melianisnothere

[melianisnothere]

You're already honoring the Gods. "Is this offering enough?" "Has it been too long since my last ritual?" "Is it okay that I missed this festival?" It's okay, you're already honoring the Gods. Your belief is an offering of its own. It's your trust, your faith, your hope, and your love. You're giving it willingly, and that's a precious offering to the Gods, and a testament to Their existence.

[melianisnothere]

Hail be to Loki,

He who walks Between;

He who moves effortlessly between realms.

Let me give my thanks to the god most Cunning;

To Flame Hair,

Scar-lip.

Hail be to Loki,

Who walks the crooked path; the path few dare to tread.

Hail be to Loki;

He who is the End of the World and ushers in a new beginning.

Praise him that is both chaos and order; for one could not exist without the other.

Please give me strength to transform as I should; to step out of the flames of your making as someone new and whole. Please lend me the strength to care for those that the world has discarded and please know that my devotion is unending.

[melianisnothere]

do you ever see paleolithic art and go “oh fuck that’s good” like they hadn’t developed agriculture or the wheel but god damn could they paint horses real good

[melianisnothere]

give yourself a sense of place and time. rotate your wardrobe when the weather changes. update your playlists every month. write down three things you did today. do it everyday. message your friends good morning. buy yourself different flavours of tea based on your mood, the packaging, the weather, your heart. save the little paper labels; stick them in your notebook until the inside cover is full of little colored tags. have it hot in the winter. have it cold in the summer. learn to make apple cider, raspberry cordial. spend the summer knitting a scarf for the colder months. spend the winter sewing loose flowy blouses for the summer. open the windows, five minutes a day if it's cold, all day if it's warm. give yourself a sense of place and time and weather.

[melianisnothere]

Loki, Bölvasmiðr, master of chaos. Chaos that behind the fun and frenzy lies an inconspicuous plan. Loki, bringer of harsh change like forever shifting flames. Hrafn-Ásar vinr, blood-brother of the wise one, Oðin. Shapeshifting mother of Sleipnir, father of Váli and Narfi through lovely Sigyn, father of Hel, Fenrir, and Jörmungandr through sorrowful Angrboða. Loki is the embodiment of mayhem and complication, ecstasy and agony, joy and anger. Trickster Loki, enjoyer of pranks and mishaps, but the leader to needed truths and reflection.

• @bacchic-loki

Hail Loki ˖ ݁𖥔 ݁˖

[melianisnothere]

Сегодня просто выложу вот этот чей - то распрекрасный рисунок. Не знаю чей но он прекрасен. Именно так я себе и представляю Сиф и Тора, готовлю заметку о рябине и колосе в практике.

[melianisnothere]

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.

[melianisnothere]

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.

[melianisnothere]

The Lord of the Rings is so full of goodness. It's good on a literary quality level, but it's also just crammed full of good things written by a guy who understands goodness. It's good on a literary level, good on a moral level, good in its appreciation of so many different kinds of good things. You've got the vastness of ancient myths and the homely coziness of small towns and casual heroism from the most ordinary people. It knows a hot bath is good, an ancient legend is good, giving up everything and everyone you've known in a desperate attempt to save the world is good. So many different layers of what good is, and it understands and appreciates all of them. Very few books are to-the-core Good the way that this one is.

[melianisnothere]

Wood burning is a passion of mine. Of course, I dedicate a lot of my projects to Loki and this one here is one of my favorite so far. Its a small wooden box, I am currently working on. Sure, its not perfect and i have still a lot to learn. But i love how it turned out so far 🥰

[melianisnothere]

“I am the living proof that the gods love exists”

[melianisnothere]

Hail Loki

Hail to the god of Mischief Hail to the World-Breaker Hail to the joy of Sigyn Bless and walk with us this day

[melianisnothere]

Loki won't hate you if you make mistakes. He has too. He's a good example to look at when remembering your actions have consequences. You can do whatever you want but you have to be ready to deal with the outcome.

Loki will be there when you feel outcast and alone and friendless. In those dark stormy days in your head he will be that candle that burns bright and it will never go out.

Don't have a good family? Me neither! But you know who is a Great dad/brother/uncle etc? Loki! Also the other gods. A whole new family that will fight for you and not abandon you.

He's not mad at you either btw. Communication is key and if you have worries just ask. He's not here to harm you or make you feel like hell. He's warm and silly but serious and stern if he has to be.

Somebody wrong you? Tell good ole carrot top. He may or may not make sure nobody finds their body. 😁👍

Anyway. I've been through a lot with him and I can promise he's definitely a good guy and worth having around. Even if he's made me wanna twist his nips a few times.

[melianisnothere]

to rewild your witchcraft

walk barefoot on stones in shallow streams.

talk to the wind and let it carry away your regrets.

forage for wildflowers to place on your altar, press in thrifted books, or give to loved ones —be careful when identifying

watch sunrises and sunsets. wake up before the sun. bare witness to the painted sky.

spend hours in the woods among the wild. take long long walks or sit still and watch the world.

talk to plants and listen to them. make friends.

get field guides to trees, plants, birds, etc. that are native to your area. learn which are which. bookmark pages that you recognize or want to find.

sing back to the robins. caw back to the crows.

journal by firelight and feel the flame burn your worries away.

gather snow and bring a bowl inside. talk to it and tell it your worries. your fears. let it melt, transmuting your stress and worries into healing nourishment. bring it outside and water the soil. see how things can be changed.

dance. run. move your body to sweat, if this is something you can do

collect stones from the river and try to find the best ones. keep them in your pocket. hold onto them to remember that you’re an animal.

go to a lake and float. feel the water carry you. lifting you from your stress. bring a vial and collect some for spellwork.

make a necklace out of an acorn and thread.

stand in the rain. dance in it. lay down in the grass and let it pour. let it wash fears away, transform doubt to hope. start anew.

𖤣.𖥧.𖡼.⚘

[melianisnothere]

This is your daily reminder that Freyr’s association with masculinity/virility has no historical roots whatsoever, and is wobbly as best. No such concept exists in the perception that scholars have of him today. Some sources attest that he was depicted with a prominent phallus, and the artifacts that history has left us with corroborate this. The phallic symbol is a common one in multiple traditions, representing fertility, in this case, fertility of the land and fertility among couples. Depending on the place and time, it was also believed that Freyr’s domain extended to wealth, celebration and prosperity. As for masculinity? I would be quite surprised if any evidence of such a concept in his cult was found. Same goes for Thórr, also cited by certain websites as a “God of masculinity”, for a reason that’s always eluded my understanding. His proficiency in fighting the jotnar in myth have seemingly prompted this interpretation. What I'll say is that it's peculiar to see this narrative pushed at the forefront of their myth by online sources, despite actual scholarly observations going against the idea of a "God of masculinity" even existing in nordic oral tradition.

Which is why I personally have a some trouble with sources citing this or that deity as being a “God of masculinity”, or “Goddess of femininity”, especially when it comes to norse paganism.

[melianisnothere]

you know, something i've been thinking about recently is identity in relation to worship and devotion.

so often i see people rearranging their entire lives to accommodate what they think a devotee should look like. but i've always thought, isn't it so much more meaningful to incorporate your deities into who you are?

i have so many interests that have nothing to do with my deities. my main hobby/interest that i spend most of my time and money on doesn't involve paganism at all. i work with loki and freyja, yet my room and the area around my altar are filled with pastel pinks/blues and the walls are covered with posters.

i wanted to make bracelets for both of them that i could wear everyday, and so i coordinated palettes for both of them that fit with my usual wardrobe. i had some alone time at home the other day, and instead of using it to sit at my altar and do some typical divination (that i would normally do), i decided to light their candles while i had a dance party.

everyone's practice is their own, and i encourage you to do what's comfortable for you. if that means revolving a lot of your life around your deities, i totally respect that! but i also think there's beauty in balancing other things with your devotion, and maybe letting your gods into it too. letting them know that they matter to you and you want them to be part of it. that you'll carve out a space for them, no matter what it is.

[melianisnothere]

To the Gods lost to time

We may have no way of knowing your name, but we do know you. We know you existed.

We may have no way of knowing what purpose you served in your pantheon, but we appreciate the work that you did, and the work you continue to do.

You may be older than what we think of as the first civilizations, you may be older than evolution, but thank you for being with our ancestors.

Thank you for holding their hands, teaching them how to hunt, which plants were edible, how to walk, how to develop.

It's because of you that humanity exists in the way we know today.

I'm sorry you've been lost to time.