Does anyone have a specific book of Homeric hymns that they would recommend? I’m looking at getting one, but I’m not sure which translation/publisher would be best.
I don’t want to settle for the most popular option if it’s not necessarily the best in terms of translation. Perhaps you know of a version that has more than just Homer’s hymns as well? Please let me know :) ☀️💛
the other night i recommended my gf put amethyst under her pillow to help with sleep and so they put their amethyst in a bag under their pillow. and this morning she saw that the bag suddenly had feathers (white and brown) in it along with the amethyst she put in. now obviously mundane over magickal, so first thought would be pillow=feathers but the pillow wasn’t broken and the bag was fully sealed. thoughts?
and as ever I am asking a question for those more experienced in the pagan community than me. I'm looking at really focusing on my practice more, and one of the exercises I've seen in a book I'm starting to work through is a meditation to connect with your ancestors.
Now ... I don't resonate with any of my known ancestors... and I don't have a connection with any of them... indeed in terms of ancestors I don't.... know who I resonate with the strongest, so I'm not sure how to proceed. Is there anyone here who can give me some advice, as to how to proceed? Especially as one of the steps includes 'focus on a visualisastion of your ancestors'
I’m feeling a bit nervous to even ask (since things can get heated on tumblr) but I want to double-check my understanding of how pagan and Christian traditions relate to each other.
Christian holidays like Christmas and Easter are not “stolen” from pagan faiths. Christians have their own unique beliefs and rituals. Christians did not viciously steal pagan traditions or do anything that we should hate them for. Nor did Christians do anything that makes their own holidays less important or full or meaningful today.
However, it is also true that some aspects of Christian traditions have older roots in the pagan practices/beliefs of various groups in Europe. As Christianity spread, people’s beliefs changed and the symbolism/celebrations of many pagan/folk traditions blended with Christian ideas and celebrations. Eventually, this created the uniquely Christian holidays we know today. It is a natural thing that, when large groups of people slowly shift world views (like from pagan/folk beliefs to Christianity) some family/local traditions, superstitions, and myths remain even in the later generations who believe fully in the new faith. These traditions/superstitions often gain new meanings for those who practice them, and even symbolism that remains comes to have new connections (like the Holly Tree (known by some for the tenacity of life even in the death of winter) came to be connected to the suffering and resurrection of Christ (’Christ’s foot’) lazy citation).
One Example: the Christmas tree has connections to older pagan practices and views of evergreens and winter time. When pagan and Christian views met centuries ago, a new view of the evergreen and yet another twist on its meaning and use arose. The Christmas tree of the 21st century is quite removed from those pagan roots, and it is neither ‘stolen’ nor un-Christian.
Let me know if this makes sense and if it is a reasonable/accurate view of the connections between paganism and Christianity.
Please be respectful in replies, I am certainly making myself vulnerable right now by asking for feedback on my own understanding of what I’ve read and heard over the years.
I, nor my sister, haven't seen my cat since a bit before 7 yesterday evening. Now my cat is normally a super needy, clingy little thing where is she isn't asleep on one of the posts in front of a window she's normally past out on me. But last night after I came up stairs to have some fries I went back down into my room to continue working on my Halloween costume and figured I didn't have to bring her down for the night (I like to sleep with my door closed and I mean they have full run of the basement so it's not like just a tiny room) and before I knew it it was after midnight and I wanted to finish this one thing before calling it a night. And so basically long story short my cat is missing, at first I thought she had just decided to sleep in one of the beds upstairs (at one point or another each of those rooms had been mine and she fairly old so maybe she just forgot we live in the basement) so I didn't think to look to hard around, not wanting to wake anybody up and get yelled at. But since then I've checked everywhere both inside and outside the house and I don't know what else to do... If anybody has any ideas (spells or otherwise) to help bring my muffin back home I'd greatly appreciate it. PS, I'd be lying if I said that I could accept this was the whole "cats run away when they're dying" thing but I can't....I know that she's pretty old, like I found her at an ASPCA so we have no idea how old she actually is. I'm assuming she was at least a year old so that would make her at least 14 with rheumatoid arthritis which caused her to lose all her teeth years ago as well a black cat who was probably the runt since she's so tiny....but she is the longest consistent in my life and I'm not ready to lose her just yet
Yes, hi, hello, so in particular I need help from other pagans and witches out there. If any of you are Slavic/Rodnover, that’s even better because my question relates to this field in particular. I still invite everyone, as this is a fairly interesting question y’all may enjoy answering.
I’m adding a “read more” just because it may be a long post. It’s a tattoo question, specifically.
To make it easier for everyone if they just want a short question: There’s a symbol in Ukrainian culture (and by extension, probably a lot of various Eastern European cultures) called the Eternity Band or Безконечник. It bears a lot of various properties such as eternity, movement, cycles, and protection. The way it does the protection is by trapping demons within the band. Unsure of whether it traps the demon within the band itself or within the object the band wraps around. I’m compelled to tattoo it on me (particularly my right arm.) Is that a good idea?
So, a little background: I’m Ukrainian-American. My mother’s family comes from the city of Brody in Western Ukraine (well, to be specific, it was various political families’ at first, then Polish-Lithuanian, then just Polish, then Habsburg, then Austrian, then I think Galician/Lodomerian?, then Polish, then USSR, then finally Ukraine.) Essentially, Eastern European as fuck. I was raised with Ukrainian influences, learning some various words like Kielbasa and ice cream and please and thank you and hello and goodbye, Ukrainian art all over the place (especially grandma’s house, my gods), learning Slavic folklore, etc. But I always wanted more, which got exasperated when I started identifying as pagan about eleven years ago. But, my family was Eastern Orthodox so I didn’t really learn anything about Slavic paganism/Rodnovery until very recently.
Why is all that important, you ask?
Well, as you read above, there is the symbol of the eternity band. You see it frequently used in Ukrainian art, in pysanky, in tapestries, in pottery, you name it. I’ve always loved it because I love circles and labyrinths and cycles. I’ve been doing some digging into it and turns out that it’s a protective symbol. If a demon enters your house and comes across the band, the demon will be sucked into it, fated to wander the endless curves of the band for eternity. There’s no real stating of what would happen if the band breaks for whatever reason (eggs/pot breaking, tapestry burned/torn up, etc.) Which leaves me with a lot of questions. Is the band eternal so that it will continue energetically throughout time, even if the physical form is broken? Is the demon sucked into the actual band itself, or is it sucked into the object the band is encircling, or what? If someone or something touches the object or the band in question, is the demon able to pass through the bonds over to the other person/object (doubt it)? The questions go on and on.
As a much less magic-related note, I really want something to display my pride in being raised Ukrainian-American. I feel a certain love for Ukraine, even if I’ve never been. I’m not at a right to display Ukrainian pride like native Ukrainian people, but I would greatly enjoy having a token of my pride on my body somewhere. Tattoos hold a special meaning for me, so, something as lifelong as my heritage would be fantastic as such.
So, as stated above, what do you, personally, think about the idea of an eternity band as a tattoo? What do you think of the magical/energetic implications of having it on a living body (Anyone who knows Ainu paganism is especially welcome to discuss the implication of a human body vs. an inanimate body.)
I’m doing my own research on the topic, trying to connect with Mokosh and Perun and Baba Yaga, and other things. I’d just like other pagan opinions on the matter~
Thank you for your time, and have a wonderful week!
