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Category: regular
Religion isn’t Dead
It’s 2018 and I’m tired of writers crowing triumphantly: “Religion belongs to the past, to those unenlightened times of ignorance and stupidity”.
It’s 2018, and someone types, “These unthinkable beliefs”, self-satisfied with their own foibles and flaws because at least they toe the party line, at least they’re not silly.
It’s 2018 and a man says, “If someone told you they were a witch, you’d think they were crazy. What, are you going to a coven meeting later?” to a gale of laughter.
But it’s 2018 and we’re still here. You can’t sweep us under the rug or erase our existence because it’s inconvenient to you.
It’s 2018 and temples are being risen, priests are being chosen, hymns are being sung.
It’s 2018 and you admire the statues of gods in ancient Greece. You have an Ancient Egyptian god as your avatar. You read the Norse myths and beliefs. You consume and enjoy and praise these things, and never once does the irony hit you that not one of these things would exist without that thing you so denigrate: religion.
It’s 2018 and we’re not going anywhere. Whether you like it or not.
should I delete all of my Jory threads and start a new?
Working on revamping this blog!
On Worshipping Gods People Believe Are Dead
It’s winter, which
means it is negative
seventeen
degrees outside, which means
I’m on the rooftop
burning incense again,
prayer
keeping my lips from freezing off.
I
hear Her tell me to go back inside before
the
cold makes me die up there, but I tell
Her
that She is fire enough- the sketch of
a
lion on a scrap of paper in front of me,
the
epithets scrawled in blue ink on my
forearm
where my long sleeves can hide
them.
Accidentally saying oh gods in class
and
pretending I just really love Rick Riordan.
She
finds me in my dreams and tells me She
will
be here when it is safe for me to worship
Her
but I shrug Her worries off, I am Her
lion
cub, I am young and still soft but I was
built
to survive. Remind Her the Gods-
not
just my Gods but the rest as well- are
always
calling out. This is resurrection
by
worship and my mother’s church does
not
feel holy. I call myself devotee, I call
Her
patron. Somewhere, a girl is learning
to
put claws on, the burden of life as a battle.
Somewhere,
Sekhmet is teaching them how
to
properly slash and stab, how to win a fight,
and
how to forget. Somewhere, a girl is
learning
how to love enough to hold her
family
together. Somewhere, Hethert is
teaching
her that it isn’t her job to keep
wood
from splintering. Somewhere,
Serket
is teaching her to be the stress on
the
beam if she has to be. To survive.
Somewhere,
Bast is teaching a woman
how
to love her strange, wonderful daughter.
Right
here, I light the candles with a lighter
I
stole from my father’s desk. I use my body
to
shelter the flame from the wind.
Near Complete List of Known Ancient Egyptian Divinities
Please note that this list is written to the best of my knowledge and should not be considered an authority! Mistakes can and will be made!
Due to time/energy constraints and always learning something new, this list will be updated when needed. I’m afraid I can’t provide links within the list because of the sheer number of divinities, but my inbox is open to questions about the divinities or the resources in which I discovered Them!
I also will not be listing foreign divinities worshiped in Egypt, such as Anat. Egyptian versions of foreign divinities will be included, as well as syncs involving foreign divinities, but otherwise this is strictly the Egyptian pantheon.
If you know of a divinity not shown in this list and have the resources to back Them up, please let me know!
HEY
please please please censor
a//pe//p’s name
names have power
don’t forget that
Okay this might seem silly to some, but I’m actually gonna elaborate a little. Names, and words, have power indeed. Intent is what powers witchcraft.
Speaking ANY God’s name, unless doing so in a specifically bad context, gives a God power. If you don’t like a particular god, in fact if you outright loathe one, do not speak Their name. Create a nickname, and use that instead, or, yes, censor it.
Admittedly, it does not give them as much power as, say, offerings or devotion or prayers, but it adds up, similar to how hoarding change in a jar can add up to astronomical amounts if left alone.
Also a reminder; our belief, devotion, and even acknowledgement is like food and water to Gods and Goddesses; it is what sustains them.
something i wish that was asserted more in general pagan spaces: it’s okay to choose your gods.
what i mean by this is, a lot of people will boast about how ~their gods came knocking, not the other way around~ and how finding The Sign that a god is expecting your worship is tantamount to proper pagan religious practice. and while these things can absolutely be a part of any practice, the flip side is rarely, if ever, discussed at all.
it’s okay to look at a religion and decide you want to be that religion (barring closed religions, of course). it’s okay to say, “these are the gods i want to worship” and then just go about your business worshiping them. while many of us will sort of backtrack and look at things that happened in our lives and say, “yep, i was oblivious, but that was ____”, the decision to worship is ultimately ours.
the Theoi didn’t grab me by the hair and demand my worship. Apollo didn’t kick me in a dream and tell me to worship him. being a hellenic polytheist, and everything that entails, was and IS a conscious choice. it is my choice to abide by hellenic ethics, to indulge in hellenic traditions, and to worship the Theoi.
it’s okay to choose your gods. just because you’re not getting some Ultimate All-Encompassing Sign from the gods you want to worship, it doesn’t mean your worship is in vain or means nothing. it’s okay to choose to be religious. it’s not shameful to choose to be religious.
How to Read Your Candle 🕯
(Pyromancy, specifically… aka reading your candle’s flame)
High flame: your spell is strong along with the magick surrounding you
Low flame: there is something opposing your spell. It might be you, a deity, or the magick in general that believes you shouldn’t do this spell or maybe your magick isn’t strong enough at the time of your spell (try meditating more or practicing more if you think this is the case)
Crackling or popping flame: conversation! Your deities or spirits are trying to speak to you!
flickering flame: usually indicates a spirit is near or that your deity is listening to your prayer if you’re using a devotional candle
A split flame: indicates that there is more than one spirit accompanying you
If the candle will not light: your guardian/deity/intuition doesn’t think doing this spell is a good idea
if the candle will not go out: usually means your spell is not done and your magic is still trying to finish up, let it burn some more until you think it’s time to put it out
“Don’t Work with Death!”
“Don’t work with death, because then you invite it into your house.”
Death is already in my house. Death is everywhere. Death is what decays the plant matter that feeds my garden. Death is what feeds the herbs I use in my spells, for each grows from what died before it.
Death is what feeds my family – death of plants, the death of animals. I would not disrespect the spirits of that which feeds us by ignoring their sacrifice.
Death is the veil between my ancestors and myself, keeping them at rest and then acting as the gate for them to step into their next life.
When I do hospice work and sit with someone who is accepting their approaching death, I don’t tell them death is something to fear or avoid. I tell them death is the friend that walked beside them, every step of their life, maintaining the balance of the world, and waiting for them with open arms, to escort them to rebirth.
“Don’t work with death!”
I would not ignore life’s partner, not for arrogance or fear or ignorance. When I go to my own, I want to greet death with respect, acceptance, and gratitude.
Goldnwulf 