#irish folk catholicism

[byhisscourging]

Introduction

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hello, peace be with you, and welcome to my blog!

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About this page:

This blog is mainly intended to be used to compile resources & information i’d like to curate and incorporate into my day-to-day spiritual life, as i’m trying to bridge an odd gap in both my mental health and my relationship with God. you’re more than welcome to stick around if you find my reposts & such helpful :)

my username is a reference to Isaiah 53:5, “by His scourging, we are healed.” the blog title is the English translation of my paternal family’s motto: “Elatum a Deo Non Deprimat”

the word “witch” is in quotations marks within my bio simply because although “witchcraft” is probably the closest word to describe what it is i’m practicing, the title of “witch” feels like something i have outgrown and is no longer accurate to my spiritual practices and such. no judgement intended toward anyone who does refer to themselves that way!

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Here’s some very basic information about me:

my name is Francis, though you may call me Frankie if you’d like!

i am 22 years old — an October baby!

i am a baptized and confirmed Roman Catholic

i have attended Catholic school for all levels of education i have received thus far

i am a student of theology with a concentration in interfaith studies at a Jesuit university (and am also aiming for a minor in peace & justice studies)

a non-negligible part of my personal theology/relationship with God has been influenced by Buddhist thought, particularly in regards to theology of the body

i have an 18 month old kitten named Assisi (nicknamed Sisi!) who followed me home on the feast day of Saint Francis <3

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My interests related to this blog include:

folk Christianity (especially) Catholicism, including: Irish/Celtic folk Catholicism; Appalachian (especially southwest PA/north WV) folk Christianity (Catholic and/or Protestant); Slavic folk Christianity; German folk Catholicism; and Britannic folk Christianity

folk witchcraft/magic related to the aforementioned practices

Braucherei

how to be more Christlike

the Five Wounds of Jesus and the Sacred Heart

Marian Devotion (my relationship with our Virgin Mother has never been the strongest, which I’d like to change)

saints and practices involving working with saints, especially but not limited to: St. Joan of Arc, St. Dymphna, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Anthony, St. Expiditus, St. Joseph and St. Paul of the Cross

angels, guardian angels, and archangels, as well as practices involving working with all three

bibliomancy (specifically with the Bible) or other Christian-oriented/inspired divination

trans theology

cats and Christianity

witchcraft regarding familiars, chiefly cats

spoonie witchcraft

urban witchcraft

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GODBWYE!

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[oh-my-little-hearth]

[seraphimfall]

i find the trend of getting offended at goth people for wearing rosaries so funny because it’s like,,,,, how do you know they’re not ex-catholic? how do you know they’re not irish? or polish? or mexican? or italian?

you gonna tell them they can’t interact with imagery from their own culture? pls lmao.

[the-mighty-fenrir]

I'm interested in folklore and if you have any family legends or mystical stories, I'd be glad to read them🦇✨

[saint-0wen]

Me: oh no my seasonal job is almost over, I need to find a new job...

St. Joseph:

[fragmentedhekatean]

hello! my name is Atlas. I am 30, autistic and a practioner of ??? idek tbh. it's been 3+ years and that's all I know. Time isn't real

About Me:

Name: Atlas

Pronouns: they/them

Label: ???? queer; aroace lesbian

I hold place in my heart and on my altars for many different deities, especially those tied to my ancestors. Artio, the Bear Goddess, is the first deity I reached out to, and incidentally is a goddess of my ancestors, bec one of my special interests has always, always been bears

I also hold space for deities from various pantheons including Hellenic, Germanic, Celtic (Irish, Welsh, and Scottish), Kemetic, the Infernal Divine and Slavic

I am also becoming acquainted with working with Jesus, looking into some folk catholicism and learning more about Saints, especially Saint Dymphna and Saint Joseph

I actively work with Lady Hekate, King Haides, King Asmodeus and Jesus of Nazareth. Currently Jesus is front and center in my practice while I become acquainted with the Saints and learn more about the cultural and historical contexts of the Bible, ancient Christianity and deconstructing of toxic ideals around Christianity

my blog is a safe place for queer ppl, disabled ppl, poc, beginners, non-beginners, minorities. my blog is NOT a safe place for terfs, nazis, homophobes, racists, antisemites or any flavor of bigot and probably isn't a safe space for Wiccans

[uranodioningin]

This was way too long for replies so I'm commenting. Apologies for the avalanche of text. Also, apologies to my followers who will have no idea what I'm talking about or why.

Quebec is super racist, and those of us who live here are tired of tax money being thrown towards racist policies and shitty treatment of immigrants, forcing them to learn French under the least supportive circumstances.

It would be fantastic if some of that money could go towards expanding language learning, not just in terms of the classes available to people, but also low-stakes ways to practice speaking & listening; namely, TV/movies and fan spaces. As opposed to, you know, work. Where there are financial consequences if you don't learn fast enough. Streaming Quebecois French shows (yes Quebecois French, watching Parisian French does nothing to help you understand your Quebecois coworkers or clients) is an excellent way to offer that sort of learning & practice, and funding for such shows is a good thing.

It would also be fantastic for Quebec to put more support in indigenous language revival, as mentioned in the replies. I will just point out here that Netflix and Disney aren't exactly bastions of indigenous language revival, and asking them to offer Quebec-French media in Quebec itself is in no way taking away space for indigenous voices. Quebec's goal with this bill seems to be to stem the tide of Anglo-colonial media pushing down any and all diverse voices in online streaming. I don’t think that’s the best priority to have, and indigenous language revival should receive far more attention, but it’s not in and of itself a racist project to make streaming platforms offer media in the languages & on the topics relevant to the local consumers.

There is, certainly, a link between modern francophonie and white supremacy. If this bill is implemented fully (with that nonsense about temporary international workers needing to learn French, and [as mentioned in the replies] with less & less structural support and just plain time for that learning to happen) there will be negative shock-waves, most strongly felt by the linguistically disenfranchised (which is basically to say non-white anglophone & allophone immigrants). On this I agree with OP's view, that this bill is framed as "preserving" the French language when in fact over 50% of the funding is going towards making immigration harder for POC in a way that will in no way increase the ratio of francophones in the province. The streaming stuff is a good start, but it's tacked on as an afterthought, with the bulk of the bill going to good ol' QC racism.

I try not to be pessimistic, though. I hope it’s possible to build a future francophonie, built on values of diversity and acceptance and decolonisation. I am under no illusions that it will be easy to shape this future franco culture so that it includes none of the long history of oppression of French colonisation, but I believe it's possible, and more importantly, that it's important to try. To pretend that making a better future that includes all currently extant cultures of a region isn’t possible...to put it politely, it's a little grim.

And frankly, Quebecois-French TV and movies are a damn good tool for creating a new francophonie without the racism--IF the shows/films are made with anti-colonial values, with messages of acceptance and celebration of all Quebec's cultures, with an exploration of what makes Quebec be Quebec that extends beyond on parle français icitte tbk.

To end, I’m not saying “if Francos don’t oppress Native voices, someone else will, so we might as well be the ones to do it.” I’m not saying “Let's give all disenfranchised people equal support whether or not they face equal hurdles.” I’m not saying “French in Quebec is dying and we must save it.” I’m not saying “Quebec is better when it's French.”

I’m saying “There are anglophones and allophones in Quebec who want to learn French, but who lack the structural support to achieve that, and artistic efforts to support these people are a good thing.” I’m saying “Artistic efforts to encourage language learning can and should be implemented alongside academic efforts, and neither effort is being made with sufficient emphasis right now.” I’m saying “Asking Netflix/Disney/etc. to offer Quebecois media is a way of increasing artistic support for French learners (and positively shaping franco culture) without trodding down any other linguistic/cultural revival efforts.” I’m saying “French culture is a lot more than just being able to work in French, but currently there is little to no space in modern Quebec for francophone culture made by Quebecois artists for a Quebecois audience. Quebeckers seeking a cultural handhold find only the labour market.”

I’m saying “Quebec has a future and we want to actively shape it instead of being subsumed by the USA's cultural trajectory.”

I don't trust the current government, or any of the other parties contending for the next gov't, to shape Quebec into something non-racist. But if the revolutionary spirit of Quebec, its working-class history, its multicultural history, is stamped out by American reactionary politics, then the Quebec of 30 or 50 or 100 years from now is going to be so much worse.

Quebecers could soon see more homegrown content on streaming services like Netflix and Disney+.

The provincial government announced that it plans to introduce a new bill within the next year to force online streaming giants to add more made-in-Quebec media on their platforms. It was one of nine measures unveiled on Sunday under the province's plan to spend $603 million over five years(opens in a new tab) to protect the French language in Quebec.

Culture Minister Mathieu Lacombe did not provide specifics of what would be inside the bill. [...]

The new funding will be aimed at nine priorities outlined by the government to boost the status of French. More than half of the money — $320 million — will be earmarked for ensuring temporary international workers speak and learn French. After immigration, culture is poised to get the second-largest chunk of the funding, at $187.3 million. [...]

Continue Reading.

Tagging: @newsfromstolenland, @vague-humanoid

[15-lizards]

✨ riverlands using weaving as a form of prayer do you see where im headinf with this. riverlands folk catholicism of the faith you know ….. do you have any other thoughts about what practices would be like in the home vs the septs . Does that question make sense i worry it doesn’t

No wait I’m seeing the vision…weaving and needlepoint while they pray to imbue whatever they’re making with a protective energy from the gods so that the blanket or dress or whatever keeps someone safe or brings in good fortune. And this seems a little pagan to the septs but ppl still do it anyway in their homes and outside of the Faith as an institution.

Veneration of saints that are not technically recognized by the faith but are still prominent figures within the religion so it’s tolerated. Basically folk heroes they might pray to for intercession

Also veneration of the dead/ancestor worship bc the riverlands are stuck in time and ghosts are almost as tangible as the living! Holy days where they give offerings to their deceased and pray for their spirits to come and give them guidance

A lot of Irish folk practices are really fitting too. The cross of st Brigid, the idea of holy wells, the blessing of a ribbon by a saint to that they will be protected throughout the year, etc etc. lots of leftovers from the time of the old gods mixed in with the doctrine of the new

[blessedarethebinarybreakers]

What does it mean that you're a catholic presbyterian? What are your views on Church authority and predestination?

I like to imagine myself as a tree with Irish Catholic roots, a Presbyterian/Protestant trunk, and agnostic/ecumenical/interfaith-reaching branches.

I need all parts to be whole. All parts rely on Divine warmth, water, breath for life. All parts depend on a rich soil of scripture, story, and the wisdom of those who've come before me for nourishment and grounding.

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The roots:

I was baptized and raised Roman Catholic. My family (and a large number of families in the area I grew up) has a proud history of Irish Catholicism in particular. My childhood church was Catholic, and I was passionate about participating in that community's life all through grade school.

Some of my earliest religion-related memories are of reading Saints' stories, establishing relationships with those who most spoke to me. Mother Mary has had my heart as far back as my memories go.

As I discovered my queerness in college and gradually realized the need to seek fully welcoming community, I did not leave behind those things I held most dear from Catholic spirituality.

Over the years, my connection to the Roman Catholic Church as an institution has fractured more and more; last May it splintered entirely. But I refuse to let Rome have a monopoly on Catholic faith, or on Mary and the Saints.

...Especially because Mary and the Saints were my greatest spiritual supports in college: with delighted wonder, I came to recognize how very queer my closest Saints were! They helped me embrace my queerness as a holy gift; I carried them with me into a little PC(USA) church that my then-girlfriend, now-wife found near our college campus.

The trunk:

The Presbyterian Church (USA) denomination holds me up in sturdy community: this is the denomination I'm currently "officially" part of — got my Masters of Divinity at a PCUSA seminary, got married in a PCUSA church, am on this denomination's ordination path.

This doesn't mean I think the PCUSA is the best religion or even the best form of mainline Protestantism. They all have their strengths and their flaws. But the PCUSA was the one that first came into my path, and I'm currently satisfied with my decision to commit myself to it — so long as it continues to make plenty of room for my Catholic roots and ecumenical branches.

The branches:

Though Louisville Seminary is a Presbyterian institution, when I attended from 2016-2019 at least 40% of my classmates and some of the staff there belonged to other denominations (or in a few cases, aren't Christian at all).

The opportunity to learn alongside folks from a variety of traditions was invaluable to my continued spiritual growth. I learned so much from them! I grew into my sense that all individuals and faith communities have something to teach us the Divine and about what it means to be human in relationship to Divinity and to Creation.

Then there's the agnostic part of the "branches":

Over the years I've also experienced more and more seasons where I'm just not sure that the Trinity, the Incarnation and Resurrection, and all that Christian-specific stuff is "real." But whether or not it is, I choose to remain committed to this path I'm on — with openness to fresh insights — because I do draw spiritual nourishment here. I do believe that the story of the Trinity and the Incarnation can guide us into living for Goodness, Justice, abundant life for all beings.

...Basically, I don't know whether it's all "true," but I do believe it holds powerful Truth; I remain committed to the Story.

(Also the bible has been my main special interest since i was like 6 so it's one of the main lenses through which i view the world so i'm stuck here for better or worse lfadfjalfjdalk;j! )

I believe it's imperative for Christians living in Christian supremacist cultures to practice humility above all else — to accept the fact that we don't have all the answers, that we're not the Most Right, that we don't enjoy unique favor with God. For me, identifying as agnostic reminds me that I don't know everything about God by any means, and may actually know very little at all. It reminds me to remain humble, open, and curious.

The fruit:

My hope is that this little tree that is me yields good fruit. I don't care if I have all the right answers, so long as I'm glorifying the Divine in some small way; easing suffering in some small way; bringing joy into this world in some small way. That's what matters to me.

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I imagine the above implies my views on Church authority. If it doesn't, well, I'll just say I'm kind of an anarchist about church as much as anything else! The Church should never have come to wield as much power as it has. And whatever the "role" of the Church is in the Divine Story, I remember learning somewhere in seminary that the ultimate future of Church is to dissolve — that when we've experienced the full in-breaking of God's Kin-dom, there will be no more need for Church.

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Not all Presbyterians hold to predestination — and for most I know who do, it's not really a central part of their faith life.

But sure, you could say I believe in predestination: I believe we are all predestined for participation in God's Kin-dom! :)

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Further reading:

My tag of LGBTA patron Saints <3

My first podcast ep explores some of my spiritual journey

My queer and Catholic tag

Some other semi-related tags — good fruit tag; religious pluralism tag; evangelism tag; church hurt tag

My PCUSA tag, which includes a post with some old class notes about predestination

OH ALSO there's a podcast called "Called to Be Multiple" that interviews folks who draw from multiple faith sources. Cool stuff!

[byhisscourging]

(Folk) Catholic Mourning?

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i just learned that my aunt passed away. my head is spinning and i feel so numb. i want to pray, i know i’m going to be praying the rosary profusely tonight. but i’ll be honest, all of the other catholic ways of praying for and honoring the dead have completely slipped my mind

if anyone could please just remind me of different ways catholics grieve and mourn i would really appreciate it. i know i know them but i just can’t remember them right now.

i would also love to hear about folk (catholic, ideally) ways of going about funerary rites and prayers, especially especially especially appalachian folk practices, and even more especially if they’re from the Southwest PA region. that side of my family also has slovakian, czech, and irish roots. any christian folk traditions from those cultures would also be appreciated.

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i’m gonna keep this pinned instead of my introduction for a short while because if anyone with this knowledge happens to find my page i want them to see this first.

[avidabsurdist]

No one Understands...

it's not just the hair

my fundamental concept of Jude is so different from other people's and I'm surrounded by (admittedly excellent) art and NO ONE seems to share an idea of her that is ANYWHERE near what i imagine ok

I am NOT GREAT at human faces but i did my ABSOLUTE BEST

the hair is a little wonky but my internal image of this woman is SO STRONG for some reason it is so important that I share it with you

EVERYONE drawing Jude duarte is wrong about her hair

her hair style suggests horns, she doesn't just make her hair into horns people

she's CLEARLY got her hair up in Victory Rolls

THIS is how i picture her hair

(I love fan artists so much y'all are doing great if you actually want to draw her with horns i respect that)

[thenightling]

A brief history of Halloween

On a Halloween group that I follow on Facebook someone seemed sincerely curious about the origin of Halloween and got some snarky answers to just Google it so here's a very abridged version. It's very abridged so I don't cover everything and some of it may be streamlined but I cover what I can.

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The earliest Halloween celebrations were the Gaelic festival called Samhain (pronounced as Sow-in). Samhain was to celebrate the start of winter, the end of the harvest season. It was also a time to honor the dead.

The Ancient Celts believe there were two times during the year that magical entities such as Sidhe (faeries), goblins, and spirits were likely to enter the human world. This was in Spring and Autumn.

The Spring version is Beltane Eve and Beltane Day (April 30th and May 1st). April 30th is also known as Walpurgisnacht in Germany and Beltane is also known as May Day in some countries.

And in Autumn there was Samhain, which in modern times is October 31st and November 1st.

The Celts believed this was a time when magical energy was at its strongest and the veil between worlds such as the afterlife or the faerie realm was at its thinnest.

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The Catholic adoption of Samhain into All Hallow's Eve:

Christian holidays overlap Ancient Pagan ones such as Christmas and Yule (Yule or Jul is actually used as the word for Christmas in many countries). So Catholics placed All Hallow's Eve and All Hallow's Day over Samhain. All Hallow's Eve meant All Saint's Eve or the Eve of all Saints.

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El Día de Muertos or el Día de los Muertos (The Day of the Dead)

When the Spanish came into, what is today, Mexico they brought Catholicism with them which mingled with some of the indigenous folk beliefs already present. El Día de Muertos or el Día de los Muertos (The Day of the Dead) is celebrated on November 1st. In Mexico this is a Multi-day event to celebrate the Day of The Dead, All Saint's Day and all Soul's Day. One day is for partying and celebrating life and conquering fear of death while another is for revering the dead and tending to graves.

Different parts of Mexico celebrate differently but there are often candied sugar skulls, parades, skeletons on the news and in newspapers. And parties.

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Hungry Ghosts Festival:

In China and some other parts of Asia there is the Feast of the Hungry Ghosts also called the Hungry Ghosts Festival. This is usually not celebrated at the same time as modern, American, Halloween, but it may have had some influence in its conception.

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The Jack-o-Lantern.

Originating with the folktale of Stingy Jack we get the Irish custom of the Jack-o-Lantern. According to Legend Jack bested The Devil and cheated him out of his soul but he was not good enough for Heaven so he was doomed to wander as a ghost.

The Devil (or one of his demons) taunted him by tossing him an ember from Hell to guide his way. Jack placed the ember inside a turnip that he carved into a lantern.

Jack was a coward so people figured out they could drive him away by carving a sinister face into a hollowed out turnip and place a small candle inside of it. Jack would mistake this as the lantern of another wandering ghost and avoid it.

Over time the custom of carving Jack-o-Lanterns was believed to not just drive away old Jack but other wandering spirits. It became a protection ward against evil. The earliest known jack-o-lanterns date back to at least 1658.

When the Irish came to America they found that it was easier to carve a pumpkin than a turnip and was (apparently) just as effective (if not more so) in driving away malignant spirits. The change-over to Pumpkins happened between the eighteenth and nineteenth century though even today you will find some turnip Jack-o-lanterns. These were not strictly for Halloween yet.

The Dutch colonists (now Americans) started to adopt the Irish custom of carving Jack-o-lanterns out of pumkins in Upstate New York in the 1790s or earlier.

Thanks to writers like Washington Irving and his The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Jack-o-laterns became a fixture of Hallowe'en by 1820. It was believed that on this night it was more likely that the spirits of the dead would return and so people wanted a little extra protection. Or they liked the novelty of the spooky decoration.

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Hallowe'en

The word Hallowe'en came about in the nineteenth century and in the late nineteenth century in New England they started to sell Hallowe'en postcards and even artificial jack-o-lanterns manufactured in Germany.

Halloween parties became popular in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century.

They were usually masquerades or costume parties. At these parties unwed girls would do rituals like standing in a darkened room with a candle and mirror, in the hope that the reflection would transform into her future husband. There would be games like bobbing for apples and telling ghost stories (which was also a Christmas tradition at the time). And they would eat things like sweets and pumpkin pie and drink things like warm, sweet, apple cider (Usually non-alcoholic here in the US unless it is called hard cider. Apple Cider here in the US usually just means juice made from whole, pressed apples). Though there are Many people who still drink apple cider, in more recent times Pumpkin Spice has become the beverage flavor of choice even if it's just those spices in the apple cider.

But with these parties came mischief.

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Modern American Trick-or-Treating:

In the 1930s in America the custom of Trick-or-treating started to spread from small rural communities in New England and into the wider scape of America.

Many people attribute Trick-or-treating to the Ancient custom of leaving offerings out for spirts. (Which can be traced back to Ancient Egypt in origin). But the American version was an invention to deter teenage pranksters.

The theory was that if these rowdy teens were distracted with the bribe of candy they wouldn't make mischief like throwing eggs, smashing windows, or causing other trouble.

"Give me a treat or I'll pull a trick on you." is essentially what "Trick or treat" means but most pranks were actually harmless.

There were similar Trick-or-treat-like customs in those days for Thanksgiving and even Christmas (which later faded from cultural consciousness but my grandfather taught me about the Thanksgiving version). While in the UK there was Guy Fawkes Day (November 5th). "Penny for the Guy" might have been the cross-the-pond inspiration for Trick-or-Treat. Trick-or-treating didn't actually start in the US. The first record of modern Trick-or-treating was actually in Ontario, Canada in 1911 and then it trickled its way into the US by the 1930s.

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Germany's influence:

Before Word War 2 most Hallowe'en merchandise came out of Germany. This included printed color postcards (popular in New England), and paper Mache artificial Jack-o-lanterns (the first mass produced artificial Jack-o-lanterns), toys, sculptures, and cardboard and paper cutouts for windows and doors.

The first collectable Halloween merchandise came from Germany even though Germany would not celebrate "American style" Halloween until the 1990s.

In the 1990s after the success of movies like Hocus Pocus and Nightmare before Christmas that was when American style modern Halloween started to catch on in Germany.

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Halloween:

In the 1940s American Hallowe'en postcards started to drop the ' in Hallowe'en to save money on ink. By the 1950s almost all Hallowe'en merchandise had dropped the ' and the word became Halloween. The dictionary does say both are still correct, mind you.

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The rise of Pumpkin Spice:

Pumpkin spice is just the mixture of warm, sweet spices found in pumpkin pie. Today if the mixture is added to a beverage or confection dried pumpkin or pumpkin pulp is added to give it a stronger, more distinctly pumpkin-y flavor. (See Starbucks Pumpkin Spice lattes, and Hood brand Pumpkin spice non-alocholic eggnog).

The flavor consists of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, and sometimes dried pumpkin, sugar, and / or roasted chicory. (I prefer it without roasted chicory, by the way.).

The flavor is similar to gingerbread but perhaps a bit heavier on the cinnamon and in recent times tends to have actual pumpkin added to make it more distinctly seasonal.

In the 1990s Pumpkin Spice became a fashion in the world of coffees and teas and exploded in popularity. Until then it was mostly found in pastries and pumpkin pie. Now it's a seasonal novelty found in practically everything and in certain long-shelf-lifed products, can even be found all year long.

Pumpkin spice, interestingly enough, is made up of spices traditionally used by Neo Pagans and Wiccans to bring about good luck and ward off evil and hexes.

So you are actually drinking (or eating) a protection ward against evil.

And there you go. A brief, abridged, history of modern Halloween. For a kid-friendly education on the subject of the history of Halloween I recommend the fictional (yet educational) novel and animated movie, The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury.

[diana-thyme]

Deities and Spirits

This is a list of all of the deities and spirits I have a relationship with.

Greek Pantheon: Worship

Zeus

Hera

Hygieia

Ganymede

Aphrodite

Peitho

Palaemon

Dionysus

Ariadne

Hermes

Hades

Persephone

Melinoe

Macaria

Hyacinthus

Triptolemus

Aristaeus

Egyptian Pantheon: Worship

Nefertum

Sekhmet

Norse Pantheon: Worship

Freyja

Loki

Frigg

Shintoism

Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto

Inari Ōkami

Amaterasu Ōmikami

Folk Catholicism

Mother Mary

Saint Michael Archangel

Saint Joseph

San José su Cristo

Saint Anthony of Padua

Santa Muerte

Demonolatry

Prince Seere

Leviathan

Forneus

Unspecified

Butterfly Goddess

Storm Goddess

Craft God

Other Pantheons: Worship

Uni the Cat God

Astarte (Sumerian)

Veles (Slavic)

Gwyn ap Nudd (Welsh)

Airmed (Irish)

Lady of the Lake (British)

Devoted To

Ares (Greek)

Apollon (Greek)

Barbale (Georgian)

Working With

Diana (Roman)

Pluto (Astrological)

Baba Yaga (Slavic)

Spirits

Bobcat

Shark

Sea Turtle

Crab

Human Spirits

Local Land Spirits

Lost Spirits

Taliesin (Brittonic Poet)

[mariposa-de-la-luna]

i just tried shufflemancy for the first time, i have been learning and staying SUPER hard about irish folk magic and folk catholicism. and my question was “what is the next step/the next thing i need to know for my practice?” and i got. ptolemaea. by ethel cain. which is maybe the scariest most ominous song i could have gotten

someone pls reassure me that something evil isn’t going to get me lol

[stonedasamartyr]

Someone i know who has alexa (the amazon thing) asked for “fun facts about st patricks day” and she told me one which was “St. Patrick is credited with driving the snakes out of Ireland, but snakes are not actually native to Ireland and there is no record of snakes ever inhabiting the island” and she was like “isnt that a weird folk tradition?” and i was like “well no its an allegory, he was a warrior bishop from roman britain and he led a pogrom against the druids to convert the irish people to catholicism” and an awkward silence ensued as the autism had triumphed once again lol

[tamamita]

I absolutely hate to be That Guy in your inbox but christian witches and christopagans are actually a thing, it mostly operates off of the "the bible was written by human beings with political motivations and therefore is not a direct method for understanding the intent of God" scheme of belief, folk catholicism which is evolved-over-time syncretic between pre-christian beliefs (most of which are considered to be pagan) and the catholicism which was introduced during conversion (ie: Irish, Mexican, or Filipino catholicism), and also just like a solid amount of intentional heresy. I can't speak to it's liturgical validity (I'm ethnically Jewish and have no personal experience with christianity other than it's accursed cultural permeation in the us lol) but like, it is an (admittedly super niche!!) Actual Thing People Do from my experience in witchcraft+paganism spaces. I don't quite get it myself (again, Jewish) but it's one of those things tht was probably just never supposed to breach containment to the larger Tumblr sphere where people wouldn't know the greater context

This is mostly referring to westerners that often embrace some form of new age religion, often in defiance with the church. I don't deny the existence of such syncretism, since it existed from the very advent of Christianity, especially in the sense of how one would define Christ's nature-- I mean that's why they killed each other over it. If we consider various "heresies" such as Valentinianism or Marcionism, then there are obvious traces of paganic and polytheistic doctrines, which contradicts the Jewish idea of Monotheism. My issue with various individual proclaiming to be a Christian witch/pagan, whatever you wish to see it, is that the individual was trying affirm polytheism or Dualism as a perfect part of Christianity, which is just not true, no matter how much we may scrutinize the religion from a Biblical narrative, because it also involves scrutinizing the God of Israel in the Old Testament as this evil being, which has always been an antisemitic idea, so when someone describes themselves as a Christian Pagan or Witch (as a Western trend), there are some red flags.

I don't see the point of trying to syncretize two opposing theological ideas. If you don't like mainstream Christianity, but wish to syncretize a neopaganic/neowiccan tradition upon something that'd obviously be an anathema to the religion itself, then I can't take your theology serious.