#marimo writes🌿

[marimoscorner]

Consumerism & Witchcraft

Written by Marimo (he/they)🌿

I’ve seen a turn for the better in some witchy spaces regarding consumerism in the past few years, but overall it still tends to be an issue for us as a community. I’ve decided to try and breakdown the pitfalls I’ve noticed in my own journey, in the hopes that it will inspire and assist others. I’ve also provided alternatives and ideas on how to make small changes in our practice to help us better protect the Earth, stick it to the failing system and still acquire our bits and bobs we love so dearly.

As always, I am no authority on any subject nor am I perfect—but we’re all learning as we go, so let’s dive right in 🌿

A Preface

There are some things that should be made entirely clear before we begin:

You are not a bad person for wanting an aesthetic

You are not a bad person for unknowingly falling into pitfalls. Only if you continue to purposefully do so after knowing better

You are not a bad person for consuming content/objects or for not always making the most sustainable decisions. At the end of the day, we can only control our small part of environmental impact, while the rest is left up to the major corporations that make more pollution than any of us ever will

You are only human. Show yourself some grace and understanding that the internet so lacks.

My Experience in Consumerist Hell

I have fallen victim many times to consumerism in witchcraft. Starting my journey at the ripe age of about ten years old and heavily in the broom closet, I was quickly drawn in by the shiny rocks, the brand new candles and scents, the promise of new tarot decks and pendulums and other fancy, shiny new equipment. I was consuming an online aesthetic along with my ideals, and it distracted me from starting my journey by learning well.

I began to spend my birthday and holiday money on the aesthetic of things. While, granted, I still did buy a few literary resources now and again from my local secondhand bookstore—I was stubbornly ignoring the sage advice to learn and understand first before diving in headfirst.

I purchased statues, crystals, too many tarot decks to use. I purchased osteomancy bones I later returned to the earth, for I had not done enough research to know that that animal was mine to practice with. I had a tankard full of incense sticks, and even a growing pile of books that would not be read. While I liked to consider myself crafty with my homemade Maypole and various hand-bound Grimoires, something was becoming apparent: this was all a distraction.

The aesthetic I was partaking in was providing me with a false sense of progress and practicality.

When I’d go to do a tarot reading, I’d become far too overwhelmed with choosing a deck to read in the first place. When making an offering to a deity, I’d feel pressured to also bolster the altars of all the other deities I’d set up, and with my wide pool, the connections felt muddy. Often times I’d be off-put on a project or spell because I knew I needed to film it and it needed to look nice.

In the long term, I don’t have many of these items today. I’ve sold and donated a vast breadth of them. Feeling overwhelmed costed me a few years retreat from my craft to recuperate. However, what has stuck with me is the knowledge I picked up along the way.

So, What’s the Issue? TL;DR

I’ve noticed a few issues here in making these mistakes myself.

Consumerism absolutely distracts you from learning and your craft

Overconsumption leads to environmental damage. If everyone hoarded supplies, there would not be enough to go around. And with what gets thrown away every year…it paints an ugly wound on the Earth

We damage our learning abilities by not allowing ourselves to be anything less than perfect

The need for aesthetic creates barriers to entry within the community and creates a divide of haves and have-nots

You won’t be able to truly follow your individual path if you are only consuming and not creating for yourself

Consumerist culture promotes appropriation. Metaphysical stores carry items from closed practices (such as white sage and palo santo, or coyote bones) because someone is buying them. Don’t be that person, and find alternatives relating to your own culture instead

Consumerism can influence your spiritual decisions based upon monetary inclinations (where some may sacrifice a quality ingredient over a higher quantity of a lower quality ingredient)

So, what can we do?

Firstly, I want to clarify that I am not against collecting, nor am I against maximalism or the beautiful visual aesthetic we carry as a community.

I am an artist a very visual person and understand the longing for a beautiful home and workspace. However, this aesthetic shouldn’t come at the cost of irresponsibly harming the Earth or another community.

Thus, I’ve compiled a list of small things that I will be incorporating into my practice to make it more mindful and sustainable. I hope that you’ll join me in a few of them.

Minimize Supplies. While I used to have a huge selection of stationary for my Grimoire, I now limit myself to a simple pencil and watercolor set if I’m feeling artistic. This helps me actually use my Grimoire for study, rather than to keep perfect. It’s also friendlier on my wallet!

Thrift Supplies. There are plenty of perfectly good items that get donated daily. You can get high-quality candles and holders, old crystal bowls for altar offerings, spare crafting supplies, fabric for alter cloths and even clothing if you so wish—all for a fraction of the cost new and while saving the planet just a little bit more. Hell, you can sometimes even find good silver!

Share Supplies with your Community. You can create a sort of barter system with other witches in your area. Perhaps you create a sigil for them, and they provide you with a candle spell. Play to your strengths and grow together!

Look for Creative Outlets. Do you really need to go buy an altar statue that’s been mass-produced? Or can you give your deity the personal gift of a drawing, painting or even hand-modeled or hand-carved rendition? This will also deepen your connection to your craft and your magic, and make it more meaningful and stronger. If you really like something, though, go for it!

If you aren’t the artistic sort, consider supporting an artist before going to a large company. While I haven’t purchased from them myself, Blagowood on Etsy has beautiful deity statues carved from wood by their small team in Ukraine for a comparable cost to the standard mass produced metal statues. I consider this extra labor of love going into these pieces and those of similar small companies to be much better energy for my practice. I myself may put out some art prints and other handmade supplies in the future, but I will likely spread them around my community first.

Try Secondhand Books. While not available in every area and further still not as available for witchcraft and occult books, you may strike luck! Not only are secondhand books less expensive, but you’ll be supporting a local business. That’s not to say you can’t buy firsthand books, but some searching around may be beneficial to the earth and to your wallet in the long run.

Be mindful of where you source supplies and decor. If you are a fan of taxidermy decor, make sure that you source cruelty free. Bats can practically never be sourced without cruelty, so if a shop carries them, I’d be mindful of their other specimens. The same goes for if a shop decides to forgo a culture’s wishes and carry supplies sacred to them, such as white sage or dreamcatchers. Supporting folks who turn a profit off of others’ suffering is not something many would wish to include energetically in their craft.

Search the Wild for Tools. Find sticks, flowers and other plants out in the forest. Learn how to rockhound in your area for crystals. Your craft will be more powerful the more connected it is to the land you are surrounded by. Be sure to reference guides for safety and legality!

Get Creative with Purposes. If you are having difficulty finding exactly what you need by thrifting or searching, make another tool multipurpose if it would do the job good enough. Find supplies that are easy to source and work as substitutes for other ingredients (ex. Quartz as a stand in for other stones)

Spend more time Doing. Go out into the woods (safely) and advance your connection to the earth instead of worrying over the perfect item for your collection. Your craft will benefit

At the end of the day, all of this is your decision. Take what you like, and leave what you don’t. Even if we don’t agree, I thank you for your time and open mind. I will continue updating about how I incorporate these steps, and I will also hopefully post more on witchy crafting in the future.

I wish you well, and hope you’ll decide to follow along on our journey!

[chromatic-lamina]

Hello!! :D for the ask game, 🌻💌 and 💝?

Hi Cal!

Thank you.

🌻💌 and 💝

🌻what makes you want to give up on writing? what makes you keep going?

Dunno if it's give up, but maybe you find ways to communicate that aren't just the written word, and maybe your need to write shifts. It's always an interesting question. Also, with OP I feel like I might've said about all that there is or me to say BUT there's always a zine on the horizon! Lack of response can put a dent in wishing to upload fic, but it doesn't necessarily stop me from writing it. With original fic, it's hard work. Fanfic is too easy a substitute. Ah, I'm lazy.

Oh, second part of the question: keep going? Sometimes I just need to write. Naturally, good feedback can get you re-interested in a story, character, etc. provide some forms of motivation, but it's extrinsic, and not necessarily sustainable.

💌share something with us about an up-and-coming work (WIP) that has you excited!

I think I'm in a super flat stage at present. Sorry! I was working on the LawZo hanahaki (Law's plant is the corpse flower, RIP Zoro, and I was gonna have Zoro's flower as an agal bloom, but marimo are actual healthy algae, and there are some interesting Ainu mythology around them, so why not incorporate that instead. But, yeah, I mustn't be stressed enough with IRL stuff, cos' I've only been pecking at it.

Also, it's not a WIP, but I'll be happy for people to read the piece I did for the Corazine when it gets sent out.

💝what is a fic that got a different response than you were expecting?

I did not expect Dark like the the North Blue Sea (aka the Sea-Hill you die on) to be so popular (for me), by way of kudos. I don't think that fic got hit by the kudos bot either. Like, I like it, but it seems to strike a chord with those who read it too.

I wrote in another ask, I just expected this poem to be totally glossed over, but it actually got some good feedback!

Thank you for the asks!

I’ve answered ✨ 💫 📡 , 🤲 , 🌈 , ☯️ , 🎈💥 🎀 🌻💌 and 💝 And will soon answer🌿🤍: The ask is here if anyone else wants to ask!

[marimoscorner]

Welcome!🌿

MINORS DNI

Welcome to Marimo's Corner—your corner for chaotic, queer, mindful magic and paganism. This blog is meant as sort of a public grimoire of our path as well as a reference for other witches and pagans who wish to view it. We are by no means the authority on any subject nor perfect, but we want to contribute our small voice to the pot and hope it can help someone out. We want to foster community and find other like-minded souls to befriend! 🌿✨

Blog Content

This blog will widely cover what it is we study on our shared path. We study the following, but branch out as well.

Mythos: Celtic, Hellenic

Deities: Cernunnos, Pan, Danu, Dionysus, the Dagda, Apollo, among others.

Topics: Druidry, Celtic Magic, Hellenic Magic, Ancestral Magic, Green Magic, Kitchen & Home Magic, Knot Magic, Osteomancy, Tasseomancy, Bardism, Queer Inclusion in Magic, Animism, Ecclectic/Chaos Magic, Wheel of the Year, Convergence of Science & Magic, among others.

This blog will also be a sort of journal for us, so please do not expect perfection. We are excited to share with you!

About Us

We are a diagnosed DID system, so you'll see posts from a few of us! We'll do our best to remember to tag who writes what. Here are our primary spiritual alters.

Marimo he/they 🌿

Autumn she/her 🍁

Aekian he/they/she 🐏

Moss they/she 🍀

Bear he/they/it 🌲

Caleb he/him 📙

Gale he/they/she 🔮

Olive she/they🗡️

Rosie she/her ☕️

Jo she/they 🪻

Zephyr he/they 🦴

We all have slightly different interests, and are excited to share with you. We hope to see you again soon! Feel free to follow along on our journey. Thank you!

References

In an effort to make this blog a better resource, we will do our best to remember to log resources we’ve read here for your own research. Most will be directly witchy in nature, but others are simply lifestyle.

Irish Fairytales & Folklore by Y.B. Yeats (1888)

The Spirit of the Celtic Gods & Goddesses by Carl McColman & Kathryn Hines (2005)

The Book of Celtic Myths by Jennifer Emick (2017)

Celtic Mysticism by Tracie Long (2023)

The Book of Hedge Druidry by Joanna Van Der Hoeven (2019)

Queering your Craft by Cassandra Snow (2020)

Feral Self Care by Mandi Em (2023)

Etc. (Others I’ve sold, given, or borrowed)