nann-the-mixed-witch

[nann-the-mixed-witch]

it's okay to ask your Deities for help when you have nothing to offer in return, especially when you're scared

#deity worship #paganism #pagan #pagan witch #polytheism

[nann-the-mixed-witch]

worship evolves with time. yes, the people who worshipped the gods back in the day had specific offerings to be given. but what is stopping you from giving modern offerings? things around your house? offerings shouldn't have to cost you a fortune. your deities aren't holding you at gunpoint to only receive what you can't easily get. they are a means of showing your love in your day-to-day. so yes!! give your deities candy bars! show them a silly little doodle of them in the corner of your notebook!! make a spotify playlist and play it for them!! dedicate a journal to them!! make a pinterest board and fill it with pins that remind you of them!! the important aspect of these offerings is that you are thinking about your deities. thinking about them and feeling love and devotion to them is a means of offering! you are devoting your energy in these acts!!

#deity work #paganism #deity worship #pagan witch #pagan

[nann-the-mixed-witch]

Hey there. Normalize unconventional divination or worship. Just because it's not in a book or an article does not invalidate what helps you.

Is your relationship with your deity different from other practitioners? Who cares. It's your personal journey. This isn't an organized religion, you have the ability to pace yourself, think outside the box and learn what works for you as an individual.

#paganblr #paganism #pagan

[nann-the-mixed-witch]

Remember,

You are a practicing pagan. You don't have to do spell work everyday. You don't have to talk to your deities everyday. You don't have to spend every waking second focusing on your practice to be a valid pagan.

Your valid. No matter how often you're able to work with your deities. No matter how often you do spell work. No matter if you dedicate little or big things to your practice.

You make an effort once in awhile and thats more than enough. Save your spoons, it's ok.

#deity worship #norse paganism #hellenic polytheism #paganism #pagan witch #paganblr #hellenic pagan #pagan

[nann-the-mixed-witch]

for all my fellow hellenic polytheists who like... are able to talk to the gods or at least feel their presence in a tangible way... h o w am i doing something wrong? am i not offering the right things? i know i stumble across posts saying that it's completely normal not to feel the presence of the gods or hear them speak to your heart but like... i wanna hear them at least once :(

#hellenic pagan #paganism #hellenic polytheism #paganblr #tbh imo you can do this with any spirit #any object any thing not just the Gods

[nann-the-mixed-witch]

I feel like a lot of the questions in pagan spaces along the lines of "will this god be mad at me if I work with this other god/pantheon/etc." are usually asked because someone's coming from Christianity and still has some fears and anxieties left over from that.

You don't have to worry about deities getting mad if you work with other deities/pantheons in polytheism, by the way. Polytheism literally means worshipping multiple gods. It's not an issue.

#polytheism #pagan #paganism #polytheist #polytheistic

[nann-the-mixed-witch]

Nature at Home

You might have seen that if you are an animist one of the most important things you can do to grow in your spirituality is to go outside and experience nature.

That’s true, but I know that for a lot of people that’s easier said than done. A lot of people live in urban environments or don’t have good transportation or cannot walk very far.

Urban Animism

One of the things I am passionate about is looking around and noticing the living things in urban environments. There are SO MANY plants and animals that are ekeing out a living in anthropogenic environments and their determination and audacity deserves to be noticed and honored.

So, I’m going to show you some cool plants you might be able to find right on the sidewalk or in neglected landscaping.

This here is Sherardia arvensis or field madder. It’s not native but is naturalized across Canada and the eastern half of the United States. Its roots can be used to make a red dye and you’ll find it in the spring in any little patch of sod as a lawn weed. They seem to be able to find the smallest gap between clumps of grass to send up a flowering shoot. I love them, they’re like grass confetti.

This is purslane, which sometimes gets confused with spurge. The main difference is that purslane has fat juicy leaves. Purslane is technically edible but I wouldn’t eat most of the ones you find in the cracks of the sidewalk. This one I found growing out of a cement wall next to a parking lot. The other neat thing about plants like this that will grow in harsh anthropogenic conditions is that they’re a haven for other spirits, like the mealybug clinging to this one. How far he must have traveled to come feed here!

HERE IS A SPURGE! Man, I love Spurge. This one I found growing next to a ramp at my doctor’s office. They have the teeniest little flowers that are so cute. It feels like they’re a shy sort, you have to get close before you notice how cute and sweet they are. They create tiny little pods that explode, sending seeds in every direction! They often have the tiniest ants I’ve ever seen crawling all over them.

Of course, there’s regional variation everywhere. If it’s just not possible for you to access wild areas near you, or if there aren’t wild areas near you, I want to encourage you to look in the nooks and crannies of the environment you do have access to. Stay open and curious and you might find a mushroom, mold, plant, or invertebrates anywhere who you can appreciate and honor.

#bioregional animism #folk magic #witchblr #animism #urban witch

[nann-the-mixed-witch]

i cannot say it enough: RESEARCH IS WORSHIP RESEARCH IS WORSHIP RESEARCH IS WORSHIP RESEARCH IS WORSHIP RESEARCH IS WORSHIP RESEARCH IS WORSHIP RESEARCH IS WORSHIP RESEARCH IS WORSHIP RESEARCH IS WORSHIP RESEARCH IS WORSHIP RESEARCH IS WORSHIP RESEARCH IS WORSHIP RESEARCH IS WORSHIP

research your ancestors, research your gods, research the land you come from, listen to the stories told by your family, your community, your elders and take notes. research research research.

[nann-the-mixed-witch]

For the first time in a while, I prayed to a few deities I haven't spoken to in quite some time. I asked them to assist in having a good time with a brand new friend. The conversations that followed with that friend were life-changing. I realized how much I had been ignoring myself and my own well-being. I realized how fucked up certain situations I had gone through recently truly were. I realized how low I had made my own standards when it came to making and keeping friends. I realized how desperately I needed someone to listen to my recent traumas and validate my experiences, instead of immediately putting me down. I want to humbly thank Aphrodite and Dionysus for the time I had with that friend. I believe that they helped contribute to the genuinely life-changing experience that I had.

I say this all to emphasize that having good, strong relationships with deities doesn't mean giving them offerings every single day, saying prayers every time you get the chance, or going out of your way to do things for them at the cost of your own well-being. Having a solid relationship with deities doesn't look like receiving some immense spiritual sign every single time they reach out to you, hearing their voices speak from the heights of the heavens (or the depths of the underworld) as clearly as one breathes air, or being able to perfectly interpret every type of divination you receive from them.

You don't need to have some profound experience to know that your deities are there, supporting you through some of your toughest battles. Sometimes the divine express themselves in ways that are as mundane and average as seeing a butterfly outside your window or finally feeling motivated to take care of your physical needs.

Something wild and extraordinary isn't going to happen every twenty seconds while you're worshipping a deity. That's simply not how life works, but that also doesn't mean you're doing something wrong. That doesn't make your relationships any less valuable or important. That doesn't invalidate the more mundane experiences you've had with your deities. It's ok that you don't have something "interesting" happening every five minutes. You don't need to. You don't have to.

All that truly matters is that you feel happy, that you feel content within your worship. Make sure your relationships with your deities feel like a safe place for you because if they don't, maybe something needs to change.

#helpol #hellenic polytheism #hellenic pagan #paganism #paganblr #polytheism #pagan #yes 100%

[nann-the-mixed-witch]

This is just my opinion, so do with it what you will. When it comes to offerings I get this hateful feeling when someone questions if what they gave was good enough. I cannot stand it when someone feels shame for what they had to offer and I just wish that there wasn't some standard for what you feel you should be allowed to offer to your god(s)

Remove the thought "what if my offering isn't good enough "

Toss that shit out. Throw it to the wind.

Your offering no matter what it is is your offering. You took something you made, saw, captured, cooked, smelled, thought, experienced or designed and you thought of your god(s) at that point.

In that moment your god(s) felt cherished, and loved and honored to be thought of by you.

If you took what you had and gave it to the god(s) it was good enough because they love being thought of.

I've dedicated chapters in my books to the gods. I've burned incense for them as an offering, I've taken pictures for them, I've gone on hikes and just dedicated the experience. It's not what it is it's the thought. Thinking what you gave was somehow less than what they deserve to me sours the offering. Give with love, thought, feeling, conviction. Don't poison your offering with shame or disappointment.

#pagan #polytheism #religion #offerings #offering #gods #deities

[nann-the-mixed-witch]

Y'know, I started to type out a massive post about how sad and frustrating it is that every USAmerican southern character in anything is presented as ignorant and uneducated and "dumb" and even hateful, how there are people here with degrees and careers and incredibly complex skills that took years to develop and learn, and then I realized, fuck that-- yeah, there are a lot of people with no or little education down here. We're fucking poor. A lot of us just can't afford college. A lot of us have to get jobs instead to support our families. Some people dropped out of high school to do that. And you know what? They're still human beings who deserve to be represented as whole, real, functional people and not flat archetypes.

Like yeah, I could talk about all the talented and smart people who came from down here, but the "simple," the disabled, the uneducated down here don't deserve the way the media depicts them, either! Because the bulk of them are good people who just got dealt a bad hand because we are so pathetically poor down here. And yeah, that includes the addicts. We have a lot of addicts down here. And that isn't our fault, either. when you're dealt the worst possible hand and no one wants to help you, everyone regards you as being trash, you're gonna cope however you can.

Everyone wants to write us off and present us in media as pretty much just. nothing people, but there are many, many people here of all walks of life who deserve respect and who need help that they aren't getting BECAUSE nobody shows us any fucking respect, and the way the media depicts us consistently does constant, DEEP damage to the way the rest of the country views us. It isn't fucking fair and it isn't fucking okay.

#southern

[nann-the-mixed-witch]

Gods could be generalised, like ‘Zeus’, but they were also localised and specialised: ‘the Zeus of Olympia’ or ‘Zeus of Guests’. In some contexts, the Greeks clearly distinguished between local and shared gods, while in others, they were treated as unified: this has puzzled scholars. ‘Is there such a thing as Zeus, or are there just a huge host of Zeuses?’ This flexibility in divine identity has often been viewed as a central ‘problem’ for scholars of Greek religion, in a way that most Greeks clearly did not conceive of it. There is no answer to this ‘problem’ because the mysterious and flexible nature of divine identity in ancient Greece is not a problem at all: ‘ambiguity was inherent in Greek religious thinking and practice’. A ‘central category of Greek religion’ at the core of the relationship between Greeks and their gods and embedded in the basic building blocks of Greek thought and language about the divine was the belief that there can be no certain knowledge about the gods: this is known as the ‘principle of uncertainty’ or unknowability.

▸ James C Ford, Atheism at the Agora: A History of Unbelief in Ancient Greek Polytheism

#hellenic polytheism #paganism #pagan #hellenic gods #hellenic pagan #zeus

[nann-the-mixed-witch]

I'd like to see more people talking about how so much of deity work is trust, at least in the beginning. And not the "your deities have your best interent in mind" kinda trust. But trusting our deities are really there, that They are listening to us, that the answers given by the divination method we choose to use to communicate are really Them.

Most of the people on witchblr that talk about interacting with their deities do so in a manner that makes it seem so effortless. Like they were talking to another human in front of them. And I'm not invalidating them, I really think it's awesome they could form this connection, but it takes so much time and effort to achieve this level.

My energy sensing abilities are non-existent, I have intrusive thoughts and I'm just now sucking a little less at divination. It took so long for me to get the hang of my deity's communication style to feel a bit more confident that I'm really receiving Their messages. But most of the time, it still feels like radio silence, and all I can do is pray and trust.

#deity work #deity worship #witchblr #paganism #pagan

[nann-the-mixed-witch]

You do not need a sign.

For the love of the gods, just pray. You do not need to be called. You do not need to be contacted. Just pray.

#hellenic polytheism #hellenic pagan #hellenic devotion #hellenic reconstructionism #helpol #hellenic paganism #hellenic polytheist #hellenic community #hellenic gods #prayer #pagan #pagan community #paganism #pagan witch

[nann-the-mixed-witch]

Probably a hot take, but small, quiet, devotional practices with the Gods are valid and should be normalized.

Not every relationship with the Gods has to end in Priesthood or Spousing. Not every ritual has to involve mind-shattering trance or experiences. Not every offering as to be elaborate or expensive. You don’t always have to “hear” or “feel” Them. Not everything is a sign or omen. You are not the main character to Them. And I dont think it’s a horribly sad thing for Them to walk away when a task is done.

Having those experiences is valid and real! but it is not the end all be all of any relationship with Them.

I believe there is room for causal worship. Room for the Temple Cats and Potluck Baddies. There is room for quiet nods and silent appreciation. There’s room for once a week, once a month, or even once a year worship. There’s room to only celebrate the holidays. There is room to never celebrate a holiday.

I believe you can honor and love the Gods without giving your entire identity to Them. You can if you want— but you do not have to.

And it’s just as valid either way.

#paganism #witchblr #pagans of tumblr #pagan community #pagan #pagan witch #hellenic polytheism #hellenic pagan #hellenic worship #the gods #witchcraft #witch #worship #text post #i said what i had to say #nann

[nann-the-mixed-witch]

Artemis + 🏹

"There is a fearsomeness in her (Artemis') 'love of archery,' both from an athletic, physical perspective, but also from the severity of using a bow and arrow to destroy and/or protect.

For thousands of years, hunting was the primary means of subsistence for small bands and, later, hunting weapons were used to protect a community’s farms.

As such, Artemis is more than just a maiden of the woods; she is a symbol of human survival, ingenuity, skill, and the ability to protect those under one’s care."

- She Who Hunts: Artemis: The Goddess Who Changed the World by Carla Ionescu

#artemis #artemis devotion #goddess artemis #hellenic polytheism #hellenic gods #artemis deity #hellenic community #paganism #pagan #Carla Ionescu

[nann-the-mixed-witch]

Talk to Your Objects- A Guide to Light Spirit Work

This is a practice that can take a little bit to hone, but can save you a lot of time and really enrich your practice in the long run. Talk to your stuff. Like, really, talk to it. More importantly, listen to what it says back.  This idea largely stems from an animist perspective, where everything has its own soul. By that extension, even inanimate objects are something we can commune with, and through that gain a deeper understanding.

Examples of Use

Talking with a ritual tool regularly, so when you use it you’re bonded with it much more closely.

Asking a unique tool or ingredient directly how you can use it. (Hello, necklace. What kind of enchantments would you take to best?)

Asking for elaboration on a traditional correspondence (what kind of love does it attract? How strong are its protection properties? Protection from what?)

Being more mindful about everyday objects and when they need to be cleansed (such as your bed.)

Knowing when something is “up” with an object (because you’re more readily familiar with its energy)

A deeper understanding of exactly what is going into your spells and why

What You Need

Some level of comfort with discernment, energy work, personal shielding, wards, and banishing. This isn’t a guide designed for absolute beginners, so if there’s anything you don’t feel ready for yet/don’t understand, learn about that first and return to this when you do feel comfortable! 

Something to speak with (for starting, I recommend something that has meaning to you already. I don’t recommend pictures of people because that risks turning into a different kind of spirit work which isn’t what we’re here for.)

An open mind. 

And Then…

Make sure before you do any spirit work that your personal protections are up and refreshed, whatever that means for you. Find a space you can focus and sit with the object in your hands. Talk to it. Really say something out loud, directed at its essence like you would speak to another human. “Hi there. How are you feeling?”

Responses can come in a lot of different ways. You may hear a “voice” in your thoughts that sounds different from your usual thinking voice. You may have images pop into your mind’s eye. Your hands may feel energy of a certain texture, color, etc. Be open to however the message may come in. Do this regularly, and get comfortable with the way that object’s essence feels, how you receive messages, etc. Start with little, inconsequential things while you feel it out.

How Do I Know What’s Real and What’s My Imagination?

Short answer: You don’t. Do it anyway. Long answer: There’s never going to be any 100% certainty in spirit work. It’s important to remember that whether these entities even exist is up for debate in wider culture, and it’s definitely possible for a believer to delude themselves. That said, practice really really does help. Ask about things you can verify, or things you can see payoff with (aka simple signs.) Trust your gut if something feels very fake. If you’re having regular doubts, roll with a conversation in the moment and look back on it with a more critical eye later. That way, if it is real, you’re not wasting all your energy in the moment trying not to doubt yourself. Let yourself communicate comfortably, get what information you’re searching for, and review it when you’re not in the thick of it. If you make the call that something is your imagination, that’s totally fine! It still teaches you something. Now you know what that object’s energy doesn’t feel like, and can recognize that flavor of your imagination next time. 

#spirit work #witchcraft #spirit communication #witchblr #witch tip #animism #hell yes this is how i learned spirit work #hell try it with fresh basil one min and dry the next to really feel the difference