introduction post
howdy, i'm shay isiphoros! you can call me shay, izzy, or oracle; i do not care which name you use, so long as you use he/him (or whatever neopronouns you can think up) to refer to me. i'm an autistic, gender non-compliant butch lesbian in my 20s. i'm also a poet and writer; i'm working towards becoming a death doula and eventual hospice chaplain. my practice is best summarized as follows: i just really fucking love ancient religions and the desert. i'd love be mutuals and interact with any fellow pagans (of whatever persuasion), witches, spiritualists, etc! my tagging system is pretty simple. #i'm a rambling man (yes, like the waylon jennings song) is my tag for personal or otherwise miscellaneous text posts. all other tags are pretty self-explanatory, for the most part: #isis (and variations) for the goddess isis, #ancient art for ancient art, #greco kemetic pagan for things relating to my greco-kemetic polytheist practice, and so on.
my isis resources master post (always a WIP, i’m always adding stuff so check back periodically!): here !! my "grimoire" sideblog, where i post spells, ritual outlines, and more: wildwestwitchery other links: spotify (i have public deity-specific devotional and UPG playlists!) tiktok, ko-fi, youtube
the about-my-practice aretalogy
i am primarily an isaic cultist, a greco-kemetic polytheist, a magus, a deathworker, and a sonoran desert bioregional practitioner of eight plus years. what does all of that mean?
isaic cultist: i am devoted to the goddess isis and celebrate her mysteries as best as i can, given the fact that actual ancient mystery cults left so little ritual evidence behind lol. i'd also love to work towards becoming a hiereus, or ritual specialist, of isis, if possible. in short, i am dedicated to studying the cult of isis in depth, and i seek to develop a set of practices for my personal "cultic" use. of course, i am happy to share any resources, information, and most personal practices/rites with anyone who asks! greco-kemetic polytheist: i (try my best to) reconstruct and/or revive the spirit of ancient greek and kemetic polytheism, specifically the polytheism practiced across the eastern mediterranean from the classical (and especially hellenistic) period. i also dabble in anatolian and levantine/canaanite paganism. i worship (and will actively post/rb about): my longtime patron and spiritual mother isis, wepwawet, dionysos, hermes, prometheus, kybele, ba'al hadad i venerate: all of the theoi and netjeru, helios/selene/other titans, nymphs and other nature spirits, the akhu, the saints, mother mary IMPORTANT: i'm not trying to reconstruct the social order of ancient greece, egypt, or rome; i just want to worship the gods the way my siblings in faith did thousands of years ago. magus: i practice mageia, as in "non-normative religious practice" [from edmonds's drawing down the moon (2019)]. i also practice pharmakeia [herbalism meets more general green/hedge/kitchen witchcraft] and some straight-outta-the-PGM goeteia.
deathworker: i perform funerary rites, guide the spirits of the deceased to their afterlife (with their consent!), and perform healing rites for those left behind. i also consider my ancestor work to be part of this, as this is something i was initiated into by my ancestors.
sonoran bioregional practitioner: that's just a couple of long-ish words to say that i take care of the land, and i often find it taking care of me. the political and the spiritual are deeply intertwined for me, particularly in this area of my practice. fighting for restoring stewardship of the land i adore and live on is as much a part of my bioregional work as picking up litter, greeting the hill-guardian spirit i live by, harvesting creosote and brittlebush for spells, or complimenting the birds on my daily walk.















