#Patheos

[atheostic]

Sent to me by my mom

[entanglingbriars]

"If we look at the years between (say) the mid-1950s and the late 1970s, then overwhelming majority of professional, scholarly, or other expert authorities dealing with child sexual abuse did not regard it as a grave or pressing issue. Accordingly, the issue attracted little attention in terms of publications, whether scholarly or popular. The scarcity of expert or professional literature itself conveyed a message about the proper degree of concern about issues of sexual abuse, molestation, and pedophilia. Surely – one might have thought – if nobody was writing about a topic, it could not really be that serious or threatening? No book specifically on pedophilia was available in English before 1964, and even then, the material it offered was extremely slim. Not until 1977 was there an academic journal specifically devoted to issues of child abuse and child protection, namely Child Abuse and Neglect."

[sexynbabyarethesmartones]

So as it is Friday, John Beckett's newsletter comes to my email and I read through it. 2 of the blog posts he has linked are related:

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/johnbeckett/2018/01/integrity-complicated-breaking-promise.html

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/starandsnake/2022/11/rethinking-initiatory-oaths/

After reading through them I got to thinking, why don't we consider oaths all that important, but promises are sacred? And, as an aside, "oathbreakers" are an edgy kind of "cool".

One thing I realized, Brandy Williams points out in her article that oaths probably stopped being taken so seriously after people broke them and nothing happened. No divine retribution, no loss of magic, no sky falling, nothing. So they stopped being so worried about the consequences, because there were none. Even the most Israel Regardie got was an outrage from the members of the Golden Dawn.

Beckett and Williams also draw the same comparison of an oath being like a contract, an unwritten one mayhap, between you, and the egregore of the group or the spirits/Godds in charge of the tradition. What does a contract breach depend on? Consequences from the authority of law upholding it. So when you break an oath (a type of contract), and nothing happens, who is upholding the law? It seems as though no one is. The group could certainly throw some hexes your way if they feel so violated, and a powerful enough spirit maybe if the breach was serious enough to warrant it, but the fact remains that there are little to no affects when an oath is breached. So we no longer take them seriously.

Now a pinky promise on the other hand, that is solely upheld by you, the other party, and your sense of guilt or shame. A vow could also be included here, a promise of something based upon your sense of honor. These are not really contracts, there is no outside authority that will punish you if you break your promise, they depend solely on the will of the parties involved, and their sense(s) of honor/duty/shame. Have you ever made a promise to a 5 year old and broken it? Their look of absolute betrayal can cut even the most hardend heart down to pieces, because they expected the best of you, and now you have introduced them to the worst side of humanity, and you have to bear the shame and dissapointment of that; carrying that knowledge with you for the rest of your life.

My point is, an oath is not dependent on you to carry it out to its fullest extent. An integrous person will do their best to honor their end of the contract, and if circumstances change and amends or dissolvement needs to be made, there are ways to do so. But unlike a legal contract, a breach of oath has seemingly no real consequences besides whatever your own sense of guilt about it is. But a promise, or a vow, or a solemn swearing, is solely dependent on you to uphold it. If you break it, your honor and reputation are tarnished, and you have to live with less trust from those around you who know about it, a loss of trust in yourself, and whatever your own sense of shame about it is. An oath is legal, a promise is societal.

So yeah, that's where I am at currently with this this fine morning/afternoon. What do y'all think?

[2024-grimoire-challenge]

October Week 5 - Getting Crafty

This week is all about getting our hands dirty and working on those fantastic books we’ve been making. Papercrafting and decorating and fancy writing, if that is your chosen medium. Or even how to make pretty digital pages! This week is about bringing the grimoires to life! Lots of links and ideas this week for inspiration (grimspiration?) on ways to put our books together!

Monday - Digital Mediums

I know some of these require payment and subscriptions, and there are plenty of other free options out there if anyone knows of them feel free to add them in a reply or reblog!

Gimp - Photo/ Image Editing

Adobe Photoshop - Photo/ Image Editing

Word/ Excel (Or wordpad, cause its free) -

Tuesday - Papercrafting

Scrapbooking

1 - Tips and Tricks

2 - Ideas

3 - Witchy Ideas

A general search on the internet, Youtube, or Pinterest will give a bunch of other ideas! Some things I've done in my own include pages with envelopes and scraps of paper with sigils on them, s bit of foil on a page dedicated to mirror magic, and a functioning, turning wheel of the year!

Junk Journaling

Pinterest - Witchy Junk journal Ideas

Youtube - How to Junk Journal

Bullet Journal

How to

Witchy Themed

Witchy Ideas

Journal

How to

Guide to Journaling

Wednesday - Stickers and Ephemera

This kind of speaks for itself. But like anything on the crazy old internet, its all about tags and searching. Think about the tags you follow here on tumblr. Witch, witchy, grimoire, dark academia, vintage, plant and flower, magic, magick, wicca, paganism etc. Be as specific in some cases as you can be, though a vague search will sometimes lead you to what you're looking for. Below are a few places I've found things to use in my papercrafted grimoire journey.

Amazon/ Temu

Etsy/ Bigcartel/ Depop any of those!

Small business/ Artists

Art from friends

Thursday - Other things to add and other links

No draw art ideas!

So you want to build a grimoire - Patheos

Laurel's Guide -Tumblr

Cauldron and Brew - Wordpress

Don't hesitate to add anything you can think of both written/ typed or physical trinkets to your grimoire. It doesn't have to be neat and trim, unless that's what you're going for. It can be overstuff and gritty. Whatever works for you! Add twigs in the shape of runes, charms, crystals, leaves or flowers, plants, anything! Locks of hair, photographs, charts and graphs, anything and everything you can think of. It is literally yours to create how you wish!

Friday - do the thing!

Now that we’ve covered a bunch of links with all kinds of ideas, get crafty! Make your pages! Or take the pages you’ve started and decorate them! Make them your own! Whether your grimoire is form over function or function over form, make it yours!

Don't let these be the limit of your creative searches! Find more online tools, find more physical books, find inspiration for your creation anywhere and everywhere, but most importantly, express yourself freely within your grimoire!

-Mod Hazel

[titaniumelemental]

Speaking of atheism, I just found out that most (all?) of the Patheos "nonreligious" blogs are gone. The linked article from 2022 says "Bloggers were advised they could stay at Patheos so long as they stopped writing negative or critical posts on religion or politics..." and at least 20 of them chose to leave in late 2021.

www.patheos.com/nonreligious now redirects to www.patheos.com/more-voices (the ones who didn't leave are getting folded in with "other", I guess that's fine) and unfortunately I couldn't access old posts from the two blogs I tried (No Longer Quivering and Love Joy Feminism) even though their About pages are still up.

And what pisses me off more is that the old broken blog links I was originally trying to follow now redirect to "Not Religious? Seeking Answers?", a page on which all the linked "views we recommended exploring" are about deciding to remain religious 🙄

[eightyonekilograms]

The standard warning about porn saturation— that you have to find more and more extreme stuff to get the same pleasure— doesn't seem to apply to me at all, but ironically it is true about conservative religious essayists. Patheos just doesn't hit anymore, and so now I have to read First Things. I can't get out of bed unless I shoot up with columns about how all true Christians should be on the side of Russia's holy war against the secularized West and how Pius IX did nothing wrong when he kidnapped Edgardo Mortara.

[barbielore]

While browsing for information on a particular Barbie, I was surprised to see Google recommend appending the word "controversy" to my search. The Barbie in question?

Breathe With Me Barbie. Breathe With Me Barbie is part of a range of self-care and wellness Barbies and depicts Barbie in a sukhasana pose, promising "5 guided meditations".

Unsure of where the controversy around this could be going, I clicked through. This seemed to be the root of it.

"Each pose is designed to invoke a Hindu deity in the spirit realm. I have seen children get possessed by demons. ... Satan is after the children. He wants to use them and indoctrinate them for his glory. Then, when he is done, he will destroy them. As your kids grow, they will get rebellious, depressed, and many will be suicidal. You won't understand what's happening as a parent. You must remove all toys and clean your children's room of all demonic attachments."

Various websites from Business Insider to The Christian Post to Newsweek cite Christian influencer (or, in the words of Business Insider, micro-influencer) Yasmeen Suri as being the origin of the claim that this doll is an agent of Satanism.

This would not be the first person to associate yoga with Satanism or possession - exorcist Gabriele Amorth also associated the practice of yoga with increased chance of demonic possession.

I can't find a screenshot of this, though, and all links back to the Facebook post are dead. What I did find though is a Patheos satire article dated shortly before the rest of these articles citing "Jasmine Blades" from Christians Against Eastern Religions as the source of the same quote.

Neither Christians Against Eastern Religions or Jasmine Blades are real, of course, hence their inclusion in a clearly marked satire piece. But I don't know where this leaves real Christian influencer Yasmeen Suri and her alleged (re)posting of the same quote picking up steam a week later. I don't know whether she saw the satire post and reposted the quote, to take it down later once she realised, or whether these articles quoting her as the source are misattributions. I'm leaning to the former, but I'm not actually sure.

There's a Truth or Fiction page debunking this, but what it is debunking is a) whether Breathe With Me Barbie depicts the practice of yoga (it depicts meditation, not yoga), b) whether this was a new doll in 2022 (it was not, it was released in 2020), c) whether yoga is synonymous with Hinduism and d) whether Catholicism or Christianity more generally prohibit or warn against the practice of yoga as a matter of doctrine.

For the record, by the way, there are Barbies that are explicitly depicted as practicing yoga, such as I Can Be... Yoga Teacher Barbie.

Or that appear to depict the practice of yoga on the box art, such as the Made to Move series.

Or dolls such as this Fitness Barbie who is depicted with various fitness equipment such as weights and a hula hoop, as well as a yoga mat.

[woolandcoffee]

I have been starting to dig into Ed Fitch's Grimoire of Shadows this week, and it really is a lovely book. There is a lot of genuinely valuable information in here, and there's no denying that it has earned its place in the history of the modern pagan movement. Yet, as I read it, I can't help but imagine how this book would be received by the current witchblr community. There are a lot of "problematic" elements in A Grimoire of Shadows. To begin with, Fitch treats Wicca as an ancient religion that has been underground for centuries prior to resurfacing in the 1900s. He uses the terms "Wicca" and "witchcraft" interchangeably. He leans into gender essentialism, including discussions of male-female "working pairs." If someone picked up A Grimoire of Shadows expecting to find a book that reflects modern values and understanding, they would be sorely disappointed. They may even be tempted to write a tumblr post, or a Goodreads review, warning others to stay away, maybe even denigrating Fitch for perpetuating harmful ideas.

But that wouldn't be the whole story. A Grimoire of Shadows was written during the middle of the twentieth century. It reflects the common understanding of Wicca at the time. It shows us how those early Wiccans saw themselves, their religion, and their place in the world. And perhaps even more importantly than that (though my gods, as though that isn't important enough), A Grimoire of Shadows was one of the first widely available books on Wicca that was intended to help people start practicing without first being initiated into a Gardenarian or Alexandrian coven. A Grimoire of Shadows compiles what is known as the "Outer Court" of Wicca. This is the information that is freely available to anyone, as opposed to the "Inner Court" which refers to secret information that only initiated members of a lineaged coven may obtain. As Aidan Kelly put it, in a 2012 Patheos article, Fitch's tradition established in A Grimoire of Shadows "created a form of Witchcraft that was Gardnerian in all but a few oath-bound details." This book then helped serve as one of the foundational works of the Pagan Way, an organization formed by Fitch and several other prominent members of the modern pagan movement, which in turn played a key role in shaping modern neo-Paganism. Therefore, A Grimoire of Shadows is important because it is so foundational to what came after. It is a critical text for understanding the history of the modern pagan movement, the shaping of both current neo-Paganism and neo-Wicca. It is important, at least in part, because of the out-dated ideas, not in spite of them.

I think there is a tendency for some modern practitioners - especially those who are new to modern paganism - to write off older books (particularly if they are written by older Wiccans). And to a certain degree, I do kind of get it. If you don't have a solid understanding of the history of the modern pagan movement, which many practitioners new and old alike do not, and if you're caught up in the throws of purity culture, then confronting these older books can be daunting. Perhaps its easier to write off Wicca as a whole instead of grappling with the difficult topics presented by these historical texts. But I think that's a mistake. Sure, there's a lot in A Grimoire of Shadows that I would never incorporate into my modern practice because it is outdated, based on misinformation, or just simply doesn't mesh with my 21st century morals and values. But its important to me that I understand the history of the modern pagan movement, and the thoughts and ideas that came before where we are today. For example, today we know that Wicca is not an ancient religion stretching back to the stone age that was forced to go underground. But those ideas clearly animated and inspired the original Wiccans and modern pagans, and I can see why. It's a provocative idea, its a good mythos, and even though it is fundamentally untrue, there is a kernel of something powerful there. What would it be like to create a religion with an eye towards the values of our deep ancestors? What would it be like to create a religion based on relationship to the earth? What could we make?

Anyways. I'm enjoying this book immensely, and am overjoyed to add it to my library. If you're someone who is interested in the history of the modern pagan movement, then A Grimoire of Shadows is absolutely worth your time.

[dk-thrive]

Then a little wind comes, just a little bitty gust and I smell pine. And another wind comes and I smell cedar and I get stronger inside.

— Wallace Black Elk, Lakota Shaman (Patheos, A sweat lodge in Snowmass with Wallace Black Elk, January 25, 2023, by Ben H. Gagnon) (via Alive on All Channels)

[marta-bee]

I've been ruminating (some would say obsessing) on that word I keep seeing used to describe the situation in Gaza. Genocide. Long post is long, so let's put this under a cut.

I know there's debate on some quarters on whether it's accurate; I'm not sure it is, but also think that question misses the point, because whatever else Gaza is, it's a humanitarian fuck-show. And it's caused, beside the obvious, by Israeli willingness to risk human life rather than tolerate a risk to their own security (which they're much better equipped to protect themselves from than the people of Gaza are), coupled with Israeli refusal to make lasting peace with their neighbor enabled by American military and cultural support. So yes, this one feels personal to me both as an American and someone with mixed Jewish-Christian heritage. People who claim to represent me are enabling said humanitarian fuck-show, which is nothing if not uncomfortable.

That said, every time I see that word it gets stuck in my craw a bit. Not because it's untrue but because mass human suffering caused by violence against an ethnic minority is hardly limited to Gaza, or to the present moment. So I'm questioning whether the Gaza situation is uniquely terrible. Not that it needs to be; I don't post about it much here because Tumblr is my refuge from the offline world, but I am doing quite a lot in RL to support Gaza, and to press my congressmen to take a stronger stance against Israel. I don't want to give the impression I'm not bothered or lukewarm just because I'm not vocal about it here.

But the fact that this suffering and violence isn't unique makes me really uncomfortable with that word because, let's face it, the language is intended to outrage people. I've been thinking about a phrase Fred Clarke (the blogger "Slacktivist" at Patheos, a moderate Baptist who often criticized Christian evangelicalism and fundamentalism) used to parody fundamentalist stances on abortion. "Satanic baby-killers" - it was how the fundamentalists supposedly described abortionists and pro-life folks; not sure if they really used it or if Clarke invented it to make his point. The point being, even if you believed this was accurate of what abortionists were doing, the real reason to use it was to make abortionists and fellow citizens who happened to be pro-life seem so other, so --well-- Satanic, that it was morally impossible not to support them. It was meant to radicalize their own side and dehumanize the other.

I'm not so worried about dehumanizing Israelis and Jews more generally. I mean, yes, that's a concern, but it's possible to criticize Israel without being anti-Semitic, and this word at least doesn't play into all those old tropes, at least not in a way I can see. I'm more worried about how it shapes the way we think about our fellow Americans. Because America isn't as overwhelmingly outraged by the Gaza crisis as Tumblr and other left-leaning social media would make you believe. A recent Pew Research poll (results published 3/21/24) found that 31% said their sympathies lie entirely or mostly with Israel, and another 26% said they were equally sympathetic toward both groups. There are reasons for this, not particularly valid ones today but historically I understand why so many Americans (particularly older ones and more conservative ones) are primed to support, but for the most part those reasons are outdated, something they need to be encouraged to reconsider and move on from. Accusing them of supporting a genocide only puts them on the defense.

(The short version, based on my personal conversations with family and neighbors: they think of Israel as a democracy in a sea of dictatorships and monarchies, no longer true; Israel is our ally so it's unpatriotic to criticize them, would take more space to deconstruct but if we can't criticize our friends when they do shit like this who can; and they see Israel as a necessary safeguard where Jews can go to escape discrimination, which is vaguely racist and surely a much less humane and effective approach than addressing the anti-Semitism where said Jews actually live. As I said, not valid reasons, but reasons nonetheless I'm trying to help them grow out of through our conversations. Which means they need to feel safe enough to consider they might actually be wrong.)

The bigger concern for me, though, is what this does to the people using that language. That's why I brought up that "Satanic baby-killers" phrase. Because it ratchets up the sense that your neighbors are moral monsters. It dehumanizes them, so you don't see people who are wrong because they haven't educated themselves or even because they have some valid reason to support Israel I'm not seeing (I'm human, I'm fallible, and I always want to hear new ideas I haven't considered because I want to grow). Instead, they see someone despicable, someone who's wholly other from people like them. It dehumanizes them. And, speaking as someone who grew up in the American South in the '80s and '90s, so yes, I did live through that Satanic baby-killer mind set if not the actual language: that shit will mess you up. I'd rather my current friends not have to go through that.

On the other hand: Gaza is still a humanitarian fuck-show. And evil still needs to be opposed. I know that, and I do that. Possibly I should just get over my hang-up over that word and focus on the things that matter more in terms of RL consequences. Still, it bothers me, and -- being me -- I needed to take the time to unpack why.

[madamlaydebug]

According to Patheos;

Bells are sacred to a handful of deities. In ancient Egypt (circa the third millennium BCE), it was an important part of Isis and Hathor’s worship and had connections to birth. “Sistra had erotic connotations, and by extension, alludes to the creation of new life.”

The Roman deity Jupiter was also connected to tintinnabulum. Augustus dreamed of Jupiter lamenting the lack of worshippers at his temple. Upon waking, he immediately hung little bells around the temple of Jupiter.

Persephone was associated with the sistrum depicted in “The Statue of Persephone, 2nd Century CE,” which syncretizes certain Greek aspects of her with the Goddess Isis.

✨🔔✨

Other than sound clearing – here are some.. but not limited to, uses for bells:

• Clearing and charging crystals along with other magickal tools and items.

• Bells can be used to represent the element Air in spells and rituals.

• A ringing bell can be used to balance the mind and is helpful for meditation.

• A bell hung on a door is said to grant wishes and draw prosperity.

• Bells can be kept on ones altar for use in formal rituals.

• Some use bells to represent Water because of the sound waves of the bells ring..

✨🔔✨

[pomegranatehymns]

🌍🥂

- posthumous-pagan

To answer what my favorite devotional act is, it's talking/praying to my deitys and giving offerings. Any offering honestly, no matter how big or small. I'm a gift giver, and it's how I show my love or admiration to anyone, so it makes me very happy when I can put things on my alter and say "hey this is for you! I thought about you! :)"

And to answer the other question, I personally worship the Greek patheos, and I believe they exist. I just don't have any experience with any other pathos and don't feel very compelled to try to reach out and see if they are, I'm content with what I have. I still have Exploring to do with the deitys I worship now.

[witch-priestess]

Just a reminder to folks when doing research on identifying a reliable source.

1. Is the source curated or edited by a reliable entity? (Encyclopedia, Scholarly Journal, College, Library, or Museum, some newspapers or news sources (PBS, NPR, The Hill, NYT))

Or does the source specialize in the topic? (Patheos, Learn Religions, The Wild Hunt)

2. Is there an author(s) listed? (Sometimes a curated piece like an encyclopedia article will only have the editors for the publication listed)

3. Do the author(s) have a background or expertise in the subject? (Is this described anywhere?)

4. Do they link their sources to their article, or have a bibliography or references listed?

5. Does their bibliography contain sources other than Wikipedia?

6. Does the Wikipedia article have a good bibliography?

7. Is the information presented consistent across multiple sources?

8. How recent is the source? / When was it published?

9. Has the information presented been refuted or debunked from a different reliable source or more recent information presented? (Is there more reliable evidence that supports differing information?)

10. Are any of their sources primary documents?

11. Who benefits from the information? (If applicable)

12. What are your biases?

Hopefully, this list of questions can help you discern information that is presented to you or that you come across. Learning is one of our tenets, and with a variety of sources and information (some false), it is important to know where it is coming from and if it is reliable.

While there may be good information in places like Tik Tok, Tumblr, and Blogs ALWAYS check the sources and verify it in other places BEFORE sharing it as a fact.

Use this chart to help determine accuracy and spin on major publications and is updated annually.

https://adfontesmedia.com/product/media-bias-chart-free-flagship-chart/

This is a list of fact checking sites you can use to help verify statements.

https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/true-5-factchecking-websites/

[generationexorcist]

Fairies In Finnish Mythology and Folklore

The worldview of the ancient Finnish tribes was animistic and it was believed that everything in nature had its own soul and spirit. Nature was filled with invisible spirits and many of them had the ability to affect the lives of men, therefore, respect for nature and its powers was essential in order for people’s survival. Fairies in Finnish folk tales are not small, winged pretty ladies but they come in all shapes and sizes.

In Finnish mythology, a different phenomenon in nature was often personified as feminine entities. Nature itself was a goddess called “Luonto” and it literally means nature in Finnish. Daughters of Luonto were a group of maidens called luonnottaret. According to the legend, maidens were moving grains on a misty cape on a foggy island and making it into hay. After spreading it out sea monster Tursas burned it into ashes. As it happened maidens were out of ash for they had to wash the face of the sun’s son (Paiva the day) but before they could collect the ash wind of the northeast whished it away to the banks of a holy stream and from it, splendid oak sprang…

Patheos

[eightyonekilograms]

It looks like Patheos is falling apart. The new homepage looks awful, article formatting is just broken (it’s littered with with urls not being links and markdown not getting rendered), and the writing is increasingly shitty (example). I did appreciate Patheos as one of the half-decent places for religious apologia, even when the justifications themselves were appalling, so I will sort of miss it when it kicks the bucket.