#Religious Exploration

[witchcraftrailroad]

I don’t think of spirituality the same way most people do. Or maybe, how they were taught. It’s hard to describe. I was not raised in a religious household. I’ve been learning about paganism for the last 12 years. Exploring my ancestry. Learning about the types of spirits and how to apply this logically. If I can’t make it logical, it doesn’t work. As far as spirits go, according to Animism, everything has a spirit. Humans, animals, plants, water, wind. Everything has energy, and spirit work to me is energy work. Humans like to personify the specific energy they’re working with, and that’s fine. I don’t believe in brownies, gnomes, fairies, etc. However, I do believe there are certain spirits, beings and forces on this planet that we may never understand. I do understand that once we die, that’s not the end of it. I’ve seen things, but even more importantly, I have EVP evidence recorded myself of a loved one whose death cracked open the veil to the world of the dead for me. I don’t have a theory on where the spirits go. They stay on earth. I do have a feeling they recycle. Of course, that’s just my theory.

When it comes to deities, in any religion, here’s how I see it: say you want to work with the energy of beauty and self-love, you may work with Aphrodite, or the energy she personifies. Maybe you’re into nature and animals. Cernunnos might be a deity to look into. Maybe you’re like me and want to work with the energy of the dead, there’s Anubis. Perhaps Hades. Of course there’s many, many more like saints, archangels, etc. I don’t know enough about them to speak on them.

Of course I am still learning and trying to make sense of it all, but I don’t see any of the religions as a “pray and worship” sort of situation. I think it’s more than that. More and maybe a little off to the side. 😂

[dumplingbone]

I don't think faith will fix any of my mental problems but it would be nice to feel like I have faith in something again. I feel more inclined towards something nature based, like something ancient and traditional. Shintoism didn't work out. Does anyone know of anything I could explore?

[floodleaf]

[worfsbarmitzvah]

there’s such an attitude among ex-christian atheists that religions just spring up out of the void with no cultural context behind them. like ive heard people say shit like “those (((zionists))) think they own a piece of land bc their book of fairy tales told them so!!!” and they refuse to understand that no, we don’t belong there because of the torah, it’s in the torah because we belong there. because we’re from there. the torah (from a reform perspective) was written by ancient jews in and about the land that they were actively living on at the time. the torah contains instructions for agriculture because the people who lived in the land needed a way to teach their children how to care for it. it contains laws of jurisprudence because those are pretty important to have when you’re trying to run a society. same for the parts that talk about city planning. it contains our national origin story for the same reason that american schools teach kids about the boston tea party. it’s an extremely complex and fascinating text that is the furthest thing from just a “book of fairy tales”

[canisalbus]

Do you ever get attacked by homophobes about your art?

A lot less than I had initially feared. I think the only times when I've gotten some purposefully homophobic comments on twitter is when I've drawn my dogs looking very clearly in love while mixing in religious elements in some particularly transparent way. But even then it's been more like displeased grumbling than a direct attack. For the most part people have been remarkably chill, I hope it stays that way.

[loggedbloddgedfjsjf]

locked & loaded

[unrememberedrooms]

statues i found on the grounds of a retreat house | 11/9/23

[mavenstein]

[notsocooljess]

i know this conversation comes up every now and then, but i am again thinking about the lack of organized religion and other preexisting culture in panem outside of the mentioned traditions in each district.

this is really in my mind today because at the start of chapter 5 in catching fire when haymitch brings katniss and peeta through the hallways in the justice building in district 11, she mentions the room prepared for their use has “double doors,” “the ceiling must be twenty feet high,” there are “designs of fruit and flowers cut into the molding, and small, fat children with wings look down at [them] from every angle.”

this passage is strongly reminiscent of a church with cathedral ceilings that are adorned with cherubs, and it also implies that katniss does not know what cherubs are (or really the idea of angels at all for that matter).

considering district 11 is placed in the bible belt, i think this is a really interesting detail, and given katniss’s earlier details about how the justice building is worn and smells of mildew, it highlights how panem is likely using structures that existed before the country itself and how little they know about the world that existed before their country did.

it also shows how heavily united states ideals still influence panem, since though it is said to have “separation of church and state,” our country is very influenced by christian ideals, and these ideals are still somewhat looming over the people of panem.

[kastalani123]

Leo Valdez, contrary to popular belief formed by the fact that most people only see him around others when he's fighting for his life, does not use his fire all the time.

It's been Plan C since he was eight, afterall, the screams of his mother and crackling of kindling eternally echoing in his ears. It itches under his skin, rages through his veins, burns in his chest, it wants out, but he claws at it and buries it down, down, down where it cannot hurt anyone. Ivory bones under charred skin flash through his mind, flames devouring everything around–

He pulls his ratty blanket tighter around himself, shoving away the need to drive away the winter chill with his lifeblood. There are angry red marks down his arms, lacerations decorating his ribs, oozing blood, and he had been taught how to burn them, to force his skin to yield to flames, to use fire to heal, but he doesn't, because nothing that eats away at living flesh can be good — it's the Devil's power, afterall.

He uses it to save his friends, to save the world, because the damage it can do is smaller than if he doesn't. It tears him into pieces, skin flaking off and bones crumbling to ash, and that is his repentance, his purgatory, his Passion, his crucifixion for his own sins–

And then he's back and he binds his hands in gloves and cuffs imbued with the need to trap, to keep his simmering underneath his skin, to contain the fire in his bones and his bones only. He is not to burn anything ever again if he can help it.

Leo Valdez does not use his fire.

[heartshapedcaskett]

Home sweet home

[stagefoureddiediaz]

No no you don’t understand - that it was Buck (and another guy) ripping the sleeves off Eddie’s PINK shirt is so interesting and loud. Pink representing innocence and naïveté this season as a theme - so Buck ripping off a sleeve (and waving it around) is a physical representation of buck being the one to rip away part of Eddie’s innocence- his naïveté

[chirpsythismorning]

[floodleaf]