sunshineandteaplease

[sunshineandteaplease]

I’m browsing the Pagan tag and I’m noticing some people appear to be confused by what is meant by “closed culture” or “living culture” or “dead culture“, so in the interest of trying to help (and give my BA in religion and culture some exercise) I will attempt to define these terms in a clear and concise manner.

Closed traditions are, as their name suggests, closed off to those who are outside the tradition. You either need to be born into the in group, or (in some cases) be initiated into it to participate. The point is that these traditions are supposed to be kept within a particular group, because of this, closed traditions typically don’t actively recruit converts.

Open traditions, by contrast, have fewer barriers to entry and often actively and aggressively recruit converts. You do not need to be born into these traditions to practice them, although there may be certain rituals you need to perform to be considered a member of the in group.

Note that open traditions can have elements or cults that are closed to certain groups of people. Mystery traditions and religious societies in Greece and Rome were only open to certain people (slaves, women, etc.) or had rituals that were kept secret from everyone but initiates. However, Ancient Rome was enthusiastically imperialist in trying to get everyone to embrace their traditions, so even though there were mystery cults that were technically closed, Roman religion at large was pretty open, aggressively so.

It’s also important to draw a distinction between living cultures and dead cultures. Dead cultures are, well, dead, the people who kept these traditions alive are dead, their descendants have converted to other traditions. This is why we refer to modern Pagan traditions as “revivals” or “reconstruction“ if these cultures were alive, there would be no need for such language.

Since these cultures are dead, there’s no harm in borrowing from them. Sumerian culture is gone. There are no great temples to Inanna and Enki. There are no more public sacrifices or festivals, and pretty much everyone in the area is Muslim now. The point is, no Ancient Sumerian priest is going to materialize out of thin air and be like “EXCUSE ME STOP THAT!” In fact, Sumerian deities would probably be very happy to be worshiped in this day and age as they go hungry without offerings.

Likewise, Heathen cultures officially died when the last Northern nation converted to Christianity. While elements of these traditions survived in folklore, officially the religions died, the cultures changed. Again this is why we refer to “the Heathen revival” or talk about Heathen reconstructionism. This is why the term “recon” even exists, because we are reconstructing or reviving dead traditions.

In contrast, living cultures have managed to preserve their traditions even though there were efforts to stamp them out. Saami culture survived while Iron Age Heathen cultures did not. Indigenous peoples still practice their indigenous traditions despite Europeans trying to kill them all off.

When you take things from closed, living cultures like most indigenous traditions, you are not only taking something that was never meant to belong to anyone outside that group (which is incredibly disrespectful), but you’re effectively contributing to their oppression, not just in the form of propagating racist stereotypes like “Native peoples are soo more spiritual and in touch with nature than us poor white people” but you’re actively making it harder for them to preserve their traditions.

Please don’t be complicit in genocide like that. 

Also please for the love of everything listen to people from that culture when they tell you not to touch their stuff. They’re not doing it to be mean. Seriously, I, a white person, should not have to tell you to not touch stuff when people who are actually from that culture tell you to not touch stuff.

Seriously.

[sunshineandteaplease]

Are you a “my tarot deck learned to speak just to tell me I’m a bitch but it’s ok” witch or a “if my tarot deck was a person I’d kill them with my bare hands” witch

[sunshineandteaplease]

A note.

I see a lot of people posting herbal remedies.

Please, please include the cautions and contradictions with an herb when you recommend it.

Herbs are drugs. Some of them should not be used by pregnant or nursing women (kava kava comes to mind).

Valerian is not a substitute for narcotic sleep aids. Valerian is a narcotic sleep aid.

St. John’s wort messes up the action of oral contraceptives.

Marshmallow root should not be mixed with other medicines or taken at the same time as it can interfere with their action.

Catnip (used for sleep problems) can make already heavy menstrual periods worse.

Etc, etc, etc. Please remember you are recommending medicines and medicines can have effects other than the ones you want.

[sunshineandteaplease]

*grabs you roughly* IT'S OKAY TO BUY LAB GROWN CRYSTALS, IN FACT IT IS BETTER BECAUSE THEY AREN'T BEING HARVESTED BY UNETHICAL LABOR. *starts to shake you* THEY ARE THE SAME THING AS THE NATURAL CRYSTALS! THEY ARE STILL SACRED AND THEY ARE GOOD BEANS! PLEASE STILL BUY THEM!

[sunshineandteaplease]

as a jew i love having opinions on jesus. it’s like. no i don’t think he was messiah However Yes i am a fan of this dude. fucker said ‘it’s easier for a camel to go thru the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to go to heaven’ and proved his point by going absolutely ballistic flipping tables and chasing merchants with a whip in broad daylight in a synagogue. basically my thoughts on jesus are: 10/10 would go to brunch with.

[sunshineandteaplease]

[sunshineandteaplease]

I don’t know who needs to hear this right now, but it’s okay if your spirituality, beliefs, and practices have changed since the beginning of the pandemic. And it’s okay if you’re still figuring out what those changes mean for you.

Just by existing in a country with a lot of cases and/or deaths, you’ve experienced a continuous traumatic event stretched out over 14+ months. Even if you personally have not been affected, your day-to-day routine has probably been disrupted in some way. This kind of continuous trauma is going to cause major changes in every aspect of your life and personality – and that’s assuming you haven’t had any other traumatic events that may or may not be related to the pandemic, like unemployment, housing insecurity, or losing a loved one.

It’s normal to see some changes in your spiritual life after this kind of trauma. Changes in spirituality are a common symptom of grief. Some people feel a stronger connection to/belief in their faith, and may become more active. Others feel disconnected from their faith and may find it difficult to find motivation for spiritual pursuits. Both are normal, healthy ways of coping with your grief.

You may also find that your experiences in the past year have lead you to reevaluate whether your beliefs and practices really work for you anymore. You may have a system, a tool, or a guide that has been a cornerstone of your spirituality for years, but that suddenly doesn’t seem to be a good fit anymore. This is normal. The world has changed. You have changed. It’s natural that your spiritual path would change with you.

You are not broken. Your gods have not abandoned you. You are a human coping with trauma, and you are allowed to make changes to your spiritual practice so you can feel more supported. 

[sunshineandteaplease]

Remember, the natural result of "no politics allowed" in Heathen spaces is that white nationalists are protected (because they can hide their views) and marginalized identities aren't protected (because they have no idea who's a white nationalist and who isn't).

"Our space is apolitical" does not invite neutrality, but is instead another way of saying, "We don't mind neo-Nazis in our Heathen spaces as long as they don't tell us they're neo-Nazis."

If a community is as anti-white nationalist as they say they are, they won't have policies like this that protect white nationalists.

[sunshineandteaplease]

Don’t let the mainstream sterilize witchcraft

It’s not just love & light and good vibes. 

Witchcraft is walking through the dark when the light let you down.

Witchcraft is crossing your enemies who would rather see you fail.

Witchcraft is giving yourself agency and fighting your abusers.

Witchcraft is owning who you are in a world that wants you to conform.

Witchcraft is confronting your own shadow and healing.

Witchcraft is screaming when you were told to be silent.

[sunshineandteaplease]

This blog supports closed religions and practices.

For those who need reminding:

Smudging is an indigenous ritual. Smudging =/= smoke cleansing. Unless you've been taught by an Indigenous person qualified to teach you, you're not smudging.

Dreamcatchers are from Ojibwe cultures. If you want one, or want to make one, reach out to the community and buy one feom an Indigenous person or ask them to teach you.

Chakras are part of Hinduism. The Western bastardized version you see in all the new-age books is not accurate, and honestly disrespectful. You can definitely learn about chakras, but please do proper research and learn from Hindu people.

Lilith is a demon in Judaism. She is not a goddess. If you want to worship/follow her, convert. But I can guarantee you most Jewish people will strongly advise against it.

Root work (Hoodoo, Vodou, Santeria, etc) are African Traditional practices. Most are closed or semi-closed. Unsure? Find a priest! Reach out to the community, and find out respectfully if someone will teach you.

Sincerely, someone who has spent nearly 2 decades learning about religions from those religions and practices.

[sunshineandteaplease]

Regular reminder to newbie pagans, especially heathens:

You DO NOT have to drink alcohol in order to be a “real” pagan. You DO NOT have to only use wine or mead for Cakes & Ale or the Ritual Horn or offerings.

If the host will not provide a non-alcoholic option and you don’t want to drink, you are not obligated to. And, may I just say, refusing to provide a non-alcoholic option is a sign of a dangerous atmosphere anyway.

[sunshineandteaplease]

The reason Nazis, white supremacists, and other far-right groups have to resort to revisionism (often including the appropriation of pagan symbols, myths, and practices) to provide “historical support” for their ideals is because those ideals have no actual ancient counterparts. Fascism is a product of the modern era. There were no fascists in the ancient world, and there has never been a religion that genuinely supported fascist values. 

For the most part, humans have always cared about each other. We have always had a strong sense of community, and we have always been willing to go out of our way to help other people. These are fundamental parts of human nature, and they are reflected in our religions. They are also, incidentally, totally incompatible with a fascist worldview, because fascism goes against human nature. 

Fascists want you to believe that fascism is in your best interest. They want you to believe that the world is inherently cruel, that people have always been at each others’ throats, and that hatred is natural – because if you don’t believe these things, then fascism is of no use to you. They know that the easiest way to convince you to adopt fascist values is to infiltrate your religious community, to convince you that fascism is what the gods intend for us. To do that, they have to make you believe that your religion is inherently fascist – even though we know, based on copious written and archaeological evidence, that this is not true. 

This is how we get Nazi revisions of Norse myths. This is how we get domestic terrorists storming government buildings while wearing Norse iconography. This is how we get the image in pop culture of the white, blond, blue-eyed, hyper-masculine Viking, a figure that did not exist in actual Old Norse society.

This isn’t just me talking out of my ass. This isn’t speculation. This is a documented tactic used by fascists to give their movements the appearance of legitimacy. Nazi Germany is largely responsible for our modern idea of the Vikings as a hyper-masculine, hyper-militant group of white dudes. Fascist Italy is a large part of why Ancient Rome is remembered for their military might rather than for their incredible infrastructure or their populist government. (Even the word “fascism” comes from an appropriation of Roman political symbols.) Irish American white nationalists are responsible for perpetuating the “Irish slave” myth (which is used to devalue the impact of the transatlantic slave trade and its effect on Black people), and for the popularity of Irish and Celtic symbols among modern fascists. 

What all of these fascist revisionist histories have in common is that they are almost entirely baseless and have little-to-no connection to any genuine historic sources. There is no evidence for them beyond “because I say so” arguments from fascist authors. These histories are false, and their falsehood is very easily provable. The ONLY reason they are as widely accepted as they are is because fascist sources are very good at being louder and more aggressive than legitimate, objective historians. 

If we want to reclaim paganism from fascists, the first step MUST be to set the historical record straight. Read good sources. Share resources with your community. Correct people who are unknowingly spreading fascist propaganda. Tell people who the ancient pagans really were, and what they really stood for.

Fascism is a weed. It is an invasive species that has forced its way into our religious spaces and is choking out the warm, loving communities the gods intended for us. Pull it up, burn the roots, salt the earth if you have to – if it is left unchecked, it will kill every other interpretation of our myths, until the truth is forever lost to the void.

[sunshineandteaplease]

Please rb this if you’re a witch?

Especially if you:

🌻 are not Wiccan

🌻 are a green witch

🌻 are a kitchen witch

🌻 are a lunar/solar witch

🌻 are a pop culture witch

🌻 are LGBTQ+

🌻 do divination

🌻 do tarot

🌻 are looking for more witchy pals

🌻 like musicals

[sunshineandteaplease]

Trust Yourself & Your Tarot

Oh my goodness, it's been forever since I posted 'cuz things have been kind of crazy.

But I wanted to take the time to say that if you do tarot, you're readings might not make any sense at the time, and you may feel like you're guessing or grasping at straws, and that's ok.

But take the time to write them down and look back at them because they might make a lot of sense later! (But if they don't, that's ok too-the future is everchanging.)

I've been doing readings for awhile, especially since Christmas because I got a new deck, and when I was interpreting what the cards were telling, I wasn't sure if I was doing it right or if it would ever make sense. But I wrote them down anyways, just in case I wanted to look back at them.

And im really glad that I did!! Because something kinda big happened last night and some of my readings are suddenly making a lot of sense.

So just try your best to trust yourself and look back at your readings! It may take time to learn to do that side of yourself/the spirit guides working through your deck, but being able to look at old readings and make those connections will help!

[sunshineandteaplease]

Hey all, remember when ‘Heathen’ was trademarked and it was super infuriating?

Well that stunt is getting pulled again. Someone who isn’t even a heathen is trying to trademark ‘Forn Sidr’ and is going after Forn Sidr of America for it.

I cannot emphasize enough how absolutely buckwild this story is. Even if you don’t donate to help FSoA cover legal fees, at least click through to read about the tea.

As always, please donate if you can but reblogs and reposts go a long way even if you have a small blog. Forn Sidr of America needs to achieve this goal by December 18th so it’s crucial this gets around!

[sunshineandteaplease]

What Native people say about the use of sage: you can use sage, but you cannot smudge as nothing you are doing (waving sage around) is actually smudging. Smudging is a ceremony and you are, we promise, not smudging. Please buy sage from either us, or someone who sources the sage from us. White sage may not be considered endangered by the US government but corperate sourcing is making it difficult for us to source sage for our own religious purposes. Let alone to sell it.

What white people hear: never use sage ever, don’t ever buy it, don’t own it, don’t even look at it.

Look, y’all. There’s a couple of facets to my talk today.

1) Yes! You can buy sage! You really, truly can! Buy it from either native sellers (go to a powwow! Eat our food, buy our stuff, watch some dancing!) Or buy it from a seller who sources the sage from native people. Pick one. And no, buying it from 5 Below doesn’t count.

2) you CANNOT smudge. This isn’t just you “shouldn’t”— this is a YOU ARE INCAPABLE OF SMUDGING. Waving a sage stick around your doorways IS NOT SMUDGING. It is smoke clensing. Smudging, depending on the tradition and tribe, could easily have dancing and drums involved. You, as a white person, do not have the cultural BACKGROUND to even know how it works. At all. Period.

3) please, for FUCKS SAKE, stop making posts here on tumblr where you tell other white people about cultural appropriation and what they can and cannot do. Please stop, your license has been revoked because none of you bother to get the facts right. We native people are FULLY CAPABLE OF DOING IT OURSELVES. Consider instead: a) reblogging our posts where we talk about it! We’re here! We have made posts!! b) Making a post that states what we said and then LINKS BACK TO US. Screenshot with a link if you must. Stop centering your own voices in these conversations. You are already centered in everything, stop centering yourselves in a native space.

I’m tired of this nonsense, y’all.

Thanks for coming to my TedTalk ™

——

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Paypal: https://www.paypal.me/jnwampler

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[sunshineandteaplease]

Staying safe while having a Mentor

because I run a blog that is open to both adults and minors, I think it is extremely important to keep everyone safe. I will not under any circumstances tolerate inappropriate behaviour between adults and minors. To do my part to keep everyone safe, i’ve compiled this post for witchlings to read over before applying and to refer to when speaking with a mentor

For Witchlings

a mentor should NEVER:

ask for nudes, even if discussing sex magick

discuss sex magick with you if you are under 18

ask for selfies or pictures of your body

ask you to describe suggestive areas or clothing (what size are you breasts? i need to know for magickal reasons. what panties are you wearing? i can tell you your future based on the fabric etc.)

ask for your address

ask for your tumblr, facebook, email password etc.

send nudes of themselves or other sexually suggestive photos

harassing you buy something from them or a certain store (for your learning, protection etc., however making recommendations is fine)

ask for bank info

continually push you to do something you are uncomfortable doing

force you to worship a certain deity

force you to practice a certain way

things to keep in mind:

a mentor can only give you advice from their lens of the world. take everything with a grain of salt

don’t be afraid to question your mentor, challenge why they think the way they do. if they get mad at you questioning their “authority”, let me know and move on to someone else.

this is YOUR craft. YOU are the magic! only you know what your path is. mentors are friends that guide and help!

in short, a mentor is to GUIDE you. to offer advice, or things they found helpful. they are not your therapist, boyfriend, parent, or punching bag. if you ever feel uncomfortable or unsafe, DO NOT HESITATEto tell someone you trust, report them to tumblr staff, block them, screenshot what made you uncomfortable and send it to me so i can intervien, etc. i am here to do my best at keeping everyone safe on my blog.

please reblog, and add on anything i may have missed. i want to keep our community as safe as possible