and rise, and derives from Uraeus, which is a magical cobra found commonly in ancient Egypt records and means either “the coiled one” or mehet, or “the risen one” or iaret, but both times the snake is depicted in this position. 

“What very few people discover (or remember) is that the symbolism of the Infinity comes from the great Uraeus, symbols of the Goddess Wadjet… What this symbolic act represents, is that one will never have true power until s/he realizes the divine power within.” -  5 Surprising Secrets of the Infinity Symbol ∞ by Mind Journal

Stars(5 pointed): also called a pentagram, the five pointed star represents the five human elements (air, earth, fire, water, spirit) and it is a symbol of protection and warding in many cultures, including wicca, which witchcraft takes the heaviest influence from. While many see the pentagram as satanic, what they tend to forget is that a five pointed star is a type of pentagram, but the lines in the center of the pentagram tend to be left in. Similar in design is a pentacle, which in merely a pentagram with a circle added around it, but in general they are all similar in design concept. 

https://www.learnreligions.com/geometric-shapes-4086370#step-heading?utm_source=pinterest&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=shareurlbuttons_nip

https://themindsjournal.com/secrets-of-the-infinity-symbol/#:~:text=1.,symbols%20of%20the%20Goddess%20Wadjet.&text=During%20the%20coronation%20of%20the,crowned%20by%20this%20divine%20snake.

[mens-rights-activia]

Normalize making transphobes feel unsafe 😌

[elsewhereuniversity]

“please take my name” She begged, itching at the stubble on her chin. “It weighs on me like iron on your skin.” The gentry scoffed at her, and walked away.

“Please, take my name!” She cried, scratching at a throat producing a too-deep voice. “It pains me every day as a shot filled wing does for you!” The crows squawked in a sad understanding, for they could not help.

Weiterlesen

[big8cola]

love talking about gender with other trans ppl. i say that my gender is a tea cup filled with pink cherry cola and everyone nods thoughtfully

[nonbinary-witches]

*gives deadname away to the fairies*

[transempowerment]

Kwanzaa was first celebrated in 1966 after having been created by professor of Africana studies, activist, and author Maulana Karenga to help give identity, purpose, and direction to African Americans.

Each of the seven days of Kwanzaa (between December 26 and January 1) correspond to the Nguzo Saba (the Seven Principles):

Umoja - Unity - To strive for and to maintain unity in the family, community, nation, and race.

Kujichagulia - Self-Determination - To define and name ourselves, as well as to create and speak for ourselves.

Ujima - Collective Work and Responsibility - To build and maintain our community together and make our brothers’ and sisters’ problems our problems and to solve them together.

Ujamaa - Cooperative economics - To build and maintain our own stores, shops, and other businesses and to profit from them together.

Nia - Purpose - To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.

Kuumba - Creativity - To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.

Imani - Faith - To believe with all our hearts in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders, and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.

Happy Kwanzaa to those who celebrate it. While it does not receive the same visibility or acknowledgement as other end-of-year holidays, it is important to include those who observe these seven days!

[ID: Graphic split in half. The left half is a photo of a kinara, a seven-space Kwanzaa candleholder. The right side is a brown gradient with white text describing the principles of Kwanzaa. The TEP logo and “Happy Kwanzaa” in white are at the bottom right.]

[cuerue]

hey so uh

Since the referendum in Russia has approved of Putin’s changes to Constituition, letting him stay in power until 2035, redefining marriage as “union of man and woman” and the government literally having talks about banning rainbow and comparing rainbow flags to nazi symbolism, it’s not been great for the LGBT+ community here.

In addition to that, we had the awful “Gay Propaganda” law since 2013 and the number of hate crimes towards LGBT+ Russians has increased greatly since then, and it’s likely to increase even more now.

So maybe consider donating to Russian LGBT Network to help us Russian gays out?

[lgbt-tiktoks]

[viridescent-serpent]

For developing and deepening a practice, my second greatest advice (we'll get to this) is to delve into primary sources (records, journals, grimoires) and scholarly articles. Both of these take certain skill sets of critical thinking that can be developed. Analyzing papers, pulling main ideas out, understanding the writers background and bias, determining if the subject is metaphorical or literal, etc. Take your time, mark it up with questions, define words and phrases that you're unfamiliar with.

90% of what I read are scholarly articles on the herbs I work with to better understand their traditional and current uses.

The greatest thing you can do, however, is put it into practice. Read something and then do something about it. Doing the work with your own hands is the best way towards growth. Write it all down, your successes and failures, and see where it takes you.

Once you've read a few introductory books, you can generally skip out on the rest for niche writings. The majority of witch/pagan books are written with beginners in mind, so it's an easy place to stagnate.

[aireina]

donate to black trans groups

the following organizations accept donations via Venmo, PayPal or Cashapp:

Homeless Black Trans Women Fund: supports Black Trans women that live in Atlanta and are sex workers and/or homeless

Trans Justice Funding Project: supports grassroots trans justice groups run by and for trans people, focusing on organizing around racism, economic injustice, transmisogyny, ableism, immigration, and incarceration

Trans(forming): membership-based organization led by trans men, intersex, gender non-conforming people of color, to provide resources and all around transitional support

Black Trans Men Inc.: the first national nonprofit social advocacy organization with a specific focus on empowering Black Transgender men by addressing multi-layered issues of injustice faced at the intersections of racial, sexual orientation, and gender identities

Kween Culture: provides programming towards social and cultural empowerment of transgender women of color

Heaux History Project: a documentary series and archival project exploring Black and Brown erotic labor history and the fight for sex workers’ rights

Tournament Haus Fund: mutual aid fund for protesters and trans/non binary BIPOC in the ballroom scene in Portland/Tacoma/Seattle

Black Excellence Collective Transport for Black NYC LGBTQ+ Protesters: raising funds to provide safe transport for Black LGBTQ+ protesters (NYC)

F2L Relief Fund: provides commissary support (and legal representation & financial assistance) for incarcerated LGBTQ+ and Two-Spirit POC in NY state

Trans Sistas of Color Project Detroit: uplifts, impacts and influences the lives and welfare of transgender women of color in Detroit

Black Trans Protesters Emergency Fund organized by Black Trans Femme in the Arts Collective: supports Black trans protesters with resources like bail and medical care

Black Trans Travel Fund: a mutual aid project developed to provide Black transgender women with the financial resources to self-determine safer alternatives to travel, so they feel less likely to experience verbal harassment or physical harm

Reproductive Justice Access Collective (ReJAC): a New Orleans network that aims to share information, resources, ideas, and human power to create and implement projects in the community that operate within the reproductive justice framework

the following organizations can be donated to individually or all-together via this split donation form that will split your donation amount to equal parts:

Okra Project/Tony McDade and Nina Pop Mental Health Fund: provides Black Trans people with quality mental health & therapy and addresses food security in Black trans communities

For The Gworls: provides assistance to Black trans folks with travel to and from medical facilities, and co-pay assistance for prescriptions and (virtual) office visits ⁣

Third Wave Fund: an activist fund led by and for women of color, intersex, queer, and trans people under 35 years of age to resource the political power, well-being, and self determination of communities of color and low-income communities; rapid response grantmaking, multi-year unrestricted grants, and the Sex Worker Giving Circle

Unique Womens Coalition (Los Angeles, CA): supportive organization for and by transgender people of color, committed to fostering the next generation of black trans leadership through mentorship, scholarship, and community care engagement work

Black Trans Women Inc.: a national nonprofit organization committed to providing the trans-feminine community with programs and resources 

SisTers/Brothers PGH (Pittsburgh, PA): A transgender drop-in space, resource provider and shelter transitioning program

Love Me Unlimited for Life: helps transgender community members reach their goals and fulfill their potential through advocacy and outreach activities

My Sistah’s House Memphis (Memphis, TN): designed to bring about social change within the Trans Community in Memphis by providing a safe meeting space and living spaces for those who are most vulnerable in the LGBTQ+ community

Black LGBTQIA Migrant Project: builds and centers the power of Black LGBTQIA+ migrants through community-building, political education, direct services, and organizing across borders; provides cash assistance to Black LGBTQ+ migrants and first generation people dealing with the impact of COVID-19

Taja’s Coalition at St. James Infirmary (San Francisco/Bay Area): navigating housing, medical services, legal services, and the workplace, as well as regularly training agencies

Marsha P. Johnson Institute: helps employ black trans people, build more strategic campaigns, launch winning initiatives, and interrupt the people who are standing in the way of more being possible in the world for black Trans people

Black & Pink Bail Fund: national prison abolitionist organization dedicated to dismantling the criminal punishment system and the harms caused to LGBTQ+ people and people living with HIV/AIDS who are affected by the system 

Black Visions Collective (MN): healing and transformative justice principles and develops Minnesota’s emerging Black leadership, creating the conditions for long term success and transformation

Middle Tennessee Black and Indigenous Support Fund (Middle, TN): a community fund for Black and Indigenous queer and trans folks to foster wealth redistribution in its larger community, direct the funds to Black and Indigenous community members, and build the leadership of Black and Indigenous community members

SNaPCo (Atlanta, GA): a Black, trans-led collaborative to restore an Atlanta where every person has the opportunity to grow and thrive without facing unfair barriers, especially from the criminal legal system

Brave Space Alliance (Chicago, IL): created to fill a gap in the organizing of and services to trans and gender-nonconforming people on the South and West Sides of Chicago

House of GG: a nonprofit, founded trans activist Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, that is raising money to build a permanent home for Transgender people  and be part of a growing network of Southern trans people who are working for social justice

TGI Justice Project: a group of transgender, gender variant and intersex people inside and outside of prisons, jails and detention centers challenging and ending human rights abuses committed against TGI people in California prisons, jails, detention centers

Trans Women of Color Collective: creates revolutionary change by uplifting the narratives, leadership, and lived experience of trans people of color

Youth Breakout (New Orleans, LA): seeks to end the criminalization LGBTQ youth to build a safer and more just New Orleans, organizing with youth ages 13-25 who are directly impacted by the criminal justice system

Translash: a trans-led project uses the power of individual stories to help save trans lives, shifting the cultural understanding of what it means to be transgender, especially during a time of social backlash, to foster inclusion and decrease anti-trans hostility

TRANScending Barriers:  empowers the transgender and gender non-conforming community in Georgia through community organizing with leadership building, advocacy, and direct services

My Sistah’s House: a trans-led nonprofit providing first hand experience and field research to create a one-stop shop for finding doctors, social groups and safe spaces for the trans community, providing emergency shelter, access to sexual health services, and social services

TAKE Birmingham: focuses on discrimination in the workplace, housing advocacy, support for sex workers, providing trans-friendly services, and working to alleviate the many other barriers that TWOC face

Dem Bois: provides charitable economical aid for female to male, FTM, trans-masculine identified person(s) of color ages 21 years old and older for them to obtain chest reconstruction surgery, and or genital reassignment surgery

G.L.I.T.S: approaches the health and rights crises faced by transgender sex workers

Emergency Release Fund (NYC): aims to ensure that no trans person at risk in New York City jails remains in detention before trial; pays cash bails

HEARD: Helping Educate to Advance the Rights of Deaf Communities: supports deaf, hard of hearing, deafblind, deafdisabled, and disabled people at every stage of the criminal legal system process, up to and including during and after incarceration

Black Trans Advocacy Coalition COVID-19 Community Response Grant: works daily to end discrimination and inequities faced in health, employment, housing and education to improve the lived experience of transgender people

Princess Janae Place: provides referrals to housing for chronically homeless LGBTQ adults in the New York Tri-state area, with direct emphasis on Trans/GNC people of color

The Transgender District: aims to stabilize and economically empower the transgender community through ownership of homes, businesses, historic and cultural sites, and safe community spaces

Assata’s Daughters (Chicago, IL): Black woman-led; organizes young Black people in Chicago by providing them with political education, leadership development, mentorship, and revolutionary services

Collective Action for Safe Spaces: A grassroots organization that uses comprehensive, community-based solutions through an intersectional lens to eliminate public gendered harassment and assault in the DC area.

The Knights and Orchids Society (TKO) work for justice and equality through group economics, education, leadership development, and organizing cultural work throughout rural areas in Alabama

The Outlaw Project (Phoenix, AZ): prioritizes the leadership of people of color, transgender women, gender non-binary and migrants for sex worker rights

WeCare TN (Memphis, TN): Supports trans women of color 

Community Ele'te (Richmond, VA): provides safe sex awareness and education, linkage to resources, emergency housing assistance

TAJA’s Coalition (San Francisco, CA): ending violence against Black Trans women and Trans women of color 

Black Trans Task Force: intersectional, multi-generational project of community building, research, and political action addressing the crisis of violence against Black Trans people in the Seattle-Tacoma area

The Transgender District: stabilize and economically empower the transgender community through ownership of homes, businesses, historic and cultural sites, and safe community spaces

Black Trans Media (Brooklyn, NY): #blacktranseverything storytellers, organizers, poets, healers, filmmakers, facilitators that confront racism and transphobia

Garden of Peace, Inc. (Pittsburgh, PA): for black trans & queer youth, elevates and empowers the narratives and lived experiences of black youth and their caretakers, guides revolutionary spaces of healing and truth through art, education, and mentorship

House of Pentacles (Durham, NC): Film Training Program and Production House designed to launch Black trans youth into the film industry and tell stories woven at the intersection of being Black and Trans

Minnesota Transgender Health Coalition (Minneapolis, MN): committed to improving health care access and the quality of health care received by trans and gender non-conforming people through education, resources, and advocacy

RARE Productions (Minneapolis, MN): arts and entertainment media production company for LGBTQ people of color that promotes, produces, and co-creates opportunities and events utilizing innovative artistic methods and strategies

Baltimore Safe Haven (Baltimore, MD): providing opportunities for a higher quality of life for transgender people in Baltimore

Transgender Emergency Fund of Massachusetts: recently helped organize a Trans Resistance Vigil and March through Boston, in place of the Boston Pride Parade that was cancelled due to COVID-19

Semillas: in Puerto Rico, the trans, gender non-conforming and queer communities are facing many obstacles to survival

Street Youth Rise Up: change the way Chicago sees and treats its homeless and street based youth who do what they have to do to survive

[transempowerment]

The holidays can be a tough time for our communities. When you are dealing with the pandemic, isolation or harm from family, and lack of funding for both basic needs and gifts, it can be hard to find the holiday joy of this season.

Whether you are feeling holiday cheer or not, we invite you to join us for six days of community fun and connection in our series “Peace, Love, & Trans Joy: A Virtual Home for the Holidays”! We want to give our community a space to come together safely and frequently for the holidays. Despite the hurt we have individually and collectively felt this year, we can be your home this season.

SIX DAYS OF ONLINE COMMUNITY FUN & CONNECTION:

12/26 - Mystery Holiday Theater 3000

12/27 - TBA

12/28 - Holiday Mixer

12/29 - Game Day (with prizes!)

12/30 - How to Support Your Trans Loved Ones During the Holidays with Evey Winters

12/31 - Movie night & New Year’s Celebration

[ID: Snowy teal background with a blue mountain landscape at the bottom. In the landscape, people in warm clothing are dressed and playing in the snow around a colorfully decorated house. The TEP logo and a white box are at the top; the box frames a gift and text reading “Peace, Love, & Trans Joy: A Virtual Home for the Holidays.” Centered white text reads “Join us for six days of online community fun & community! December 26-31.”]

[nonbinary-witches]

*gives deadname away to the fairies*

[physcosonic]

Hello witch community,

I have a sad struggle... I’m allergic to lavender. Though I don’t get any rashes or swelling right away, my main symptom is a raging migraine.

Is there anyway other flowers or anything to replace lavender in spells? I want to make more spell jars but lots of spells call for lavender. Any tips?

[teawitch]

Are you old enough to buy gin?

Substitutions are both easy, yet tricky, because it can depend on the correspondence process used in creating the spell. Classically Lavender is one of many Mercury plants and can be substituted with other Mercury plants. Mercury plants generally have sharp smells and often a hint of licorice. Substitutes would be herbs like marjoram or fennel (easily found in your local grocery store), licorice, lemon grass. If you grow flowers plants like dianthus (pinks), mullein and even orchids (for the air quality). Poinsettia (those are around a lot right now.)   

Juniper berries are also Mercury, hence the gin since Juniper used in making gin. Sandalwood as a scent. (Often masculine scent products or soaps have a combination of juniper and sandalwood if you’re looking for something for a cleansing bath.)

Now, your problem will be that these days a lot of people throw Lavender into a spell just because there’s a lot of lavender around rather than because of any understanding of classical correspondences so the question is - why is there lavender in the spell?  If it’s a simple cleansing spell, you can go with various sharp scents, like lemon on pine. If it’s romance oriented, dump the lavender and go for a Venus plant like roses. If it’s a tea - lemon grass or fennel seeds or marjoram depending on what you like. For baths or scents you wear look for juniper or sandalwood scents. 

Substitutions are always possible. 

[transempowerment]

This holiday season, check out TranSanta – a project on Instagram for gift giving to trans, queer, and intersex youth in need!

Trans young people, particularly our Black and Brown siblings, are under attack across the country and around the world. From the COVID-19 pandemic to institutional oppression and harm, our community needs some joy.⁣⁠

For the holidays, TranSanta is showing trans young people that they are loved, supported, and have a family around the country & world by posting the needs of trans youth and a registry where you can buy them their gifts.⁣⁠

“Anyone can be a Santa — join us! Transness is so beautiful and we are celebrating our magic!”

[ID: Brown gradient background with a white header and frame. On the header is a repost symbol, TranSanta’s Instagram username, and the TEP logo. Below is a screenshot of TranSanta’s promotional graphic.]

[stumpyshocky]

Dollar Tree Candle Recall

I haven’t seen this around here yet, but I bet some of yall thrifty witches buy candles from the dollar tree because they are a dollar and great (I like to get the 7-day votive candles).

Well guess what? There is a recall! Its only for the small votive candles called “Sure Scents 2-1 Peaceful Stream/Moonlit Waves” in which the wax can catch fire and break the glass (doesn’t sound so peaceful to me).

Small votive candles sold exclusively at Dollar Tree stores are being recalled because they pose fire and burn hazards.

According to a recall notice posted on the Consumer Product Safety Commission website, 142,740 Sure Scents 2-1 Peaceful Stream/Moonlit Waves Candles are part of the recall and consumers should immediately stop using the candles.

“The candles’ high flames can ignite the surface of the wax or cause the glass to break, posing fire and burn hazards,” the notice said, noting no injuries have been reported but there have been “two reports that flame height reached above the glass, causing the glass to break.”

Adco Trading Inc. of Missouri City, Texas, imported the candles, which are approximately 2 ½ inches tall with a powder blue color wax in a glass votive, the notice said. They were sold at Dollar Tree stores nationwide from July through September 2020 for $1.  

Just passing this information along! Be safe out there and if you bought this candle between July-September 2020 (for $1 - just thought that was funny, of course its only a dollar, its the dollar tree) DON’T USE IT.

Source

“Candle recall: Nearly 143,000 candles sold at Dollar Tree recalled as high flames could pose fire, burn hazards.” Kelly Tyko, USA TODAY, 12/04

[nb-lesbian-positivity]

[Image Description: The background is the nonbinary lesbian flag. There is black text that says “The Nonbinary Lesbian Discord Server!”]

Hello! I’ve decided to create a discord server for nonbinary lesbians, including those who are questioning whether they are nonbinary and/or a lesbian. 

Here are some of the basic rules for the server:

✘ No TERFs or transmedicalists

✘ No racism, transphobia, etc.

✘ No men or non-lesbians

I’ve decided to make it so you need to fill out a short application to join, just to keep trolls and other bad people out of the server as best as I can

Here is the application!

[nb-lesbian-positivity]

I’ve decided to open up the server for a few days, no application needed while this link works https://discord.gg/fmfEnBX