buildingunderstanding

[buildingunderstanding]

Hello there :) i'm new here and wanted to ask you something since you seem very experienced in your faith (if that makes sense):

I've been very interested in norse/germanic paganism/heathenism (whatever it's called) for a veeeery long time. I even had a very vivid dream about Odin once (he encouraged me to follow my faith) and then started working with Freyr who helped me a lot when i went to therapy for my mental health struggles (i love him so much, he's basically the only god i'm working with atm)

Now, i've always been a bit overwhelmed by my own expectations and by all the information online. I WANT to practice my faith actively, i want to pray every day, i want to give offerings, i want to celebrate yule and solstice and everything, but i just don't know how and where to start.

So i wanted to ask whether you could maybe help me:

- do you have any suggestions for not getting ahead of yourself, for starting slowly with your practice, and for not letting other people's practices influence your own?

- do you have any suggestions for teeny tiny things i could start doing every day to show appreciation to the gods? (especially on low energy / bad mental health days)

- what do you actually DO with your altar? Do you use it as a place where you pray? A place where you give offerings? I really want a little altar but i'm just not sure what i actually want it for which might help me decide on how and where i'll go about making one

- i've only ever worked with Odin and Freyr before, do you have any tips on how to get started with working with other gods? Do you simply read their stories to learn about them and pray to them? I'd love to 'get to know' Vidar and Thor too but i just don't know where to start

I really hope this all makes sense, any help would be greatly appreciated!!

Hello! Thank you for reaching out! It's great to know you've had such positive experiences with Óðinn and Freyr. It sounds to me like you're already well on your way to building your own personal practice! There's really no trick to "getting started." Once you've looked a bit into the path and the practices, you've already stepped into the faith. I definitely think your unease concerning other people's influence is relevant. Especially since more and more people are turning to "influencers" and online content makers to answer their questions regarding paganism. This isn't a bad thing per se. But even outside of social media, I'm afraid putting your trust in information heard from others is only a tiny fraction of the work. And in the long run, you may realize others experience the Gods in vastly different ways than you have. In the same manner, you'll notice certain practices feel right and others simply don't, even if they were recommended by this or that influencer. My advice would be to exercise skepticism without restraint. Even when someone seems certain of what they're saying, always wonder where they got their information. Does their personal interpretation influence their message? Have other people claimed something similar? Does this information ring true, and fit your experiences? And when you decide to adopt practices or methods recommended by other people, stay aware of your own feelings. It's great to experiment, but don't force yourself into repeating rituals that felt like a chore, or which you haven't enjoyed. Once you've grown tired of a certain practice, there's nothing wrong with changing the routine up. Unless an oath has been sworn, none of us are bound to any duty in that regard. Even for pagans like me who have been practicing for years, the path is fluid. In fact, I think this exploration and adjustability are an important part of a beginner's journey in paganism.

Now, the topic of low-energy rituals is a very interesting one! The easiest and least draining devotional activity you can engage in is prayer! I know lots of people don't like the term, because it brings to mind a very ritualized and structured practice, when it can actually take on many forms. You can pray out loud or quietly, include praises or not, ask for something or not, mention things you're grateful about, mention current worries, or even simply talk about your day! A lot of pagans will choose to pray right before sleep, in the moment before you feel your consciousness slip. Others like to sit at their altar with a cup of tea and just chat away, being in the Gods' presence. It's even possible for you to write letters, on paper or in a phone app, letting all your thoughts out for your deity to see. I've found the latter practice to be quite liberating! I think this partly explains why journaling is such a popular hobby for pagans to adopt. Now, there are loads of low-energy practices you could choose to adopt, but they will depend on your personal habits. Blending worship in with your routine is a great way to stay connected to your faith on bad mental health days. If you have the habit of making tea at night, why not make a second cup for a deity? Or save part of your coffee to offer in the morning? And if you're an artist, why not dedicate some craft time to the Gods, and make art for them? Look into habits where you could include the Gods! It's as simple as inviting a deity to join you before gaming, reading, starting a movie, or generally engaging in hobbies you like!

As for your question regarding altars, I'm afraid to say the answer's quite vague! An altar's purpose varies greatly from person to person. People who actively engage in witchcraft might use it in their practice. Especially if there's a need to call upon a God or Goddess when they engage in spells or rituals. In this sense, it's almost like a work table! For some people, however, the altar is really more like a shrine. It's a space where you can encapsulate a deity's essence, for example, by putting up their image. You may choose to decorate it with candles, trinkets, an oath ring, images or objects related to your belief... The purpose of such a space is to have a spot in the home where the Gods' presence might feel stronger. It's the perfect place to sit by their side and pray, if one is so inclined, and to leave your offerings!

Finally, I'll tackle your last question! I've gotten a similar question before, so here's where you can read my answer. People become antsy at the thought of getting to know a whole new deity, but if I'm honest with you, there's really nothing to be nervous about. I'd rather see it as an adventure! If your intuition is drawing you in the direction of a new deity, then it's only natural you look into them! It can be interesting to learn about their myths, sure, but Norse mythology has a rather large collection of deities who only feature in 1-2 stories and are barely mentioned. For this reason, I think it's even better to look up historical research and scholarly interpretations. They may tell you even more about the way this or that deity was viewed and worshipped. I think it's a sign of respect towards a deity that you come to them wholeheartedly, frankly, and willing to learn about them! It's a way to say, "Hey, I know we don't know each other, but I think you're cool and I would love to receive your guidance!" From this point on, it's perfectly okay to pray to them and give them offerings right off the bat. You have to start somewhere! And there's no better way to learn than on the field. You may intuitively start sensing that they love this or that offering, or that they manifest themselves to you in this or that way.

I hope this all made sense and that these tips will help you! I'm really happy to know you value my insight. Please take good care of yourself.

[buildingunderstanding]

My spiritual headcanon is that Loki and Jesus are actually besties.

Jesus was a hellion according to the infancy gospels, I just know Loki is like “yeah, I fuck with that energy.”

Also every Lokean I have ever met who also honors Jesus has confirmed it.

They’re besties now. I don’t make the rules.

[buildingunderstanding]

Practicing my animals

[buildingunderstanding]

oh to have foxes play where I've laid to rest

[buildingunderstanding]

Jormungandr appreciation

This one goes out to my criminally underappreciated world serpent, Jormungandr. 🐍🌊

[buildingunderstanding]

The Value of Worshipping Loki, Fenrir, Hel, or Any Other "Evil" or "Scary" Deity

If you've spent any time in Heathen spaces, I'm sure you've seen people who claim that Loki and their offspring are evil and / or not worthy of worship. While I can understand this line of thinking st the surface level, I don't think it takes certain factors into account

1) Downfalls Of Mythic Literalism

Taking the myths as true stories is, in my opinion, unhelpful in worshipping the gods. These stories have been written down by humans after they were passed down orally. There's always going to be human bias in these telling and retellings because humans aren't perfect.

Claiming that Loki is evil is saying that humans know the gods and can decide if they are "good" or "evil."

The myths and stories are just that: stories. They aren't the end all be all of who the gods are.

2) "Good" vs. "Evil" Is Unhelpful

The concept that Loki is evil and the other gods are good is such a black and white way of looking at Norse Mythology. A vast majority of humans are neither purely good nor purely evil, so why should the gods be subject to this sort of ridicule?

In reality, things are always gray, there isn't much that's black and white.

3) Chaos Is A Part Of Life

The gods often reflect the realities of life, and let's be honest, life is messy and chaotic. Embracing chaos can be helpful in getting through rough patches.

Loki is a god of chaos; chaos is a part of life. Therefore, some may find benefit in working with or worshipping them.

4) It's Literally None Of Your Business

If everything I have said previously does not inspire you to leave Loki devotees or devotees of "evil" deities alone, please realize that other peoples' practices aren't your concern. They aren't hurting anyone. They aren't hurting you.

I think all of us need to remember that everyone is fighting their own battle. Picking a fight with someone over who they worship or work with is not kind, and you're unlikely to change anyone's mind.

Even in this post, I'm not trying to convince you to worship Loki or his children. All I'm trying to do is remind people that kindness goes a long way.

I hope you found this post informative or helpful in some way. If you have any questions or comments, send them my way!!

[buildingunderstanding]

Loki and Váli 🎣

If yer a member of my Ko-Fi, you've been seeing this piece progress~

Loki teaching one of his sons how to read the water, wind and sky while fishing. Kept getting Queer elder feelings while rendering this about teaching kids how to navigate a world that would gladly see you dead. :(

[buildingunderstanding]

The pre-Christian Norse spiritual worldview is animistic, which means that it's informed by direct experiences and observations of nature, interpreted through the lens of human experience and feelings. You know how we watch snow swirl around think that it looks playful, or watch a wildfire and think that it looks angry? It involves that kind of thing.

But when most people think of pre-Christian religions, they tend to imagine later forms of Greek and Roman polytheism. The problem here is that these Greeks and Romans had begun to think of divinity in more abstract, transcendent ways, and had begun to imagine the gods as rulers of things rather than the spirits of things.

Loki isn't the lord of mischief, he's the spirit of mischief. He's in the little voice telling you make that shitpost and to stop caring about being "cringe." He's in your cat's impulse to knock something off the counter to watch it bounce or roll. Loki manifests in every accidental innuendo and hilarious typo, in every spilled cup of coffee, and every paperwork mix-up. (This is why he's a shapeshifter! He can be anything!)

So when media depicts a Loki riddled with repression and shame - say, for example, a Loki who sneers at modern media or the culture of the common folk - it's depicting a Loki who can't really Loki. That poor spirit has been bound and gagged.

Certain popular media has depicted Thor and Loki as some kinds of opposites, but when we consider the animist perspective we can see there is a serious problem with this. Loki and Thor being depicted as companions isn't some random whim; it's a reflection of the reality that thunderstorms bring chaos.

A Loki informed by Norse mythology shouldn't be complaining about Thor's "oafishness" or whatever, he should be encouraging him to wreak even more havoc. Loki shouldn't be here out of some real or imagined obligation, he should be here because he expects he's going to have a pretty good time, and because he hopes to make the situation as ridiculous as possible.

Loki being the spirit of mischief is also why depicting him as hostile to humanity isn't really in the spirit of the pre-Christian Norse worldview. Mischief and chaos are not anti-human; they're just realities of the world that humans inhabit. I get how it's easy to infer that Loki must have something against humans due to his oppositional role toward the Aesir in the Ragnarok story, but that's an extremely Christian reading of the narrative. The story is simply describing the collapse of civilization and end of the world as we know it through Norse animistic comprehension. Loki only has an issue with the Aesir, who bound him in a cave to be tortured with serpent venom. Humanity is neither here nor there for him.

[buildingunderstanding]

sometimes people say stuff about gods not caring about you bc they're GODS and they're too BUSY for that etc etc

there's really no reason to have that kinda attitude about it. if i'm having a big bad emotional spiral, then the bigger more important GODS would not be burdened by it in the way i convince myself humans are

i realized i get into "five of cups" types of spirals sometimes and i isolate myself and thought it must have been a bit of a nuisance for a god to deal with, bc i know better and they must get sick of teaching me the same concept, but no. loki said he thinks it's cute and he likes when he can help me out of it.

to me it's a big feeling but to a god it's probably the equivalent of a cat batting their toy under the fridge and getting sad when they can't get the toy back. they probably don't mind helping us get our toy back from under the fridge. we do need to stop batting it under there in the first place, but it's still endearing. silly little guy is devastated from Can't Reach Toy from Under The Fridge.

we need to stop acting like gods are barely tolerating us. we're their cats that keep getting into Situations. they wouldn't want anyone else yowling at their door at 3am for attention and food✋😔

[buildingunderstanding]

They probably missed their sister so much ;;-;;

[buildingunderstanding]

MISCHIEVOUSLY

Art by morbidmomma

[buildingunderstanding]

I am struggling a bit with the concept of faith and I think I had a bit of an epiphany as to why.

When I was eighteen, I went to college out of state. It was a Christian college, the one my youth pastor and his wife had graduated from, the one I had prayed about, the one I was told others had prayed about for me, the one I thought was "God's will for my life".

I was there from August to December of 2011. I couldn't find work and had to go home because I couldn't pay tuition.

That ruined all of my life's plans. Insofar as I was allowed to have plans anyway.

I think that still trips me up because I did have so much support that I was "doing the right thing", I felt confident in it. And I was allowed to fall anyway.

Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a complete waste of time, still learned a few things, and met one of my best friends there. But it still feels like a time where faith failed me. And I don't think I've ever fully learned to cope with that.

I'm scared to take new leaps of a spiritual kind because I did and I still feel like I was dropped. Like a kid who's parent tells them to jump from the counter, promising to catch them, then watches the parent get distracted and turn away from them mid air, not yet realizing how badly it'll hurt when they hit the ground.

Through chronic invalidation and religious fear mongering, I've been told that I cannot trust myself, that I am inherently untrustworthy. And through that and other experiences in my life, through pulling apart things I was taught, I also find myself afraid to trust God, any God really. Because what if they tell me to jump and then don't catch me?

I am so tired of living in fear, but I don't really know how stop the fear either.

[buildingunderstanding]

Loki in Freyja's feathers🪶

[buildingunderstanding]

This is one of those things that continues to trip me up since leaving Christianity. Sure, I was taught that sometimes God would challenge us for the express purpose of growing our faith, but I was also taught that punishment could take the same form, so if things were hard, we needed to check in to make sure we weren't being punished rather than being put through challenges for growth.

I was also taught that doubt was a sin, in some cases that it was a sin akin to blasphemy. So questioning beliefs was completely out of the question; it was unsafe to do.

There are these little ways about how I was taught religion and faith that trip me up, most of them don't even have much to do with the core beliefs of Christianity, I don't think, but rather with the concepts of faith and belief. I think that's why I struggle so hard with them. When I first decided to step away from Christianity, I talked to Jesus about it and for the first time in a long time felt like I was actually talking to him and not a concept of who he might be. I do think Christians get a lot wrong about the deity they claim to worship, but I think they also get a lot wrong about the concepts of what faith and religion are, and I kinda think that's what's done the most damage.

Hey, don't be afraid of things that challenge your faith. Seriously, don't.

Either they'll give you a new perspective on things, or you'll become more secure and confident in your current beliefs. But avoiding the hard questions leaves you in an echo chamber with half-baked ideas and an insecurity in yourself. Step out of your comfort zone so you have room to grow.

[buildingunderstanding]

tips for adhd witches!

[[before you expand: LONG text post!!]]

I got diagnosed only a couple months ago, but I have been practicing witchcraft for a little bit now. So in retrospect, here is stuff that I realized I have been doing to cope the whole time, and some new things I'm tinkering with :) Please feel free to leave your own tips or thoughts!

At all costs, avoid promising gods and spirits that YOU WILL uphold a rigid routine.

Just do not promise to give daily offerings! JUST DON'T DO IT. If you struggle with upholding a regular routine, do not promise gods or spirits you will uphold a routine for them. You should only promise things you are confident you can deliver. ((If you identify as a beginner witch it's my personal belief that you should not be promising anyone anything.))

Delete from your mindset that all witches are supposed to uphold rigid routines.

Give yourself breathing room: if you want to give scheduled offerings, maybe do one on the full moon. Or, plan it to coincide with other activities that interest you, and that you're likely to show up for.

Unless you have a few hours a week to devote to your practice, you should probably not be dedicating yourself to doing daily anything.

Rigid routine is not the only way to get regular experience with magic, build relationships with gods or spirits, or improve in your craft! You simply do not have to promise yourself or anyone else that you will do X actions at Y times.

Instead of having "do X for Y minutes on Z days" routines, try developing a streamlined ritual you can fit in anywhere for the really important stuff.

Maybe there are some really important things in your practice that you want to do on a regular basis. Maybe these are things like:

Quick personal shielding

Acknowledging and honoring spirits

General offering

Prayer for guidance

Instead of saying "I'll do shielding for 5 minutes every day after breakfast, then of course my offering ritual-", you can put a streamlined (short, easy) ritual together where you do all four of these things at once.

Deep breaths, acknowledge and honor the spirits, ask for assistance in raising a shield, offering excess raised energy to them, and praying for guidance in the upcoming task.

It should take maybe like, 2 minutes tops.

Then, slot this streamlined ritual in before most practice activities. Like:

Before other energy work

Before divination

Before spellwork

Or, use it as a sort of 'generic' access point of connection and perform this ritual:

When you shower, to calm down from the day

When you're on transit to prepare for the upcoming day

When you're feeling grateful and want to share the moment with the spirits

When you're feeling sad and need support

Instead of forcing important actions into routines that may be hard to follow, find a way to carry these actions around with you in an accessible ritual, like carrying snacks around in a bag. This way you can use other exciting activities, or other life events, as a reminder to practice your ritual of important things :)

Build a clear system of omens for yourself. Omens can intrude on your daily life and get your attention.

Maybe you have alarm blindness, forget to do divination, forget to check in with spells - so asking for omens can be a huge help. They are spontaneous messages that catch your eye. Helpful!

Research cultural omens

Research omens in your magical tradition

Journal and brainstorm personal omens

Write out, for yourself, a short list of personal omens.

Solid black pigeons mean a spirit wants attention. Seeing your favorite tree species means a spell was successful. Three gray dots means a spell failed. The scent of cinnamon buns means fortune is headed your way.

Perform a ritual announcing your chosen omens to the Powers That Be. Invite those Powers, Yourself, Life, the Universe, and Everything to send you true, accurate, and helpful messages through these omens.

Working with omens in this way is a skill that evolves over time. Your personal omen system will evolve over time if you use it. Think of it as another form of divination!

(Tip: Combine symbols with colors for an advanced system that's easy to remember. Oak trees are prosperity, but black means slow movement, red means powerful, and white means failure. After a spell you see a plumbing truck with a red oak tree logo; powerful prosperity. Etc.)

Build all your spells, rituals, and everything with the foresight that you are probably going to forget about it or not return to it for a long time.

Employ foresight and:

Encode retirement/shutdown functions into your spells!! Do you want the spell to burn out completely and leave the vessel hollow so you don't have to deal with the vessel later on? Specify that! Do you want the spell to go to 'power saver mode' and hibernate so you can save the vessel and recharge it later? Specify!

ENCODE OMENS INTO SPELLS TO REMIND YOU TO TAKE ACTIONS! "This spell brings me financial benefit, and when it runs low, I will see my omen of slow growth - a solid black tree."

Assume that you are going to completely forget that you're able to take care of this problem, so encode the spells assuming you will never remember to deal with this again:

Spell for people that will remember they want to deal with Monica (they will also be working with wards, divination, and subtle cunning): "Stop Monica at the front desk from assaulting me with her dark energies, or else limit how much of her energy can reach me."

Spell for people that are going to completely forget this is an issue they can take care of and won't do another spell on it for maybe 18 months: "Stop Monica from assaulting me with her dark energies, or reveal to everyone in the office her dark nature, but if neither of these things is possible, change something in the office so that we never interact again."

Assume you will forget about individual spells, that you will accumulate way to many spells than you can individually attend to, and that you may never take final steps like cleansing and deconstructing old spell vessels.

Build a spellcasting altar, or a spell recharging altar, where you store up all your vessels. Recharge them all at once, as often as you remember to.

Poor plan: "And when this vessel runs down I will recharge it with the waxing moon as I stand under the orange tree-" More tenable plan: "And when this vessel runs down let it drink energy from my altar; let it take up any energy that suits it; let it feed on what is available to it, according to its needs."

Focus on learning how to tie spells to external energy sources so they will stay charged for way longer.

For easy deconstruction, set blanket conditions for every vessel that it be undone and the magic erased if you take a simple action. This is called a kill code. You bake it into spells and it makes deconstruction way easier.

Try developing a barbarous word of undoing and using it every time you want to undo a vessel or a spell; this word will gain power and can become very helpful in other ways.

Once again, plan spells with the foresight that it will be difficult/unlikely for you to re-engage for formal deconstruction procedures. So, anticipate your future needs during spellcasting: "And if I ever open this jar and take out the things inside it, let this spell be released and return to the earth, let it fade away without trouble and nourish anything around it as fallen logs nourish the forest floor." This way, you know that if you accidentally forget about a spell or just take it apart, the magic already has instructions to safely dissipate and you don't have to worry.

Develop a visual language to remind you of what collected objects and spell vessels are.

This folds in real nice with a personal omen system!!

Use a combination of colors, established symbols (planetary, alchemical), and personal symbols to develop a visual conlang that helps you keep track of what things are.

If applicable, decorate or modify spell vessels so you can tell at a glance what the spell is for (violet symbol of Venus next to a paw: a spell to improve relationships with the spirits that help you with psychism)

Build a system that makes intuitive sense to you, perhaps folding in with your color correspondence associations, magical headcannon, or any other mnemonic device:

All the spells in jars are protective

Everything that's tied into a witch's ladder is about prosperity

If it has a red X on it, that's a hex

If it has a 7-pointed star, it involves your dragon guide

If you store it in a bag that has blue on it (blue print, blue button, blue tie-string) then that object is related to cleansing

Your personal visual language will gain its own power over time if used regularly, in the way that egrigores or sigils can gain power if used consistently over time :) It can become a real magical tool, not just a mnemonic device!

During spirit work, just clearly communicate that your sporadic presence has nothing to do with your dedication 🤷

When you conjure/talk to/pray to gods, spirits, or anything, address the fact that your communication/rituals/etc ARE going to be sporadic. Explain yourself and ask the spirits to extend understanding.

Some spirits/gods/etc are going to demand regular routine. AND IF THEY EXPECT THAT, then you guys need to get on the same page ASAP as to whether or not that's possible.

Spirits can be incredibly forgiving and understanding, but unless you tell them why you are sometimes around and sometimes not, they do not necessarily know what's going on.

Your spirit guide may have not read the DSM-5. Obelon the Fox-Man might not be up-to-date with the 2025 diagnosis criteria for ADHD, and Obelon might not recognize that you are struggling with a disorder that can mimic inattentiveness. Obelon might be asking why you appear to be so enthusiastic, and yet only call for him once every 5 weeks.

Just explain!! Explain what you are comfortable explaining. Give them reassurances and ask them to not misinterpret your ability to be present.

At all costs, avoid making your path a carrot that you dangle in front of yourself to try and force yourself to fix your brain through sheer force of will.

If the way you talk to yourself about your path sounds like someone struggling with unhealthy dieting, maybe it's time to readjust.

"I just need to do my daily offerings, on schedule, for two weeks. Then I will have earned researching tarot spells."

Maybe it's not a good idea to intentionally include witchcraft in a cycle of reward and denial that will ultimately drain joy from the process until your passion is a withered husk.

Witchcraft isn't going to force your brain to change any more than Stardew Valley was going to force your brain to change. Or that time you got super into succulents. If your time spent studying wool quality in heritage European sheep breeds didn't cure your disorder, witchcraft won't either.

Witchcraft, I think, deserves to be something that is a part of your joy - not a part of a system of stressful attempts at making yourself into someone you're not because "real witches" all do such-and-such routine (I assure you, they do not) so you must force yourself to do it too.

(Incidentally, if you have a 'streamlined ritual for the important stuff' and it becomes a barrier that prevents you from practicing, then maybe that's not a good idea for you - or maybe it's not as simple and streamlined as you need it to be)

STOP trying to build a static path. Lean into temporary hyperfixations.

There is SO MUCH to learn in witchcraft. It's never-ending. The more you learn, the more doorways open for you with more things to learn behind them.

This is not college, you do not have to declare your major. You don't have to wait to decide on your 'magic specialization' before you start learning.

This is not college, you don't have to take semesters of boring general ed classes before you're allowed to start studying what interests you.

Unless you are getting into very serious initiations, learning stuff, advancing your skills, and building your path is not going to shut doors and prevent you from getting into something else.

If something excites your interests, GET INTO IT! Don't force yourself to ignore what you're passionate about because you think serious, responsible witchcraft is supposed to be rigid, boring, and tedious. (It isn't!)

Avoid declaring your major. As in, maybe the idea of energy glamours is super exciting, so on day 1 you create a lesson plan that will realistically take you 70 weeks to complete. Based on your history, is it reasonable that you will maintain this specific interest in glamours for over a year?

Avoid making lesson plans that intentionally slow you down and make shit boring for no good reason. If energy glamours interest you, are you (*scrolls up*) using energy glamours as a carrot to force yourself to engage in a tedious magical workout routine? Is the reason the lesson plan takes 70 weeks because you decided to spend weeks slowly moving through each phase so you have time to spam energy work exercises?

You know yourself better than I know you. Maybe wanting to slow down and engage in your focuses in a new way is the goal. Of course, listen to yourself first!

But if you have a temporary burst of energy and focus to learn a new skill, and learning that skill won't require you to make unhealthy personal or financial decisions, why not just lean into it and explore it moment by moment, wherever your interests take you?

I think you'd probably learn a lot more doing and undoing 20 glamours in a week, because you're freaking out about how fucking cool it is, than if you practice 1 basic glamor exercise once a day because that's what real disciplined witches do, and then 11 days later you forget it once and never do it again and now your interest has faded because glamouring is just another boring chore.

Invest some time and energy into figuring out exactly what your bare minimum of responsibility and upkeep actually is.

How often do you need to recharge your wards to keep them functioning normally?

Once you've explained your own needs and limits, how often do your spirits actually request offerings?

Are you 100% sure the spirits you're working with expect offerings in the first place?

Are those offerings expected to be physical, or do thoughts and prayers suffice?

How often should you perform a personal cleansing to keep yourself feeling magically refreshed?

Feeling anxious or guilty over whether or not you're supposed to be taking certain actions is NO FUN.

It is much less fun if you don't actually know how often you need to do these things. Then it's just all guessing, all the time, and nothing is ever good enough.

If at all possible, avoid putting yourself into a situation where you feel that you are supposed to be doing something responsible in your practice, but you're never sure exactly what it is.

Spend some practice time, learn some skills, and make notes, to discover whether or not you do have any minimum engagement requirements in the style of practice you want. And most importantly, having clear 'deadlines' so you don't have to keep guessing at what you're forgetting about this time.

[buildingunderstanding]

op turned off reblogs but i want this post on my blog

[buildingunderstanding]

The pre-Christian Norse spiritual worldview is animistic, which means that it's informed by direct experiences and observations of nature, interpreted through the lens of human experience and feelings. You know how we watch snow swirl around think that it looks playful, or watch a wildfire and think that it looks angry? It involves that kind of thing.

But when most people think of pre-Christian religions, they tend to imagine later forms of Greek and Roman polytheism. The problem here is that these Greeks and Romans had begun to think of divinity in more abstract, transcendent ways, and had begun to imagine the gods as rulers of things rather than the spirits of things.

Loki isn't the lord of mischief, he's the spirit of mischief. He's in the little voice telling you make that shitpost and to stop caring about being "cringe." He's in your cat's impulse to knock something off the counter to watch it bounce or roll. Loki manifests in every accidental innuendo and hilarious typo, in every spilled cup of coffee, and every paperwork mix-up. (This is why he's a shapeshifter! He can be anything!)

So when media depicts a Loki riddled with repression and shame - say, for example, a Loki who sneers at modern media or the culture of the common folk - it's depicting a Loki who can't really Loki. That poor spirit has been bound and gagged.

Certain popular media has depicted Thor and Loki as some kinds of opposites, but when we consider the animist perspective we can see there is a serious problem with this. Loki and Thor being depicted as companions isn't some random whim; it's a reflection of the reality that thunderstorms bring chaos.

A Loki informed by Norse mythology shouldn't be complaining about Thor's "oafishness" or whatever, he should be encouraging him to wreak even more havoc. Loki shouldn't be here out of some real or imagined obligation, he should be here because he expects he's going to have a pretty good time, and because he hopes to make the situation as ridiculous as possible.

Loki being the spirit of mischief is also why depicting him as hostile to humanity isn't really in the spirit of the pre-Christian Norse worldview. Mischief and chaos are not anti-human; they're just realities of the world that humans inhabit. I get how it's easy to infer that Loki must have something against humans due to his oppositional role toward the Aesir in the Ragnarok story, but that's an extremely Christian reading of the narrative. The story is simply describing the collapse of civilization and end of the world as we know it through Norse animistic comprehension. Loki only has an issue with the Aesir, who bound him in a cave to be tortured with serpent venom. Humanity is neither here nor there for him.