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ahathoor

aeonaut-deactivated20150412

Pergamon incantation bowl (Gnostic talisman disc), from Sir Wallis Budge’s “Amulets and Talismans”

prometheus-rewound

You know what aspect of Dionysus literally never comes up?

Dionysus— god of fermentation. Of rot. Of life after death. Of decay that brings new life into existence. Of fungi and decomposers.

Decomposition is a kind of Sparagmos. Cell by cell you are torn apart and fed back to the gods.

ginandjack

This is an excellent train of thought. Decomposition is an equal part of the growth process, how life is reborn, duff and mycelium growing new life, but on another level? Yeast. Yeast is a fungus, and though the ancients didn't understand the science behind it, no honey or tea or fruit would ever have made wine or beer without fungus. We watched drunken squirrels and became aware of things getting weird in the cistern. The change from base to sublime is in the yeast. Simple organisms (Saccharomyces and Brittanomyces, etc) who colored the fruit and leaves "glaucis" (green blue, blue green, silvery green) aka with a white cast.

Glaucus, you see, is the other child of King Minos who was receiving prophecy about a miraculous cow who changed the colors of the mulbery fruit (underripe mulberries can be hallucinogenic, did you know?) who drowned in an omphalos/a vat of honey. Honey and mulberry, and the glaucus, the divine sheen of yeast making divine honey wine (don't worry Polyidus resurrected him because that's part of the Mystery, right?)

As someone who brews devotionally, I can rant about yeast a lot. Yeast as change, as fire, as the chemical reaction through heat, like the chemistry symbol delta, the first letter of Dionysos' name because He's present in that change. Yeast as the spirit horde, the coterie of Dionysos, the way community is integral to our survival, and the community together makes something sacred from our base matter.

Tending brews, compost, or a "reverse kathiskos" (like a controlled mini compost in a bottle from old offerings or the replaced kathiskos contents) can all be direct ways to interact with the fungal Dionysos.

I'm gonna stop while I'm ahead, but anyway, Mycogenous, the fungal Dionysos is extremely interesting and I believe there's entire Mysteries there too, if you're looking.

khangi

What Native people say about the use of sage: you can use sage, but you cannot smudge as nothing you are doing (waving sage around) is actually smudging. Smudging is a ceremony and you are, we promise, not smudging. Please buy sage from either us, or someone who sources the sage from us. White sage may not be considered endangered by the US government but corperate sourcing is making it difficult for us to source sage for our own religious purposes. Let alone to sell it.

What white people hear: never use sage ever, don’t ever buy it, don’t own it, don’t even look at it.

Look, y’all. There’s a couple of facets to my talk today.

1) Yes! You can buy sage! You really, truly can! Buy it from either native sellers (go to a powwow! Eat our food, buy our stuff, watch some dancing!) Or buy it from a seller who sources the sage from native people. Pick one. And no, buying it from 5 Below doesn’t count.

2) you CANNOT smudge. This isn’t just you “shouldn’t”— this is a YOU ARE INCAPABLE OF SMUDGING. Waving a sage stick around your doorways IS NOT SMUDGING. It is smoke clensing. Smudging, depending on the tradition and tribe, could easily have dancing and drums involved. You, as a white person, do not have the cultural BACKGROUND to even know how it works. At all. Period.

3) please, for FUCKS SAKE, stop making posts here on tumblr where you tell other white people about cultural appropriation and what they can and cannot do. Please stop, your license has been revoked because none of you bother to get the facts right. We native people are FULLY CAPABLE OF DOING IT OURSELVES. Consider instead: a) reblogging our posts where we talk about it! We’re here! We have made posts!! b) Making a post that states what we said and then LINKS BACK TO US. Screenshot with a link if you must. Stop centering your own voices in these conversations. You are already centered in everything, stop centering yourselves in a native space.

I’m tired of this nonsense, y’all.

Thanks for coming to my TedTalk ™

death-witch-envy

Can’t agree enough with point #3 especially. That’s a big problem here on Tumblr.

nonalimmen

cryptotheism

What's your take on the idea that witchcraft is one of the world's oldest spiritual traditions?

Its not. The "witch cult" hypothesis is largely unsupported by history.

I also think that the desire for "witchcraft" to be this unbroken universal religion that's existed for thousands of years kinda defeats the purpose of witchcraft. Its a GOOD THING that witchcraft isn't centralized. Can you imagine if there was some kinda Witch Pope? Its a good thing that modern witchcraft its a mishmash of literally hundreds of different religious and philosophical ideas from throughout history. The fact that no two people do witchcraft the same but can still find a sense of community in their practices is a good thing.

hagoftheholler

Person: I was doing spellwork using a candle I had dressed with oils and herbs, and the candle's flame spiked up so much! The candle melted so quickly after that, I think that means it worked!

Another Person: I lit my 7-day deity candle that was dressed with dried herbs and the flame went wild! I think that's a sign the deity like it!

Me: Your candles are literally coated with oils and herbs that are flammable and therefore will catch fire. They are dressed to the point where you can hardly see the candle anymore. What you have is a fucking fire hazard.

breelandwalker

LOUDER FOR THE WITCHES WHO DON'T THINK ABOUT FIRE SAFETY.

"Oh I did this cauldron spell and I was so tired and woozy after, I expended so much energy!"

You also burned a shit-ton of plant matter and incense in a closed room, genius, that's called smoke inhalation. Open the damn window.

traegorn

Also, tie your hair back.

Trust me.

mylifeforawinegod

Sometimes the gods will seem like they aren't there, but they are.

Sometimes you will feel like a small child learning how to ride a bike. You can feel the hands on your shoulders, you can hear their voice close by. Then, suddenly, you don't feel their hands and their voice is farther away.

They didn't abandon you in your time of need. They're watching you take everything they've taught you to apply it. They've got the band-aids if you need them, and they're standing at the top of the driveway watching.

They cannot pedal that bike for you. They cannot hold onto the bike so you never fall.

They're watching you and they are proud. They are proud even if you fall down or crash.

Don't panic. Now's your time to show them what you've learned! Go as far as you can. You're not alone.

callmealioness

Aphrodite is the sky- She’s the daughter of Ouranos, the primordial god of the sky, and she’s referred to as ‘Aphrodite Ourania’ meaning ‘The heavenly’

Aphrodite is the sea- Before coming to the shores of Cyprus she resided in depths of the ocean, her love story with Nerites takes place in her time living underwater. She’s also called ‘Anadyomene’ which means ‘The Goddess rising out of the sea’

Aphrodite is the earth- When she walks, flowers spring up from under her feet. She created the myrtle and red roses. She was worshipped in Cnossus as ‘Aphrodite Antheia’ which means ‘The blooming’ or ‘The friend of flowers’ and the most common offering to Aphrodite was flowers

Here’s a fragment of the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite: “Muse, tell me the deeds of golden Cyprian Aphrodite, who stirs up sweet passion in the gods and subdues the tribes of mortal men and birds that fly in air and all the many creatures that the dry land rears, and all the sea”

home-of-monsters

Things that need to die in the Pagan spheres:

That horrible “accusing a Pagan of worshiping Satan” graphic

That horrible “shamanic view of mental illness” article

“Christians stole [insert random holiday here!!”

recreationalwitchcraft

“Smudging”

thesabbit

-“spirit animal” -“g*ps*” style

breelandwalker

“All witches must follow the Threefold Rule!”

“All witchcraft = Wicca / Wicca is the only TRUE witchcraft!!”

“There’s no such thing as Christian witches!”

“OMG TEH BURNING TYMEZ KILLED MILLIONS”

“Real Witches Don’t Curse!”

Applying Maiden-Mother-Crone to every goddess with more than one aspect

All that antisemitism

crazycatsiren

White magic and black magic.

ofwoodandbone

Why would you be against the new age movement? Like what is wrong with people becoming spiritually enlightened, amethyst on the forehead and all I still think it’s better than the past’s huge emphasis on abrahamic religions.

Because nearly everything within the movement is a misinterpretation of actual traditions. It found its inception when misinterpreted Eastern philosophies found their way into Europe and was only built onto further with inaccurate information from other botched historical theses, stolen and misinformed approaches to native traditions, along with information which has been completely fabricated and sold (quite literally, as the movement has a long history with pyramid schemes and gimmicks) as factual truth. It can’t be spiritual enlightenment if it’s misinformation and flat out lies. It’s fantasy and dream-addled nonsense. If you honestly think it’s less harmful, I strongly urge you to read up on how it’s infected and harmed Native traditions, both in America and in other countries. It’s incredibly damaging and misleading. And though this is the less important part, from a magical perspective, most popular New Age ideas on magic are completely nonsensical. Magic is both a science and an art, with an incredibly long history of study behind it. New Agers tend to throw all of that out and say ‘It’s just about belief’, some even carrying it into placebo territory, when that’s not it at all.

deerhoofandrabbitsfoot-deactiva

I recommend a documentary called “White Shamans and Plastic Medicine Men”. It can be found on Youtube. It shows how white bastardizations of Native American traditions really harmed the Indigenous people of North America. And it came out in 1996. This is not a new problem. This is not something we’re just now talking about. Native people have pointing out the harm New Agers have been doing for over 20 years. We’re just now choosing to listen to them.

breelandwalker

Not to mention the pipeline that exists from certain New Age beliefs to anti-science and anti-medicine conspiracy theories. (Put. The essential oils. DOWN.)

stagkingswife

(In case anyone wants to watch White Shamans and Plastic Medicine Men it’s free on YouTube)

libraford

I am literally begging you all to think critically about your practices and question where they come from. Not just the culture they’re claiming to be from, but potential motives of the person trying to sell it to you.

Always be asking yourself why.

breelandwalker

PSA - Reclaiming the "Old Ways"

Not everything that's a folk tradition is also folk magic.

And not everything that's folk magic is witchcraft. Plenty of folk magic practitioners would even be offended by the term.

And furthermore, not every folk magic tradition that we MIGHT consider witchcraft by today's standards needs to be "reclaimed" by the modern witchcraft community.

Not everything that looks like witchcraft IS witchcraft, the determining factor being whether the person doing the thing or creating the object intends it to be witchcraft or not. We need to respect those boundaries and we never call anyone a witch (or their practices witchcraft) who does not accept the term for themselves.

Sometimes a simmer pot is just a simmer pot.

breelandwalker

And just to make something perfectly clear for the three people who have gotten the wrong damn idea....

My personal pantheon include some Norse deities, my husband looks like a Viking, and I occasionally discuss folklore and folk magic.

NONE of that means that I am "folkish" or that I'm at all in alignment or agreement with that bullshit. Keep your bigotry out of my paganism and your dog whistles the fuck away from my practice.

White supremacists to the snake pit.

volgin

every holocaust memorial day, i always ask people to keep romani people in their thoughts, but this year i’d like to clear up some misconceptions that i see every year w/ a psa

romani people are not white. we’re south asian (from northern india), and each subgroup has a unique racial makeup of asian/white/etc, in different amounts. this is also why we vary wildly in physical appearance/skintone

we still face oppression. what we face, especially in europe, can still be constituted as attempted genocide, as we’re forced to live in hazardous conditions or to give away our children, be sterilized, etc just for the crime of being roma

the ‘g slur’ isn’t just an american issue. the reason some european roma prefer the slur is because, in many countries, there is no term for roma that isn’t a slur, and it’s either the g slur or the literal translation of the n word. i’m romanian, and if you used the slur in my hometown, you’d get slapped, since we just use ‘roma’.

we live in every continent across the world. some of the largest romani populations exist in south america, predominantly in brazil. they are no more and no less roma than their european counterparts, and they, like romani in asia, africa, etc all face unique challenges and oppression.

we’re the largest ethnic minority in europe, and yet have almost no political power, no land ownership power (in some places, we’re forbidden from owning land entirely), etc. with very few reputable charities- a lot of us reject charity by principle, as well as there being a general lack of education about us- the best thing you can do to help romani people is to just spread information, and help individuals when you can.

themori-witch

How to Pronounce the WotY Sabbats:

IMBOLC is pronounced as "um-bol-ck".

OSTARA is pronounced as "oh-star-uh".

*BEALTAINE is pronounced as "byal-tin-ah".

LITHA is pronounced as "lee-tha".

LUGHNASADH is pronounced as "LOO-nah-sah".

MABON is pronounced as "mah-bun".

SAMHAIN is pronounced as "sow-in".

YULE is pronounced as "yool".

*Beltane is the Anglicised spelling of Bealtaine.

If you want to hear the pronunciations, I have a video [here].

skaldish

I will forever be baffled by why some people want strict rules and taboos in Norse heathenry.

skaldish

I’ve talked to people from Scandinavian countries whose families have been practicing for generations and they tell me, in paraphrase, “Yeah, we just vibe.” As far as I can tell, only certain Scandinavian magical practices actually have rules, and these practices are treated as nondenominational (i.e. not specific to Norse paganism) for the most part.

gefdreamsofthesea

Some people seem to have the impression that "real" religions have strict rules and if you aren't being rigorous in your religiosity you're doing it wrong.

It reminds me of a debate I had with a Catholic where the argument was basically "if you're not suffering you aren't in a religion".

skaldish

If you aren't

what?

mywitchyvibe

I’ve been told that so many times by various Christian sects. It’s the belief that pain makes you stronger and brings you closer to God. Like suffering is the key to ascension... much like how Christ suffered on the cross. It’s super dark and personally I find the notion horrifying to teach others. I also find it hilariously ironic that modern fan clubs are trying to police ancient systems. Pretty sure if it’s existed for thousands of years already, it doesn’t need your help Debra.

skaldish

That smacks of sadomasochism.

skaldish

I just don't get why people, upon realizing the toxicity of this dynamic, will continue to build structures that trade in their agency and inherent worth for rules and dogmas that basically state "you're a piece of shit unless you can prove otherwise."

I truly don't.

It's my belief that this dynamic is the mark of white imperialism in this day and age. This is the mind-barrier that prevents people from accessing what is righfully theirs; their personal sovereignty and inherent right-of-being.

I know a lot of it is Christian conditioning and an instilled fear of the unknown and "but what if I'm doing it wrong?" And don't be fooled; I still have to fight similar conditioning despite my areligious upbringing.

(Hell, there was a time where I was afraid of taking my own agency at all because the idea was so big and foreboding. But that didn't mean I never wanted it. I just didn't feel ready at the time, and I knew that.)

But I understand the conditioning part. What I don't understand is when people choose to agree with the idea of earned worth. I don't get it when people flat-out reject the idea they are entitled to their own personal sovereignty, even after rejecting Christianity. If someone had told me "your worth and wellbeing is inherent to your existence" at any point in my life, that statement would have burned itself into my skull.

I know I sound super flabbergasted, but I'm truly not being hyperbolic at all. I'm genuinely trying to understand where this conscientious rejection comes from. Please, Tumblr, I'd love to be enlightened.

theskepticalwitch

Why the “Law of Attraction” is actually a toxic mindset

Note: The Law of Attraction I am discussing comes from the New Thought Movement.

What is it?

The Law of Attraction is, in very simple terms, toxic positivity. It tells you that no matter what, as long as you think positive thoughts that everything will be okay, that as long as you manifest positivity, everything will work out. It says that everything (yes, everything) in the universe can be influenced by your thoughts alone. However, that’s not true, and we know that.

Why is it toxic?

The quick answer is that physical issues cannot be cured or fixed by thought alone. What is a physical issue or cause? Think of disease, which can be caused from abnormalities in genes, viruses, bacteria, fungi, and environmental toxins. These things are all physical, and they need physical solutions. We cannot wish away cancer, we cannot change our vibrations to heal tumors, we cannot banish Covid from our lives with magic, we cannot fix chemical imbalances with spells.

This is a dangerous narrative that the Law of Attraction paints, as it will get people to ignore the mundane world in favor of the metaphysical one. If you are ill, you need to seek out a medical doctor and/or therapist because this is the only way that you can get better. Physical issues need physical solutions. And I’ve seen too many people talk about curing their cancer or covid with crystals and herbs. That will not work. Crystals cannot heal your body. They cannot heal broken bones, they cannot heal you from Covid. This is not a debate.

What Can You Do Instead?

Now, I’m not one to point out a problem without also offering a solution. The safe method of the Law of Attraction is Positive Affirmations. These are things you remind yourself when you are feeling anxious, depressed, upset, or really anytime you feel you need to. Positive Affirmations are known to help you change your negative thought patterns, and in turn this can help you with your mental health. This is not a solution to all mental health issues, and you cannot think away a chemical imbalance.

Some examples of Positive Affirmations include:

I am loved.

I deserve love.

I am strong.

I am brave.

I am intelligent.

I am beautiful.

I am in love with myself and my body.

I will be kind to myself.

I respect myself.

I am worthy.

Conclusion

If you like spiritual healing and spiritual solutions, please only use them to heal your spirit. The same goes with energy healing. Your body is wonderful and it needs to be taken care of in the right way. You deserve to heal your body with advanced medicine and science. Love yourself enough, and love your spirituality enough to understand your limits.

nox-ex-undis

I dont think people actually understand what the "shadow" in shadow work actually is. It comes from the psychological definition of your shadow which is essentially all your repressed qualities. For example, if you were punished for expressing your anger, then that anger would potentially become a part of your shadow because it becomes suppressed and ignored. Your shadow can also include elements of trauma you've endured which is why it can be very physically and emotionally tiring to do shadow work.

Your shadow isnt going to overtake you like some demon and youre not going to "go crazy" if you frequently work with your shadow.

Shadow work at its core is therapy. It is identifying and re-unifying with the parts of yourself that you may have repressed. Equally, it is working through your trauma so that you may be more at peace, mentally, physically, and spiritually.

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