rue-with-the-tarot

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When was the last time you thanked your body?

For always healing itself.

For housing your dreams, your feelings, your memories.

For being your soul's vessel in this incarnation.

Your body serves you every day. It has been your faithful companion for however old you are.

You would thank a stranger who holds the door open for you for five seconds. Why would you not thank your body who has been holding life open for you since the moment you were born?

Just like the people in your life, your body will reciprocate your affection.

The last time I got sick, my doctor was shocked at how well I looked given my test results. She said anyone else would have had trouble breathing, let alone walking. Meanwhile, I was belting Whitney Houston in the car just before strutting in my stilettos to see her.

It's not magic: Even if you thank your body every day, it will still get ill every now and then. And one day, it will still pass away.

But in the face of danger and death, a body deeply loved will fight with every fiber of its being to keep you safe for as long as it can.

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If you’re a practitioner that doesn’t decolonize, gtf away from me. If you talk about spirit animals, and use dreamcatchers that are not indigenous made, gtf away from me. If you participate in closed practices you have no business being in, gtf away from me. If you worship spirits that cultures have warned about being evil for thousands of years because you only care about the pop culture versions, gtf away from me. If you run groups where no one holds each other accountable for their shit, gtf away from me. If you refuse to face your biases because you’d rather be “civil”, gtf away from me. If you act like you carry the oppression of generations of practitioners but you fall in league with their oppressors, get. The fuck. Away from me.

[rue-with-the-tarot]

The Sound of Music (1965) dir. Robert Wise

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The irony is that internet pagans mock Christians for posting prayers on the internet but then turn around and do the same damn thing, just replacing the Christian god with their own.

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The majority of practitioners you see on the internet are “aesthetic” witches and pagans.

This is an opinion I have that many will not agree with. Frankly, some might find it even offensive. That’s okay. I haven’t posted in more than a month for a good reason. It is that despite the fact that interest in the occult and mythology has skyrocketed in the last few years, the general trend has been just that: a trend. It is agonizing watching this community flounder and struggle for a multitude of reasons. One of them being, the desire to make this path “easy” and “low effort”. Obviously I understand the purpose behind this. This is an othered community that attracts people on the outskirts, which includes those with disabilities. However, the attitude that is taken when you approach this lifestyle and practice from a “simple” perspective is doomed to fail. I have noticed over the last several years, is that there is genuinely next to no progression in occult spaces, and that is for a simple reason: echo chambers and the unwillingness to put the work in. From my place as an observer, it does not matter how elaborate your altars are, how flowery the language of your prayers flow, or how much you try to externally project your devotion; if you do not have a deep understanding of the context, culture, history, language, politics, philosophy, etc of your practice, you will always remain at surface level.

Do not mistake my bluntness for lack of understanding. Those are much heavier, deeper discussions and research than that of something like candle magic or sigil work that could be easily researched in a weekend. Many people do not have the mental capacity for that kind of work. Not as in being stupid, but rather mentally unequipped. Ex: if you struggled with history in school, unable to remember dates, figures, events, etc for the life of you, this kind of work is extremely challenging. And I find myself in a unique and privileged position where I am autistic, my special interests being the occult as well as history. And it is because of this unique position that I find myself saddened over the fact that many people, despite having loving connections with their spirits and a general sense of satisfaction with their practices, often find themselves stuck in the same places they were years ago.

You have to be willing to put in the strenuous effort. You have to be willing to sacrifice the time. Without it, these practices will be no better than any other placeholder used to fill the voids in your life, which is why droves of people end up walking away. You don't have to walk away, you don't have to stagnate. If you commit, you'll walk away entirely reborn: I swear it.

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Pleasure is not the absence of pain, but the result of it.

As someone with chronic issues, I can’t help but notice all the ways the pain in my life can quickly turn around. The relief I feel when I, or someone else, massages my head when I have a headache. The addiction to tattoos despite being stabbed by a needle a jillion times. The relaxing feeling of someone brushing my hair, even if they catch a knot. Falling down in a way that makes you fear you might’ve hurt yourself but then realize you’re fine, feeling your anxiety ease. The pain of piercing your body, with the joy of seeing the result afterwards. The feeling of taking off your bra after a long day. Ripping off sweaty/wet/dirty clothes and hopping in the shower, drying off and getting into your comfiest pjs. Getting sick from accidentally forgetting to take your medicine (or not taking it purposely) and then realizing how much it truly helps when you take your dose again. And one of my personal favorites, laying down in bed after a long, exhausting day and feeling the tension just flee your body.

It’s a great way to shift perspective, because this is true for everything. Sunshine all the time creates a desert. Without pain and suffering, there would be no joy, relief, or happiness. Everything that functions in nature is balanced, and this is but one aspect. It’s not a dysfunction of life, but a feature. And when you stop fighting it, and tune in, you’ll notice the suffering doesn’t stop, but it’s not as great as it was before. It’s easier to bear.

I started to write this with a headache, for example, and now as I finished up, my headache is gone! Sorry guys, they were really right about gratitude practice. 🥲

[rue-with-the-tarot]

God: is the alpha and the omega.

Christians: ☺️

God: is the male and the female.

Christians: 😡

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The Akashic Records aren’t real.

This one might definitely get me into some trouble, but I think it’s time we be mature about this. The Akashic Records stem from the cult of Theosophical theology, which has its roots in the early 20th century among some of the most deplorable people the spiritualist community had to offer. It’s where we get the terms like “black and white” magic, it’s where we get magic spelled like “magick” for no good reason, and was home to the likes of Aleister Crowley. These people were incredibly racist, groomed children, and were a literal cult.

If that wasn’t enough of a yikes for you, the fact of the matter is, is that I have never seen cohesive information about the Records. I looked, years and years ago. Because of course I did. Everyone was talking about it back then. Some sources would say that you had to get permission from this angel, and this guardian. Some said you had to have a special key to get in. Some said you needed to enter a special state of being to gain access (whatever that meant). Many people on the internet disregarded all that and said that it was freely accessible to anyone. All that inconsistency is questionable as is, but consider this:

If the Akashic Records were real, and held all the information of the universe that had been, is, and will be, why didn’t anyone use it for more than just past life stuff or whatever folks were doing? If I had access to that kind of information, I would spend a crazy amount of time there. I would gather as much information as I could. Study hard and apply it to every inch of my life. I could see how each route of my life would play out and I would choose the best one. I would manipulate things to work out in my favor. With that kind of information, all spellwork, divination, divine relationships, etc. would become OBSOLETE. Why bother using divination if I can just look in the records for what I need? Why make petitions to the gods when I know how to make it work myself? Why would I even need witchcraft to make things work in my favor when I just know how to make it happen anyway? It would take away all meaning of life, all purpose and drive would be lost, the inherent power of uncertainty that is intrinsic in nature would be removed. The very concept of the Akashic Records goes against nature.

[rue-with-the-tarot]

I’m going to be frank and say that a great deal many of you should not be teaching others. Many of you are not qualified for it, suited for it, ready for the challenges it will inevitably present, and if I’m being really honest, a lot of you aren’t as advanced as you think you are. Certainly not in a position of authority to lead and guide others on their journey.

There are too many folks out there that make it painfully obvious that they haven’t done their research past theoi.com. Many people still hold on to Theosophical ideologies that originated in the 20th century by cultists/racists/groomers, and tout them as “the ancient ways”. Many people are recycling things that have haunted internet spaces for over a decade and have no verifiable weight to them, or are just blatantly false. I’ve been around for a while. Seen a few things. The same people who worship fake gods invented on tumblr, or claim to make love to angels in the astral plane, or say they are spoused to fictional characters are not in any position to give advice.

The function of these communities is ominously similar to a cult in that everyone gets trapped in an echo chamber/endless game of telephone in which everyone is just repeating the same thing over and over, and at this point, much of it is nonsensical.

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✨Incorrect Greek Mythology Quotes✨

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takes like 2 seconds 2 block someone it's not hard lol

It’s also not hard to understand the idea of “no means no” you fucking weirdo. It took you more than two seconds to find my ask box and haunt it with your freakishness, grow some balls and turn off anonymity if you’re going to be a keyboard cunt.

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I very much dislike when people insinuate that gods were solely invented by man, because that completely misses the mark when you take primordial gods into account. The Primordial Divinities are called that because they transcend time. Khaos exists as the literal body of the cosmos from which there was nothing, and then came everything. That means that they existed before creation itself. That dark nothingness we imagine the world to be before the Big Bang? That’s Khaos. Tiamat and Apsu, the bodies of saltwater and freshwater respectfully, come from a time so long ago that we cannot comprehend it. One could also argue that the vastness of the universe itself could’ve been relegated to their roles. But they existed back when it had rained for millions of years and all of earth was water, back at the start of all things. These are not just beings that were thought of for funsies. These beings are the embodiment, the limitation that we can conceive, of a force of universal power. Don’t even get me started on the deities of the sun, who has been here so long that they nurtured probable life on Mars that came and went long before we arrived. Yes, Mars, that lives in the habitable zone and had an atmosphere once akin to ours before the sun wore it down to nothing. The spirits of the stars, which are so far and unreachable that we can only ever live in the distant path for each other. The furthest star we can see with our naked eye is 16,000 light years away. Meaning when we look at it, the light we see is from the near end of the Ice Age. Of course we “made gods”, because we have long since noticed the unimaginable realities of our world, that could only ever be understood as divine in one way or another.

[rue-with-the-tarot]

The idea that some pagans have that you cannot view a deity as a lover, a close friend, as your child, as your parent, is so funny to me as someone who is both Hindu and pagan

In bhakti, there are different types of Bhava, or feelings. There is Shanta Bhava, where the devotee is peaceful. Dasya Bhava, where one serves the deity wholeheartedly and finds joy and bliss in service. Sakhya Bhava, where the deity is a friend of the devotee. Vatsalya Bhava, where the devotee sees the deity as their child. Madhurya/Kanta Bhava, where the devotee sees the deity as their lover.

And to call these practices "humanization of deities" just feels disrespectful to me. If you don't understand it then that's completely fine. But to disrespect forms of devotion just because you think it's "too weird to be real" is just not okay.

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how do you feel about ‘godspouses’? to me personally, i just don’t see how you can be in a romantic relationship with a god…unless i’m getting the meaning wrong? but i’ve seen people call one of the Gods their girlfriend/boyfriend so…

To me, godspousal is a very limited term for a very broad-reaching practice. I don’t want to get into the whole “it’s been a practice for centuries” thing because whatever the case may be, it’s definitely real. But like how the Greeks had many words to denote the different meanings of love, I’d think it would be preferable to have many meanings associated with godspousal. Because there are many contextual relationships one can have with a deity both within and outside of godspousal. Relationships can be mentor/mentee, teacher/student, master/servant, parent/child (some cultures even have a child/parent dynamic), friends, casual acquaintances, enemies, lovers, queerplatonic, platonic, on and on. Godspousal is a limited term as well considering that gods are not the only types of spirits relegated to this type of role. You could potentially godspouse a daimon, a demon, angels (in an explicitly non romantic/sexual way as they are forbidden from it), djinn, faeries, etc.

In my opinion, this form of practice is very sacred, very uncommon, and VERY ADVANCED. It should be 90% private, but much of it isn’t because I guarantee that folks haven’t even asked their gods if it’s okay to share. Learning to keep secrets is very important. I see many go about this in the entirely wrong way. I have seen minors participating which is very wrong. I see people making relationship blogs. I see MANY people say that you need to have a potential godspousal “confirmed” by an outside source, and in my opinion it is nobody’s business. What you should do is have outside confirmation that you are sane and not in spiritual psychosis. Study the symptoms, know the signs. Having a pagan do a confirmation for you is useless if you’re both having psychosis. But I do have schizoaffective disorder, which I don’t wish to recount, but I am medicated and well and mentally sound in my practice and decisions, which is VITAL.

You have to understand your motives behind it. Sure it sounds fun and interesting to be married to a god, but are you ready for what that entails? I feel like there is a good amount of people who are desperate for connection, for someone to know the in and outs of your deepest insecurities and problems and love you anyways. That’s a fantasy many of us have, and in many ways the god can give us that. But are you prepared for them to push you past comfort to better yourself? Are you ready for all the problems that come with such relationships? Are you ready to reconcile your human relationships with your divine ones? Are you ready for no one to recognize that relationship? Are you ready to have a secret love that you have to keep quiet about, potentially forever? Have you even completed a courting period where you made sure you were compatible? Are you adept enough at divination and psychic skills in order to communicate effectively? Are you ready to devote yourself to something many people don’t believe in? Are you ready to look crazy to the outside world, even in witchy spaces? Would you risk outcasting for this relationship? There are numerous factors. And if the answer is no, that’s PERFECT. You are not better than those not godspoused. You are not more advanced than others. You are not a higher priority for a spirit with many duties and responsibilities. If people knew all this, I think less people would identify with being godspoused.

My opinion? It’s valid and real and beautiful, but I really do believe at least 70% of people are cluelessly lost on the issue.

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This!!! I need people in 2024 to finally move past the virtue signaling of the whole Wiccan rule of three bs. A person can never, ever, ever exist solely in the “light”. It’s in direct conflict with nature. Not just human nature, but Nature Nature, with a capital N. Is Nature all rainbows and flowers and puppies? No, nature is hailstorms, tornadoes, death and destruction too. I would sooner trust a witch who curses for a living than a witch who calls themselves a “white/light” witch, any day. Because one is honest, has self reflected, has accepted their true nature, while the other has gaslit, judged, minimized, and manipulated those around them in an attempt to sanitize their image and the image of the Othered Witch.

Also, karma is a very specific term from a specific belief system and philosophy from the Indian culture. White western folks with no knowledge of its origin and culture speaking on karma always gives me the nastiest ick.

I could go off for days about this but I won’t! 💖💖💖

💋 Love Spells are BAD because FREE WILL

There is nothing wrong with this kind of spell. Not sure why witches of all people on planet earth get so f*cked up over it. 🤷‍♀️

I hate that witches say not to do magick that takes away the free will of another.

Like what is the point of witchcraft then?

To passively let life pass you by and continually get screwed over?

When someone isn't benefiting your life, but is trying to remain a part of it, I say do the spell.

They want your attention, time and affection. So ensure you're getting it back from them.

Why even get involved with magick if you're going to play so small that you won't allow it to "interfere" with your interactions?

This is no different than going for your dream job and doing a spell that will help you get noticed instead of someone else. That takes the "free will" of the person who is hiring and the person who wanted the job in the first place. I can't stand virtue signalers.

I am a woman's woman, I support any witch who wants to attract a man for personal reasons or otherwise. The "free will" argument seems to me like it's just people trying to be so politically correct that they allow the patriarchy / society to police their and others' own personal, private craft.

In fact, the Veil is a place where witches are welcome to discuss things like this. I genuinely want my Vixens to have a leg up in the world, no matter what fear-mongering witches say.

And no, Karma isn't real unless you believe it is. Careful what you manifest, beauties. <3

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I will never, ever trust anyone who calls themselves a priest(ess) unless they have a myriad of qualifications and experience behind them. Are you aware of the kind of responsibilities you’re accepting? Are you able to comfort the downtrodden effectively and not just say “the gods love you” and leave it at that? Are you able to keep your composure and not allow the plights of others to affect you so you can better be of service? Do you have experience in counseling and leadership? Are you prepared for when someone comes to you with a pile of woe upon their shoulders? Do you have experience or knowledge about community building? Are you well studied in both the culture, history and religious traditions of your chosen religion? Are you able to guide and nurture countless individuals and modify your knowledge and beliefs to fit into their lives? Are you able to continue the work of uplifting a whole community even when you are tired, depressed, or going through hardship yourself? If you are not able to be initiated and guided under a trove of elders and the more experienced, what are you going to do to combat that problem? Who are you responsible to? What are your morals for leadership? Are you able to admit when you are mistaken? Have you been acknowledged by others to be worthy of that title? How are you enriching someone’s life and practice outside of the culture of doomscrolling on the internet? Do you know how to write sermons? Do you know how to lead prayer and ritual for a lot of people? What will you say when a congregate comes to you, devastated by death? Rape? Trauma? Mental illness? Can you recognize the signs of spiritual psychosis? Do you know how to navigate that? Can you spot cultural appropriation? Have you deconstructed from white supremacy and colonialism? Do you have connections with others that have experience in other belief systems so you can direct people to where they need to go? Have you and the gods ever discussed what you are willing to sacrifice in order to hold this position? Are you aware that you will make sacrifices at all and that this isn’t just a cozy, fun thing? Are you even old enough? Do you have enough life experience? Are you able to guide someone older than yourself effectively? How will you serve your community outside of religion?

I know everyone is different in their religious lives, but for me personally, it took me 5 years to answer the call of priesthood, and I AM STILL NOT A PRIESTESS. I am unable to be initiated, so my path involves seminary and intensive theologian study for what will likely be about the next 10 years of my life. Under no circumstances will I set up a group chat and call myself a priestess, no disrespect, but the ease of it takes away from the sacredness. In ancient times, priests were educated from CHILDHOOD and assumed their duties in ADULTHOOD.

At best it feels self-serving and at worst, cultish, to just set up a digital server, call it a temple, and give yourself a flashy title.

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I share this personal journal entry with the permission and encouragement of my goddesses.

Extending both my hands, I could feel Athena take my left, and Aphrodite take my right. Athena’s power felt like the flame that keeps you warm, and shields you from the cold; not necessarily burning high and bright, but burning consistently, its temperature just right to nurture you. Aphrodite’s power felt like the flame that burns so hot it’s like ice, as if you can’t tell whether you’ve just been burnt to the third degree or if you’ve managed to get frostbite.

They are both Justice.

Athena is the law, the symbol, the spiritual embodiment that Justice cannot be removed from the law, lest it become profane. It is ordered, done with due processes and balances, through the eyes of both gods and mortals. It demands to be seen, recorded, heard and remembered. Athena asks to be remembered as a lesson, as importance, united with humanity’s desire to Never Forget, despite our nature. Because Justice Athena shouldn’t be forgotten, lest injustice seep in. If we forget we’ll do it again. So we try, oh how we try, and we beg for her guidance, although it may not be her name they utter, it is her spirit that listens. The Dependable Flame.

Aphrodite is also Justice. It is in her forms from the East; Astarte and Ishtar-Inanna. The Ladies whom are more than just fair. The Just Ones. But Ori, you ask, in all of their myths they don’t act super justly. First lesson of theirs: look further than skin deep. They are the Lovely Ones and Love, they tell me, is directly tied in with Justice. Not Justice Athena. They do not operate in courts, although they can be seen there; as a woman divorces her abusive husband or when a doting father is given custody of his children. They have been in the highest echelons; ziggurats and temples, paraded through cities, and have been nameless in brothels and on the streets. Helping prostitutes get clean and protecting sex workers from the hazards of the trade. They give justice where you have been harmed, and they are whom Athena often goes to when the law has forgotten. Because justice is not just written, it is spoken, whispered, screamed. It does not care to be remembered, rather it demands to be felt. Our brain capacity is limited but our hearts are boundless, as vast as the oceans they’re born from. The sea foam like the foam at our mouths when we are ravenous for Justice. When we are mad with the need to be avenged. The Vigilante Blaze.

Praise be their names.