#native american practices

[the-fox-jawed-witch]

Was just told that someone was a native American in a past life so they should be allowed to practice smudging.

Thats a new one.

[circuits-unending]

okay what the fuck do i do

my mom and i are native american, however. she is not exactly. close to her heritage. at all.

And she. Has bought white sage, and smudging tools from fucking Amazon. And is. Rationalizing it, by saying she is "pagan."

I am pagan. Have been pagan, for years. I dont use white sage and i do not smudge because i do not feel knowledgeable enough about my heritage for it to be appropriate for me to do so.

Help? She is not going to listen to me, she is going to use the "oh im pagan i have a different belief" and says she shouldnt have to buy from Native American owned businesses to get these types of items because she doesnt believe in it being closed!!! So?!?!?!?

HELLO? I really just need to know how I can protect our house from whatever she might fucking bring in here because shes getting involved in shit she doesnt know anything about.

[the-fox-jawed-witch]

Spirit Guides and Spirit Animals

A look into Open and Closed Cultures.

Spirit guides have been used in many, many, many practices. In ancient practices spirit guides were used exactly the way their name sounds. They were spirits that guided their people through different time periods, or just generally helped in ones craft. 

The use of spirit guides is still used today in the modern practices as well, for the same general idea. 

As stated above many practices throughout the world use their own forms of spirit guides. Native American practices are no different. Much like other practices Native American Spirit Animals are a sacred practice. 

While some practices are open and will allow you to work with their spirit guides, Native American practices are apart of a closed culture and that means that unless you are Native American you cannot practice them.

Such as the use of sage, white sage specifically as it's endangered. Another practice that's off limits is "smudging". Smudging is a sacred Native American practice.

Someone who is not Native American can not participate in smudging. What one is doing is simply smoke cleansing.

Just as how one cannot smudge, one cannot consider Native American spirit animals to be theirs. There are plenty of open practices that use spirit animals/guides that can be used in ones craft.

This is just one of many closed cultures that have been appropriated by witchcraft and should be explained for those who are now looking into witchcraft.

Cultural Appropriation is something that may happen with miscommunication or just straight up theft from closed cultures.

I'm going to be frank, many witches have appropriated from closed cultures simply because they feel as if a culture should not be closed and should not have any sacred traditions. They are downright selfish. Do not be one of these witches.

Open practices that also use spirit animals, or as they call them spirit guides or totems.

The Netherlands have Animal totems. In Norse Mythology there are the "fyljur". Ancient Greeks and Romans had Eudaimons.

Now a Spirit Totem is more of a sacred object where the Spirit guide is supposed to inhabit. Typically in the shape of an animal that is sacred to the person, family/clan.

In Norse mythology the term "fyljur" is used in place of spirit animal. Essentially it is similar and also different. "Fyljur" is actually said to be tbe correspondences of the gods. Or animal embodiments of tbe gods themselves. When recieving deity signs they may appear as the animals that represent them. Wolves, ravens and horses are associated with Odin. Goats with Thor, Foxes to Loki and Wild boars with Freyr and Freya. These deities take these animal forms to guide their followers.

Now the ancient Greeks and Romans didn't use a spirit in a form of an animal, they used what they call an Eudaimon or Eudaemon. This was a type of daemon or genius, which was just kind of a spirit. This never took a physical form, and by physical I mean a form that one can see rather than feel.

One open practice that I didn't mention above is the Ancient Egyptian practice of Zoomorphism. The Ancient Egyptians would give animal like qualities to anything that wasn't an actual animal. Such as depicting Bastet with the head if a cat. Other deities having animal body parts.

With the exception of Ancient Greeks and Romans, the other cultures that have incorporated animals, and see the animals as being wise creatures that can be used as guides there's no shortage of open practices.

Familiars.

These are another form of spirit guides from European belief. These however are not animal spirits, these are supernatural entities that would appear as an animal, not all of the time but from the records of people who claim to have made contact with a familiar that is the form those supernatural entities became. Familiars serve a witch, they help a witch with the witches magic.

Some were categorized as being demons, until later they were actually described to be more fairylike.

Neo- Paganism beliefs is where the concept that an actual animal, a living, breathing animal could be a familiar.

While I don't want to bash anyones beliefs and say that they are wrong I do want to point out that animals have extra senses that most humans do not. An animal can sense things that we have no idea could happen. Perhaps this is why Neo- Pagans believe their pets are familiars.

As a witch however it is your duty to know the history of the culture you wish to be apart of. It is your responsibility to understand the differences between the open cultures as well as the closed cultures, and to respect that which you are not apart of.

[the-fox-jawed-witch]

A quick History Lesson on Appropriation and when Native Americans were allowed to practice their own culture. (Heads up I am livid in this essay...)

So you know that white people suck (I'm white, I can and I will continue to say it), from creating a new religion that's stolen from other religions and cultures to murdering women and children (and some men!) to condemning different, non Christian (Catholic as well) religions to be that of "devil worshippers".

The USA has a set of amendments, the first, the reason why the founding fathers FLED Europe, is "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." In short, this means that the government can NOT stop you from practicing your religion.

However, this for some fucked up reason did not hold up when it came to the Native Americans. In fact, they were OUTLAWED from practicing their religion. Can you fucking imagine that? Some pasty ass white men come from another country, slaughter your people, steal your land, force you into tiny ass patches of land and then they fucking say "Hey so you can't practice that devil magic any more, convert to this religion that's stolen from other religions or suffer."

That's what happened. The Native Americans were treated and done so wrong by the white men that they were outlawed from practicing their religion because Pasty Ass Christian Man said it was Devil Worship.

It wasn't until 19-FUCKING-78 that the Native Americans were liberated from this persecution and oppression.

Congress and President Jimmy Carter passed and signed the "American Indian Religious Freedom Act" or the AIRFA. This meant that they could finally begin to practice their religion.

42 Years ago. 42 fucking years ago, the Native Americans were finally granted the right to practice their religion freely, without the fear of being thrown in jail or killed.

Holy fucking shit. My dad is 43 years old. That's insane. That's not that long ago. That's a recent event.

This was after white people appropriated most of their culture. White people deemed Native Americans as savages, as subhuman, less than. It's no fucking wonder some Natives are salty as fuck towards white people, especially white people who think they can do whatever practice they fucking want.

So no Karen, you cannot smudge, you cannot participate in a powwow, you cannot sleep in a fucking teepee, you should not dress like a Native American for Halloween.

Think before you fucking do people. Give respect where it should be given. Out of hundreds, thousands of OPEN cultures it should not be difficult for you to find something to practice.

[the-fox-jawed-witch]

As a witch who is not a POC I BEG my fellow non POC witches to stay out of their cultures and practices.

Native American practices are not yours. Hoodoo is not yours. Voodoo is not yours. Closed cultures and practices are not yours.

DNI: Made by the sweetest bean™ @fallout-and-dragon-age

[the-fox-jawed-witch]

I'm writing a beginner witches guide to witchcraft and it's history as well as the histories of different practices around the world so if you practice any sort of witchcraft and would like to share more about your practice please message me, especially if you are a witch of color. I would love to hear from all different types of witches and their practices.

-I am not curious for any reason besides research, I do not condone appropriation of any sort. This is simply to help others with their paths and to get a better understanding of witchcraft and it's practices/branches-

[snekdood]