#dont be a culture vulture

[c-vs-paganism]

Samhain just passed and it has once again amazed me how different cultures can be and how people within one culture dont necessarily interact with norms and traditions in the same way.

Samhain is traditionally celtic, although its been spread around the larger pagan communities for a good while, so obviously we have to take into consideration how non-pantheon specific pagans and non-celtic pagans have added to the common modern practices and beliefs. We also have to take into consideration of how the internet and the mysticization (ik ik i cant think of a better term) of paganism have played on how people view popular holidays like samhain, yule, and ostara. A lot of what we consider the typical "witchy" traditions have very little to no actual historical record or tradition, and were instead made introduced into the social culture of paganism, which we can see on platforms like tiktok. That's not to say that those new practices are less significant than historical ones, bc imo we are our own religion: we define whats important to us and base our practices off if those feelings and beliefs.

That being said, however, I think it's also important to recognize when we're making traditional practices out to be stuff their not, taking from closed cultures (*cough cough* white americans using indigenous practices *cough cough*) and when theres influence of colonization and cultural appropriation. Im indigenous and its a HUGE point that rubs me the wrong way when i see people using items or pieces of tradition that they (knowingly or unknowingly) have taken from a closed practice. Stop and do your research. ABOUT. EVERYTHING. Sorry if it's too much work or it slows you down but its so important.

Even for open practices: do your research. If you are using traditions and practices from somewhere and you dont know where it comes from there is still the potential for appropriation.

I personally urge all pagans to research every little thing. Why do certain herbs have these properties? Where does this practice come from? Just because something is available to you or you can kind of make stuff up along the way doesn't mean you should.

All this in mind, ive noticed Samhain has been merged with the modern idea of Halloween (dont give me a history lesson guys, ik the origins of halloween: im talking about commercialization) and i personally find it enjoyable. I grew up trick-or-treating, the decor is fun, etc. I know yall are bored atp but all of this was leading up to this question:

How did yall, as pagans, celebrate the past few days (if you celebrated at all)?

Im mainly just curious to see how social cultural norms in paganism span through the different sections and beliefs of the people i can reach on the internet.

[transqueerwitchking]

Also, if it ain't Your Folk, it ain't Your Magic. Keep your greedy white hands to yourself, Witch.

I say this as a white American.

Doesn't matter how cool you think some other culture's practice is. It will never be yours, you have no right to it. Look to your own roots, don't dig in your neighbors garden.

Something I feel like people getting into folk magic need to understand, for many people of many backgrounds, is folk magic started as a means of survival. It was struggle magic, and it is still struggle magic.

Where I'm living now and where I'm from, people planted by the signs to ensure their crops wouldn't go bad before harvesting. People used ocean water to soothe joint and muscle pains when they got old. People studied the native plants for medicine and were mindful to only take what was needed. People did little rituals and minded their grannies' words to keep their good luck. If they didn't know how to do something (or couldn't), they went to people who did.

Learning folk magic to reconnect with ancestral traditions from before your time is valid. Learning folk magic to connect with and work with the land is valid. There are many valid reasons to take up folk magic. Still, understand that folk magic is survival, and folk magic is community.

[tipytap]

yknow i fuckin hate that google is making the top search ai generated now but this shit is so funny

[the-reclawmation-studio]

Feral kitten mounted for my personal collection. I think this was sort of a breakthrough piece for me, it's (in my opinion, at least) the best of my mammals so far.

It's always sad to see dead kittens that could have been in a shelter instead, but it's better than having them in the bush eating native birds. Unsure of the exact cause of death, but there was lots of bruising around the head, and the back of her skull was shattered :(

[oh-look-a-stim-blog]

— Bone Collection

Link Here if Used

[corvus-coraxs]

hi! im doing everything in my power to return to this beloved hobby. i will probably be overhauling this blog and the etsy under a new name when i can, since my username isnt very searchable. for now, here are some guys i finished up recently :)

[muirneach]

so that all the water and earth would know

[theonlydunce]

WIP(reference used)

My take on the new pyro archon Mavuika:

-zipped her suit up. I was serviced and all but I think the skin tight body suit is more than enough…

-Ive seem people compare her to kaveh, so i changed her hairstyle to look more wavy and tastefully messy while looking clean

-A more appropriate skin tone.

-Thicker eyebrows 🫶🫶

-Darker eyes to make the yellow POP

-Smaller earings. I felt the bigger ones just make the hair less extravagant.

Id LOVE to see some more appropriate clothing on her as many people are disappointed with it. The only things I applaud is the sun symbols. Genshin can do better.

[slutdge]

these two goths near me do little rat taxidermy courses in the basement of this one antique store and I made this little dude today, he's like... kinda wonky but i had a really good time doing it (plus a little heart i made out of the tailbones)

[panafricanambassador]

This is kinda funny........ because Kamala Harris IS "they"

[asthevermincrawls]

the tattoo and culture show last night had some very cool taxidermy

[ceasarslegion]

Would love to tell this job to go fuck itself in favour of being a park ranger but unfortunately every national park that has given me an offer is somewhere where the cost of living is so egregious that the salary doesn't even begin to cover it. Maybe I should try for park warden instead

[k9catastrophe]

DROOLING over the idea of going out and bone hunting right now. How i hate living in a neighborhoodlike this . not a carcass in sight . the only bones here are in your body. i miss you random bones.

[the-reclawmation-studio]

I was going to wait until he was completely finished and I could get some better pictures but I'm so excited about this and just need to share lol.

This is my ferret, Chester. The pictures on the left are from when I first mounted him- about a year ago. I wasn't really happy with how he turned out, he had major Sid the sloth vibes haha. So a couple months ago I gave in, took him apart, and remounted him- and he looks so much better.

I was taught to mount raw dry-preserved skins, with the skull still attached around the nose and mouth. This meant the skin, around the face especially, had a lot of shrinkage, and it was difficult to get the mouth to look good. Also, I wasn't very careful with the eye and ear placement, so if you turned him upside down he looked awful lol.

I took him through the tanning process, and to my surprise he was not grease-burned, despite heavy oxidation, and had no slipping! I degreased him as best I could but I'm still not sure if the tan was really able to effectively penetrate the skin. But by the time I was done I was tired of it and figured that even if it wasn't completely tanned, it would still be better than how it was before, so I just went ahead and mounted him.

I also took out his skull and toe bones, and replaced them both with clay. I'm quite pleased that the feet aren't too shrunken, I was really worried they'd end up looking really small, but they're not too bad really.

Ferrets are harder to come by, otherwise I might not have bothered haha. But I'm also just really attached to Chester, and I'm so glad I can appreciate him properly now :)

[smiggles]

These are old photos (my collection has grown a lot since this) A good portion of these animals I processed myself

[peroxidebutch]

Haven't been posting much on here lately but this is our new setup now that we've moved :) Our specimens intersperse nicely with our roommate's nicknacks