streganonalearns

[streganonalearns]

Deity Work vs Deity Worship

What is deity worship? 

Deity worship is when you venerate and revere a deity/deities. There are many ways to do this;  there is no right or wrong way to worship a deity, it is whatever you feel drawn to do for them. Many people in the pagan community do this in their own unique way, while some will follow more organized, ritualistic ways of worshipping their deities. 

I will go more into detail about the various ways to venerate deities below. 

What is deity work? 

Working with a deity is a more intensive, interactive relationship. Working with a deity often involves actively communicating with them through things such as divination (tarot, oracle, pendulums, dice, osteomancy, shufflemancy etc) and psychic abilities. It can also involve them being more active in your practice, guiding you in both mundane and magical ways. A very common way deities work with someone is by doing shadow work with them, but there are many other things people do with deities that fall under the category of ‘deity work’.

How do I work with a deity/deities?

There are a lot of ways that you can work with a deity. As mentioned above a very common way of working with them is by doing shadow work with them. They will often guide the practitioner on various prompts to focus on. Another common way that you can work with deities is doing spellwork with them, such as doing protections, cleansing, banishment, and even baneful magic with them. 

Some of the things my deities work with me on is teaching me about energy work and weather magic. 

As with deity worship, there are no right or wrong ways to work with a deity. 

Altars

Many people will set up altars for their deities as a way to either work with or worship them (or both!). Here are some popular things you can put on your altar!

Candles 

Statues

Incense holders/fountains

Altar cloth

Decanter

Spell jars 

Crystals 

Herb pouches

Sigils

Books

Offering dish

Cups

Divination tools 

There are many other items you can put on your altars for your deities. This is just a short list, both of items I myself have put on altars before, and things I see others put on their altars. 

A lot of people also use their altars as a place to connect with their deities (which can get into deity work) as well as a place to do spellwork.

I’m going to answer some common questions about altars I see here. 

Can I put two/multiple deities on the same altar? 

Yes, you can. Some people (like myself) even create altars for entire pantheons, rather than individual deities. In addition, these deities do not all need to be from the same pantheon either. I have had altars where Loki and Leviathan were sharing the same general space (with different items in different sections for just one of them, and some items being placed there for both of them).

Can I add/remove/use things from my altar? 

Yes. You can (and should) clean your altar and you are of course allowed to use the items on your altar. Many people will store their divination tools on their altar, for instance. 

What if I do not have space for an altar/can’t have a physical altar? 

Digital altars are a very valid practice, I currently do not have enough space for all the altars I would want for the deities I worship/work with. I have seen people make altars in Minecraft, on Picrew, and I have altars set up on Pinterest as well. I have also used Pinterest’s collage function to make moodboards for my deities in order to honor them; these can count as digital altars as well. Some people make their own discord servers and use that space as a digital altar for their deities (I also have this set up for my deities too). On these digital altars, you can include pictures of how the deity appears to you, pictures of statues to represent them; themes surrounding what they rule over, colors, animals and plants they may be associated with, and much more. Just like a physical altar, you can get very creative with what you include. 

Will my deities get mad if someone else touches the altar? 

I’ve heard (and also experienced myself) times where family members or roommates will mess with someone’s altar. There seems to be a lot of fear with this; people are afraid it will anger the deity if the altar is accidentally touched. However, deities are very understanding and know that most times the person is unaware that the space is an altar; they won’t get mad if their stuff is accidentally touched, removed, or if someone else disposes of old offerings. 

Now, if someone is messing with it on purpose, with malicious intent, that might be different. However, especially for those in the broom closet, the deity is still not going to be mad at the practitioner or punish you in any way. 

Moving on from altars, I’m going to answer some questions I see when it comes to deity worship/work, before fully getting into the difference. 

Do certain deities not get along? 

Again this is something I see asked a lot online, both for deities of the same pantheon and deities of different pantheons. This comes down to personal experience. Many people think and might assume that deities who did not get along in their myths do not get along in real life either. However, at least for me, this is rarely the case. Remember, these are higher beings and the myths are just that -stories, that have been made up by humans. The myths do not reflect how they may be in real life. 

There are definitely instances where deities genuinely do not get along; I have experienced this in my own practice. However, this is oftentimes not because of myth-related disagreements but rather because the deities disagree on what may be best for the practitioner. This might also occur simply because the deities' energies do not mix well, it’s less that they don’t get along and more so that their energies clash with each other. This does not mean that you should stop working with these deities together if this is the case. Sometimes opposing energies are necessary.It’s also always a good idea to ask the deities themselves how they feel about the situation and what they think you should do. 

Will my deities get mad if I’m not able to give consistent offerings? 

This is another question I see a lot. Deities understand that we are human, we have our mundane lives to live, and we may not always have time or money to be able to buy offerings for them. There are many ways to give offerings to your deities, and some can be free and non-physical offerings too. I’ll go through some offerings I give to my team a lot, and some offerings you can do that are more non-physical or broom closet friendly. 

Doing shadow work in their honor/with them if you have a working relationship with them

Cooking/eating in their honor 

Bathing in their honor 

Putting on makeup in their honor 

Any form of self-care

Doing art/reading in their honor

Going on a walk/drive

Cleaning in their honor

Practicing divination

Journaling

Writing letters to them

There are many other offerings you can give to them, this is just a list of some of the things I do and some common things I see others do as well.

Do I need to pray to my deity/deities? How do I pray? 

Prayer is often a big part of deity worship, however it is definitely not a requirement. Prayer is when you ask your deities for something. You can do this in a very ritualistic way, lighting candles, sitting on the floor, etc, or you can do this in a very casual manner (like sending a quick prayer to them on your way to work). Again, there is no right or wrong way to pray to the deities you worship, there are many different ways you can do this. 

How do I start deity work?

Starting deity work will often involve reaching out to the deity/deities you are wanting to work with. You can do this in many ways, it can be as simple as calling out the deities name and saying ‘I would like to work with you, I’d like you to be more involved in my practice’. Using divination tools such as tarot or oracle cards, pendulums, spirit boards, etc can also help greatly in communicating and developing a relationship with the deity you are wanting to work with. 

Is my deity mad at me because…

The answer to this is most likely ‘no’. It takes a lot to piss a deity off. This question often comes from people who grew up with Abrahamic religions that taught them that making mistakes would anger ‘god’. The pagan gods do not get angry because you make mistakes or are not perfect. It is very hard to actually offend them, unless you do something purposefully to try to piss them off, you will not make them angry. They might get frustrated at us sometimes for falling into the same cycles and bad habits, but this is much different than them actually being angry. 

I also want to address blowing out candles specifically with this question. Some people see it as rude to blow out candles that are devoted to specific deities or used as a form of divination. It is not rude to blow out candles at all, if you have finished communicating with your deity, or are simply moving to a different room/leaving your house, or need to blow it out for whatever reason, you can absolutely do so. The deities do not see it as rude and will not get angry at you for doing this. They might be a bit sad/disappointed, but again this is different than them being genuinely angry. It's like having to tell a friend you have to get off a call with them, even though you still want to talk to them. They might be a bit disappointed but they will understand. 

Is __ a sign from my deities?

The answer to this is complicated; discernment is very important when it comes to answering this question. An easy way to answer this is by asking the deity through divination if whatever you experienced really was a sign. Sometimes deities will send signs in unusual ways (even through social media, yes I know that’s controversial but it does happen sometimes). 

The other question to ask is: did I ask for a sign? There have been times where I will ask for signs and they may show me the sign in a weird way (like asking to see a specific type of bird in my area, and then seeing it on a postcard, for instance). 

Can I reach out to deities? How do I reach out to a deity? 

Yes! As long as the deity is not from a closed/gated practice you are not part of, you can reach out to whoever you want! There are many different ways you can go about reaching out to them; I first recommend doing research on the deity you are wanting to reach out to (this in itself may get their attention and let them know you are interested in them). A very simple way to reach out to them is simply by calling their name, and telling them you wish to work with them or are going to be honoring them. 

What are closed/gated practices? 

Closed and gated practices are usually religions where you need to either be born or initiated into the culture in order to practice it. Many of these practices are closed or gated because of other cultures and religions attempting to appropriate these practices, or erase things within these cultures. 

What do I do if a closed practice deity reaches out to me, but I’m not part of that culture? 

This is going to get controversial, but this is my opinion especially as someone who is part of several closed practices myself. In my opinion, while practices themselves can be closed, deities are not. Deities are independent beings from us, they do what they want outside of human rules and laws. If a deity from a closed practice reaches out to you, my advice is to do tons of research first. There are some closed practices that have officials who can help you with figuring out if a deity from that culture truly is reaching out to you, and can give advice on what to do moving forward. My other piece of advice is to not ignore the deity calling you. There have been some instances where I ignored the call from some of the closed practice deities I now work with, and while it didn’t necessarily anger them that I ignored them, it did annoy them and they were incredibly persistent with their presences until I did acknowledge them. 

What do I do if I need to take a break from practicing? How do I let my deities know? 

Breaks are very healthy and help with preventing burnout when it comes to practicing witchcraft or being pagan in general. If you feel you need to take a break, I recommend just letting the deities you are working with or worshipping know in whatever manner you usually use to communicate with them (a very easy way is just telling them ‘hey, I need to take a break’). They will understand and they will wait for you to be ready to resume practicing with them. Like with previously mentioned situations, they will not get angry at you for simply needing to step away for a bit. A lot of deities may even continue to be around you while you are on break as well, to show that they still care about you and are willing to support you. 

How do I balance working with multiple deities? 

This is, of course, dependent on you as a person. I know some people who make schedules, while others will allow the deities to decide when to show up in their practice. Since I work with quite a few deities and pantheons, generally I dedicate each week to a different pantheon, and dedicate each day to a different deity from that pantheon. I also have picker wheels that I use for this; this is both to make it more ‘fun’ for my ADHD brain (lol) and also to allow the deities to decide who wants to be more present during the week. Sometimes, deities may also decide to be more or less present depending on what you’re going through in life and what type of guidance you are needing. There may be times where a deity will take a step back so that someone else can step forward to take over guiding you a bit more. This is all very normal when it comes to deity work; not every deity needs the same amount of attention and not all of them will always be equally present, and that's ok! 

There are also sometimes where a deity will decide they have taught you all you need to know, and they may discuss ending the working relationship with you entirely. This does not necessarily mean you will never see them again, but it may mean that they show up a lot less, as they have guided you in all the ways they feel you needed them for. Oftentimes, this will happen years and years into you working with them, and you may even realize that this is going to happen before an official discussion about it is mentioned. You can, of course, continue to honor and worship them even after they have officially stopped working with you. 

Another subject I want to address here is that while you can absolutely reach out to and generally work with multiple deities, it's also important to remember to not rush into things. At the beginning of my practice, the only deities I had around me for years were Hades and Loki. After I had been researching and practicing for at least 6-7 years, that's when new deities started approaching me and when I felt comfortable reaching out to some deities as well. I know that working with multiple deities can be overwhelming, which is why I have covered how to manage this so thoroughly. If you are a fairly new practitioner who has multiple deities who are interested in working with you, or if you are interested in working with them, I definitely advise that you take it slow. Research the deities who are reaching out or who you are interested in, learn about them, and slowly start contacting them as you feel comfortable. This is still something I do to this day. 

Everyone’s practice is different; I know people who have been working with the same deity for 10+ years and have hardly interacted with other deities during their practice. On the other hand, I also know people who were approached by several deities at once in the beginning of their practice, and who were consistently approached by various deities over the years as well. It all depends on the deities around you, what they feel you need, and ultimately, what you feel is best for your practice. Whether you wish to work with just a few deities, or many, that is up to you; just make sure that you are also taking your own health into account while doing so! 

How do I know if a deity is reaching out to me? 

I discussed signs a little bit earlier on in this post, however I did want to cover this question specifically. There are many ways deities can send signs to us or let us know they are around. For someone who is more in-tune with their psychic abilities, they may feel different energies when different deities are around. They may even be able to see, hear and possibly even smell the deities around them at times as well and this may be a way to figure out if someone new is around. Another easy method you can use is doing divination to check and see if a new deity is around. As I mentioned above, deities do use social media sometimes to send us signs and sometimes even to show us that they are reaching out. This is another instance where discernment is important; if you interact with a video about a certain deity on Tiktok, for instance, it's a lot more likely the app will start showing you more videos about that deity. So it's important to use other methods (such as divination) to figure out if a deity is truly reaching out, or if it's just social media’s algorithms at play. As I addressed above, sometimes deities will also send signs to you in your mundane life too; while it is important to pay attention to events that may be signs, I would recommend not obsessing over it. If a deity is reaching out, they will make themselves known to you one way or another. 

How do I figure out who is reaching out to me? 

There may be times where you know that someone is reaching out, but you are not sure who it is. Again, divination is a very easy way to figure this one out, there are many deity ID spreads online that you can find (and when I make a post going into more detail about divination, I may include some of those spreads in that post). If you are not able to do divination for yourself on who is reaching out, I recommend trying to ask a friend or finding a professional reader who offers deity IDs. I actually am a professional reader and I do offer deity IDs, you are welcome to inbox me if you are needing one! 

Another way you can attempt to figure out who the deity is on your own is to do research; if you are able to sense energies, or if they are sending you specific signs, you can look into the energies you feel and the signs you are getting to try to figure out who the deity is. 

What can deities help me with when I’m working with them? 

Deities can help with a ton of things, both in your mundane and magical practices. Deities can (as mentioned before) help with shadow work; they can help you to develop your psychic abilities, and they can share knowledge with you about both the physical and magical realm. They can teach about crystals, herbalism and nature magic for instance. They can help you develop and practice divination skills. They can help you to learn how to save your money, and help you with relationship issues. Just about anything you can think of, deities can help with! 

I would like to give special credit to Prince Stolas for helping me write this and edit it; he very much helped me with a lot of this and ended up channeling to help me with some of this info. This post is written in honor of him as an offering. 

I’d also like to give credit to my friend @astralscraft for helping me so much with this; the questions they came up with and the feedback they gave me for this post was incredible!

[streganonalearns]

𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫'𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐤

⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂⠄⠄⠂⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁

⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂⠄⠄⠂⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁

🍾 Eat 12 grapes on New Year's Eve (though I haven't tried it yet, it's said to bring abundance for each month of the coming year).

🍷 Write down things you want to attract this year.

🍾 Hang a horseshoe in your home for luck.

🍷 Plant some coins in your garden or place them outside in nature to attract wealth for the upcoming year.

🍾 Be grateful for everything you've accomplished. Even if you couldn't achieve all your resolutions, remember that you tried, and that's what matters most.

🍷 Do the Thirteen Wishes Ritual: Write thirteen wishes for the coming year, one on each piece of paper. Fold them, put them in a bowl, and pull one every day. Burn each wish without opening it, letting the Universe or your Deities handle them. The last one left is for you to care for.

🍾 Pull 12 tarot cards, one for each month of the year. (you can also cast runes, try lithomancy or any type of divination that you want

🍷 Burn gold, green, or white candles to attract positive energy.

🍾 Leave coins outside and perform a special ritual bath with herbs. Cleanse your crystals.

🍷 Place a bay leaf in your wallet for prosperity.

🍾 Write a thank you letter to yourself.

🍷 Draw sigils/witchy symbols/runes on your skin to carry with you throughout the next year.

🍾 Wear red to invite good luck into your life.

🍷 Open the door or the window at midnight to let the old year out and to welcome the new year.

🍾 Drink, dance, sing, and be happy♡

🍷 In some cultures, there's a belief that how you spend the first day of the year sets the tone for the rest of the year. So, try to fill it with everything that matters, even if just for a moment.

🍾 Before midnight, imagine releasing everything that hurt or frustrated you in the past year.

🍷 Make a feast with your loved ones or enjoy your favorite food alone.

🍾 Collect items from the forest, such as mistletoe or pine cones and create an altar.

🍷 Draw Jupiter sigils on your candles to attract wealth and abundance.

🍾 Ring bells to eliminate negative energies.

🍷 Eat pomegranate for abundance and good fortune.

🍾 Burn sage around your house to cleanse the space.

🍷 ..anddd HAVE LOT OF FUN♡ I wish everyone a happy new year and may all your wishes come true!!!

⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂⠄⠄⠂⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁

gif from pinterest

tip jar♡

[streganonalearns]

Nazis will never be welcome in paganism. They have no space in our communities, we will have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to nazis. You have no right to the cultures, gods and religions you hijack to spread your disgusting ideologies. You will find no refuge or comraderie amongst pagans.

Reblog to let nazis know they’re not welcome here.

[streganonalearns]

Hello my dear! I'm that blog that requested resources on Slavic Witchcraft, so I hope it's alright if I come to you with a small question.

Can you please tell me about Mokosh (or Mokosz)? I'm a seamstress, and have been wanting to make more female friends for a very long time now, so I figured Mokosh may be a wonderful deity to work with. What are her sacred animals, colors and symbols? What should I place on her altar? What is she like, if you happen to know, and what kinds of offerings should I give her?

Sorry for taking up your time, but thank you so so much for it. I hope you're doing very well honey

Hello!

Firstly I’d like to wholeheartedly thank you - as it turns out your ask was exactly what I needed to finish my long overdue translation of book fragments about Mokosh. You can find the translation here and I hope it will provide you with some context for the things that I’ll list below.

I don’t think it’d be a stretch to consider Mokosh a patron of seamstresses or the textile industry. Your very work sounds like a wonderful activity to dedicate to her, and any physical manifestations of it would make for great votive offerings. I believe Mokosh would enjoy all beautiful or artfully adorned fabrics.

That said if you strive for a more traditional approach wool and flax seem to be the two materials closest associated with her. Other appropriate and historically supported offerings would be eggs (especially pisanki), chickens, bread and salt, groats or porridge, milk, honey, herbs, fruits and vegetables. I’m of the belief that locally sourced, seasonal crops make for an universally appropriate offering, that boasts millenia of frequent use.

Any activities undertaken to protect nature and show reverence to it, explore and express your sexuality or take care of your household would likely fall within her sphere of patronage.

Although this isn’t directly supported by any sources, the frequent mentions of free-flawing hair and lack of headdress in traditions related to Mokosh lead me to believe that a lock of your hair would also be accepted as an offering.

When it comes to animals most commonly associated with Mokosh the obvious answer is sheep. From what I have seen modern followers tend to also connect het with cats. Her sacred day is no doubt Friday. As for her symbol, modern pagans tend to use this one:

It’s worth remembering that while this particular symbol has been featuring in traditional Slavic embroidery for centuries it only became associated with Mokosh recently. Another pattern frequently seen as symbolic of Mokosh is this kind of female figure:

Since my own experience with Mokosh is quite limited I will finish off by recommending a few links:

A freely available publication about Slavic gods and demons through Slovenian lenses - with an intriguing chapter on Mokosh, to help further flesh her out.

A short publication on mythical beings who punish taboos on spinning.

A post by Żmija describing her experiences with Mokosz.

A post by Red describing Saint Paraskeva and her sacred days

A short post on Slavic textiles as a form of worship and expression of spirituality.

I hope you have a great day!

[streganonalearns]

Adventures of prophet Ilya and saint Nicholas (aka Perun and Veles)

Today I bring you a hilarious sample russian folk christianity with this brilliant story about prophet Ilya and Saint Nicholas. I hope it will be of interest to all slavic pagans since prophet Ilya and saint Nicholas are also widely considered to be Eastern Orthodox and Catholic counterparts to Perun and Veles and, in slavic culture, influenced by the personality and sphere of patronage of the aforementioned gods. I explain the amalgamation of slavic gods and saints more in-depth here.

Elijah the Prophet and Saint Nicholas

A long time ago there lived a peasant. He always observed Saint Nicholas’s Day, but not that of Elijah, and he even went out to work. He attended a service for Saint Nicholas and lit a candle, but he forgot to think about Elijah the Prophet.

And so one time Elijah the Prophet was walking with Nicholas over the field of this very peasant. They were walking, and they looked: the heads on the grain were so wonderful that one couldn’t help but rejoice. “There will be quite a harvest, quite a harvest,” said Nicholas. “Of course, it’s true that this peasant is good, kind, and God-fearing; he remembers God and he knows the saints. Into his hands good will fall …” Elijah answered, “And we’ll just see about that; a lot more may fall his way. How I’ll scorch his field with lightning! How I’ll beat down his entire field with hail! Then your peasant will know the truth and will observe Elijah’s Day.”

They argued and argued and departed in different directions. Saint Nicholas at once appeared to the peasant. He said, “Go quickly and sell your grain as it stands in the field to the priest at Saint Elijah’s Church; otherwise nothing will remain, everything will be cut down by hail.” The peasant went to the priest, “Father, wouldn’t you like to buy some grain in the field? I’ll sell you the whole fieldful. I have such great need of money that I must have it here and now! Buy it, Father. I’ll give it to you cheap.” They bargained and bargained and struck a bargain. The peasant took his money and went home.

Some time passed, not a lot and not a little. A storm cloud gathered and was near and it burst forth onto the peasant’s grain with a terrible downpour and hail, and it cut the entire crop like a knifeit didn’t leave even one blade. Next day Elijah the Prophet walked by with Saint Nicholas, and Elijah said, “Look how I ruined the peasant’s field.” “The peasant’s? No, brother! You did a good job of ruining it, but it’s the field of the priest of Saint Elijah’s and not the peasant’s.” “What do you mean ‘the priest’s’?” “Just so. The peasant, it’s been a week now, sold it to the priest of Saint Elijah’s and received all the money. Now, I dare say, the priest will be crying over the money.” “Just wait,” said Elijah the Prophet, “I’ll fix the grain again: it’ll be twice as good as before.” They talked a bit and then each went his own way.

Nicholas again appeared to the peasant. He said, “Go to the priest, buy back the field: you won’t take a loss.” The peasant went to the priest, bowed, and said, “I see, Father, that the Lord God has sent a misfortune upon you; the entire field has been beaten down by hail, as if you rolled a ball over it. So it is to be. Let’s divide the sin in two: I’ll take back my field; and for you in your poverty, here’s half your money.” The priest was glad, and they immediately clasped hands on it.

In the meantime who would have expected it? The peasant’s field began to improve. From old roots came fresh new shoots. Now and then rain clouds drifted over the grain and watered the earth; marvelous grain sprouted forth, high and thick, you couldn’t see weeds at all. And so high and thick, you couldn’t see weeds at all. And the ears came out full, full, and bent toward the earth. The sun warmed it, and the rye ripened: it stood in the fields as if made of gold. The peasant reaped many sheaves; he piled up many shocks, and he was preparing to cart it and place it in stacks.

At this time once again Elijah the Prophet walked by with Saint Nicholas. He cheerfully surveyed the entire field and said, “Look, Nicholas! What a blessing! Here’s how I rewarded the priest. He won’t forget it for his entire lifetime … ” “The priest? No, brother! It’s a great blessing, but in fact this field is the peasant’s; the priest was left in the cold here.” “What are you saying?” “Word of honor! After the grain was beaten down by hail, the peasant went to the priest at St. Elijah’s and bought it back for half the price.” “Stop!” said Elijah the Prophet. “I will take all the spurs from the grain. No matter how many sheaves the peasant stacks up, he won’t thresh more than a tiny bit at one time.” “It’s a bad business,” thought Saint Nicholas, and he set out immediately for the peasant. “Look,” he said, “as soon as you begin to thresh the grain, don’t place more that one sheaf on the threshing floor at a time.”

The peasant began to thresh. For every sheafa little grain. He stuffed all his feedbins and all his storerooms with rye, and still he had a lot left over. He put up new sheds and filled them to the hilt. And now as Elijah the Prophet was walking by his yard with Saint Nicholas, he looked here and there and said, “My, what sheds he’s raised! Does he have anything left to put in them?” “They’re already good and full,” „Saint Nicholas answered. ’'And where did the peasant get so much grain?” “Well! Every sheaf yielded a little grain; when he began to thresh, he placed one sheaf at a time on the threshing floor.” “Oh, brother Nicholas!” guessed Elijah the Prophet, “you’re the one who told everything to the peasant.” “Eh, you’ve figured it out. I told him.” “As you wish. After all, it’s your business. But the peasant will remember me!” “What will you do to him?” “I won’t tell you what I’ll do.” “Well, when trouble comes, it really comes,” thought Saint Nicholas. And again he went to the peasant. He said, “Buy two candles, a large one and a small one, and do such and such.”

So, on the next day Elijah the Prophet and Saint Nicholas were walking along the road as pilgrims, and the peasant happened to meet them. He was carrying two wax candles, one large ruble candle, and another small, kopeck-sized one. “Where is your path taking you, peasant?” Saint Nicholas asked him. “Well, I’m going to place a ruble candle to Elijah the Prophet: he was so merciful to me. When hail beat down the field, then the saintly father did his best to make the harvest twice as good as before.” “And what’s the kopeck candle for?” “Well, this one’s for Nicholas,” said the peasant, and he went on his way. “There you are, Elijah. You say that I tell this peasant everything; so now you see for yourself how true this is.”

And on this note the matter ended. Elijah the Prophet was pacified and he ceased to threaten the peasant with disaster. So the peasant lived in clover, and from that time he began to observe Elijah’s Day and Nicholas’s Day equally.

Russian folk belief by Linda Ivanits

Abe Toshiyuki "Autumn"

[streganonalearns]

Love charm invoking the Zaryas

From Trzy zorze dziewicze by Stanisław Czernik

Zorze, zorzeczeńki! Wszystkieśta moje siostruczeńki! Siadajta na konia wronego, i jedźta po towarzysza mojego. Żeby on nie mógł beze mnie, ni spać, ni jeść, ni siadać, ni gadać. Żeby ja mu się spodobała, we stanie, w robocie, w ochocie. Żeby ja była wdzięczna i przyjemna, Bogu, i ludziom, i temu towarzyszowi mojemu. Nie moją myślą, nie moją mową, nie moją mocą, ino Pana Jezusa i Najświętszej Panny dopomocą. Abyż mi ta Najświętsza dopomogła, pobłogosławiła i dobrymi ludźmi opatrzyła.

***

Zaryas, zaryanitsas! You’re all my sisters! Get on a black horse, and go get my companion. So that, without me he may not sleep, he may not eat, he may not sit, he may not speak. So that he may find me attractive, in rest, in work, in desire. So that I may be graceful and pleasant, to God, to the people, and to him my companion. Not by my thought, not by my speech, not by my power, but through the aid of Lord Jesus and most Holy Lady. May the most Holy Lady help me, bless me, and surround me with good people.

[streganonalearns]

Happy Saint Barbara’s Day!

[streganonalearns]

is slavic paganism closed to those who are not slavic themselves? I've seen different takes on this and wanted to know your perspective, if you'd be willing to share.

I share my opninion on the subject quite frequently - furthermore I made sure it’s permanently pinned at the very top of my blog, for everyone to see.

But fine, let’s say it again.

In my reconstruction/revival of pre-Christian Slavic beliefs I strive to remain as faithful to their original spirit as circumstances allow (the circumstances in question being both limited amount of information and the reality of living in XXIst century Poland). In claiming that this faith is closed to outsiders I would then simultaneously be claiming that pre-Christian Slavic culture and religion were similarly closed — which is simply untrue and very easy to disprove on the basis of the information that we do in fact posess (you can take a quick look here or here). 

Of course both pre-Christian Slavic religion and culture are a thing of the past, that has not been passed down in continuous, ubroken line. Nonetheless modern Slavic paganism is heavily reliant on the living Slavic culture and language, and later Slavic folklore. To give you an example let’s look at the goddess Morana. There are no pre-Christian records of Morana. All we know about her comes from our living culture, from the centuries of ritual drowning and burning of her effigy, countless songs and superstitions that accompany it. From careful analysis of the various versions of her name and her nicknames appearing in multiple different Slavic languages. For this reason I would say diving deeper into Slavic paganism requires also diving deeper into Slavic culture, art, history and linguistics. Slavic paganism is not something you can separate from Slavic peoples, which doesn’t mean everyone who practices it has to be ethnically Slavic. (Also there are big differences between the many different Slavic peoples. It’s key to remember Slavs as an ethnolinguistic group are a construct and not one unified civilization.)

I hope this does an okay job of explaining why some Slavs feel very protective of Slavic paganism and worry about it being misrepresented and appropriated. Especially since Western media have a long record of depicting Slavs in very unfavorable light and not doing their homework where Slavic culture is concerned. I can definitely understand people worrying that their ancestral culture will be turned into a shallow aesthetic (and let’s get this straight in all likelihood they won’t even be the ones benefitting from that), while they are still treated as second class citizens by the broader Western society.

The thing is, in my opinion at least, that it would be completely erroneous to only direct your protective feelings outwards. Because there are scores of ethnic Slavs who are already misrepresenting Slavic culture and Slavic paganism as a convenient new aesthetic for their bigotry, racism and nationalism. There are countless Slavs spreading misinformation about Slavic paganism either because they were too lazy to genuinely try to learn about it or because they were never interested in learning to begin with and just wanted a space to be a nazi with their friends. You know?

So no, in my opinion closing Slavic paganism wouldn’t do much to protect it at all. It would probably just encourage the nationalists to be bolder in Slavic pagan spaces and that’s the last thing that I want. I think judging people on their individual behavior and individual treatment of Slavic paganism and culture makes much more sense. 

[streganonalearns]

(Not the same anon) I’m really curious in learning more about how Christianity didn’t actually steal from Pagans, and how ‘Pagan’ traditions aren’t actually Pagan, but I’m not sure how to word my question specifically. If you could point me to a resource or two that would tell me about that stuff, I’d love it! (I will be looking up the definition of syncretism as well as checking out the podcast you linked the other anon). Sorry if I worded anything incorrectly or got a concept wrong, I’m very new and wanting to learn. (Also I know I can probably find resources for myself, but I’m not sure where to even begin, which is why I asked you, sorry if I’m being a bother).

So syncretism is when cultural or religious traditions get merged into another religion, usually by customs getting carried over post conversion or colonization.

Like imagine a religion like Christianity comes into an area and mass converts people. And the people say "Oh yeah, we're Christian now -- for sure" but keep doing all of their cultural traditions. What happens over time is that those traditions get recontextualized into the new religion's framework.

It's not Christianity "stealing" them -- it's the cultures that were converted holding onto their traditions in spite of Christianity. The church wasn't deliberately trying to take them -- they just kind of got stuck with them. You get that with a bunch of Yule stuff with Norse and Germanic areas and Christmas.

So that's part of it.

The rest is that a lot of things modern folks claim are "Pagan" just... aren't? Like take the Christmas tree. Like we have clear documentation of its origin going back to German Protestants. Like we know when it started. Yet you'll see countless folks online (and badly written witchcraft books) claiming it's some ancient tradition to decorate a tree in your house. It just... isn't tho?

What you need to do is go to academic sources on these topics, and just kinda take anything in a witchcraft book with a grain of salt.

[streganonalearns]

(Not the same anon) I’m really curious in learning more about how Christianity didn’t actually steal from Pagans, and how ‘Pagan’ traditions aren’t actually Pagan, but I’m not sure how to word my question specifically. If you could point me to a resource or two that would tell me about that stuff, I’d love it! (I will be looking up the definition of syncretism as well as checking out the podcast you linked the other anon). Sorry if I worded anything incorrectly or got a concept wrong, I’m very new and wanting to learn. (Also I know I can probably find resources for myself, but I’m not sure where to even begin, which is why I asked you, sorry if I’m being a bother).

So syncretism is when cultural or religious traditions get merged into another religion, usually by customs getting carried over post conversion or colonization.

Like imagine a religion like Christianity comes into an area and mass converts people. And the people say "Oh yeah, we're Christian now -- for sure" but keep doing all of their cultural traditions. What happens over time is that those traditions get recontextualized into the new religion's framework.

It's not Christianity "stealing" them -- it's the cultures that were converted holding onto their traditions in spite of Christianity. The church wasn't deliberately trying to take them -- they just kind of got stuck with them. You get that with a bunch of Yule stuff with Norse and Germanic areas and Christmas.

So that's part of it.

The rest is that a lot of things modern folks claim are "Pagan" just... aren't? Like take the Christmas tree. Like we have clear documentation of its origin going back to German Protestants. Like we know when it started. Yet you'll see countless folks online (and badly written witchcraft books) claiming it's some ancient tradition to decorate a tree in your house. It just... isn't tho?

What you need to do is go to academic sources on these topics, and just kinda take anything in a witchcraft book with a grain of salt.

[streganonalearns]

(Not the same anon) I’m really curious in learning more about how Christianity didn’t actually steal from Pagans, and how ‘Pagan’ traditions aren’t actually Pagan, but I’m not sure how to word my question specifically. If you could point me to a resource or two that would tell me about that stuff, I’d love it! (I will be looking up the definition of syncretism as well as checking out the podcast you linked the other anon). Sorry if I worded anything incorrectly or got a concept wrong, I’m very new and wanting to learn. (Also I know I can probably find resources for myself, but I’m not sure where to even begin, which is why I asked you, sorry if I’m being a bother).

So syncretism is when cultural or religious traditions get merged into another religion, usually by customs getting carried over post conversion or colonization.

Like imagine a religion like Christianity comes into an area and mass converts people. And the people say "Oh yeah, we're Christian now -- for sure" but keep doing all of their cultural traditions. What happens over time is that those traditions get recontextualized into the new religion's framework.

It's not Christianity "stealing" them -- it's the cultures that were converted holding onto their traditions in spite of Christianity. The church wasn't deliberately trying to take them -- they just kind of got stuck with them. You get that with a bunch of Yule stuff with Norse and Germanic areas and Christmas.

So that's part of it.

The rest is that a lot of things modern folks claim are "Pagan" just... aren't? Like take the Christmas tree. Like we have clear documentation of its origin going back to German Protestants. Like we know when it started. Yet you'll see countless folks online (and badly written witchcraft books) claiming it's some ancient tradition to decorate a tree in your house. It just... isn't tho?

What you need to do is go to academic sources on these topics, and just kinda take anything in a witchcraft book with a grain of salt.

[streganonalearns]

(Not the same anon) I’m really curious in learning more about how Christianity didn’t actually steal from Pagans, and how ‘Pagan’ traditions aren’t actually Pagan, but I’m not sure how to word my question specifically. If you could point me to a resource or two that would tell me about that stuff, I’d love it! (I will be looking up the definition of syncretism as well as checking out the podcast you linked the other anon). Sorry if I worded anything incorrectly or got a concept wrong, I’m very new and wanting to learn. (Also I know I can probably find resources for myself, but I’m not sure where to even begin, which is why I asked you, sorry if I’m being a bother).

So syncretism is when cultural or religious traditions get merged into another religion, usually by customs getting carried over post conversion or colonization.

Like imagine a religion like Christianity comes into an area and mass converts people. And the people say "Oh yeah, we're Christian now -- for sure" but keep doing all of their cultural traditions. What happens over time is that those traditions get recontextualized into the new religion's framework.

It's not Christianity "stealing" them -- it's the cultures that were converted holding onto their traditions in spite of Christianity. The church wasn't deliberately trying to take them -- they just kind of got stuck with them. You get that with a bunch of Yule stuff with Norse and Germanic areas and Christmas.

So that's part of it.

The rest is that a lot of things modern folks claim are "Pagan" just... aren't? Like take the Christmas tree. Like we have clear documentation of its origin going back to German Protestants. Like we know when it started. Yet you'll see countless folks online (and badly written witchcraft books) claiming it's some ancient tradition to decorate a tree in your house. It just... isn't tho?

What you need to do is go to academic sources on these topics, and just kinda take anything in a witchcraft book with a grain of salt.

[streganonalearns]

Cultural Appropriation in Pop Paganism: What Not To Do

In modern media—and in modern witch craft—there are various circumstances of cultural appropriation. Sometimes by choosing to try something new you might be immensely appropriating something and never realize. So, it's important to keep a sharp mind and research, especially if you're a pop witch.

Most forms of media have something based on another culture. For example, Genshin Impact and Avatar the Last Airbender based each Nation on one or more cultures, even if it's not immediately obvious. When something takes root in another culture, you need to stop and think: "Is it okay if I work with this?"

Some things, like figures based on Arabic deities and historical figures, are generally okay to work with. Other things, like figures based on closed cultures, such as Lilith or Native deities, are not.

When picking up work with a pop figure, you are expected to research it just as well as you would research something in traditional witchcraft, and keep in mind all effects of you working with something.

Some questions to ask yourself, might be: Does this stir discourse in the cultures it's based on?

If it stirs discourse, am I part of the culture it's based on?

Is this character misrepresenting/whitewashed/negatively representing their original figure?

Is this based on a real world practice? If so, does it belong to a closed culture?

What are this culture's rules for outsiders partaking?

Does the source material forbid outsiders from partaking?

At the end of the day, a culture might just simply have rules for you to use something.

Like with white sage—as a native, native tribes don't actually forbid you from using it, we just ask that you obtain it from a culturally appropriate source, such as a native seller or home grown. Some tribes might ask you to smudge properly, and if a local tribe does, then please research how to do so. We also, in general, ask you not to kill the flame, as you would be killing a spirit.

It might just be simple as that. But for some things, it might be outright forbidden for you to do something.

Don't abuse pop culture to get around that.

[streganonalearns]

St. Nicholas’ Eve in the Czech Republic

[streganonalearns]

Books are expensive, Hermes thinks learning about your religion should be free.

They're just the basics and only a few, but feel free to ask me to add anything and I'll try my best!

[streganonalearns]

I wanted to publicly thank Freyja for answering my prayers

Our new kitten was showing signs of illness Saturday night and we rushed her to a 24 hour clinic first thing Sunday morning, but that night I asked Freyja to look after her and make sure she’d be alright. The little one has pink eye but the medicine is already working really well and she’s got all her energy. I’m just so grateful it wasn’t anything life threatening and she’s okay.

Thank you Freyja for looking out for my little love and for keeping her in your care

[streganonalearns]

Absolutely begging internet pagans and polytheists not to be rancid antisemites and islamophobes with this "abrahamics/abrahamic faith followers dni!!!!" TikTok trend ass bullshit. You are actively excluding people from pagan/polytheist spaces and making Jews and Muslims feel UNWANTED, UNWELCOME, AND BELOW YOU ALL. Are you fucking proud of yourselves????

Whenever you all say "abrahamics" to refer to a DIVERSE GROUP OF RELIGIONS (WHOSE COLLECTIVE GROUPING AS "ABRAHAMIC" IS HIGHLY DEBATABLE IN ACADEMIA + WITHIN JUDAISM ITSELF- where Abraham originates!!!!!), I'm literally just going to assume you're an ignorant, bigoted racist who has an unresolved superiority complex to anonymously flex on tumblr dot com of all places.

To give my own personal example, Judaism is a living and thriving ethnicity, culture, and religion that I am proud to be part of alongside being a Hellenic Polytheist of Romaniote and MENA ancestry. Would you speak over any other minority in the same way you have spoken over us? Oh wait. I already know the answer- you already have and continue to. You all appropriate closed practices with no consequences, you steal our g-d and angels and demons and paint them as purely Christian or Pagan inventions you can rewrite to be goddamn OC inserts, you talk over people of faiths differing from yours and of course your fucking online yes men support your effortless endeavor in xenophobia, racism, and unadulterated hatred.

Instead of speaking over Jews and Muslims like you claim you're not doing, actually listen to us??? What a novel idea! Just because you were raised with Christianity gives you NO RIGHT to school others about our religions or just blatantly spread Jew hatred and Muslim hatred in a community that ALREADY paints us as bloodthirsty, patriarchal, "primitive" zealots who are lesser than you fucking Holier Than Thous.

Do better. This has become an absolutely ridiculous issue that needs to be heard and fucking resolved.