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"your religion is evil!!!!"

they say as im picking flowers for aphrodite and asking her to enchant my favorite locket and perfume, humming and talking about my day.

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Arches National Park by Elliot McGucken

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You don’t need to wait for a God to “call to you” by the way. You don’t need ask permission to worship. You can just do it. Seriously, you can find a god and start worshipping.

I see a lot of people new to Polytheism or Paganism asking how to begin, how to know if a God is reaching out. But the answer is you don’t have to know. You don’t even need a God to reach out, you can just decide to worship. Go ham! Research the Gods and worship to your hearts content.

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I didn't realize this needed to be said, but uhh

If you are a Nazi, you have no place in paganism.

(Or anywhere, actually 🙂)

And to clarify (since ya'll need that, apparently), that includes people who are transphobic, homophobic, pro-eugenics (i.e. social darwinism anti-vaxxer people), anti-immigrant, racist, etc.

Ya'll don't belong here, paganism is not a safe place for you, and I don't want you interacting with my blog.

No TERFS, no conservatives, none of it. Freedom and equality for all.

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Sometimes your devotion isn't grand poetry, sweet incense and loud song. It's not swaying like the flame, not raising your arm like the trees.

Sometimes it's just... Kneeling. Lying on the ground. Head barely lifted. Shoulders shaking. Lips trembling. Hands weak.

Sometimes everything feels cold. Like nothing will ever hear you. Sometimes it's only feeling the hardness of the statues, the roughness of the cloth.

Sometimes it's only you, alone, in your room. Sometimes it's... It is what it is.

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Spring solstice is today (in Northern hemisphere)! But remember that you can celebrate things late if needed - there is no shame in needing to push a celebration back in order to prepare more or simply because it works better with your schedule.

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SCP-001 “Gate Guardian” suggested by someone on the r/scp subreddit

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having a crush can feel like either microdosing heaven or hell.

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15 Days of Freyja Devotion

Day 3: Symbols and Attributes

Some of Freyja's Symbols are:

Cats. She is said to ride in a chariot pulled by cats, but these wouldn't have been domesticated housecats. To Freyja's earliest worshipers, cats were wild animals and fierce predators that could pose a serious threat. However, many modern worshipers associate Freyja with housecats as well -- myself included.

Boar. Both Freyja and her brother Freyr are associated with boar. Freyja rides a boar named Hildisvini ("battle swine"). Freyja may be associated with pigs more generally, since one of her names is Syr, "sow."

Falcons. Freyja has a cloak made of falcon feathers that gives the one wearing it the ability to change shape and fly. I personally associate Freyja with falcons and hawks.

Gold. "Gold" is used to describe the Aesir and the things associated with them in the Poetic Edda, but Freyja especially is associated with gold. Gold is sometimes called "Freyja's tears" as a kenning.

Amber is also associated with Freyja, possibly because of a shared connection to the ocean (amber sometimes washes up on the shore in Scandinavia).

The distaff and other spinning tools are associated with Freyja and with the goddess Frigg. Spinning was a very important part of Norse womanhood, and on one level, the distaff probably just shows that Freyja is a goddess of women. On the other hand, there seems to be some sort of connection between spinning and magic in Norse culture, so this may also represent Freyja as a goddess of magic.

The seidr staff is also associated with Freyja. Seidr staves weren't literally distaves, but they did look similar and some scholars argue that seidr staves were intentionally made to resemble spinning staves. Whatever the case, both types of staff are associated with Freyja.

Apples are associated with Freyja, and in Swedish folk practices people left some ripe apples in the trees as an offering to her.

Maidenhair, Adiantum capillus-veneris, was called "Freyja's Hair" in Iceland.

Common milkwort, Polygala vulgaris, was originally also called "Freyja's Hair" in Scandinavia but was renamed after the Virgin Mary during the Conversion period.

Orchids were also associated with Freyja before the conversion. While this was specifically a Northern European species of orchid, I personally associate all orchid flowers with her.

Rye is connected to Freyja in Sweden, where Freyja is said to oversee the ripening of rye.

Sheet lightning is said to be a symbol of Freyja's rage in Sweden.

The constellation we call Orion's Belt was called "Freyja's Distaff" or "Frigg's Distaff" in Sweden.

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e–offering: 𝗳𝙧𝗲𝘆𝗃𝖺, daughter of njord, twin of freyr. hail the lady, goddess of love, beauty, and seidr. under your falcon cloak, fjaðrhamr, you keep us safe and secure. hail 𝗳𝙧𝗲𝘆𝗃𝖺 and thank you, my goddess. 🐈‍⬛💜

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i find it fascinating how my perception of the gods have changed once i met them. both in looks and personality.

Freyja, related to beauty, love and lust, i believed would look young and very feminine. Yet, when presented with her, she was a gorgeous, mature woman with lines at her eyes and a towering figure. The realization that a goddess I acknowledge as being so gorgeous had wrinkles and strong facial features made me reconsider my own perceived “flaws” and standards of beauty. She was beautiful in her strength and wisdom and yet also in her divinity and confidence. I had forgotten a woman of extreme beauty was also a goddess of war. And in both being true, I found her to be the most powerful woman I know.

Seeing Hades, I believed he would be fearsome and cold. Yet, when I looked into his eyes, there was warmth. He had an appearance of a man in his 40s with long hair, the color of the night, and he had no resentment or even disdain. Only softness. I didn’t fear him nor did he try to have me do so. He was safe as he led me through the courtyard where we met. Where I thought he would be an imposing and cold-hearted figure, I found someone with such patience like a father-figure would have.

Apollo, whom I thought would be bubbly and funny from how I’ve seen others described him was indescribably elegant. He carried himself well. He was kind and patient. Where I thought I would find youthful naivety, I found charm and elegance. And he only asked to help me in my healing. Even when I thought I did not need him, he waited patiently until I could hear him properly. And no matter how long it took, he was still welcoming with a smile.

I truly believe everyone should have the opportunity of meeting their deities and finding how they appear to them. What they show themselves as is what you may need. I find it fascinating to see how others see them :) They love us very much.

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“Love does not look like a person, love is our actions, love is giving all we can.”

— Rupi Kaur, The Sun and Her Flowers

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“I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become.”

— Carl Gustav Jung