Something I didn’t notice in yesterday’s clusterfuck: The fact that the argument of “SOME of us don’t work with spirits/deities for gain!” with the tone of “I am judging you. JUDGING YOU! How very dare you want more for your life!” was hurled at me and people who operate in a…
32 Welcome back to the “Moderator Mary finally gets her shit back together!” edition of our weekly focus questions!
Since today is memorial day in the US, lets talk about ancestors. How do you honor your ancestors (designated by blood or by bond or both) within your practice? How could you honor…
Ancestry and family is a subject that’s been frequently on my mind since my father passed away in January. He isolated himself from the rest of his family since I was little, so I’ve grown up knowing very little about that side of my family. In fact, most of my information about them comes from my own recent research or things my mother has told me. The only person he really ever talked about was my grandfather, who passed away when I was a few months old.
It saddens me that I never got to learn any of this from my father, and it sometimes feels that even with the utmost amount of research I’ll always have a huge missing gap of stories and information because he could never talk to me about them. To not know that much about the family my name comes from really bothers me. On the other hand, my mother’s family is the opposite. Very full of close living relatives and archives of information about them.
So how does all of this feed into how I honor my ancestors? While I do not have an altar or shrine solely for them, I do keep them around my main one. Photos on the wall, heirlooms, etc from both sides of my family to remind me of where and who I came from. I also leave them offerings when I feel it’s appropriate. And I still continue doing my research and expanding my knowledge of both sides of my family. I feel if the way I choose to honor them bothered any of my ancestors in any way, I think the message would come across clear and quickly.
19 HA HA, SUCKS TO BE YOU!
To everyone who isn’t drinking atm, but has a fulfilling, well-compensating career and/or a beautiful lover who completes them regardless:
YOU PEOPLE ARE WHY I DRINK.
Good point…
*heads off to find Rumpel Minze*
Ah, this reminds me of my drinkfest on tuesday.
good times.
6 Norse Goddess of Death, Ruler of the underworld. Teutonic Goddess of the kingdom of the dead, not considered as a place of punishment. Daughter of Loki and Angurboda, and sister of the Midgard serpent of the ocean encircling the Earth, and of the devouring Fenris-wolf. Half her face was totally…
(via skadisdottir)
12 I’ve been looking on Etsy, and there is a surprising lack of good pagan art.
Wut do?
Reblogging cause I’m wondering this myself.
I haven’t purchased any pagan artwork personally, most of the stuff I’ve found I didn’t dig for my altar area. So it’s all either things I or friends have made, family photos, or just artwork I happen to have come across and found fitting.(oddly enough many through second hand/thrift stores.) So I’d love to see links to awesome pagan artists to support! :)
28 This weekend I was at my first Viking reenactment of the season, and I overheard one of the reenactors present explaining a few of the Nordic myths to a group of children. Being the insufferable curious git that I am, I left my runes and went to listen.
And it wasn’t hard…
18 Okay, disclaimer: THIS IS MY PERSONAL FUCKING ART AND IT WAS HARD FUCKING WORK, SO IF I SEE THIS SHIT FLOATING AROUND WITHOUT CREDIT ATTACHED I WILL SMACK SOMEONE, MOFUCKAS. I know how you Tumblerites Looooooove to remove credit, but fucking DO NOT, or the wrath of Witchy will be upon you.
Ahmen. Okay, so this is the result of a month of hard fucking work (those hinges were a fucking PAIN in my ASS). This is made of copper sheet, with brass marriage of metal in the center panel and for the hinge pins.
Yes, it was all made by hand. Yes, I am that cool.
On the front sit Mugin and Hunin, one is partially erased due to an “accident” in the spray etcher. I like it, as it reminds us that we have to rely more heavily on our intellect than our memories to recreate this religion/spiritual type thing.
Once you open it to the first folds, there are two independent panels. The left one is a well and a tree, with hazelnuts and a salmon. This is a prominent theme in Gaelic myth, and it carries over a bit into Norse cosmology as well. The salmon could be a nod to Loki, not sure about that one myself. The left is Loki’s Brood, Hel, Jormungand, and Fenrir, with Loki himself present in the form of a fly.
The second set of folds reveals two diptychs. On the left are Freyr and Freya. It’s hard to see, but Freyr is holding his ship and an antler, with Gullinbursti at the bottom. Freya has a spindle, connecting her to Frigg and possibly Perchta, with a stang, also possible connection to Perchta. The feathers are from her falcon cloak. I included both a necklace and a belt, as I’m unsure which interpretation of Brisingamen I’m most fond of.
The diptych on the right is of Brigid and Beira. Beira’s hammer may or may not be a nod to Thor as well, unsure on that one right now. On Brigid’ belt are some tongs for metalworking, and she holds a candle. A sheepie is at her feet.
In the center panel is a cauldron with a flame coming from/ floating above it. The flame, again, is a brass marriage of metal. In front of the cauldron are a horn and some branches (tried to make them oak, ash, and thorn, but the etcher doesn’t get terribly detailed :P), as well as a couple of acorns. Runes on the horn read “for the gods, ungods, and ancestors”.
I would like feedback if you’re a metalsmith or artist, but take it easy as it was my first semester in metals and this project caused a lot of tears. Feel free to ask any questions you have about the construction of this piece. Thanks for looking, and remember RESPECT MY FUCKING COPYRIGHT, BITCHES.
fucking. unf.
(via thegoldengardens)
31I see a lot of newbies to theological/polytheistic paganism who chomp at the bit to work with every deity and spirit they can coax within a three mile radius of themselves.
This bothers me for a few different reasons, but I’ll address just one of them here.
There may be some…
This is a damn fine idea.
68 
(via skepticalwitch)
“Wee spend our mid-day sweat, or mid-night oyle; Wee tyre the night in thought; the day in toyle.” — Francis Quarles, Emblemes, 1635.
Traditional oil lamps have been used all over the world, throughout time and for many purposes, such as devotional lighting as well as powerful and effective…
(Source: vodoustore.com)
7
The goddess Hekate has gained a lot of prominence lately and rightly so. This great goddess retains Her power to grant favor to those She sees fit and to initiate only the most worthy into Her mysteries. As many may know of or work with Hekate, I hope to shed new light on the Goddess who I…
17 It’s a PARTAY
Here’s a completely unrelated gif!
There may or may not be a giveaway soon.
Show some interest, people. Get excited, and I might look kindly upon ya.
wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooot!
10
As I grow as a practitioner and pagan it is astounding to literally see my practices evolve and delve deeper becoming less of practice and more of a natural religion. One place I find this most prevalent is in my altar and shrine set up. For most of us, we began our journey at the path that…
(via deepwoodsteaparty)
15 
Skulls at the Church of Santiago Apostol in Lampa, Peru. Skulls were traditionally left on window sills, providing a place to leave offerings, such as candy, cigarettes and coins, for spirits of the dead within the tomb. The practice was stopped in 2009 on the orders of the Bishop of Puno
© Paul Koudounaris
(via skullsvilleusa)
