On the Grey Wanderer's Path

Heathen | Folk Witch | Nonbinary/Genderqueer (they/them) | Antifa | Bad Polytheist™ | Ex JW | This is a Sideblog

[sarkos]

I mean...It's an improvement over the "Jesus wants you to be a sniveling worm" ads Tumblr usually sends me

[windvexer]

if you blow out candle you BLOW AWAY the MAGIC and ur spell goes pllphfphphphhhhhhbbb into the wind and WON'T WORK

[windvexer]

if you use a candle snuffer it will SMOOSH DOWN the MAGIC like u r throwing ur magic into the DIRT to FAIL and ur spell WONT WORK

[windvexer]

if you pinch out a candle with ur fingers ur SQUISHING ur MAGIC like u sqursh a BUG and it will say WHY DID U DO THAT i thought we were FRIENDS and ur spell WONT WORK

[windvexer]

if u let ur candle burn out all the way its like watching ur spell DWINDLE DOWN and DIE and ur magic will LOSE POWER and ur spell WONT WORK

[windvexer]

if u use a fire extinguisher u are EXTINGUISHING the POWER of ur MAGIC and burying ur intent under ANTI-MAGIC FOAM and ur spell WON'T WORK

[windvexer]

[windvexer]

[coldalbion]

Not for the first time, having done lecturing and disability consulting repeatedly, I keep feeling the urge to just bill myself as:

Wednesday Consultant.

[wizardarchetypes]

when i was homeless during undergrad i repeatedly had to stay in a dodgy motel bc it was the only one within walking distance to my school and overall it was better than it could've been bc the manager was really nice. i lived in several rooms but one in particular stays with me because someone wrote on the door in sharpie "CRAZY EYE AND HOTTIE" and for some reason it was so evocative to me as if their names somehow sanctified the space. my friend and i still invoke their names as if in prayer. it's been nearly a decade and we'll be somewhere sketchy and say like 'crazy eye and hottie, watch over us'

[wizardarchetypes]

you have to understand the state of mind i was in when i checked into the motel for the third time and i didn't have a microwave or kettle or anything so i was trying to get the bath water hot enough to cook my cup noodles and then i saw this

[wizardbones]

we need to be weirder & so so earnest now more than ever

[raider-official]

MODERN NORSE GODS

VIDARR, SON OF ODIN, STEALS YOUR PARTNERLESS SOCKS OUT OF YOUR DRYER’S LINT FILTER AND LAYERS THEM ALL ON ONE FOOT, PASS IT ON

[thegodwhocums]

this is an observation and perhaps lament, moreso than a complaint

the way the spirit of witchy/polytheist tumblr has shifted over the years from highly participatory (a plurality of bloggers sharing photos and writing about their own craft) to what feels like highly consumptive spectatorship (silent watching) OR highly polished marketing ("content creation" vs diary keeping and conversation) creeps me the fuck out and makes me want to stop sharing on here

and i know the folks i interact with on here are unusually active and responsive - there's just hundreds of others lurking and providing nothing to the conversation

so honestly it's fuckin dire and i am over it

[thegodwhocums]

honestly, if I think about it more, this isn't even a criticism, per se!

what I'm actually noticing is that I used to like it here and now i don't, i feel alienated and surveilled, and sad about that

[thegodwhocums]

I Don't Want Followers I Want Friends To Play With

[satyrmagos]

I really feel this, particularly as someone who is part of the problem.

Speaking for myself, the years I spent mostly on Facebook and Instagram after tumblr banned porn and all my friends left really wrecked my ability to interact online like a human. Those spaces really want to make users into influencers or customers, not communities, and trying to promote first the festival I was working and then promoting my own business in those spaces ....

Yeah.

So, I'm trying to do better and interact more. My success (and reception) have been mixed.

(Also, between hand pain and enshittification, I basically can't type on a cell phone, anymore, which means I have ~scrolling time~ on mobile, but have to go to a full sized keyboard to interact.)

tl;dr : playmates not accolytes is best

[dovesndecay]

I’ve created a new religion. Here me out. 

Instead of the wiccan “God” and “Goddess” 

we just have Carrie Fisher and Dolly Parton. 

[bluemorfedbutterfly]

I think pagans are very strong people. The lack of pagan representation, lack of temples, communities and overall acceptance of our religion hurts deeply. There is a reason why many people, including me, take big breaks from paganism. It is indeed very hard to stay consistent. The amount of doubts all of us are having when doing a certain practices is unimaginable, but we try, sometimes fail and try again. What I wanted to say is that no matter if you step away or feel like you are failing what you are doing is important . It keeps our religions alive and going. No matter how oppressed we are, we will not yield and we will continue to believe.

[upthewitchypunx]

Last night we were laying in bed and Buffy cat had the zoomies and was running around jumping on things. Ian B asked if she was chasing faeries. I said probably. Ian B asked if I could do a spell to make the faeries go away. I said I could, but the long standing agreement was that if they come in the house they get chased by cats. He said "nevermind, I guess the faeries are like the cats' personal trainer now"

Sometimes your house spirits just want to play with kitties too, ya know?

[gatheringbones]

please invent an imaginary friend to go to a museum with this winter please for the love of all things holy

[tehjleck]

please also remember that your imaginary friend is not a fucking deity and does not exist outside of your head... we have created enough fake gods in our history, we don't need anymore.

[gatheringbones]

feed it with blood and devotion. court it with candles and incense. chant its name in the small hours of the night. Stephanie, the Goddess of Being Slightly Less Socially Anxious In Museums, is already stepping coltishly out of the sea foam and the dawn has never been so bright.

[prodomius]

[anotherdayforchaosfay]

@friend-crow

[ethanmaldridge]

The nights are long,

The stars are bright,

Hear the bell's song,

It's Krampus Night!

[when-november-ends]

"i asked ChatGPT", "i asked Grok", well i asked Odin and he raised an eyebrow at me and told me to figure it out myself

[viserystargy-blog]

Afternoon offering to Loki. Sponge cake, fresh strawberries and whipped cream.

[seidrdom]

um……what? Strawberry shortcake as an offering? to Loki??? WHAT?  needless to say that is absolutely ridiculous in a myriad of ways.  *bangs head*

[tegidsystem]

Not everybody is a reconstructionist, and even for those who are, the lore doesn’t actually give much in the way of prescriptive offerings. Sorry, but I fail to see the problem here, beyond a disrespectful attitude and uninvited commentary towards somebody else’s belief system. -Isto

[seidrdom]

first off- anyone practicing heathen IS a recon. If you are not reconstructing an ancient worldview than all you are doing is reenacting (or not heathenry). BIG difference. secondly, there is a lot in the lore about offerings- nevertheless the reason WHY we give offerings is more important then the what, yes, but in what way shape or form, is a dessert a fit offering?  Once you have the worldview down, then you can offer things of substance. Something you picked up at the supermarket? perhaps not- MAYBE if it was part of a feast, or grown locally, but pretty sure that shortbread and whipped cream came straight from the grocery store. What value does that hold? What sacrifice is that? Monetary? Highly unlikely. It is not disrespectful, its an objective view from someone within the heathen community- if someone posts something on tumblr, a public forum, then it is open to public discretion and comment. And AS a heathen, it would be within heathen worldview to value such perspectives, it helps people grow. This isnt about being recon or not, its about honoring and worshiping in a worthy manner. WORTH, the old word from which WORSHIP comes from. Please explain the worth in strawberry shortcake from the supermarket and its relation to Loki.

[hishotandhaywireheart]

Just gonna say my piece.

I don’t consider myself a heathen in any way, or part of any organized group. Just a ragged-ended pagan.

I do what feels right. What Loki wants, He gets. Same for any god I follow, or any spirit at all. It doesn’t have to be ~elegant~ or classy food, hell, it can be dollar-store frozen pizza. If He wants it, He’ll get it. And if it’s what I have to offer, and He likes it, then why should any mortal give a fuck what kind of offering it is?

I personally don’t give a shit about trying to act like old Nordic peoples. Hell, I don’t consider Loki a solely Nordic god at all. Yes, the Loki persona comes from that tradition, and it is a good and rich one indeed. But my personal UPG sees Loki as an archetype, and the Norse trickster whose name I use for Him is just one of His many faces.

So if it’s strawberry shortcake He wants, it’s strawberry shortcake He’ll get.

[lokisnemandi-deactivated2012091]

People telling others what they can and cannot offer Loki…

Last I checked He liked sweets and that looks like something He’d love, so shut your corn hole.

[thegreenwolf]

Folks. Reality check. You’re arguing over whether a being we can’t even prove exists beyond our own subjective beliefs* would be pissed that someone got him a sugary treat from a grocery store. This is what I left Catholicism for?

*Don’t ask me how to empirically determine the existence of Loki. It probably involves uses of slide rules we mere mortals never considered.

[duskenpath]

^ THIS

[rootandrock]

This one time? Himself wanted animal crackers. Witchfather, lord of beasts and the sabbat, wanted Animal Crackers. BAD. It wasn’t “Please get me some the next time you’re buying treats” it was “GO INTO TOWN AND BUY ME THE LARGEST BAG OF ANIMAL CRACKERS THEY HAVE.” “But, Witchfather… Animal Crackers?” I asked, incredulous. “DO YOU HAVE ANY CONCEPT OF HOW DELICIOUS THEY ARE?” He answered. “Well, I mean… I suppose…” “AND SANDWITCH FUCKING BUTTER BETWEEN THEM.”

…. good point, My Half-Beast-Lord… good point indeed.

[achangingaltar]

Epic commentary is Epic, Rootandrock. I always like to explore traditional offerings, for obvious reasons, but I never shy away from non-conventional offering either.

Even if this was pried from the petrochemical clutches of some heinously cheap, clearance section, plastic grocery store container exactly as we see it, like some magical confection creation that disregards the laws of time and decomposition, it may still hold serious value for the OP. I literally moan when I drink pure cherry juice. Like, I make audible noises without realizing it. It only came to my attention because people were laughing. I would gladly offer cherry juice to any deity regardless of their traditional offerings, because I am saying “This juice. Oh man. This JUICE!!!! I want it. I want it sooo damned bad. But You get it all/first/now. Enjoy!” Maybe this dessert is just as valuable to the OP.

My mother actually hoards a particular kind of pop-tart in her office at work, because she can only find it in the US and doesn’t want us to eat them. She keeps them in a locked drawer in her office. If she were to leave one out as an offering, I would consider it a tremendously more meaningful offering from her than if she lit some incense, or left out a plate of apples and spices. Because she doesn’t give a fuck about those things. These pop-tarts require trips to another country, and she guards them with a freaking lock and key! An offering is a sacrifice; if you are taking something that you could just as easily eat yourself, and enjoy to the point of making audible noises, but instead give it over to the gods, you are sacrificing the physical food, but also your emotional satisfaction in order to please Them.

In summation; My offerings don’t need to please you, they are for my gods!

[xxxmistressofmiseryxxx]

Heathen, offering, strawberry, shortcake

[gettheetoarookery]

I had to do a good bit of digging, but I found the Spongecakegate thread I was telling you guys about, @graveskeeper and @hearthly-concerns.

[upthewitchypunx]

Never forget SpongeCakeGate!

[poeticnorth]

Pagan writers when talking about female deities: "They're a mother goddess"

Pagan writers when talking about male deities: "Well, their role and function is a lot more complicated and important than just just being a father god, and here's a 10k word essay discussing why they're more than just a father god"

[grimnirs-child]

See also: "ahhh these less-attested Goddesses are all just *aspects* of this more prominent Goddess"

[crabwarlock-deactivated20260108]

Me explaining my craft:

So you see, my money incense is actually taking coins and putting them with hot water and certain herbs. The steam extracts the spirits of the coins, the herbs and let's them out into the area and I also get a funky little potion to anoint money bags with.

Yes, this can apply to anything. Nothings preventing me from putting a nail into hot water with salt and black pepper to make a binding water incense and ablution...

[windvexer]

treating the coin spirits to a nice little sauna so they leave big tips on their way out the door