#pagan wanders

[just-a-simple-wanderer]

Holy shit this is SO COOL! OP this is incredible, your art is amazing!

I ADORE the idea that Hephaestus’ prosthetic arm that he made himself is not necessarily made of metal, but made of hardened lava that he can then liquify into near or full on magma while he is working in his forge or something! Or that his hair can become fire! I often see images with Hestia having fire for hair but not Hephaestus!

This is SUCH an amazing view of him and I love it and I really vibe with this. And I LOVE when he is pictured with assistance gear like wheelchairs or crutches like this but is still obviously working and living his life and enjoying it.

Hephaestus is disabled and he is powerful and mighty and amazing! And look at that smile!

❤️🧡💛❤️‍🔥

Hephaestus :D

[the-spirit-of-yore]

Dans les brumes enneigées . . .

[maryhale1]

Some easy witch tips

[paganpillar]

Óðinn the Allfather: ruler of Valhalla and God of wisdom, magic, runes, war, prophesy, victory, poetry, and death.

[just-a-simple-wanderer]

“As if that hot sexy bitch couldn’t take the whole thing down with just one boob” was not a sentence I ever considered needing to read but I was SHOWN THE LIGHT. 🤣💜

I just saw a post about how Hera, Demeter, and Hestia should be the Big 3 instead of Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. And while I understand the sentiment (✨Feminism✨🖕🏻Fuck the Patriarchy 🖕🏻✌🏻Girl Power✌🏻 etc) I personally think Hera, Demeter, and Hestia are not only quite content with their positions, they very likely helped orchestrated it to be that way.

One of the biggest mistakes worshipers, witches, and mythology fans make is thinking the 3 sisters are not powerful enough to take the thrones if they wanted them.

Demeter alone forced 2 out of the 3 Kings (1 of them being THE King) to bend to her will. One of those thrones could have easily been hers if she wanted it.

Hestia paved the way for Athena and Artemis, by CHOOSING her own path. She didn’t ask Zeus, she told him by swearing an oath that she would remain a virgin. And of course, Hestia gets offerings first and last. Pretty sure the one thing all the Gods can agree on is that Hestia is the best and that by itself is power.

As for Hera, she knows her position is actually far better than Zeus’ bc she has more freedom. I always compare them to the King and Queen in chess. The King is important enough to be the entire purpose of the game however he’s extremely limited. The Queen, on the other hand, is limitless which makes her the most dangerous piece on the board. You can see this in action in the Iliad. Hera is able to release her anger and fury for not being chosen by Paris and aids in the destruction of an entire city. Zeus, with all his power as King, can’t even prevent his beloved son’s death because his position of King does not allow it. And it was Hera who reminded Zeus that as their leader, he couldn’t save his son. So she knows the limits that come with that role. Why would she choose a position that only lets her move one space at a time when she can move whenever and however she wants? And she still has a crown on her head.

I get because of how patriarchal Ancient Greece was it’s easy to look at the hierarchy of the Gods as a reflection of that. But personally, I think the structure actually makes sense when you take into account the personalities of the Gods and what each position requires.

And as I said before, if Hera, Demeter, and Hestia weren’t happy with the current structure, it wouldn’t be the current structure. 😂

Also, we haven’t even talked about the wildcard that is, Aphrodite! As if that hot sexy bitch couldn’t take the whole thing down with just one boob.

Like come on, I thought we all already knew that our Goddesses are the ones who truly run the entire show?

[gifts-of-heimdall-runes]

Woden The Wanderer

Image was created by Gemini AI.

Background by @gifts-of-heimdall-runes from an original found via PINTEREST.

[journeying-wizard]

wait fuck do i say oh my god or oh my gods now??? like yeah as a catholic you aren't supposed to say "oh my God" because that's using capital g God's name in vain but in my head i got around that because god ≠ God because god doesn't have that capital g and thus -> not referring to capital g God and using his name in vain. but since i'm polytheist now does that mean it'd be "oh my gods" instead?

and wait is god supposed to be capitalized in regards to other deities? like, when you're calling a deity a god of something. is gods supposed to be capitalized? because in my head god is what God is; God is his name, and what God is is god because. oh my god bflre it was God is god because there's only one, and since he's the only of his kind, what his "species" is called is just his name. like God is a being and god is the genre of being he is, and that genre of being is called god because there's just the one capital g God. but. i don't believe it's only capital g God now like i believe these other guys exist too. so i can't say that. all of the above is probably heavily inaccurate because i was raised catholic and when u're raised catholic there's just some things u never rlly actually look into because things just Are The Way They Are and for smaller stuff like that u kinda just use what u know.

i also realize what i said looks like it contradicts my initial thing abt god ≠ God so i have to explain even more. and what it boils down to is that god ≠ god. SO BASICALLY. the being God is, god, equals deity. god = deity. with oh my god though, you can't replace god with deity. like, oh my deity. nobody says that. god ≠ deity. it's like,,, two separate things. if god¹ ≠ deity, and god² = deity, then god¹ ≠ god². it's not quite a case of a word having two definitions, because the "god" in "oh my god¹" carries the same definition as god². they're just used in different ways which causes them to have different meanings. that sounds a bit contradictory but i think the point got across.

and wait now my brain has connected the dots on if god should be capitalized w other deities. it's a third god word. god¹ ≠ god² ≠ god³. because when a deity is being called a god of something it's a TITLE and god¹ and god² aren't used as titles. god² = deity = god³, but god² ≠ title while god³ = deity = title (because a god can be called "deity of..." instead). so god³ = God but also God ≠ God. if name ≠ title, and God¹ = name; God² = title, then God¹ ≠ God². i could say like — oh my god, that's a god, it's God, God of Everything — and all four instances of the word mean something different. if it's still hard to differentiate: oh my god¹, that's a god², it's God¹, God² of Everything. (ignore the god of everything part i'm still trying to work out what my religion is and how my belief in capital g God fits in with my belief in other gods, because i've been p sure that means im not christian/catholic anymore. but yea i just kinda wanted to make that example to get the point across).

SO TO RECAP:

God¹ = name

God² = title

if name ≠ title, then God¹ ≠ God²

god¹ = god used in "oh my god" = word

god² = deity = being

if word ≠ being, then god¹ ≠ deity; god¹ ≠ god²

if name ≠ word, then God¹ ≠ god¹; if title ≠ word, then God² ≠ god¹

God¹ is a god², or a being, but all god²s are not God¹; Apollo is a god², and Khonsu is also a god², but both of them aren't God¹, like how Khonsu and Apollo aren't each other, because all of them are different beings (aka god²s) and have different names.

-> like how all squares are rectangles but not all rectangles are squares. in this metaphor god²s are rectangles and God¹ is a square, which is also a rectangle. it might get the slightest bit convoluted to ppl not familiar with christianity once the Holy Trinity is thrown into the mix but meh that isn't what this post is about; it's abt the word god and capital g God whose name is the same as his and other deities' genre of being, gods, and his name is also the same as a title other gods are given, God. i am so sorry to anyone who might be getting a headache.

but yeah context/placement and/or capitalization make a difference in the meaning.

i feel obligated to say i am not a linguist or theologist at all i'm just some lesbian who was raised roman catholic, had a crisis, and is now polytheist. i have no clue if any of this has any basis in study or something it's just me and my funky ass brain over here

......how did i manage to make my small crisis of if i'm supposed to say "oh my gods" instead of "oh my god" into a whole ass linguistics post. how do i even TAG this. I STILL DON'T EVEN KNOW IF IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE OH MY GOD OR OH MY GODS... i was just gonna end the post after the first paragraph but right before i hit post the other thought occurred to me and things spiraled from there. i am a FOOL.

[thesorceresstemple]

[just-a-simple-wanderer]

I know this is may be for a more aesthetic piece in regards to Hephaestus, but if this dog is going to be around Hephaestus as a pet as well, might I suggest something massive that may be considered scary but also friendly that can give the BEST cuddles. A gentle giant. 🥰

But, I think whatever dog Hephaestus should have as a pet should be a GREAT service dog! Maybe Hephaestus chose to have a service dog around to help him complete tasks if he’s having a bad mobility day, or just a bad day in general! So, the dog also has to be a breed that is intelligent, and also one that will not startle easily due to the amount of noise and activity in the forge. Probably one that bred to withstand heat as well - no huskies in Mount Etna! 🥵

I think Hephaestus would totally spoil his service companion too - that dog would be one of his best friends after all!

Sorry… I just suddenly have a lot of feels about Hephaestus with a service doggo 🥹💜

if you had to associate a dog to hephaestus, what dog would it be

[the-spirit-of-yore]

Un chemin dans la brume . . .

[maryhale1]

Another spell jar.

This time I created one for mental health 🙏

[kinfriday]

The Irregular Ascetic

In August, I briefly made a new friend on Tumblr.

His account has long since vanished for reasons I do not know. Maybe this place just didn't click for him. I've been here for years and always found it welcoming, but I know that, like everything, this site is not for everyone.

He'd send me a message, ask a question or two, and when I checked every week or so, I'd do my best to reply.

Then, one day, he was gone, but not before leaving me one last question:

"An ascetic heathen life? What does that look like to you? I want to see that visual."

And that's kind of the question, isn't it?

The thing about callings is that they aren't always clear-cut. I may feel drawn towards an ascetic heathen life, but it's not like my Gods sent me an Ikea flat-pack kit.

As seems to be the pattern with the Germanic deities, they tapped me on the shoulder and then said...

"Here ya go, figure it out."

And here we are. Forty-Two, with over ten years as a member of the Ár nDraíocht Féin (ADF), I haven't finished my dedicant path, nor started the clergy track.

I can't remember the last time I did a full ritual.

All in all, I seem like a pretty crappy monk, don't I?

Sister Snow Hare, indeed...

It seems that my vanishing friend pinned me to the wall. I've been chewing on this again, trying to work it out.

If you're reading this, buddy, know that you kicked off a lot of introspection about my path, and you inspired this long rambling Tumblr post.

The best place to start is the beginning. (A little free wisdom)

So, what exactly is monasticism?

Good ol’ Mr. Wikipedia defines it as "a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work."

No matter the faith, this is a feature of monastic life: asceticism, self-denial, and focus.

Have I mentioned I can't remember the last time I did a ritual yet?

Tsk. Tsk. Tsk.

Nothing makes me feel guilty, like comparing myself to the standards and practices of others. Somewhere out there, a Buddhist is living on four grains of rice, meditating eighteen hours a day, stopping only to sleep. The five minutes a day he spends on Tumblr, he's laughing at me.

I just know it. >.>

You could say I've been feeling a little convicted about this.

Yet the calling is still there. My relationship with my Gods isn't just good; it's warm. While not formal or official, I have a fulfilling spiritual life that's not structured like anything in the faith org I faithfully send my twenty dollars a year to and then largely hide from.

So what's going on?

I've begun to realize slowly over the last year that my faith path will probably never be recognizable as anything routine, rote, or by the book, but what it will be is mine.

Where does my asceticism show?

Let me take you through a typical day.

Waking at 2300 (11 pm), I plank for three minutes, do about ten minutes of calisthenics, wash my face, and then meditate for twenty minutes to a half hour, offering that time to the Gods. Then, with that done, I recite my creed and head off to the gym.

I have a creed. I'm that fancy!

While I'm in the truck, I informally pray. Often, I'm talking to my Lady Eostre, but the other Gods definitely get included. Woden and I have always gotten along, and Thunor, I call big brother because he's always watching out for us and protecting us.

Now it's time for my hour minimum at the gym. Half an hour each of cardio and weight training. This is so I can be in good condition and proper shape.

Good health is important to me, but more on that in a moment.

When I get home, I clean for about an hour, something I call "service meditation." Scrubbing floors, cleaning counters, and sanitizing bathrooms is a gift I can give daily to my loved ones with whom I make a home. While I work, I reflect on them and consider all they give me.

After a much-needed shower, I'm in the office and might finally have breakfast. I eat, ascetically, often the same thing every day; I keep my calories low and usually take up a 16-hour fast between my last meal and first meal.

Everything gets weighed down to the gram and tracked on my calorie sheet.

Next comes editing, writing, often some informal online counseling, or time spent on networks like Counter Social, Telegram, and Discord trying to help people, even if it's only getting them to smile.

Hope is big for me because my Lady Eostre is the goddess of Spring and the Dawn. She is hope personified, a goddess of fresh chances and potential. Pointing back to her and her values is my purpose. It's what I was made for.

My day continues like that until I'm in bed at 1600 (4 PM), after an hour cool-down where I go through my creed and have one last conversation with the Gods. That's when I set out my fruit offerings if I happened to have any that day.

It's a hard and fast rule. The gods always get the best part of the banana and the strawberry.

This is the way.

My bed is a mat that rolls out on the floor. I started that in 2020, and I've never been happier or slept better, and when I travel, it comes with me.

And I travel a lot.

My family here calls it "missions." Every now and again, someone in my network will need help. They might be having surgery, a mental health crisis, or are moving cross town or cross country. Whatever the reason, the call goes out, and if I can make it work with money, I'll hop a plane, train, or bus and get out there.

Beyond the joy I get from being in shape and capable, this is why I work out. It's much easier to load and move boxes or help lift people when you're in decent physical condition. 

I actually have training as a CNA, so I know how to do all the transfer stuff, and I have decent experience in post-surgical care.  

I don't want to go into this part too much because it feels like bragging, but I've been all over the States and soon to be Canada just helping people. I ramble in, do what I can, then return home and take back up my discarded routine.

And this is my life, apart from writing my books. As I looked at it and began breaking it down, I realized that I am already living a disciplined ascetic life.  

My gods and my faith are at the forefront of what I do, but what defines my faith isn't the regular application of ritual, but action. Indeed, one of the sayings I live by is actions show what words claim.

So I'm not on a mountaintop, meditating with the sun's rising and setting, or dwelling within a monastery, cloistered from the world, living to sing hymns. There is beauty in that kind of asceticism, but it's not my asceticism.

Yet, we do have things in common.

My life is one of service, with a focus on the divine and the advancement of their aims for the world. It is my hope (there's that word again) that I can show the wisdom and cunning of Woden, the strength of Thunor, the honor of Tyr, and most of all, embody the hope of the Dawn in all I do.

Of course, I'm not perfect, and Saturdays are often waffle day, but life is about growth, not static metrics.

It's dawning on me that I may never be fully recognized in my path. I don't seem to jive well with organizations and dogmatic structures. I may never have Reverend by my name or "Sister" formally. When it's time to go, I may not even leave much behind save my books and these Tumblr posts.

When I do cross that far horizon, and I am again before my Lady, I hope she will look back on all I did during this strange human odyssey and see that while I may have been taken from her for a time, I never stopped being her devoted one, her servant, and that is all the formal recognition I will ever need.

For me, an ascetic heathen life is one of actions, denial, and service, which I seek to live every day.

[just-a-simple-wanderer]

Me: *fighting to stay awake but opens Tumblr anyway*

This post: *is the first thing I see*

Me: ……

@teawiththegods is it possible for Apollo to yell at TWO people for the price of one? 💀😩😂

Me: Im just so tired all the time and too exhausted to do any of the things I want to do! 😩

Apollo: Perhaps instead of fighting your exhaustion you should….go to bed.

Me:

[hecatesdelights]

Odin, the All-Father

I know that I hung

on the wind-swept tree

all nine nights

with spear was I wounded

and given to Odin,

myself to me,

on that tree which no one knows

from which roots it grows.

Bread I was not given,

no drink from the horn,

downwards I glared;

up I pulled the runes,

screaming I took them,

from there I fell back again.

- excerpt from Sturluson's Prose Edda.

[folkhorrorrevival]

The Astral Geographic and Weird Walk: Wanderings and Wonderings Through The British Ritual Year - Book Reviews

Watkins publishing have added to the world of Fortean travel-guides with 2 titles aimed to whet the wanderlust of wyrd voyagers. From the pen of Andy Sharp – musician, wordsmith and designator of the English Heretic black plaques (awarded to the strange denizens and dwellings that English Heritage overlooked) comes The Astral Geographic. On my first encounter with reference books, I often flip…

[journeying-wizard]

hey so like was there anybody else who was raised roman catholic and didn't get the memo that christianity was a monotheistic religion when they were 5, and maybe possibly kinda not really just spawned an entire new polytheistic belief system in their head, spread it to some of their classmates, and didn't learn that Every Single Deity from like Everywhere in the world weren't all in the same like.. religion until early/mid elementary school. or was that just a Me experience.